Walsgrave on Sowe
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Walsgrave on Sowe, or simply Walsgrave, is a suburban district situated approximately north-east of central
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 ...
, West Midlands, central England. Although it now experiences very little flooding, it was built on marshlands. However, due to urban growth, it is now an outer suburb of Coventry, south-west of the villages of Ansty and
Shilton Shilton may refer to: Places *Shilton, Oxfordshire, England *Shilton, Warwickshire, England **Shilton railway station, a former station Other *Shilton (surname) *Earl Shilton, a town in Leicestershire, England *Chilton (disambiguation) *Shelton ( ...
. Walsgrave on Sowe neighbours the Potters Green, Clifford Park, Woodway Park,
Wyken Wyken, a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands, England, is situated between the areas of Stoke and Walsgrave, three miles east-northeast of Coventry city centre. The population of this Coventry Ward taken at the 2011 census was 16,818. It is a ...
, Henley Green and Mount Pleasant areas of Coventry, and is in the Henley
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of the city, although Walsgrave-on-Sowe was formerly in the Wyken Ward prior to ward changes made in 2003 by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE).


History

Walsgrave has reputedly been in existence for approximately 1,000 years. The first mention of a chapel in Walsgrave-on-Sowe (then known as Sowe) was in 1221. It is likely that the chapel would have been built after 1086, as there is no reference 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 ...
of a priest serving the area. St Mary's Church currently stands on the site of the former chapel. The original graveyard for the church was covered over and now forms the slope in front of the church, facing onto the main road. Walsgrave grew into a sizeable village commercially based around agriculture and coal mining. Plans for incorporating Walsgrave within the boundaries of Coventry were proposed in the late 1920s, and Walsgrave gradually lost its individual identity owing to new road development, the replacement of much of its older buildings and houses with new housing schemes, and the eventual closure of the pit (Craven Colliery, sited off Henley Road). However, an old weaver's cottage lay directly opposite St Mary's Church; subjected to fire and weathering, it was restored a number of times but still stands as a reminder of the village's origins. (This cottage became derelict and has now been demolished and now incorporates a row of new cottages). Additional older buildings that still stand can be found on the Hinckley road just east of the war memorial, along Hall Lane and School House Lane and along Woodway Lane close to the former Craven Arms
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
.


Economy

Walsgrave lies south of the M6 and M69 interchange and has a growing commercial area including a
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call centre,
Lloyds Pharmacy LloydsPharmacy is a British pharmacy company. It has around 17,000 staff and dispenses over 150 million prescription items annually. It is owned by the Aurelius Group. It was formerly owned by the American McKesson Corporation. Overview The co ...
Head Office and several other companies important to Coventry. Opposite Paradise Way is the Walsgrave Triangle Retail Park and Cross Point Business Park. Here there is a
Premier Inn Premier Inn is a British limited service hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, with more than 72,000 rooms and 800 hotels. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports competing with the like ...
, Brewers Fayre restaurant named Cross Point,
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...
, a large
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
store, a
Frankie & Benny's Frankie & Benny's (now trading as Frankie's) is a chain of Italian-American-themed restaurants in the United Kingdom run by The Restaurant Group. , it had 90 outlets nationwide. History In 1924, at the age of 10, Frankie Giuliani left Sicily wit ...
restaurant, a
Nando's Nando's (; ) is a South African multinational fast casual chain that specialises in flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken. Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outlets in 30 countries. Their logo (also seen as a sort of ...
, Showcase Cinema and several more business offices and warehouses.


Infrastructure


Health

Coventry's PFI hospital,
University Hospital Coventry University Hospital Coventry is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital situated in the Walsgrave on Sowe area of Coventry, West Midlands, England, north-east of the city centre. It is part of the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwi ...
, replaced the buildings of the former Walsgrave Hospital. This hospital has a helipad, and receives a large number of patients from all over the Midlands.


Education

Primary Schools within the area are Sir Frank Whittle, Walsgrave CoE Primary School and SS Peter and Paul RC Primary. Nearby schools include Potters Green Primary, there are two secondary schools which are Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School and Grace Academy, formerly known as Woodway Park School and Community College.


Transport

The area is served by
National Express Coventry National Express Coventry is a bus operator providing services in Coventry. It is a subsidiary of National Express operating on the operators licence of National Express West Midlands. History In October 1986 the bus operations of the West ...
bus routes 1, 3, 8, 85, 20A & 20C, Stagecoach 703, 60 & 585 and
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 ...
routes 74, 78 & X6. The Stagecoach and Arriva services along with National Express Coventry service 85 were operated by Travel de Courcey until the company entered administration in August 2020. Walsgrave is the location for junction 2 of 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 ...
where it meets the
M69 Motorway The M69 is a dual three lane dual carriageway motorway in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, England. It runs between junction 21 of the M1 near Leicester and junction 2 of the M6 near Coventry. It opened in 1977. History The motorway, also kn ...
. The area is by-passed by the A46.


Sport

A short lived greyhound racing track was opened as 16 November 1929 on the Cowley Road. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. History The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the ...
) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The racing finished on 22 July 1937.


References

*Albert Smith and David Fry: (1991). ''The Coventry We Have Lost''. Vol 1. Simanda Press, Berkswell.


External links


Article about Walsgrave-on-Sowe
on ''
British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Univer ...
'' {{coord, 52, 25, N, 1, 26, W, display=title, region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Suburbs of Coventry