| Baginton | |
|---|---|
 View along Coventry Road, Baginton, with the Coventry city centre skyline about 4 miles away in the distance. | |
  Baginton Location withinWarwickshire | |
| Population | 741 (2021) |
| OS grid reference | SP3474 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | KENILWORTH |
| Postcode district | CV8 |
| Dialling code | 024 |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Baginton is a village andcivil parish in theWarwick district ofWarwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City ofCoventry /West Midlands county.[1] With a population of 741 (2021 Census), Baginton village is 4 miles (6.4 km) south of central Coventry, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) northeast ofKenilworth (its post town) and 7 miles (11 km) north ofLeamington Spa. The population had reduced slightly to 755 at the2011 Census.[2] The Lucy Price playing field is situated centrally in the village.
Coventry Airport (built 1936), theLunt Roman Fort and the ancient "Baginton oak" tree are within the village, whilst theMidland Air Museum is just outside Baginton. The road from Baginton to southernCoventry (the city'sFinham district) passes over theRiver Sowe near an old mill, which now is inhabited by arestaurant andhotel called The Old Mill. Baginton is often misspelt / mispronounced as 'Bagington'. However, Baginton is not quite contiguous with Coventry.
Baginton was populated since at least theIron Age, and theDomesday Book of 1086 records that in the 11th century, Baginton consisted of 15 households and a mill.Baginton Castle was built around 1397 on the site of a house built during the 6th century, and 15th-16th century earthworks from the former village also survive.
In December 2019,Roman andAnglo-Saxon artifacts, includingpottery,jugs, andjewelry, were unearthed from burial grounds by archaeologists led by Nigel Page. The team of researchers believed that two of the graves belonged to a "high-status" rank officer and a Roman girl aged 6–12 years old. Findings from the Romancremation burial site of a young girl included fourbrooches, a ring with an image of acicada and ahair pin.[3][4][5]
Baginton is the site ofCoventry Airport, which lies just southeast of the village. First opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome, it has been used forgeneral aviation, flight training and commercial freight and passenger flights. It had a grass surface for aeroplanes to land and take off.[6] With theSecond World War it became a fighter airfield. By October 1941,No. 308 Polish Fighter Squadron was located at Baginton.[7] TheMidland Air Museum on Rowley Road is adjacent to the northern boundary of Coventry Airport.
The remains of the ancientRomanLunt Fort have been found in Baginton on the north side of the village. Parts of the fort were reconstructed in the 1970s, and it has become a popular site for school visits, as well as holding activity days during the summer. The Church ofSt John the Baptist is situated in the old part of Baginton. A scenic footpath starts near the church and leads toStoneleigh. Baginton is the site of an oldoak tree which is often called theBaginton oak. It is about 300–350 years old and is thought to be one of the oldest trees inWarwickshire. A nearbypublic house is called The Oak.
Henry Percy was imprisoned atBaginton Castle following his sonHarry Hotspur's defeat at theBattle of Shrewsbury.[8] The ruin that can be seen is of a late fourteenth-century house, but it is not well known due to its location in an area of woodland on private land. If Baginton Castle did exist here before this house, there is no sign of its ruins. Baginton Castle and Fish Ponds constitute aScheduled Monument.[9] The vestiges of the castle are aGrade II listed building.[10] The site was opened to the public in 2009.[11]
.JPG)
