Brandon is a small village in
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
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Along with nearby
Bretford, it forms part of a joint
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 ...
of
Brandon and Bretford. Administratively it is part of the
borough of Rugby
The Borough of Rugby is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough comprises the town of Rugby where the council has its headquarters, and the rural areas surrounding the town. At the 2021 census the ...
. The
River Avon passes just to the east of the village. Brandon is located upon the
A428 road between
Coventry
Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
, to the west, and
Rugby, to the east. Just west of Brandon is the suburban village of
Binley Woods and to the east is the hamlet of
Bretford.
Brandon is separated from the much larger village of
Wolston by
a railway viaduct, but the two villages practically form a single entity. The railway viaduct dates from 1837 and was part of the original
London and Birmingham Railway,
which is now part of the
Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line, which runs across the parish; railway station operated here until 1960.
The village contains a number of old
cottages and has a
pub near the railway line. Just to the north of the village is
Brandon Stadium, also known as the Coventry Stadium, which was used for
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida.
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta.
*Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
racing,
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
,
and
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
before being sold with the intention of house-building on the site. The stadium was home to the
Coventry Bees
Coventry Bees are a motorcycle speedway team that existed from 1929 to 2018. They raced at Brandon Stadium, Brandon, Warwickshire, Brandon near Coventry, England. They are eight times champions of Britain.
History Origins and 1920s
The firs ...
speedway team. West of the village is
Brandon Marsh, a
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
with a wide variety of wildlife, especially pondlife. The reserve's visitor centre was opened in 1998 by
Sir David Attenborough.
Also to the west and north of Brandon Marsh is
Brandon Wood, a community woodland owned and managed by a local group the Friends Of Brandon Wood.
A grassy mound marks the remains of
Brandon Castle, which is found to the south of the village. The castle was built in the 12th century by the de Verdon family. It was garrisoned in 1195, but was relatively short lived, as it was said to have been ‘pulled down’ in 1265 by the baronial troops from
Kenilworth Castle, because John de Verdon was an active supporter of the king.
References
External links
Brandon MarshBrandon Wood
- Brandon Wood Website
Brandon archives - Our Warwickshire
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Villages in Warwickshire