Brinklow 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 Rugby district of

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. It is about halfway between

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and

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 ...

. The parish had a population of 1,120 at the 2021 Census. Brinklow is an ancient settlement located on the

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bat ...

former

roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

, it is most well known for the large earthwork remains of Brinklow Castle.

History

The village likely has ancient origins as there was a pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

located here, which the Romans diverted their

road around. The mound later became a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

motte-and-bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...

castle ( Brinklow Castle, known locally as The Tump or the Big Hill), which is one of the largest and best preserved of its type in England. Brinklow was 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, as it was likely founded as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in 1218, when it was granted a market charter, however the market had died out long before the 19th century. The village church of St John the Baptist is one of the oldest buildings in the village, dating from the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

; it was built by monks from Kenilworth Abbey, and the first record of a priest here was from 1252. The church was partly rebuilt in the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

, but incorporating parts of the earlier church. The village thrived in part due to the nearby great houses of

Coombe Abbey Coombe Abbey (also Combe Abbey) is a former Cistercian abbey at Combe Fields in the Borough of Rugby, in the countryside of Warwickshire, England. The abbey was converted to a country house in the 16th century and now operates as a hotel. It i ...

and Newbold Revel, and the trades of candlemaking, basket weaving and silk manufacture all took place in the village. The

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to th ...

was opened through the village in 1790, and this brought extra prosperity to the village, although it was later straightened out in the 1830s, and the new course bypassed Brinklow to the east, although a stretch of the old route remained open as an arm of the canal serving the village. Between 1847 and 1957, Brinklow had its own railway station on the Trent Valley Line, located around one mile to the north of the village. The village formerly had a primary school, but this was closed in 1996. At one time there were four public houses in the village; The Raven, the White Lion, the Dun Cow and the Bull's Head.

Governance

Brinklow is governed by Brinklow Parish Council, which consists of six

councillors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regi ...

. They launched a redeveloped website in 2011.

Gallery

Image:Brinklow castle 6y07.JPG, The remains of Brinklow Castle Image:Brinklow high st 6y07.JPG, The main road through Brinklow Image:Church brinklow 6y07.JPG, St John's Church in Brinklow

References

External links

Brinklow Parish Council WebsiteBrinklow archives
- Our Warwickshire {{authority control Villages in Warwickshire