Whitnash
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Whitnash is a town 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 ...
located southeast of, and contiguous with
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 ...
and
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 ...
in
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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In 2001, it had a population of 7,629 which increased to 9,129 in the 2011 census.


History

Whitnash 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 ''Witenas'', by 1326 it had become ''Whitenasshe'' meaning 'white ash'. As Whitnash is generally thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon ‘at the white ash’ other derivations have included ‘place by the wood’, ‘sacred ash’ or the 'meeting place of the wise'. Whitnash has likely been settled since
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
times. According to tradition, just east of the town there was a Celtic fortification in a field known as “Castle Hill Field”. The parish church of St Margaret's is of
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
origin, and stands on a mound which may have been a
pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
site, it was largely rebuilt between 1855 and 1880 to designs by Sir
George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...
. Whitnash at one time had a holy well, located around 400 metres east of the town. According to a local legend, a church bell was dropped accidentally into the well when it was being taken there to be consecrated, according to the legend, the bell then gained the ability to foretell the future; at night time people would drop a stone into the well and ask a question. Then at daybreak it would give its answer: one ring for yes and two for no. The bell is commemorated in Whitnash's municipal crest. Whitnash was for most of its history a small village, the population in 1931 was 586. Some older
half timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
buildings dating from the 17th century still remain around the historical core, including the ''Plough and Harrow'' inn. Dramatic population growth began during the second half of the 20th century. Reflecting its much larger size, in 1978 Whitnash became a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
through the resolution of its parish council; thenceforth the parish council became a
town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
.


Town centre

Whitnash does not have a well defined town centre as such; with
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 ...
town centre only 2 miles to the north, a central district for Whitnash never developed, and the town expanded residentially only, around the small historic core around St. Margaret's Church. Whitnash has three neighbourhood shopping areas around Coppice Road, Heathcote Road /Acre Close and Home Farm Crescent. Other facilities include a community hall, a library and an information centre. In November 2021, the Town Council completed development of its new Civic Centre and Library, which has the Town Council office, library, conference room and sports hall suitable for badminton and other recreational activities.


Education

There are four
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
s in the town. Whitnash Primary, St Joseph's RC Primary, St Margaret's Middle School and Briar Hill First School. There are no
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s located in Whitnash, but the state schools Campion School,
Myton School Myton School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form. Most students live locally, although the school attracts students from outside the priority area. The school is located on Myton Road in the town of Warwick in Warwickshire, Englan ...
and
Trinity Catholic School Trinity Catholic School is a mixed Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. Following an Ofsted inspection in 2009, the school was given a Grade 3 (satisfactory) rating for its overall performanc ...
name Whitnash as being within their priority areas.


Politics

Since 1983 all the town's seats on
Warwick District Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. It borders the Borough of Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands County (of which Coventry and Solihull are within the historic ...
Council have been held by The Whitnash Resident's Association and its predecessor The Ratepayer's Party. The Residents' association has also held the town's seat on Warwickshire County Council for many years. The Residents Association also holds all seats on the Town Council.


Recreation

At the Whitnash Sports & Social Club, there is a petanque club (http://www.whitnashpetanque.co.uk/) and Lawn Bowls club. Whitnash Sports and Social club is the new home of the
Leamington Royals Leamington Royals are a rugby league team based in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. They play in the Midlands Rugby League Division Two. History Leamington Royals were formed in 2009. The club were accepted into the Midlands Rugby L ...
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
team, who represent
Royal 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 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 ...
and the surrounding areas in the Midlands RL Conference. Whitnash Town FC is the local
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club. The Leamington and County golf club is also within the parish.


Local Media

Whitnash has a free quarterly news pamphlet called the ‘Whitnash Tymes’ posted to every residence in the town. Usually entailing messages from the mayor and local authorities, listings, local business advertisements, local news, and events.


Twin towns

*
Weilerswist Weilerswist () is a municipality in the district of Euskirchen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Eifel hills, approximately 10 kilometers north of Euskirchen, and 20 kilometers south-west of Cologne Colog ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
*
Villebon-sur-Yvette Villebon-sur-Yvette (, literally ''Villebon on Yvette'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France, about 20 kilometers south of Paris. Thanks to the presence of the business centers of Courtaboeuf and Grand ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...


References


External links


Whitnash Town CouncilWhitnash archives
- Our Warwickshire {{authority control Towns in Warwickshire