Baxterley is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in the

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and ...

district of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. According to the 2001 Census, it had a population of 335, reducing to 328 at the 2011 Census. The village is about two miles west of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire wh ...

and is home to

Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (also known as JLR), and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is ...

's national distribution centre.

History

Baxterley has been in existence since

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

times but is not mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. Baxterley Hall was built by John Glover in 1548, and demolished in 1849. It is thought that the original village site was built up around the church, quite some distance away from the current village and was mainly a centre for agricultural dwellings and working. The opening of the mine resulted in a gradual migration of the labour force some 2 miles or so down the road, so that nowadays there are just a few isolated cottages and houses close to the church and the majority of the village has effectively relocated to its present position. Baddesley and Baxterley

Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

was the major employer in the area, from its opening in 1850, to its closure in 1989. It was the site of one of the worst pit disasters in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Mercia, Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in ...

, where a coal dust explosion in 1882 lead to the deaths of 32 men, including the owner, William Dugdale of

Merevale Hall Merevale Hall is a private country house in Merevale, near Atherstone, Warwickshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. The estate descends from Merevale Abbey which once stood on the site. The Manor of Merevale was granted in 1540 to Sir Walt ...

. There is a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

to those who lost their lives in the pit in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

of the church. the mine closed in 1989 and remained derelict for many years until the remaining pit buildings on the Main Road were refurbished and converted into offices.

Crime

In 2009 there was an average of 2.2 crimes per 1,000 people for the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

of Baddesley and Grendon, and during the same period there were 5 crimes per head for the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle ...

. In 2010 the figure was up to 3.3 crimes per head. The most common type of crime is anti-social behaviour.

Health

The village lies in the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

trust area. The village does not have its own doctor's surgery or

pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

. The nearest GP's surgeries can be found in

Baddesley Ensor Baddesley Ensor is a village and civil parish in the district of North Warwickshire in Warwickshire, England, about three miles west of Atherstone. It runs into the village of Grendon, which forms a parish itself. History There were mining ac ...

and Hurley. The

George Eliot Hospital George Eliot Hospital is a single site hospital located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, it is managed by the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust. It provides a full range of emergency and elective medical services, including maternity services, to the lo ...

at Nuneaton is the area's local hospital. It has an

Accident and Emergency Department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pat ...

. Out of hours GP services are also based at George Eliot.

Religion

For the

of Baddesley and Grendon 82% describe themselves as

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

and 18% describe themselves as non-religious with less than 1% of people describing themselves as other.

Baxterley Church Baxterley Church is situated at the western side of the parish of Baxterley, Warwickshire, towards Wood End, and dates from the 12th century. History This small grade II listed parish church is of square plan. The windows in the c. 1 ...

, a church in the

Polesworth Polesworth is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Polesworth is situated close to the northern tip of Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It is east of Tamworth, and ...

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

of the Diocese of Birmingham, it is about 1.7 miles from the village and the nearest village to it is Wood End. It is part of the Kingsbury and Baxterley Group of churches.

Education

There has never been any educational establishments in the village. The nearest

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

s are in the nearby villages of

, Hurley and Wood End. The nearest secondary school is situated in

Governance

The village is a

Civil Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in its own Right. The village was originally part of the

Atherstone Rural District Atherstone Rural District was located in the administrative county of Warwickshire, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after its main town and administrative headquarters of Atherstone. Over the years the district gained territory on the a ...

. In 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

it became part of the newly formed district of

. Inside North Warwickshire it is part of the

and Grendon

, both

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s are currently

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. It is part of the North Warwickshire constituency and the current MP is Conservative

Craig Tracey Craig Paul Tracey (born 21 August 1974) is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Warwickshire since his election in 2015. Originally from the North East, Tracey settled in North Warwicksh ...

Public Services

The village does not have any takeaways or

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance ...

, with the nearest one being in

. Water and sewage services are provided by

Severn Trent Water Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...

. The Postal Town is Atherstone. The nearest police and

fire stations __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ho ...

are in Atherstone. There is a

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

known as the Rose

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

. Outside the front of The Rose and next to the village

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or Artificiality, artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% Aquatic plant, emergent vegetation helps in disting ...

is half of the original winding wheel from the mine, mounted on a plinth. The nearest

Leisure centre A leisure centre in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia (also called aquatic centres), Singapore and Canada is a purpose-built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where peopl ...

is in Atherstone.

Transport

Baxterley lies close to the A5 near

. The village has 2 bus stops along Main road served by route 777, and the nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

is . The nearest

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

(15 miles). Baxterley

Aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

is a small grass-strip airfield with a single runway located to the west of village. It hosts several

air shows An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...

throughout the year.

Media

The local

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

covering the area is the

Recorder. Local radio includes

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire BBC CWR (Coventry & Warwickshire Radio) is the BBC's local radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Priory Place in Coventry city centre. According to RAJAR, th ...

Free Coventry & Warwickshire Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Coventry and Warwickshire. As of September 2022, the statio ...

and

Capital Mid-Counties Capital Mid-Counties is a regional radio station owned by and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Coventry, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, south Staffordshire, the Cotswolds and north Oxfordshire. The station ...

. The village is covered by the Central ITV and

BBC West Midlands BBC Midlands (known as the Midland Region from 1927 until c. 1974) is the BBC English Region producing local radio and web content for Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, and Worcestershire. Although the ...

TV regions.

References

External links

Official Home Page
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Coal mines in Warwickshire