Baginton is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Warwick district Warwick is a local government district in Warwickshire, England. It is named after the historic county town of Warwick, which is the district's second largest town; the largest town is Royal Leamington Spa, where the council is based. The district ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England, and has a common border with the City of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

West Midlands county West Midlands is a Metropolitan county, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north ...

. With a population of 801 ( 2001 Census), Baginton village is south of central Coventry, northeast of

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

(its post town) and north of

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

. The population had reduced slightly to 755 at the 2011 Census. The Lucy Price playing field is situated centrally in the village.

Geography and administration

Coventry Airport (built 1936), the Lunt Roman Fort and the ancient "Baginton oak" tree are within the village, whilst the Midland Air Museum is just outside Baginton. The road from Baginton to southern

(the city's

Finham Finham is a civil parish and suburb of Coventry and is known to have an intricate cultural and linguistic history . It is Located in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands, England located on the border of the West Midlands (county), West Mi ...

district) passes over the River Sowe near an old mill, which now is inhabited by a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment 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 Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

called The Old Mill. Baginton is often misspelt / mispronounced as 'Bagington'.

History

Baginton was populated since at least the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, and 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 records that in the 11th century, Baginton consisted of 15 households and a mill. Baginton Castle was built around 1397 on the site of a house built during the 6th century, and 15th-16th century earthworks from the former village also survive.

Archaeology

In December 2019, Roman and

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

artifacts, including

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

jug A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold and serve liquids, but not normally to drink from directly. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and usually a pouring lip. Jugs throughout histor ...

s, and

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

, were unearthed from burial grounds by archaeologists led by Nigel Page. The team of researchers believed that two of the graves belonged to a "high-status" rank officer and a Roman girl aged 6–12 years old. Findings from the Roman

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

burial site of a young girl included four

brooch A brooch (, ) is a decorative jewellery item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gem ...

es, a ring with an image of a

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two ...

and a hair pin.

Coventry Airport

Baginton is the site of Coventry Airport, which lies just southeast of the village. First opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome, it has been used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

, flight training and commercial freight and passenger flights. It had a grass surface for aeroplanes to land and take off. With the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it became a fighter airfield. By October 1941, No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron was located at Baginton. The Midland Air Museum on Rowley Road is adjacent to the northern boundary of Coventry Airport.

Landmarks

The remains of the ancient Roman Lunt Fort have been found in Baginton on the north side of the village. Parts of the fort were reconstructed in the 1970s, and it has become a popular site for school visits, as well as holding activity days during the summer. The Church of St John the Baptist is situated in the old part of Baginton. A scenic footpath starts near the church and leads to Stoneleigh. Baginton is the site of an old

oak tree An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the Fagaceae, beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northe ...

which is often called the ''Baginton oak''. It is about 300–350 years old and is thought to be one of the oldest trees in

. A nearby

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

is called The Oak. Henry Percy was imprisoned at Baginton Castle following his son Harry Hotspur's defeat at the

Battle of Shrewsbury The Battle of Shrewsbury was fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle, the first in which English archers fought ea ...

. The ruin that can be seen is of a late fourteenth-century house, but it is not well known due to its location in an area of woodland on private land. If Baginton Castle did exist here before this house, there is no sign of its ruins. Baginton Castle and Fish Ponds constitute a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

. The vestiges of the castle are a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building. The site was opened to the public in 2009."Bagot's Castle"
Retrieved 19 September 2019.

Gallery

Image:Baginton oak 21l07.JPG, The Baginton oak in summer Image:Baginton oak tree july06.JPG, The Baginton oak in summer Image:Lucy price playing field 9m07.JPG, The Lucy Price playing field Image:Church of St John the Baptist in Baginton 5g06.JPG, St John the Baptist Church, Baginton Image:Lunt fort baginton.JPG, Reconstructed main gate (inner aspect) of Lunt Fort Image:Baginton Castle (antient building).JPG, The ruins of a fourteenth-century house, possibly also the site of the former Baginton Castle Image:Baginton oak tree in winter 18f07.JPG, Baginton Oak tree, with The Oak public house in the background Medieval Baginton.png, Earthworks of the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

village at Baginton, Anglo_saxon_house_baginton.png, Earthworks of a 7th century house at Baginton

References

Sources

*''

'' * Dugdale, Sir W. 1730 ''The Antiquities of Warwickshire'', 2nd Ed. (ed. W. Thomas), London *Edwards, J.H. 1953 'Baginton Castle Excavations', Trans. Birm. Warwicks. Arch. Soc., 69 (1951), 44–49. *Smith, W. 1829 A New and Complete History of the County of Warwick, Birmingham

External links

Baginton Village Website

Detailed historic record for Baginton Castle
* {{authority control Villages in Warwickshire