Nuneaton

Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 census was 94,634, an increase from 86,552 at the 2011 census making it the largest town in Warwickshire.

The author George Eliot was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for much of her early life. Her novel '' Scenes of Clerical Life'' (1858) depicts Nuneaton. There is a hospital named after her, The George Eliot Hospital. There is also a statue of George Eliot in the town centre.

History

Early history

Nuneaton was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as 'Etone' or 'Eaton', which translates literally as 'settlement by water', referring to the River Anker. 'Etone' was listed in the Domesday Book as a small farming settlement with a population of around 150. In the early 12th century, the settlement came under the control of the Beaumont family, and in around 1155 Robert de Beaumont granted his manor of Etone to the French Abbey of Fontevraud, who established a Benedictine nunnery here, which became known as Nuneaton Priory. This led to Etone becoming known as Nuneaton. The nunnery was closed in 1539 during King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, and subsequently fell into ruin. However part of the Abbey church was rebuilt in the 19th and early 20th century.

Nuneaton obtained a market charter in around 1160 from Henry II which was reconfirmed in 1226, causing Nuneaton to develop into a market town and become the economic focal point of the local villages.

In 1485, the Battle of Bosworth, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses occurred around to the north-west of Nuneaton, across the border in nearby Leicestershire.

King Edward VI School was established in 1552 by a royal charter by King Edward VI. The school was originally a fee-paying school, although the county council provided some scholarships, and became non-fee paying as a result of the education act of 1944. The voluntary aided school had around 400 boys in the 1960s. In 1974 the grammar school closed and was re-established as a sixth form college.Paterson, David, (2011) ''Leeke's Legacy: A History of King Edward VI School, Nuneaton''. Matador Publishing

In 1543, Nuneaton was recorded as containing 169 houses, with a population of around 800, by 1670 this had grown to 415 households, with a population of 1,867, by 1740 this had risen further to 2,480.

The growth of industry

Ribbon weaving

In the mid-17th century, a silk ribbon weaving industry became established in the local area which included Nuneaton, Bedworth, Coventry and much of North Warwickshire. This industry was enhanced by the arrival of French Huguenot immigrants in the latter part of the century, who brought with them new techniques. This industry operated as a cottage industry, with the weavers working from top-shops; a type of building which was specific to the local area, and had living space in the two lower floors, and a workshop with very large windows on the top floor. This industry flourished for nearly two centuries, albeit with periodic booms and slumps. However, by the early 19th century the industry was struggling to compete against the factory produced textiles from northern manufacturers, and the local weavers strongly resisted adopting factory production methods as they valued their independence. Nevertheless, in 1851 46% of Nuneaton's workforce was still employed by the ribbon trade. The industry was finally wiped out after 1860 by cheap imports, following the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty, which removed duties on imported French silks. This caused a slump in the local economy which lasted nearly two decades.

Coal mining

Another major industry which grew in the local area was coal mining: as Nuneaton was located in the Warwickshire coalfield, mining was recorded locally as early as 1338, however the lack of efficient transport and primitive mining techniques kept the industry on a small scale. The industry did not start to develop on a larger scale until the 17th century, with the dawn of the industrial revolution, which led to greater demand for fuel and technical advancement. A major problem was the drainage of water from coal pits as they were dug deeper. The use of a waterwheel to drive drainage pumps was recorded as early as 1683. The first recorded use of an atmospheric engine; a primitive form of steam engine to pump water from coal pits was recorded at Griff Colliery in 1714, this was the first recorded use of a steam engine in Warwickshire. Nevertheless, another major problem facing the industry was poor transport. Sir Roger Newdigate who owned several local coal mines developed a turnpike road to Coventry in the 1750s, which partially resolved this problem. Early on Newdigate recognised the potential of canals as a means for transporting bulk cargoes. He developed a system of private canals on his land on the Arbury Estate from 1764 to transport coal and helped promote the Coventry Canal, which opened from Coventry to Nuneaton in 1769, before being finally completed to Staffordshire in 1790. he also helped promote the Oxford Canal. Ironically, the new canal system led to a decline in the Warwickshire coal industry after 1800, as it was exploited by Staffordshire coal producers to capture the local market. It would not be until the development of the railway network in the 19th century that the coal industry would be exploited to its maximum potential.

The first railway to reach Nuneaton was the Trent Valley Railway which opened in 1847, linking Nuneaton to the growing national railway network at Rugby and Stafford. This was followed by a branch line to Coventry in 1850. In 1864 a line was opened from Birmingham to Leicester via Nuneaton, and this proved to be the most important for the local economy, as it linked Nuneaton with the rapidly growing town (later city) of Birmingham. Due largely to this, the local coal industry expanded rapidly in the latter half of the 19th century, with production from the Warwickshire coalfield expanding nearly tenfold between 1860 and 1913 from around 545,000 tons to over five million tons. The industry peaked in the early 20th century; in 1911 one third of the male workforce in Nuneaton were employed as miners. The industry, however, declined rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, with the last coal mine in Nuneaton closing in 1968, although Newdigate colliery at Bedworth lasted until 1982. The last Warwickshire coal mine at nearby Daw Mill closed in 2013.

Other industries

Nuneaton underwent a period of rapid growth from the 1880s onwards with the rapid development of an array of industries. These included brick and tile making, brewing, the production of hats and leather goods. and engineering. At the time of the first national census in 1801 Nuneaton was one of the largest towns in Warwickshire, with a population of 5,135. By 1901 this had grown to 24,996.

Civic history

A local board of health had been set up in Nuneaton in 1848 to provide the town with necessary infrastructure such as paved roads, clean drinking water, street lighting and sewerage. The old parish of Nuneaton included the settlements of Attleborough and Stockingford. The parish was joined with Chilvers Coton parish in 1894 to form an urban district. Nuneaton was upgraded to the status of a municipal borough in 1907, to which the parishes of Weddington and part of Caldecote were added in 1931. In 1974, the Municipal Borough of Nuneaton was merged with Bedworth Urban District to create the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Second World War

Nuneaton suffered heavy bombing damage during The Blitz in the Second World War between 1940 and 1942. The heaviest bombing raid on Nuneaton took place on 17 May 1941, when 130 people were killed, 380 houses were destroyed, and over 10,000 damaged.

Postwar to present

In 1947 the architect and town planner Frederick Gibberd was appointed to create a masterplan to redevelop the bomb damaged town centre. The redevelopment, which continued until the 1960s included the features typical of town planning from that era, including a new ringroad, indoor shopping centre, administrative centre and library.

Nuneaton continued to expand in the latter 20th century. In the early postwar years the need arose for low-cost housing, and in response to this around 2,500 council houses were built during the 1950s, the largest such development was at Camp Hill, where 1,400 new houses were built by 1956, while around 1,100 new council houses were built at new estates at Hill Top, Caldwell and Marston Lane by 1958. Following this, Nuneaton's expansion was largely driven by private developments at Weddington, St Nicolas Park, Whitestone and Stockingford.

Historic population

Geography

Nuneaton is north of Coventry, east of Birmingham, south-west of Leicester and northwest of London.OS Landranger Map 139 : Birmingham & Wolverhampton: (1:50 000) OS Landranger Map 140 : Leicester, Coventry & Rugby: (1:50 000)

The town centre lies south-west of the Leicestershire border (which is defined by the A5 road the former Roman Watling Street), south-east of Staffordshire, and south-south-east from Derbyshire’s southernmost point.

The River Anker runs through the town. Nuneaton town centre was historically prone to regular flooding from the Anker, with especially bad floods in 1932 and 1968. This was relieved in 1976 by the construction of a flood relief channel.

Nuneaton forms the largest part of the Nuneaton built-up area which also includes the large villages of Hartshill and Bulkington. It had a population of 132,236 at the 2001 Census. In the 2011 Census it had a considerably lower population of 92,698 because Hinckley ceased to be defined as part of the urban area. On 19 July 2022, it recorded its highest ever temperature of 38 °C during the 2022 United Kingdom heat wave.

Towns close to Nuneaton include Bedworth, Atherstone and Hinckley, with Tamworth, Rugby, Coleshill and Lutterworth a little further afield.

Districts and suburbs of Nuneaton

Within the borough boundaries:
* Abbey Green
* Arbury
* Attleborough (including Maple Park)
* Bermuda
* Caldwell
* Camp Hill
* Chapel End (including The Shires)
* Chilvers Coton
* Galley Common
* Griff
* Grove Farm
* Heath End
* Hill Top
* Horeston Grange
* Robinson's End
* St Nicolas Park
* Stockingford (including Glendale, Sunnyside, Black-a-Tree, Church Farm)
* Weddington
* Whitestone (including Crowhill)
* Whittleford (including Poplar Farm, Hawthorn Common)
Adjacent or adjoining places, some of which fall outside the borough boundaries:
* Ansley
* Bulkington
* Caldecote
* Hartshill

Politics

National

Nuneaton is part of the constituency of the same name in the House of Commons. The constituency is currently represented by the Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP), Marcus Jones, who was first elected in the 2010 general election. From 1935 to 1983, Nuneaton was a safe Labour seat, but it has become more marginal. Between 1983 and 1992, the Conservatives held the seat, until losing it back to Labour. For the next 18 years, the Labour Party (in the form of Bill Olner) was the local representative at Parliament, until his retirement.

Local

There are two-tiers of local government covering Nuneaton; Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council as the lower tier and Warwickshire County Council as the upper tier. Nuneaton is an unparished area and so there is no tier of administration below the Borough council. Nuneaton and Bedworth council was once solidly controlled by the Labour Party, but has in more recent years become more changeable: It was Labour controlled from its creation in 1974, until the 2008 local elections, when the Conservatives gained control, ending 34 years of Labour rule. (''Further reading:'' 2008 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election) However, the period of Conservative control was relatively short lived. The Labour Party won two seats from the Conservative Party in the 2010 local elections, giving no party overall control of the council (but leaving the Labour Party as the largest grouping). In 2012 Labour gained a further 8 seats to regain overall control which they lost again to no overall control in 2018. In the May 2021 elections, the Conservatives once more gained a majority; winning ten seats from Labour and one from an independent.

Economy

Nuneaton's traditional industries like textiles, mining and manufacturing have declined significantly in the post-war years. Due to its transport links, Nuneaton is to some extent a commuter town for nearby Coventry and Birmingham. However a relatively large number of businesses involved in the automotive, aerospace and engineering supply chains industries are active in the area. MIRA Limited, formerly the Motor Industry Research Association, is based on a disused wartime airfield on the A5, to the north of the town.

One of the biggest developments in the town's history, the multimillion-pound Ropewalk Shopping Centre, opened in September 2005 in the hope that it will give the town extra income from the shopping, attract more visitors and retailers, and attract shoppers as an alternative to larger retail centres such as Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and Solihull. An older shopping centre, the Abbeygate Shopping Centre in the town centre was first opened in the 1960s, and was formerly known as Heron Way.

The European headquarters of Holland & Barrett are based in the town, as is the UK head office of FedEx. While Bermuda Park, which is south of Nuneaton, is the location of the national distribution centres of Dairy Crest and RS Components. Nuneaton is also the location of several international online marketing companies.

In 2017 the Nuneaton and Bedworth borough was less prosperous than the rest of Warwickshire, reflecting the long established north–south divide in the county. The average annual workplace wage in Nuneaton and Bedworth was £21,981, the lowest in the county and below the Warwickshire average of £28,513 (and UK £28,296) although the productivity gap had narrowed with the rest of Warwickshire since 2009.

Religion

Nuneaton's name reflects the effect that Christianity has had upon the town's history. Although the Benedictine nunnery which gave the town its name was destroyed at the time of the Reformation, the remaining fragments were incorporated into the Anglican church building now known as the Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin in Manor Court Road. This is a Victorian construction.

Church of England

Near the town centre, but unusually not a part of it and outside the ring road, lies the medieval church of St. Nicolas – a grade I listed building. Chilvers Coton contains All Saints' Church, where Mary Ann Evans ( George Eliot) worshipped and Justin Welby, now Archbishop of Canterbury, served as a curate. This was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War, and rebuilt largely by German prisoners of war. There are also Anglican churches in Weddington (St James's), Attleborough (Holy Trinity), Stockingford ( St Paul's), Galley Common (St Peter's), Abbey Green (St Mary's), and more recently built (1954), in Camp Hill St Mary's and St John's.

Roman Catholic Church

There are two parishes in the town serving the Catholic community in Nuneaton. Our Lady of the Angels on Coton Road, was opened in 1838 (originally as St Mary's). The building, designed by Joseph Hansom, was extensively remodeled in 1936. The Parish of St Anne's, Chapel End, Nuneaton was created in 1949 out of the Parish of Our Lady of the Angels (which originally covered the whole town). The original church building was replaced with the existing church, which was opened in 2000.

Other Christian traditions

In the town, Baptist, Methodist, Wesleyan Reform Union, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pentecostal