Marton is a village 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 ...

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 ...

. The parish is within 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 ...

and in the 2011 Census' had a population of 484. The

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 ...

of Marton Moor lies south of the village. Marton is on the

A423 road The A423 road is a primary road, primary A roads in Great Britain, A road in England in two sections. The main section leads from central Banbury to the A45 road (Great Britain), A45 near Coventry. Route It starts in Banbury town centre as ...

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 ...

and Southam. To the north of the village is the

River Leam The River Leam () is a river in England which rises at Hellidon Hill in Northamptonshire then flows through Warwickshire, including the town of Leamington Spa, named after it. It then flows into the River Avon near Warwick, which flows into ...

and just to the west the River Itchen joins the Leam. Due to its proximity from these two rivers, parts of the village have periodically suffered from

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. Marton 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

as ''Mortone''. In the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

it was a place of some importance, as it was the centre of a

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 ...

named ''Meretone''. By the late 12th century this had become part of the hundred of Knightlow. Just north of Marton is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

bridge over the

known as Marton Bridge, which was built in 1414 by a locally born merchant called John Middleton. In 1928 a modern bridge was effectively built over the top of the medieval one, and it was hidden from view. However, in 2000 a new bridge was built alongside and the old bridge was uncovered and restored. The old bridge now carries pedestrians, while the modern bridge carries road traffic. Another point of interest in Marton is the Marton Museum of Country Bygones which has a collection of old agricultural implements. The village church of St Esprit 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, H ...

listed. Marton used to have a a railway station on the former Rugby to Leamington Spa line, which was about half a mile south of the village, but this closed in 1959. There was also a junction called Marton Junction further south from the village, where the Rugby to

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 ...

railway joined the Leamington to Weedon route.

References

*''Warwickshire Towns & Villages'', by Geoff Allen (2000)

External links

Village website
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire