Barford 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

district of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England, about three miles south of

. As at the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,171, that increased to 1,336 at the 2011 census. The Joint parish council also runs the villages of Sherbourne and

Wasperton Wasperton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 153. It is on the east bank of the River Avon and is some south of the town of Warwick which is easily acc ...

. In March 2014 ''"

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

"'' listed the village as one of the Top 10 places to live in

The Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

. In the village there are two pubs, a hotel with swimming pool, and a village shop owned and run by the community. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

primary school that is in the village is called ''"Barford St. Peters"''. The

University of Warwick Boat Club The University of Warwick Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Warwick. It club was founded in 1967 and as of 2019 has over a hundred members. It rows out of a boathouse on a 3.5 km stretch of the River Avon, Warwickshire. It ...

trains on the River Avon at Barford. Barford is served by

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

bus routes X18 and 18A which link it with

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

, Warwick and

Stratford Upon Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-wes ...

. The M40 motorway is just 1.5 miles from the village, with

and

Warwick Parkway Warwick Parkway is a railway station with Park and Ride facilities on the western outskirts of Warwick in Warwickshire, England. It also serves the village of Budbrooke. The station is owned by Network Rail and Warwickshire County Council. Wa ...

railway stations just over 4 miles away.

History

Barford is 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as a fair-sized settlement situated in the hundred of Tremlowe and in Warwickshire.

Notable people

Joseph Arch Joseph Arch (10 November 1826 – 12 February 1919) was an English trade unionist and politician, born in Barford, Warwickshire, who played a key role in unionising agricultural workers and in championing their welfare. Following their enfranc ...

(1826–1919), first president of the

National Agricultural Labourers Union The National Agricultural Labourers Union (NALU) was a trade union representing farm workers in Great Britain. Foundation The union's origins lay in a meeting at Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, held in February 1872. Joseph Arch, a well-known ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP. One of the two pubs in Barford is named after him. * Annie Butler (4 June 1897 – 28 September 2009),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

supercentenarian A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

, who, at the age of 112, was the second-oldest person in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

until her death in 2009. *

John Fairfax John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia. Early life Fairfax was bo ...

(24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877), English-born journalist, is notable for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. *

William Ivens William Ivens (June 28, 1878 – June 20, 1957) was a religious and political figure in Manitoba, Canada. He was a leading figure in the Winnipeg General Strike,, and subsequently served as a Labour member of the Manitoba legislature from 1920 ...

(1878 – 1957), a religious and political figure in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. *

Wenman Wykeham-Musgrave Wenman Humfrey "Kit" Wykeham-Musgrave (1899–1989) was a Royal Navy officer who has the possibly unique distinction of having survived being torpedoed on three different ships on the same day. He was born on 4 April 1899 at Barford, Warwick ...

(1899–1989), a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who survived being torpedoed on three different ships on the same day in the action of 22 September 1914.

In Fiction

C. P. Snow Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow, (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclope ...

's novel ''

The New Men ''The New Men'' is the sixth novel in C. P. Snow's series '' Strangers and Brothers''. Plot synopsis Lewis Eliot, his brother Martin, and Cambridge fellow, Walter Luke become involved with the scientific community and reaction to the developmen ...

'' the story's main location is a fictional early British nuclear experimental establishment based in Barford where the characters try to get an early nuclear pile going and also try to harvest enough enriched

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

to try and beat the Americans to the bomb. As Snow’s science researchers, and science civil servant, characters are, or were, portrayed as

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

dons in this book (and the previous book in the series - The Masters) he clearly did want to make the location of the research station the real United Kingdom nuclear Centre at

Harwell Harwell may refer to: People * Harwell (surname) * Harwell Hamilton Harris (1903–1990), American architect Places * Harwell, Nottinghamshire, England, a hamlet *Harwell, Oxfordshire, England, a village **RAF Harwell, a World War II RAF airfield, ...

with its close association with

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. So instead, as this line from the novel puts it,: “For a site, they picked on a place called Barford –which I had not heard of, but found to be a village in

, a few miles from Stratford-upon-Avon”. Several commentators claim, or suggest, that not only is the research station fictional but so is the village Barford. However clearly Snow was thinking of the real Barford which is indeed not far from Stratford-upon-Avon. If the “final” version of the research station as described in the last chapter of the book was real its size would certainly have more than dominated the real village of Barford.

References

External links

Barford community websiteBarford cricket club
* {{authority control Villages in Warwickshire Civil parishes in Warwickshire Warwick District