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
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 ...
,
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. It is situated 6 miles (8.8 km) south-east of
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 8 miles (12.1 km) west of Rugby. The 2001 census recorded a population of 1,672 in 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 ...
organic gardening
Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety pres ...
Ryton plant
The Ryton plant is a former car manufacturing plant in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, England. Developed by the Rootes Group as a shadow factory in 1939 to produce aircraft engines for World War II; post war it became the headquarters of the group.
Ta ...
) was a key feature of the village for more than sixty years. It was situated between the A45 (on the north-east) and the A423 (on the south-west) 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 ...
. The south-east of the factory site bordered with Ryton-on-Dunsmore village. The factory was originally constructed by the
Rootes Group
The Rootes Group was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. From headquarters in the West End of London, the manufacturer was based in the English Midlands, Midlands and the distribu ...
in 1940 to build aircraft engines during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war it became the headquarters of the Rootes Group, but when the organisation entered financial difficulties in the 1960s, the company (in stages) and thus the plant was taken over by the American car manufacturing giant
Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
.
Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
itself entered financial difficulties, and sold the plant for a symbolic US$1.00 to
PSA Peugeot Citroën
Peugeot S.A., trading as Groupe PSA () (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles and motorcycles under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhal ...
in 1978, and from this stage, all cars produced at the plant were badged as Talbots, reviving an old brand name to replace the Chrysler brand in Britain, and the Simca name on the
continent
A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
. Peugeot started building its 309 there on 28 October 1985, and by the end of 1987, it had been joined by the 405. This followed a decision by Peugeot in 1985, to phase out the Talbot brand, but to retain the old
Rootes Group
The Rootes Group was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. From headquarters in the West End of London, the manufacturer was based in the English Midlands, Midlands and the distribu ...
and Simca factories, for the production of Peugeot badged cars.
Peugeot 309 production was switched to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1989, with the plant briefly becoming a one model plant for production of the 405, but the 306 joined in the end of 1992, and for a while was the mainstay of production after the 405's demise in the autumn of 1995. The estate model was not axed until 1997, but had always been produced in France, and Peugeot had decided to produce the 405's successor (the 406) in France. The second production line was revived over the summer of 1998, with the commencement of production of the
206
Year 206 ( CCVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Umbrius and Gavius (or, less frequently, year 959 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 206 for this y ...
, and the 206 was the only car produced at the plant, after the end of production of the 306 in the spring of 2001. Peugeot had also decided to produce the new 307 in France rather than at Ryton.
In January 2004,
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
decided not to manufacture the
207
Year 207 (Roman numerals, CCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 960 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...
in Ryton, thus leaving the factory in danger of being shut down. In February 2004, the 1,000,000th
206
Year 206 ( CCVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Umbrius and Gavius (or, less frequently, year 959 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 206 for this y ...
rolled off the production line. In April 2006, Peugeot decided that the Ryton plant would close during July 2007. In October 2006, however, Peugeot announced it will close its plant six months sooner than expected. In the event, it closed on 12 December 2006, and the site was sold to developer Trenport Investments Ltd for industrial use in March 2007. Demolition of the plant began on 12 November 2007. In October 2012,
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
acquired the site from Prologis, and constructed a haulage distribution centre. The centre opened the following year, and serves as a hub for the ''National Delivery Service'' for Network Rail.
cyborg
A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Kevin Warwick grew up in the village in the 1960s, and attended the local
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 ...