Nuneaton

Nuneaton

Nuneaton town centre
Nuneaton
Nuneaton shown within Warwickshire
Population 86,552 (2011)
OS grid reference SP361918
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NUNEATON
Postcode district CV10, CV11, CV13
Dialling code 024
Police Warwickshire
Fire Warwickshire
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament

Nuneaton (/nəˈniːtən/) is a town in northern Warwickshire, England.[1] The population in 2011 was 86,552,[2] 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.[3]

The Nuneaton built-up area, incorporating Nuneaton and the surrounding urban settlements, including the large villages of Hartshill and Bulkington, had a population of 92,968 at the 2011 census.[4]

Geography

Nuneaton is 9 miles (14 km) north of Coventry, 20 miles (32 km) east of Birmingham and 103 miles (166 km) northwest of London. The River Anker runs through the town.

Towns close to Nuneaton include Bedworth, Atherstone and Hinckley, with Tamworth and Lutterworth a little further afield. The town centre lies 3 miles from the Leicestershire border, 8 miles from Staffordshire and 12 miles from Derbyshire.

Mount Judd, a former quarry spoil tip, is a local landmark.

History

Some ruins of Nuneaton Priory from which the town gained its name. Part of the church was reconstructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries

Nuneaton was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as 'Etone' or 'Eaton', which translates literally as 'settlement by water'. 'Etone' was listed in the Domesday Book as a small hamlet. The settlement gained its current name of Nuneaton in the mid-12th-century when a Benedictine nunnery known as Nuneaton Priory (parts of which still exist) was established. A market was established in 1226, which is still held, and Nuneaton developed into a thriving market town. The nunnery was destroyed in 1539 during King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.[5][6]

King Edward VI School was established in 1552 by a royal charter by King Edward VI.[7] 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.[8] In 1974 the grammar school closed and was re-established as a sixth form college.[7]

Coal mining had become an important local industry as early as the 13th century, and would remain so until the late 20th century. In the later half of the 18th century, during the Industrial Revolution a number of textile industries were established in Nuneaton including ribbon weaving, and the production of hats and leather goods. Brick and tile making and brewing also became important industries.[5] At the time of the first national census in 1801 Nuneaton was one of the largest towns in Warwickshire, with a population of 5,000. By 1901 this had grown to over 25,000.[6]

Nuneaton's growth was enhanced by the opening of the Coventry Canal in 1789.[9] The railways arrived in Nuneaton in 1847, with the opening of the Trent Valley Railway.[6]

Nuneaton parish 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.[5] In 1974, the Borough of Nuneaton was merged with the Bedworth urban district to create the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth.[10]

Due largely to munitions factories being located in Nuneaton, the town suffered heavy bombing damage during 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.[7][11]

Economy

Ropewalk Shopping Centre

Nuneaton's traditional industries like textiles and manufacturing have declined significantly in the post-war years. Due to its transport links, Nuneaton is now largely a commuter town for nearby Coventry and Birmingham. However electronics and distribution remain major economic activities in the town. 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 on 1 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, with other shopping available at the longer established Abbeygate Shopping Centre located in the centre of the town. Holland & Barrett has its headquarters in the town, 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.

Politics

Nuneaton Town Hall (1934) architects: Peacock & Bewley of Birmingham

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 1935–1983 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

The local council, Nuneaton and Bedworth, is currently controlled by the Labour party.[12] On 1 April 1974, as a part of wholesale local authority reorganisation, the then Nuneaton Borough Council was merged with the neighbouring Bedworth Urban District to form a new district council. Borough status was conferred on the new district on 15 November 1976. The new council was initially known as "Nuneaton Council" and then "Nuneaton Borough Council". However, in 1980, following objections from Bedworth residents, the name of the Borough was changed to "Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council".[13] The council was controlled by the Labour Party from 1973, when the shadow council was elected in preparation for the 1974 merger, until the 2008 local elections, when the Conservatives gained control, ending 35 years of Labour rule. (Further reading: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, 2008)[14][15] 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). (Further reading: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, 2010)[16] In 2012 Labour gained a further 8 seats to regain overall control. (Further reading: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, 2012)

Nuneaton is currently covered by 11 of the borough's 17 electoral wards (see table below). Each ward elects two councillors, who serve 4 year terms. There are elections every 2 years.

Ward name Approximate coverage Population
(2001 census)[17]		 Population
(2011 census)[17]
Abbey Abbey Green, town centre 7,234[18] 8,718[19]
Arbury Heath End, Glendale, Bermuda, Arbury 5,482[20] 6,736[21]
Attleborough Attleborough, Maple Park, SW part of Whitestone 7,564[22] 7,676[23]
Bar Pool Black-a-Tree, Sunnyside, Stockingford (east) 7,451[24] 7,452[25]
Camp Hill Camp Hill 7,325[26] 7,321[27]
Galley Common Galley Common, Chapel End, Whittleford 7,593[28] 8,233[29]
Kingswood Grove Farm, Robinson's End, Stockingford (west) 6,878[30] 6,878[31]
St Nicolas Horeston Grange, Hinckley Road, the Long Shoot, St Nicolas Park (south) 7,073[32] 6,943[33]
Weddington Weddington, St Nicolas Park (north) 7,286[34] 7,256[35]
Wem Brook Hill Top, Caldwell, Chilvers Coton 7,082[36] 7,787[37]
Whitestone Whitestone (except SW part), Attleborough Fields 7,435[38] 6,877[39]
Total Nuneaton 78,403 81,877

Religion

St Nicolas Parish Church

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.[40] Chilvers Coton contains All Saints' Church, where Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) worshipped and Justin Welby, now Archbishop of Canterbury, served as a curate.[41] 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, the Salvation Army, United Reformed and Christadelphian churches serve their respective congregations.

A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses is located in the Stockingford area and Christadelphians in Whitestone.

Other world religions

In addition to Christianity, there are also followers of Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. There is a mosque on Frank Street, Chilvers Coton and two gurdwaras (Sikh temples): the Nuneaton Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Park Avenue, Attleborough, and the Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara in Marlborough Road, Chilvers Coton.

A number of Jewish families have settled in and around Nuneaton over the past two centuries as local industries have grown and ebbed. Historically, families would travel for important life events and holidays to worship at the mediaeval Spon Street Synagogue in Coventry, at the short lived Hinckley Synagogue in the early 20th century and most recently, in the modern Coventry Reform Synagogue. There has never been a formal, organised community in the area and most Jewish people are now elderly, with younger more observant people moving to larger communities in London and Manchester.

The Baha'i Faith was introduced to Nuneaton in the early 1970s and now has a community of over 30 members.

Statistics

In the 2011 Census, 63.6% of the population of Nuneaton and Bedworth said they were Christian, 24.0% of no religion, 2.3% Muslim, 2.2% Sikh, 1.1% Hindu, and 0.7% Buddhist or of other religions. 6.1% did not state their religion.[42]

Media

Radio

The local radio stations are:

Written media

The main local newspapers are:

  • The Tribune (formerly the People's Tribune (1895), Midland Counties Tribune (1903) and Nuneaton Evening Tribune (1957)): It is owned by Trinity Mirror's Coventry Newspapers (publisher of the Coventry Telegraph). Covering 'northern Warwickshire' (particularly Nuneaton, Bedworth and Atherstone), the free paper is available weekly to collect at many newsagents in the area on a Thursday or Friday.
  • The Nuneaton Telegraph; a localised sub-edition of the Coventry Telegraph, it was launched in 1992 (when the aforementioned Tribune switched from daily to weekly production).
  • The Nuneaton News (originally known as the Evening News upon launch and then the Heartland Evening News): Owned by Local World, it is published on weekdays. The Wednesday edition is circulated free throughout the town, whereas the daily paper on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are paid. It was founded in 1992, following the decision of the Tribune's publisher to switch to a weekly freesheet.

Television news

The Nuneaton area is covered on regional TV News by:

Transport

Nuneaton railway station

The town is near the M6, the M42 and M69 motorways and the main A5 trunk road (Watling Street), which also acts as a border with Leicestershire and the neighbouring town of Hinckley. The A444 provides a high-speed dual-carriageway route into the town from the south and also acts as the often busy town centre ring road. The A47 links the town with neighbouring Hinckley and onwards to Leicester, and the A4254 – Eastern Relief Road – provides direct access from the east of Nuneaton to the south, avoiding the town centre.

The town has two railway stations. Nuneaton railway station near the town centre is an important railway junction, served by the West Coast Main Line running from London to the North West, the cross-country Birmingham to Peterborough Line and by a line to Coventry via Bedworth. A new railway station at Bermuda Park has recently been opened south of the town centre on the line towards Coventry,[43] as part of the NUCKLE (Nuneaton, Coventry, Kenilworth, and Leamington) rail upgrade scheme. Historically the town was also served by stations at Abbey Street and Stockingford.

The Coventry Canal passes through the town.

The main operators for buses in Nuneaton are Stagecoach in Warwickshire and Travel de Courcey.

Recreation

Riversley Park Museum and Art Gallery, with Boer War memorial statue

Nuneaton has two non-league football teams: Nuneaton Town (nicknamed "the Boro") who play in the National League North and Nuneaton Griff who play in the Midland Football League Division One. Sunday League football is played in the town, with teams from Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire competing in the Nuneaton & District Sunday Football League (NDSFL).

There are three rugby union clubs: Nuneaton R.F.C. (nicknamed "the Nuns"), who play in National 3 Midlands, Nuneaton Old Edwardians of Midlands 2 West (South) division and Manor Park of the Midlands 4 West (South) league.

The town is also the location of Nuneaton Bowling club, where flat green bowls is played.[44]

There are three main leisure centres in the town owned by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and managed by Everyone Active on the council's behalf (after a competitive tender process):

  • Pingles Leisure Centre – The Pingles is the main leisure centre in Nuneaton. It was rebuilt in 2004 to replace the original Pingles that was built in 1965. The new Pingles includes an indoor and outdoor swimming areas, a dance studio and gym. The Pingles also has an associated athletics stadium, the Pingles Stadium, which was built in 2004. The Pingles Stadium has a 250-seater stand, a running track and athletics facilities. The stadium also has a football pitch which is used by Nuneaton Griff for their home matches.
  • Jubilee Sports Centre – The Jubilee Sports Centre is a sports hall. The hall is used for various sports including badminton, five-a-side football/indoor football and basketball. The Jubilee also has a scoreboard, used for major basketball and indoor football matches. The hall can be hired out for uses such as karate lessons.
  • Etone Sports Centre – Etone Sports Centre is another sports hall. Etone sports hall also has astroturf football pitches which are used also for hockey. The centre is in the grounds of the school which bears the same name, Etone School, but 'Everyone Active' maintains the building.

Nuneaton has a museum and art gallery in the grounds of Riversley Park adjacent to the town centre.[45]

The Abbey Theatre is Nuneaton's only theatre and hosts a wide variety of performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring shows, musicals, pantomime and drama.

Despite there having been many in the town historically, Nuneaton now has one theatre. Run solely by volunteers, the Abbey Theatre seats 250 plus space for wheelchair patrons.[46]

Culture

Nuneaton annually enters the Britain in Bloom competition and in 2000, Nuneaton and Bedworth was a national finalist. It is the location of Nuneaton Carnival, the largest carnival in Warwickshire, which takes place every June.[47]

Nuneaton was home to the smallest independent newspaper in Britain (the Heartland Evening News) until it was purchased in 2006 by life News & Media.

Nuneaton has a museum and art gallery within the grounds of Riversley Park. The museum includes a display on George Eliot. Eliot's family home Griff House is now a restaurant and hotel on the A444.

Public art in Nuneaton includes a statue of George Eliot on Newdegate Square, and the Gold Belt.

Education

Primary

  • Abbey CE Infant School (ages 4–7)
  • All Saints' CE Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Camp Hill Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Chetwynd Junior School (ages 7–11)
  • Chilvers Coton Community Infant School (ages 4–7)
  • Croft Junior School (ages 7–11)
  • Galley Common Infant School (ages 4–7)
  • Glendale Infant School (ages 4–7)
  • Michael Drayton Junior School (in nearby Hartshill; ages 7–11)
  • Middlemarch Junior School (ages 7–11)
  • Milby Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Milverton House School (independent; ages 0–11)
  • Oak Wood Primary School (special school; ages 4–11)
  • Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Academy (ages 4–11)
  • Park Lane Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Queen's CE Junior School (ages 7–11)
  • St Anne's Catholic Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • St Nicolas' CE Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • St Paul's CE Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Stockingford Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Weddington Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Wembrook Primary School (ages 4–11)
  • Nursery Hill Primary School (ages 4-11)
  • Whitestone Infant School (ages 4–7)

Secondary

Further education

George Eliot's inspirations

Statue of George Eliot on Newdegate Square

Many locations in George Eliot's works were based on places in or near her native Nuneaton, including:

  • Milby (town and parish church, based on Nuneaton and St Nicolas parish church);
  • Shepperton (based on Chilvers Coton);
  • Paddiford Common (based on Stockingford, which at the time had a large area of common land including its parish Church of St Paul's);
  • Knebley (based on Astley; Knebley Church is Astley Church, while Knebley Abbey is Astley Castle);
  • Red Deeps (based on Griff Hollows);
  • Cheverel Manor (based on Arbury Hall);
  • Dorlcote Mill (based on Griff House);
  • The Red Lion (based on the Bull Hotel, now the George Eliot Hotel in Bridge Street, Nuneaton);
  • Middlemarch (based on Coventry);
  • Treby Magna (also thought to be based on Coventry);
  • Little Treby (thought to be based on Stoneleigh);
  • Transome Court (thought to be based on Stoneleigh Abbey).

Twin towns

The borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth is twinned with the following towns:

Notable people

Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery, Riversley Park, home of collection on writer George Eliot

Literature

Science and technology

  • John Barber (1734–1793), inventor of the gas turbine in 1791
  • John Birch (1867–1945), motorcycle manufacturer and designer
  • Richard K. Guy (born 1916), British mathematician and author

Media and the arts

Sports

Other

Districts and suburbs of Nuneaton

A 1961 1 inch = 1 mile series map. It covers the Hinckley-Nuneaton-Atherstone-Wolvey region.

Within the borough boundaries:

Outside the borough boundaries but often considered to be part of the town:

References

  1. ↑ OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : ISBN 0 319 46404 0
  2. ↑ "NUNEATON in Warwickshire (West Midlands) Built-up Area Subdivision". City Population. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Archived 1 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "2011 Census – Built-up areas". ONS. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 "The borough of Nuneaton". British History Online. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "A History of Nuneaton". localhistories.org.
  7. 1 2 3 Veasey, Ted, (2002) Nuneaton: A History. Phillimore & Co Publishing ISBN 978-1-86077-215-3
  8. ↑ Paterson, David, (2011) Leeke's Legacy: A History of King Edward VI School, Nuneaton. Matador Publishing ISBN 978-1-84876-746-1
  9. ↑ Lambert, Tim. "A Brief History of Coventry, England". Local Histories.org. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Bedworth Timeline". Bedworth Society. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "The day Nuneaton was bombed by the Germans - killing 130 people". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  12. ↑ "Election Results 2012, Local Council Results". BBC News. 19 April 2009.
  13. ↑ Bedworth society – Timeline Archived 7 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ "Election Results 2008, Nuneaton & Bedworth council". BBC News. 19 April 2008.
  15. ↑ The full electoral declarations can be found on the following sites: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/local_council/08/html/44uc.stm AND http://www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk/news/general-news/local-election-results
  16. ↑ 2010 Local Election Results
  17. 1 2 "Neighbourhood Statistics – home page". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  18. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 2". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  19. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 3". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  20. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 4". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  21. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 5". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  22. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 6". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  23. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 7". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  24. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 8". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  25. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 9". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  26. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 9". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  27. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 10". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  28. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 11". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  29. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 12". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  30. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 13". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  31. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 14". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  32. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 15". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  33. ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics 16". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  34. ↑ "Check Browser Settings". statistics.gov.uk.
  35. ↑ "Check Browser Settings". statistics.gov.uk.
  36. ↑ "Check Browser Settings". statistics.gov.uk.
  37. ↑ "Check Browser Settings". statistics.gov.uk.
  38. ↑ "Check Browser Settings". statistics.gov.uk.
  39. ↑ "Check Browser Settings". statistics.gov.uk.
  40. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 December 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  41. ↑ Davies, Madeleine (9 November 2012). "Welby confirmed as Williams's successor". Church Times. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  42. ↑ "Table Number KS209EW Religion, local authorities in England and Wales" (xls). United Kingdom Census 2011. Office for National Statistics. 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  43. ↑ "Coventry to Nuneaton rail upgrade given go ahead". BBC News. 14 December 2011.
  44. ↑ http://www.nuneatonbowlingclub.org.uk/
  45. ↑ "Museum and Art Gallery". Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  46. ↑ "Abbey Theatre". abbeytheatre.co.uk.
  47. ↑ "Nuneaton Carnival". nuneatoncarnival.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2007.
  48. ↑ "Our twin cities- Cottbus". www.cottbus.de. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  49. ↑ "Paul Best". Cricinfo.
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