Long Lawford 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 borough 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, located just west of
Rugby, around west of Rugby town centre. In the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 4,545, a significant increase from 3,180 at the 2011 census, and 2,863 in 2001.
Geography
The village is situated on a ridge overlooking the valley of the
River Avon to the north. It is one of four Lawfords in the locality, and is named long because, historically, the village ran along the road between Rugby and Coventry. The other three Lawfords are
Church Lawford, to the west,
Little Lawford to the north, and Lawford Heath to the south (which is within the parish).
The village sits just north of the
A428 road between Rugby 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
Rugby to Coventry railway line runs through the village, but it has never had its own station. Immediately to the east of the village is the large
Cemex
CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than ...
(former
Rugby Cement
Rugby Cement was the common name for a company based principally in Rugby, Warwickshire, which produced portland cement. With its origins in the early 19th century, the company was founded in 1862 as the Rugby Lias Lime & Cement Company Ltd befo ...
) works and its associated
quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
.
History
Recent archaeological excavations have found evidence that Long Lawford has been used as a settlement for 2000 years. Excavations of a
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
Iron Age Village uncovered an
Iron Age sword
Swords made of iron (as opposed to bronze) appear from the Early Iron Age ( century BC), but do not become widespread before the 8th century BC.
Early Iron Age swords were significantly different from later steel swords. They were work-hardened ...
.
The village was 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 ...
referred to as Lelleford (the ford by the elders). By 1332 the name was recorded as Longa Lalleford.
Long Lawford and Little Lawford were anciently within the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of
Newbold-on-Avon, but both became separate civil parishes in the 19th century.
The monks of
Pipewell Abbey were the lords of the
manor for over 400 years from 1160, until the
monasteries were dissolved, and then their lands here were granted to Edward Boughton in 1542. The
Rouse-Boughton family established themselves at nearby
Lawford Hall, and dominated the life of the village, until
Sir Theodosius Boughton, the last male heir of the Boughtons was allegedly murdered there by his brother-in-law in 1780, after which Lawford Hall was demolished.
Their lands were then sold to the Caldecott family in 1793, who built a new manor house at Holbrook Grange closer to Long Lawford on the opposite side of the Avon in 1803.
Although the house has now changed hands, the influences of the Caldecotts remain, with one of the two village public houses being "The Caldecott Arms".
The village underwent considerable expansion in the 1960s with the construction of a large housing estate to the east of the old village,
which turned the village into an effective suburb of Rugby. The village was further expanded with another housing development called Avon Pastures in the 2000s, just off the A428 road. The primary road in this development, 'Tee Tong Road', was named by a
Malaysian bidder, who made the highest bid in a
Children in Need
''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...
auction in 2005.
Amenities
Long Lawford has a primary school, and a playing field called King George's Field with a
skate park
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, quarter pipe ...
which opened in 2013. It also has a
Co-Op Food
Co-op is a UK supermarket chain and the brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group, one of the world's largest consumer co-operatives. As the UK's fifth largest food retailer, Co-op operates nearly 2,400 food stores. It ...
store situated on Townsend Lane. The two village pubs are the "Lawford Arms" and the "Caldecott Arms" both on Main Street. The village hall and main community centre is the Memorial Hall on Railway Street, which was converted from a former
barn
A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...
in 1959, and was named in honour of the fallen servicemen of Long Lawford.
In November 2022, Cornerstone Community Church was established within the village. the church meets at the Memorial Hall each Sunday morning. There are also two other Churches in the village, Long Lawford Lighthouse and St John.
Parish Council
Long Lawford is governed by Long Lawford
Parish Council, which consists of currently seven councillors. They meet monthly at the Memorial Hall on Railway Street, on the second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm. The public and press are allowed to attend these monthly meeting to ask question or watch discussions and proceedings of the Long Lawford Parish Council. All the agendas and minutes are published digitall
on their websitefor all members of the public.
The current Chairman of the Long Lawford Parish Council is Cllr. S. Jones.
Notable buildings
Holbrook Grange, a
Georgian era
The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the House of Hanover, Hanoverian kings George I of Great Britain, George I, George II of Great Britain, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Geor ...
manor house, located just north of the village next to the Avon, is
grade II listed
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, H ...
.
The village church of St John, was built in 1839 as a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
for the
main church at nearby
Newbold-on-Avon. It was built mainly for the use of servants at nearby Holbrook Grange. The church has been disused since 1995, having been declared unsafe due to structural faults. It is however grade II listed and still standing. Instead the church services now take place at the church hall of 1939 next door.
There is also a Methodist church on School Street, called the Lawford Light House
Notable residents
*
Ray Mawby (1922-1990) -
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
politician and
Member of Parliament - later revealed to have been a spy for
Communist Czechoslovakia
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czech ...
.
Folklore
The village and surrounding area is reputedly haunted by a one-armed spectre, known as One-handed Boughton.,
References
Further reading
External links
Long Lawford Parish CouncilLong Lawford entry on Our Warwickshire
{{authority control
Villages in Warwickshire
Borough of Rugby