Birdingbury is a village and civil parish in the

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

district of Warwickshire, England, just south of the

River Leam The River Leam (), anciently Leame, etc, is a river in England which rises at Hellidon Hill in Northamptonshire then flows through Warwickshire, including the town of Leamington Spa, named after it. It then flows into the River Avon near Warw ...

, and not far from

Draycote Water Draycote Water is a reservoir and country park near the village of Dunchurch, south of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, owned and operated by Severn Trent Water. It draws its water from the River Leam, and supplies drinking water to Rugby and ...

. It is located roughly halfway between

and

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 ...

, about eight miles from each. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 327, increasing to 362 at the 2011 Census.

History

The village was recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Derbinggerie''. It was given to the

Monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the 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 city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

Leofric, Earl of Mercia Leofric (died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was an Earl of Mercia. He founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. Leofric is most remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva. Life Leofric was the son of Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce, ...

. The village appears as ''Birbury'' on the

Christopher Saxton Christopher Saxton (c. 1540 – c. 1610) was an English cartographer who produced the first county maps of England and Wales. Life and family Saxton was probably born in Sowood, Ossett in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

map of 1637. Birdingbury today consists mostly of 20th century developments, but Birdingbury Hall dates back to the early 17th century, and was rebuilt in Jacobean style in the mid to late 19th century following a major fire, it is a grade II listed building. The current St Leonard's Church in the village dates from the late 18th century, but was enlarged in 1873. It is also grade II listed. Birdingbury once had a railway station, about a mile north of the village centre, it opened in 1851 and closed in 1959, on the former Rugby to Leamington Spa line, which has been partly converted into a

cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...

as part of the National Cycle Network. It was announced in March 2021 that the Lias Line cycle route improvements, passing through Birdingbury as Cycle Route 41, were to commence in Mid 2021, with completion by the Summer of 2022. The development will transition the majority of the route onto traffic-free sections of the former railway line, with the first phase beginning near

References

* Allen, Geoff, (2000) ''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'',

External links

Birdingbury Village website

Birdingbury Club website

Birdingbury's entry on Our Warwickshire
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire