Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of

Nuneaton and Bedworth Nuneaton and Bedworth is a local government district with borough status, in northern Warwickshire, England, consisting of the towns of Nuneaton and Bedworth, the large village of Bulkington and the green belt land inbetween. It had a population ...

in northern

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-Av ...

, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and

West Midlands County West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act ...

.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 census was 94,634, an increase from 86,552 at the 2011 census making it the largest town in Warwickshire. The author

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

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 ''Scenes of Clerical Life'' is George Eliot's first published work of fiction, a collection of three short stories, published in book form; it was the first of her works to be released under her famous pseudonym. The stories were first publis ...

'' (1858) depicts Nuneaton. There is a hospital named after her, The

George Eliot Hospital George Eliot Hospital is a single site hospital located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, it is managed by the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust. It provides a full range of emergency and elective medical services, including maternity services, to the loca ...

. There is also a statue of George Eliot in the town centre.

History

Early history

Nuneaton was originally an Anglo-Saxon settlement known as 'Etone' or 'Eaton', which translates literally as 'settlement by water', referring to the

River Anker The River Anker is a river in England that flows through the centre of Nuneaton. It is a major tributary of the River Tame, which it joins in Tamworth. The name of the river derives from an old British term for ''winding river''. From source t ...

. 'Etone' was listed 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 manus ...

as a small farming settlement with a population of around 150. In the early 12th century, the settlement came under the control of the

Beaumont family Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

, and in around 1155 Robert de Beaumont granted his manor of Etone to the French Abbey of Fontevraud, who established a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery here, which became known as

Nuneaton Priory Nuneaton Priory was a medieval Benedictine monastic house in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. It was initially founded by Robert de Beaumont and Gervase Paganell in 1153 at Kintbury in Berkshire as a daughter house of Fontevraud Abbey in Fr ...

. This led to Etone becoming known as Nuneaton. The nunnery was closed in 1539 during King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries, and subsequently fell into ruin. However part of the Abbey church was rebuilt in the 19th and early 20th century. Nuneaton obtained a

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

charter in around 1160 from Henry II which was reconfirmed in 1226, causing Nuneaton to develop into a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and become the economic focal point of the local villages. In 1485, the

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Au ...

, the last significant battle of the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

occurred around to the north-west of Nuneaton, across the border in nearby Leicestershire. King Edward VI School was established in 1552 by a royal charter by

King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. 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 A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In ...

had around 400 boys in the 1960s. In 1974 the

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

closed and was re-established as a

sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...

.Paterson, David, (2011) ''Leeke's Legacy: A History of King Edward VI School, Nuneaton''. Matador Publishing In 1543, Nuneaton was recorded as containing 169 houses, with a population of around 800, by 1670 this had grown to 415 households, with a population of 1,867, by 1740 this had risen further to 2,480.

The growth of industry

Ribbon weaving

In the mid-17th century, a

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

ribbon weaving industry became established in the local area which included Nuneaton, Bedworth,

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 b ...

and much of

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and ...

. This industry was enhanced by the arrival of French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

immigrants in the latter part of the century, who brought with them new techniques. This industry operated as a cottage industry, with the weavers working from top-shops; a type of building which was specific to the local area, and had living space in the two lower floors, and a workshop with very large windows on the top floor. This industry flourished for nearly two centuries, albeit with periodic booms and slumps. However, by the early 19th century the industry was struggling to compete against the

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...

produced textiles from northern manufacturers, and the local weavers strongly resisted adopting factory production methods as they valued their independence. Nevertheless, in 1851 46% of Nuneaton's workforce was still employed by the ribbon trade. The industry was finally wiped out after 1860 by cheap imports, following the

Cobden–Chevalier Treaty The Cobden–Chevalier Treaty was an Anglo-French free trade agreement signed between Great Britain and France on 23 January 1860. After Britain began free trade policies in 1846, there remained tariffs with France. The 1860 treaty ended tariffs o ...

, which removed duties on imported French silks. This caused a slump in the local economy which lasted nearly two decades.

Coal mining

Another major industry which grew in the local area was coal mining: as Nuneaton was located in the Warwickshire coalfield, mining was recorded locally as early as 1338, however the lack of efficient transport and primitive mining techniques kept the industry on a small scale. The industry did not start to develop on a larger scale until the 17th century, with the dawn of the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, which led to greater demand for fuel and technical advancement. A major problem was the drainage of water from coal pits as they were dug deeper. The use of a waterwheel to drive drainage pumps was recorded as early as 1683. The first recorded use of an atmospheric engine; a primitive form of steam engine to pump water from coal pits was recorded at Griff Colliery in 1714, this was the first recorded use of a steam engine in Warwickshire. Nevertheless, another major problem facing the industry was poor transport. Sir Roger Newdigate who owned several local coal mines developed a turnpike road to Coventry in the 1750s, which partially resolved this problem. Early on Newdigate recognised the potential of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

s as a means for transporting bulk cargoes. He developed a system of private canals on his land on the Arbury Estate from 1764 to transport coal and helped promote the

Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with th ...

, which opened from Coventry to Nuneaton in 1769, before being finally completed to Staffordshire in 1790. he also helped promote 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 Thames ...

. Ironically, the new canal system led to a decline in the Warwickshire coal industry after 1800, as it was exploited by Staffordshire coal producers to capture the local market. It would not be until the development of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

network in the 19th century that the coal industry would be exploited to its maximum potential. The first railway to reach Nuneaton was the

Trent Valley Railway The Trent Valley line is a railway line between Rugby and Stafford in England, forming part of the West Coast Main Line. It is named after the River Trent which it follows. The line was built to provide a direct route from London to North Wes ...

which opened in 1847, linking Nuneaton to the growing national railway network at Rugby and Stafford. This was followed by a branch line to Coventry in 1850. In 1864 a line was opened from Birmingham to Leicester via Nuneaton, and this proved to be the most important for the local economy, as it linked Nuneaton with the rapidly growing town (later city) of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

. Due largely to this, the local coal industry expanded rapidly in the latter half of the 19th century, with production from the Warwickshire coalfield expanding nearly tenfold between 1860 and 1913 from around 545,000 tons to over five million tons. The industry peaked in the early 20th century; in 1911 one third of the male workforce in Nuneaton were employed as miners. The industry, however, declined rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, with the last coal mine in Nuneaton closing in 1968, although Newdigate colliery at Bedworth lasted until 1982. The last Warwickshire coal mine at nearby

Daw Mill Daw Mill was a coal mine located near the village of Arley, near Nuneaton, in the English county of Warwickshire. The mine was Britain's biggest coal producer. It closed in 2013 following a major fire. It was the last remaining colliery in the W ...

closed in 2013.

Other industries

Nuneaton underwent a period of rapid growth from the 1880s onwards with the rapid development of an array of industries. These included brick and

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

making, brewing, the production of

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

s and leather goods. and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. At the time of the first national census in 1801 Nuneaton was one of the largest towns in Warwickshire, with a population of 5,135. By 1901 this had grown to 24,996.

Civic history

local board of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

had been set up in Nuneaton in 1848 to provide the town with necessary infrastructure such as paved roads, clean drinking water, street lighting and sewerage. The old

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 o ...

of Nuneaton included the settlements of Attleborough and

Stockingford Stockingford is a suburb of the town of Nuneaton, in the county of Warwickshire, England, about west of the town centre. Stockingford first appeared in records in 1157, named ''Stoccingford'', derived from the Old English ''Stocc''; to root up t ...

. The parish was joined with

Chilvers Coton Chilvers Coton is an area of the town of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England, around one mile south of the town centre. Chilvers Coton was historically a village and civil parish in its own right and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as � ...

parish in 1894 to form an urban district. Nuneaton was upgraded to the status of a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

in 1907, to which the parishes of Weddington and part of Caldecote were added in 1931. In 1974, the Municipal Borough of Nuneaton was merged with Bedworth Urban District to create the Borough of

Second World War

Nuneaton suffered heavy bombing damage during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

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.

Postwar to present

In 1947 the architect and town planner Frederick Gibberd was appointed to create a masterplan to redevelop the bomb damaged town centre. The redevelopment, which continued until the 1960s included the features typical of town planning from that era, including a new ringroad, indoor shopping centre, administrative centre and library. Nuneaton continued to expand in the latter 20th century. In the early postwar years the need arose for low-cost housing, and in response to this around 2,500

council house A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

s were built during the 1950s, the largest such development was at Camp Hill, where 1,400 new houses were built by 1956, while around 1,100 new council houses were built at new estates at Hill Top, Caldwell and Marston Lane by 1958. Following this, Nuneaton's expansion was largely driven by private developments at Weddington,

St Nicolas Park St Nicolas Park is a suburban area of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, central England. It is a large housing estate, built between the 1960s and the 1990s. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of Nuneaton, close to the A5 (Watling Street) and appr ...

, Whitestone and

Historic population

Geography

Nuneaton is north of

, east of

, south-west of Leicester and northwest of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.OS Landranger Map 139 : Birmingham & Wolverhampton: (1:50 000) OS Landranger Map 140 : Leicester, Coventry & Rugby: (1:50 000) The town centre lies south-west of the Leicestershire border (which is defined by the

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or B ...

the former Roman

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main ...

), south-east of Staffordshire, and south-south-east from

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

’s southernmost point. The

runs through the town. Nuneaton town centre was historically prone to regular flooding from the Anker, with especially bad floods in 1932 and 1968. This was relieved in 1976 by the construction of a flood relief channel. Nuneaton forms the largest part of the Nuneaton built-up area which also includes the large villages of Hartshill and

Bulkington Bulkington is a large village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Bedworth, in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : In the 2011 census the wa ...

. It had a population of 132,236 at the 2001 Census. In the 2011 Census it had a considerably lower population of 92,698 because

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbo ...

ceased to be defined as part of the urban area. On 19 July 2022, it recorded its highest ever temperature of 38 °C during the

2022 United Kingdom heat wave The 2022 United Kingdom heatwaves were part of several heatwaves across Europe and North Africa. The United Kingdom experienced three heatwaves; the first was for three days in June, the second for three days in July, and the third for six days ...

. Towns close to Nuneaton include Bedworth,

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire w ...

and

, with Tamworth, Rugby, Coleshill and Lutterworth a little further afield.

Districts and suburbs of Nuneaton

Within the borough boundaries: * Abbey Green * Arbury * Attleborough (including Maple Park) *

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

* Caldwell * Camp Hill * Chapel End (including The Shires) *

Galley Common Galley Common is a suburb of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. The community is a ward on the western fringe of Nuneaton and Bedworth district, on the border with North Warwickshire district, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 8,233. ...

Griff Griff may refer to: People * Griff (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Griff (singer), stage name of English singer and songwriter Sarah Faith Griffiths (born 2001) * Nickname of Guy Griffiths (1915–1999), British Second ...

* Grove Farm * Heath End * Hill Top * Horeston Grange * Robinson's End *

(including Glendale, Sunnyside, Black-a-Tree, Church Farm) * Weddington * Whitestone (including Crowhill) * Whittleford (including Poplar Farm, Hawthorn Common) Adjacent or adjoining places, some of which fall outside the borough boundaries: * Ansley *

* Caldecote * Hartshill

Politics

National

Nuneaton is part of the constituency of the same name in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. The constituency is currently represented by the Conservative Party

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP), Marcus Jones, who was first elected in the 2010 general election. From 1935 to

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, 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. Nuneaton Town Hall (2) 6

Local

There are two-tiers of local government covering Nuneaton; Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council as the lower tier and

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...

as the upper tier. Nuneaton is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

and so there is no tier of administration below the Borough council. Nuneaton and Bedworth council was once solidly controlled by the Labour Party, but has in more recent years become more changeable: It was Labour controlled from its creation in 1974, until the 2008 local elections, when the Conservatives gained control, ending 34 years of Labour rule. (''Further reading:'' 2008 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election) 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). In 2012 Labour gained a further 8 seats to regain overall control which they lost again to no overall control in 2018. In the May 2021 elections, the Conservatives once more gained a majority; winning ten seats from Labour and one from an independent.

Economy

Nuneaton's traditional industries like textiles, mining and manufacturing have declined significantly in the post-war years. Due to its transport links, Nuneaton is to some extent a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for nearby Coventry and Birmingham. However a relatively large number of businesses involved in the automotive, aerospace and engineering supply chains industries are active in the area. 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 in 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. An older shopping centre, the

Abbeygate Shopping Centre The Abbeygate Shopping Centre (sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'Abbey Gate Shopping Precinct') is a shopping centre in the town centre of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. It was first opened in the 1960s and was originally known as ''Heron Wa ...

in the town centre was first opened in the 1960s, and was formerly known as Heron Way. The European headquarters of

Holland & Barrett Holland & Barrett (H&B) is a multinational chain of health food shops with over 1,300 stores in 16 countries, including a substantial presence in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Mainland China, Hong Kong, India, ...

are based in the town, as is the UK head office of FedEx. While Bermuda Park, which is south of Nuneaton, is the location of the national distribution centres of

Dairy Crest Saputo Dairy UK Limited is a holding company for Dairy Crest Limited, a British dairy products company. It was created in 2019 when the Canadian company Saputo Inc bought Dairy Crest. Dairy Crest itself was created in 1981 as a spin-off of the ...

and

RS Components RS Group plc (formerly Electrocomponents plc) is a distributor of industrial and electronics products based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The company was foun ...

. Nuneaton is also the location of several international online marketing companies. In 2017 the Nuneaton and Bedworth borough was less prosperous than the rest of Warwickshire, reflecting the long established north–south divide in the county. The average annual workplace wage in Nuneaton and Bedworth was £21,981, the lowest in the county and below the Warwickshire average of £28,513 (and UK £28,296) although the productivity gap had narrowed with the rest of Warwickshire since 2009.

Religion

Nuneaton's name reflects the effect that

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

has had upon the town's history. Although the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery which gave the town its name was destroyed at the time of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, 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. Chilvers Coton contains All Saints' Church, where Mary Ann Evans (

) worshipped and

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for ...

, now Archbishop of Canterbury, served as a curate. This was badly damaged by bombing during the

, 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 The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 The Roman Catholic parish of St Anne, Nuneaton, in Warwickshire, England, serves the western side of Nuneaton and outlying villages towards Coleshill. The parish is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and a part of the Rugby De ...

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 Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Wesleyan Reform Union The Wesleyan Reform Union is an independent Methodist Connexion founded in 1859 and based in the United Kingdom. The Union comprises around one hundred individual self-governing churches in England and Scotland. Beliefs are set out in a nine po ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

, United Reformed and

Christadelphian The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the ...

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 Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. There is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

on Frank Street, Chilvers Coton and two

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

s (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. The Bahá'i Faith has been represented in Nuneaton and Bedworth since 1980 and the first Local Spiritual Assembly was formed in April 1982. The growing Bahá'i community has been supportive of educational and social issues, has encouraged multi faith events and organised 'Live Unity' concerts in Riversley Park and the BBC award-winning 'Walk of Faith', which visited the main religious venues listed above to promote a sense of the unity of religions.

Demographics

At the 2011 census there were 86,552 residents in Nuneaton in 37,317 households. The median age of Nuneaton residents was 39. In terms of ethnicity: *91.6% of Nuneaton residents were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

(Comprising 89.3%

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the native white population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population ...

, 1.8%

Other White The term Other White is a classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom and has been used in documents such as the 2011 UK Census to describe people who self-identify as white (chiefly European) persons who are not of the English, Welsh, ...

, 0.5%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 0.1%

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

). *6.2% were Asian (Comprising 4.4%

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, 0.5% Pakistani, 0.2% Chinese and 1.1% from another Asian background) *0.8% were

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

(Comprising 0.4% African, 0.3% Caribbean and 0.1% other Black) *1.1% were Mixed. *0.1% were

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

and 0.2% were from another ethnic group. In terms of religion, 63.5% of Nuneaton residents identified as Christian, 24.3% said they had no religion, 6.0% did not state any religion, 3.1% were Muslim, 1.2% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 1.2% were Sikh, 0.4% were Buddhists, and 0.4% were from another religion.

Transport

Road

The town is near the M6, the M42 and M69 motorways and the main A5 trunk road (

), which also acts as a border with Leicestershire and the neighbouring town of Hinckley. The A444 provides a high-speed

dual-carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

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.

Railway

The town has two railway stations. The main

Nuneaton railway station Nuneaton railway station serves the large town of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains. It is served by three railway lines: the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the Birmingh ...

, located near the town centre, is an important railway junction and is served by the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

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 was opened south of the town centre in 2016 on the line towards Coventry, as part of the NUCKLE (Nuneaton, Coventry,

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

and Leamington) rail upgrade scheme. Historically, Nuneaton was also served by Chilvers Coton station, Abbey Street station and Stockingford station. Chilvers Coton station was located on the Coventry line, a short distance north of the new Bermuda Park station, and was closed in 1965. Abbey Street station and Stockingford station were on the line towards Birmingham and were both closed in 1968. In January 2017, there were proposals to open a new station at Stockingford, at a different location from the former one, which could open by 2023. Warwickshire County Council have also proposed a new ''Nuneaton Parkway'' station between Nuneaton and

, which could open by 2034.

Bus

The principal operator around Nuneaton is Stagecoach in Warwickshire and the depot is located next to the fire station on Newtown Road, just west from the bus station.

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

also operate a number of routes around Nuneaton with buses running to Tamworth,

, Barwell, Leicester.

MIRA Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

, and

. Arriva Midlands also operate service 78 to Walsgrave Hospital, a service operated by Travel de Courcey until the company entered administration in 2020. In January 2020 NX Coventry announced an extension to Nuneaton on their 20 route from Coventry to Bedworth.

Canal

The

passes through Nuneaton, while the Ashby Canal skirts the town's south-eastern outskirts.

Recreation and culture

Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery Riversley Park

Nuneaton has two non-league football teams: Nuneaton Borough who play in the

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

and Nuneaton Griff who play in the

Midland Football League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History T ...

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 Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

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 3 West (South) Midlands 3 West (South) is a level 8 English Rugby Union league and level 3 of the Midlands League, made up of teams from the southern part of the West Midlands region including clubs from parts of Birmingham and the West Midlands, Herefords ...

league. The town is also the location of Nuneaton Bowling club, where flat green bowls is played. There are three main leisure centres in the town owned by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and managed by

Everyone Active Everyone may refer to: Television * "Everyone" (Skins series 1), episode 9 of series 1 of ''Skins'' * "Everyone", episode 1 of series 3 of ''Skins'' * "Everyone", episode 8 of series 4 of ''Skins'' * "Everyone" (Skins series 5), episode 8 of ...

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 Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

areas, a dance studio and

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

. *The Pingles Stadium – The Pingles Stadium was built in 1998. It has a 4,000 capacity with a 250-seater stand, athletics track, and football pitch. The stadium is home to Nuneaton Harriers Athletic Club, Nuneaton Griff Football Club and Nuneaton Triathlon Club. *Jubilee Sports Centre – The Jubilee Sports Centre is a sports hall. The hall is used for various sports including

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

five-a-side football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...

/indoor football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. 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 Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. 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 Riversley Park is an urban park in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England, which covers an area of and is located immediately to the south of the town centre, with the River Anker flowing through it. History The park was opened on 6 July 1907 on land ...

adjacent to the town centre. The museum includes a display on

. Eliot's family home Griff House is now a restaurant and hotel on the A444. The

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

is Nuneaton's only theatre and hosts a wide variety of performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring shows, musicals, pantomime and drama. Run solely by volunteers, the Abbey Theatre seats 250 plus space for wheelchair patrons. Nuneaton annually enters the

Britain in Bloom Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

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. Nuneaton was home to the smallest independent newspaper in Britain (the ''Heartland Evening News'') until it was purchased in 2006 by life News & Media. Public art in Nuneaton includes a statue of George Eliot on Newdegate Square, and the Gold Belt.

George Eliot's inspirations

Many locations in

'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

); *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).

Landmarks

A major local landmark in Nuneaton, which can be seen for many miles is Mount Judd which is a conical shaped former

spoil heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quan ...

, high made from spoil from the former Judkins Quarry. It is also known locally as the ''Nuneaton Nipple''. In May 2018 it was voted the best UK landmark in an online poll for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' newspaper, beating competition from the likes of the

Angel of the North The ''Angel of the North'' is a contemporary sculpture by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Completed in 1998, it is believed to be the largest sculpture of an angel in the world and is viewed by an estimated 33 m ...

and Big Ben. Another well known landmark is the Roanne Fountain, also known as the Dandelion Fountain, which sits in the middle of a roundabout in the town centre, it was built in 2000, and features 385 spraying arms which spray out 50,000 gallons of water per hour. In 2016 it was voted the 'UK Roundabout of the Year' by the Roundabout Appreciation Society, who stated that the town should feel "very proud for achieving such a high roundabout accolade."

Education

Primary

*Abbey CE Infant School, Abbey Green *All Saints' CE Primary School, Hill Top *Camp Hill Primary School, Camp Hill *Chetwynd Junior School, Whitestone *Chilvers Coton Community Infant School,

*Croft Junior School,

*Galley Common Infant School,

*Glendale Infant School, Heath End *Lower Farm Academy, Weddington *Michael Drayton Junior School, Hartshill *Middlemarch Junior School, Hill Top *Milby Primary School,

*Milverton House School, Attleborough *Nathaniel Newton Infant School, Hartshill *Nursery Hill Primary School,

Ansley Common Ansley is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : The parish includes the village of Ansley, Ansley Common, Church End, Ansley Hall, Birchley H ...

*Oak Wood Primary School (special school), Hill Top *Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Academy, Attleborough *Park Lane Primary School, Grove Farm *Queen's CE Junior School,

*St Anne's Catholic Primary School, Camp Hill *St Nicolas' CE Primary School,

*St Paul's CE Primary School,

*Stockingford Primary Academy,

*Weddington Primary School, Weddington *Wembrook Primary School, Attleborough *Whitestone Infant School, Whitestone

Secondary

* Etone College, Horeston Grange * George Eliot Academy, Hill Top * Hartshill Academy Hartshill *

Higham Lane School Higham Lane School is a Secondary school, secondary Academy (English school), academy school in Weddington, Nuneaton, Weddington, Nuneaton, England. Appointed in 2006, the school's headteacher is Nick Haddon. The school teaches students aged b ...

, Weddington * Nuneaton Academy, resulting from the merger of Alderman Smith School and Manor Park School),

*Oak Wood Secondary School (special school), Hill Top * St Thomas More Catholic School, Heath End

Further education

* King Edward VI College, Attleborough * North Warwickshire and Hinckley College,

* St Thomas More R.C. Sixth Form College, Heath End * Etone Sixth Form College, Horeston Grange * Higham Lane Sixth Form College, Weddington

Notable people

Literature

(1819–1880), Victorian novelist * A. J. Quinnell (1940–2005), English thriller novelist

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 (1916–2020), British mathematician and author * Henry Beighton ( 1687–1743). Engineer, cartographer and engraver.

Media and the arts

* Paul Bradley, (born 1955) actor (born in Nuneaton) * Ben Daniels, (born 1964) actor (born in Nuneaton) *

Gareth Edwards Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey". In 2003, in a poll of international ...

, (born 1975) film director, '' Monsters'', ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'' and the 2016 '' Star Wars'' standalone film, ''

Rogue One ''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by L ...

''. * Chris Emmett, (born 1938) comedian, notably appearing on ''

3-2-1 ''3–2–1'' was a British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, from 29 July 1978 to 24 December 1988, with Ted Rogers as the host. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called '' Un, dos, tres... res ...

'' * Eyeless In Gaza, post-punk duo, formed 1980 *

Fresh Maggots Fresh Maggots are a folk duo from Nuneaton, Warwickshire in England, consisting of Mick Burgoyne and Leigh Dolphin, who played a variety of instruments including guitars, glockenspiel, tin whistles and strings.''The Wire'', 2007, volumes 281-286 ...

, early 1970s folk/psychedelic rock group *

Larry Grayson Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Boon ...

, (1923–1995) comedian, entertainer and television presenter, long-term resident of Nuneaton. * Alan and Graham "Kidder" Hammonds, musicians,

Incredible Kidda Band The Incredible Kidda Band (aka The Kidda Band) were a British power pop band formed in Nuneaton on 10 February 1976, and composed of Alan Hammonds (guitars, vocals), Graham "Kidder" Hammonds (percussion, backing vocals), Dave 'Legs' Lister, (le ...

(grew up in Nuneaton and went to Alderman Smith and Manor Park Grammar School respectively) *

Jon Holmes Jon Holmes (born 24 April 1973) is a British comedian, writer, presenter and broadcaster known for his work on such programmes as ''The Now Show'', '' Listen Against'' (for BBC Radio 4), along with both music and spoken word radio. He has ap ...

, (born 1969) writer, comedian and broadcaster (grew up in Nuneaton) *

Conrad Keely Conrad Keely (born 15 May 1972) is a musician, artist, and writer known primarily as the lead singer for the American rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Background Born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England of Irish and Tha ...

, (born 1972) musician, born in Nuneaton *

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

, (born 1936) film and television director * Kate Quilton (born 1983) TV presenter (Food Unwrapped – Channel 4) * Justin Welch, (born 1972) drummer with Britpop band

Elastica Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by ex- Suede members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times ...

(1991–2001) and a drummer for

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...

in their formative years * Mary Whitehouse, (1910–2001) TV campaigner (born in Nuneaton)

Sports

* Ben Ackland, Irish cricketer (born in Nuneaton) * Julian Alsop, footballer *

Stuart Attwell Stuart Steven Attwell (born 6 October 1982) is an English football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. Attwell made a prominent debut in 2008 as the youngest person ever to referee in the Premier League. but was demoted from ...

, Premier League referee * Laura Bassett, Member of the 2015 WWC Bronze medal-winning England Women's National Football team * Paul Best, retired cricketer * John Curtis, footballer *

Matty Fryatt Matty may refer to: * Matty (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname, given name or surname * Matty, Hungary, a village in Baranya County * Matty Island, a Canadian arctic island * Former name of Wuvulu Island * Matty ...

, footballer * Andy Goode, Wasps RFC & England International Rugby Union Player * Wally Holmes, England international rugby union player *

Trevor Peake Trevor Peake (born 10 February 1957) is an English retired football player and coach. In his playing career he represented Nuneaton Borough, Lincoln City, Luton Town, and Coventry City, with whom he won the 1987 FA Cup. He went into coaching a ...

, footballer, 1987

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winner with Coventry City (born in Nuneaton) * Mick Price, snooker player * George Reader, football referee; officiated in the final game of the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

* Dean Richards, former England Rugby Union player and Rugby Union Coach (born in Nuneaton) * Nicki Shaw, a former member of the England Women's Cricket team (born in Nuneaton) * Andy Sullivan, golfer *

Adam Whitehead Adam James Whitehead (born 28 March 1980) is a male former breaststroke swimmer from Coventry, England. Swimming career Whitehead competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. There he was eliminated in the qualifying heats of the m ...

, Olympic swimmer * Peter Whittingham, footballer (born in Whitestone, Nuneaton) *

Nigel Winterburn Nigel Winterburn (born 11 December 1963) is an English former professional footballer, coach and current television personality for BT Sport. He played primarily as a left back from 1981 to 2003. He is best known for his role alongside the li ...

, retired footballer * Jake Dennis, racing driver * Jacob Blyth, football forward for Gateshead (born in Nuneaton)

Other

* Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK. * Ian Corder, UK Military Representative to NATO and Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey. * William Dorsey (1813–1878), doctor and Australian pioneer * Richard Freeman, cryptozoologist (born in Nuneaton) *

William Gadsby William Gadsby (1773–1844) was an English Baptist pastor. In addition to pastoring, Gadsby planted churches, and was an early leader of the Strict and Particular Baptist movement in England. Although he was not formally educated, Gadsby was r ...

, (1773–1844) an English Baptist pastor born in Attleborough who wrote many hymns. * Jeffrey Green, historian * Cecil Leonard Knox, soldier, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(born in Nuneaton)

Media

Radio

The local radio stations are: * BBC Coventry & Warwickshire: 104.0FM * The New 107 Oak FM (formerly Fosseway Radio): 107.9FM * Free Radio Coventry and Warwickshire (formally known as Mercia Sound and Mercia FM): 97.0FM *Anker Radio – which serves the

, but can be heard on 1386am & 88.9FM & Online *

BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Nicholas Place in Leicester. According to RAJAR, the station ...

can be received in the town on 104.9FM.

Written media

The main local newspapers are: *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 Reach plc, it is a paid-for

weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly n ...

, published every Wednesday.

Television news

The Nuneaton area is covered on regional TV News by: * BBC Midlands Today * ITV News Central

Twin towns

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

Roanne Roanne (; frp, Rouana; oc, Roana) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (Fre ...

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France * Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain *

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, Germany

References

Nuneaton history

Bibliography

External links

Nuneaton and Bedworth borough council
{{Authority control Towns in Warwickshire Unparished areas in Warwickshire Former civil parishes in Warwickshire Nuneaton and Bedworth