Blackdown is a

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. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Warwick district Warwick is a local government district in Warwickshire, England. It is named after the historic county town of Warwick, which is the district's second largest town; the largest town is Royal Leamington Spa, where the council is based. The district ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England. Blackdown is about two miles north of

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

, between Leamington,

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, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

. According to the 2001 Census, it had a population of 128. From the 2011 Census, population details are included with

Old Milverton Old Milverton is a hamlet east of Warwick and north west of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England, and situated in a bend of the River Avon. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 319. Hamlet It lies at an altitude of 60–65 metr ...

. It is named ''Blakedon'' in William Dudgale's ''Antiquities of Warwickshire'' in 1656 as a district within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Lillington, and as having a mill on the River Avon. Blackdown Mill on Wooton Road is

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed.Antiquities of Warwickshire Illustrated, Sir William Dudgale, pub. 1656; p204 https://archive.org/stream/antiquitiesofwar00dugd#page/202/mode/2up Blackdown Manor is a Grade II listed house on Kenilworth Road: built in the 17th century, it was remodelled in the 19th century. Just outside the hamlet is Quarry Park Disc Golf Club which is one of only 17 courses in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and was the venue for the 2008 UK championships as well as being due to host the 2009 championships. Old Leamingtonians, the town's

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and Leamington Royals (

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

) also play home games on the edge of the village.

References

Hamlets in Warwickshire {{Warwickshire-geo-stub