Harborough Magna is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. The civil parish which also contains the nearby

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Den ...

s of Harborough Parva and Cathiron, had a population of 502 at the 2011 Census, decreasing to 481 at the 2021 Census. Harborough Magna is located around four miles northwest of

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 ...

on the B4112 road, and is part of the

borough of Rugby The Borough of Rugby is a local government district with borough status in eastern Warwickshire, England. The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town. The borough ha ...

. The

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...

lies about one mile north of the village, and the

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in 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 the River Tha ...

about one mile south. Harborough Magna was to be the site of a

motorway service station Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The vas ...

, first planned in 1975, on the M6 (the partially constructed slip roads are visible between the B4112 and Montilo Lane bridges), but the allocated site was too small, and the plans were scrapped in 1980. Harborough Magna 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

as ''Herdeberge''. For many years the main source of employment in the village were

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s near the canal at Cathiron. The village has a mixture of old and modern housing. There are a number of old houses in the village, some dating to the 17th century, and a pub known as the Old Lion (formerly known as the Golden Lion) which dates from the 18th century, and which was rebuilt following a fire in 1986. There is a village church dedicated to All Saints.Allen, Geoff. (2000). ''Warwickshire Towns and Villages'', Sigma Leisure. , Pages 60-61 The hamlet of Harborough Parva, a short distance to the south of Harborough Magna, was historically a separate settlement, which was within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Newbold-on-Avon until 1931. The two Harboroughs are now adjoined, and practically form a single entity. Around one mile north-east of the village, within the parish is the St Mary's nursing home for the elderly. It was originally built in 1912 as an isolation hospital. Despite its remote location, between 1949 and 1983 it was a

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most o ...

, and served as the only one in the

area until this service was moved to St Cross Hospital.

References

* Wright, Aileen. (no date, c. 2003) ''Changing Years in Harborough Magna''

External links

Harborough Magna Parish CouncilHarborough Magna entry on Our WarwickshirePhotos of Harborough Magna and surrounding area on geograph
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire