Exhall is a suburban village in the

Nuneaton and Bedworth Nuneaton and Bedworth is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Warwickshire, England. It includes the towns of Nuneaton (where the council is based) and Bedworth, as we ...

borough 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.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : It forms part of the Coventry and Bedworth urban area and is contiguous with the

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 ...

suburb of

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...

and the village of Hawkesbury Village.

History

Historically, the parish of Exhall (which extends from Black Bank in Bedworth to the north of Holbrooks in

) had no clear centre, instead being composed of a number of

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

, such as Black Bank, Hayes Green, Exhall Hall Green, Wagon Overthrow, Little Bayton, Ash Green, Neal's Green and Newland. Although Exhall is not mentioned specifically 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, it would have probably formed part of lands owned by

Lady Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

in Ansty and Foleshill. In any case, the parish was probably inhabited from at least the 13th century, as the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of St Giles's church appear to date from this period, with the

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

added in the 14th century. Although the area remained largely rural until recent times,

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

were attested from the early 17th century onwards. During the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

, activities such as coal-mining and brick-making were further developed, leading to an increase in the population of 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 ...

, and consequently the construction of many small houses for workers. These were mainly located along what is now Black Bank/

Road Exhall, in Ash Green and in Goodyers End in Bedworth (part of which is included in the parish of Exhall). In 1868, the main industry in the parish – in common with towns such as

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

and Coventry – was

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

-making. Saunders Manor was located on the outskirts of Exhall (on the site near Springfield Crescent) before being demolished. From the 1930s onwards, Exhall became more residential in character, with the construction of numerous

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex, housing development, subdivision (land), subdivision or community) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to count ...

s, both social (e.g. the Armson Road/Grant Road estate at Hayes Green) and private (e.g. the Cedars Estate). Today the eastern area of Exhall is dominated by the large Bayton Road Industrial Estate which harbours around 200 businesses. On 19 February 1949 two aircraft collided at 4,500 ft near Exhall. The wreckage fell near an old people's home, the Exhall Lodge

Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

. There were no survivors. In the 1960s, a large

industrial estate An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

was created in the east of Exhall, bordering the Coventry-Nuneaton line, at Bayton Road. Other industrial areas were subsequently developed at Black Horse Road and Grovelands (off Longford Road). Today, the name Exhall applies principally to the area immediately south of

Bedworth Bedworth ( or locally ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : It is situated between Coventry, 6 miles (9.5 km) to the south, and Nuneaton, to th ...

(centred on Black Bank and

Road Exhall), with Ash Green retaining a somewhat separate identity – a fact accentuated by the construction of the Bedworth Bypass ( A444) in 1970 and the final section 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 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

in 1971. Even today, Ash Green remains more rural than Exhall, with a number of farms still in operation (e.g. Exhall House Farm, Grange Farm, Newland Hall Farm, Barker's Farm).

Governance

From 1451 to 1842, Exhall was a

in the Liberty of Coventry, which was geographically in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Knightlow in the county of

, but administratively separate. Following the abolition of the Liberty of

, the city boundary was revised, with Exhall excluded. With the passing of the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

, which established urban and rural districts in

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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, Exhall formed part of the Foleshill Rural District, up until the creation of the

urban district in 1928, to which it was transferred. In 1931 the parish had a population of 4,426. On 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Bedworth and Coventry. Following

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

reorganisation in 1974, Bedworth urban district was merged with

municipal

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

to form the new borough of Nuneaton (renamed Nuneaton & Bedworth in 1980). For electoral purposes, Exhall is split (at both borough and county level) along Black Bank/Coventry Road Exhall/Longford Road. At

level, western Exhall is covered by Exhall

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 ...

(together with Ash Green and Keresley End), while western Exhall is covered by Poplar ward (together with Coalpit Field and the southern part of Furnace Fields). Each ward is represented by two borough

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s, who are elected for a four-year term by halves. At county level, western Exhall is covered by the Bede division (which also includes the area covered by the borough ward called Bede), while eastern Exhall is covered by the Poplar division (which is identical to the borough ward of the same name). Ash Green and Keresley End, however, are included in the

West division, along with part of Bedworth Heath and Goodyers End. Each division elects one county councillor for a four-year term.

Geography

Exhall is an area 1.5 miles (2.5 km) south of

town centre, north-northeast of

and south of

. Though contiguous with the Bedworth

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

(and effectively a southern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of the town), its post town remains Coventry, given the CV6 and CV7 postcodes. Road signage indicating Exhall is scarce and is only found in and around southern Bedworth. The population of the

taken at the 2011 census was 8,006. It is bounded by a disused mineral railway (that used to serve Newdigate

Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

) to the north, the Coventry-Nuneaton Line to the east, Pickards Way (B4113 spur) and the

to the south, and Church Lane/

Bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

Green Lane and the River Sowe to the west. The area makes up the eastern part of the ecclesiastical

of Exhall St Giles.See the "Find Us" tab on th
parish page for Exhall St Giles
on the Church of England's "A Church Near You" website However, the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Giles is located on the northeastern edge of nearby Ash Green (which forms the western part of the parish). The River Sowe and 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 the ...

are the principal waterways in the area.

Amenities

Exhall has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and a number of small shops and

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, mainly on Black Bank/

Road Exhall, with some local shops on Trelawney Road and Exhall Green/

Windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

Road.

Rugby

Football Club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

has its ground at

Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

Fields (between Rectory Drive and Smarts Road), and there is a large

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

at Heckley Fields (between Heckley Road and Windmill Road).

Education

Educational establishments at Exhall are: * Exhall Cedars

Infant School An infant school is a type of school or school department for young children. Today, the term is mainly used in England and Wales. In the Republic of Ireland, the first two years of primary school are called infant classes. Infant schools were ...

& Nursery, a state school for pupils aged 2 to 7, in Trenance Road * St Giles

Junior School A junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at an infant school, which covers the age range 5–7. Since both infant and junior schools provide pri ...

, a state school for pupils aged 7 to 11, in Hayes Lane * The Grove

Nursery School A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin c ...

, a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for children aged from 2 months to 5 years * Wheelwright Lane

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, a state primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11, in Wheelwright Lane Before the reorganisation of schools in northern

in 1996, there was another school in the area, Exhall

First School Three-tier education refers to those structures of schooling, which exist in some parts of England, where pupils are taught in three distinct school types as they progress through the education system. Terminology In a three-tier local educa ...

(on the corner of School Lane and Exhall Green). This school merged with Cedars First School to form Exhall Cedars

(on the Cedars site), and the old Exhall First School building is now a

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

. The

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

for the area is Ash Green School, In July 2012, the school was formally recognised as a provider for Post 16 education. The

Sixth Form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

Centre opened in September, 2012 and accommodates students studying AS,

A Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

courses and BTEC courses. Exhall Grange School, a school for students who are

visually impaired Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

and have other disabilities, can be found in the area. The school achieved Specialist Science College status in 2003.

References

{{authority control Populated places in Warwickshire Former civil parishes in Warwickshire Bedworth