| Luddington | |
|---|---|
  Luddington Location withinWarwickshire | |
| Population | 475 in whole parish (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP165525 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Postcode district | CV37 |
| Dialling code | 01789 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Luddington/ˈlʌdɪŋtən/ is a small village andcivil parish in the English county ofWarwickshire and is part of Stratford-on-Avon district. The community is aconservation area due to its historic aspects.[2] In 2001, the population was 457, increasing to 515 at the2021 census.[3] It is located about 5 kilometres (3 miles) outside the town ofStratford-upon-Avon on the banks of theriver Avon and has views south over theCotswolds. Facilities and communications include aphone box, a 19th-century church,[4] apost box, amarina with a 17th-centurylock, avillage green and a recently refurbishedvillage hall originally built in 1953. Theparish encompasses DodwellCaravan Park to the north of the village. The village is reputed to be the meeting place ofAnne Hathaway andWilliam Shakespeare, as Anne was from the parish, and local lore states that they probably conducted their courtship in the area.
The highest recorded temperature was 33.2 °C (91.8 °F) on 3 July 1976 and 22 July 1989 and the lowest was −20.4 °C (−4.7 °F) on 14 January 1982.[5]
| Climate data for Luddington 47m amsl (1959-1989) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.7 (56.7) | 17.8 (64.0) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.1 (71.8) | 26.7 (80.1) | 32.5 (90.5) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.0 (91.4) | 29.4 (84.9) | 27.5 (81.5) | 17.2 (63.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 33.2 (91.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.4 (−4.7) | −11.9 (10.6) | −11.7 (10.9) | −5.6 (21.9) | −2.8 (27.0) | −1.1 (30.0) | 1.7 (35.1) | 1.7 (35.1) | −3.3 (26.1) | −4.0 (24.8) | −8.8 (16.2) | −17.9 (−0.2) | −20.4 (−4.7) |
| Source: Starlings Roost Weather[6] | |||||||||||||
The name Luddington is ofOld English origin meaning Luda's farmstead. Dodwell is also of Old English origin and means Dodda's well or spring. TheDomesday Book of 1086 states that the chief tenant at that time was the Count of Meulan,Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester; the hamlet consisted of "20 villagers, 9 smallholders, ... 9 ploughlands ... 5 lord's plough teams. 5 men's plough teams ... meadow 42 acres". The 29 households put Luddington "in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in Domesday".[7] In earlier centuries, the area had been occupied by the Romans who built roads and was part ofMercia from 500 to 874.[8]
The village was originally accessed via a road running from theEvesham road down through Dodwell, then an enclosed village with a half dozen houses and later, a deserted site.[9] This then continued through aford in the river toMilcote. This first part of this road is now a footpath and the second part no longer exists. The settled area was previously part of the Ragley estate belonging to theMarquis of Hertford. One of the oldest building in the village is part of the Grade II listed Boddington Farm, portions of which were built circa 1600, or earlier.[10] It marks the eastern boundary of the village's conservation area.
During theEnglish Civil War, Robert Simcock's (Simcox) barn was emptied of its "carefully stored" apples by marauding troops.[11] During the war, Royalist troops were billeted in the village.[12]
Other old buildings include Clover Cottage, which is now part of a row of three cottages thought to formerly be one single-floorthatched cottage that has been split by a builder in the 20th century. Evidence of Clover Cottage dating back to before the 16th century was found during a recent (2015) renovation of the thatch in which the whole thatch was removed and replaced. Other important buildings include Sandfields Farm (now Luddington Grange) with portions from the 17th century, TheManor and The Cottage (now named The Old House) with portions from the 16th century; all three are Grade II listed.
Luddington Manor was part of the Ragley Hall Estate; some sources indicate that this was possibly the home ofAnne Hathaway's family while others suggest that it was owned by relatives of the family. Lore in the area indicates that this was where playwright and poetWilliam Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway first met.[13][14] The Cottage's front garden is shown on some maps to have been the original site of All Saint's church; there is some "circumstantial evidence" that this was the site of the wedding of Shakespeare and Hathaway in 1582.[15] The current church, Grade II listed, was built in 1871–72 on a different site and is not the one that stood in the village in Shakespeare's time; the original building had been destroyed by fire, circa 1790.[16][17][18]
There are 14 Listed properties and numeroushalf-timbered buildings and four thatched cottages.[19]
The formerMethodistChapel was opened in August 1932, in a farm building owned by Thomas Higginson, a local farmer andMethodist Local Preacher.[20] Other more recent buildings have been allocated to the farm estates. Thevillage green was given over to public (Common land) by theMarquis of Hertford ofRagley Hall atArrow.
Luddington was home toLuddington Experimental Horticulture Station (EHS), one of several such establishments around the country undertaking field research for theAgricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS) of theDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Defra. The facility closed down circa 1990.[21]
The community is largely adormitory village,[22] with the majority of the inhabitants working elsewhere. Residence and community is the main activity within the village, with surrounding farms providing some employment opportunity. Regular transient workers living on the farm are encouraged to be involved in the village and this in 2015, there was even an "internationaltug-o-war competition, with finalistsLithuania vsBulgaria showing that Luddington is a truly welcome place to be.
Following the first suspectedH5N1 bird flu outbreak in theUnited Kingdom, when a dead swan was found inScotland, samples were sent to Luddington's now closed veterinary research facility for testing. Bomfords has frequently been at loggerheads with the village residents, who successfully took the company to court to prevent its very large goods vehicles driving through the village, resulting in a 7.5t limit on traffic and a massive reduction in the flow of vehicles. The Dodwell Trading Estate to the north of Luddington on the mainStratford-Evesham road, offers another source of employment and retail including bespoke joinery, antiques and unique homewares. Within the village, there is also afarrier and anorgan building and repair business, a finance company and a healthcare/medical devices producer.
The village has many events includingCarols on the Green onChristmas Eve with abrass band andmulled wine. There is an annual villagefête in the summer and regular social events includingAll Saints Armspub nights, quiz nights, the Arts Club, annual flower show, Luddflicks (cinema evenings) and dance classes in thevillage hall. Other activities includefishing,boating andcanoeing though there is no slipway. The route of theStratfordMarathon passes through the village and the villagers host a water station and toilet facilities at their homes and the hall. Dodwell Farm, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of the village hosts occasionalmotocross events during the summer.
Thecivil parish also includes the Dodwellcaravan park about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village proper. The construction of this park effectively doubled theparish's population and means that the parish has two separate centres of population.[23] Dodwell was originally a farminghamlet on theEvesham Road fromStratford toBidford west of Bordon Hill.
The young people of theparish all reside in the village proper with no children living in Dodwell. Those of school age tend to attend schools within theStratford-on-Avon district, usually either inStratford-upon-Avon orAlcester. There are few facilities for young people, apart from the swings on the green. There are no schools in the parish.
There are limited bus services for both the village and Dodwell, but not between the two, though the walk between the two is 10 minutes and the bus can take you to within a 5-minute walk.[24]
Located in: Stratford-on-Avon district
The earthworks include house platforms, hollow ways, enclosures and evidence of ridge and furrow.
this Grade II-listed property was also the home of the Hathaway family, relatives of William Shakespeare's wife, Anne
according to some historical maps, the manor is the former site of All Saints church where there is 'circumstantial evidence' (notes the village website) that Shakespeare and Hathaway tied the knot in 1582.
Grade II ... Church replaces one on site to north of village green, believed to have been the place of William Shakespeare's marriage
Two of the experimental stations to be closed, Rosewarne in Cornwall and Luddington in Warwickshire, do research on pesticides and give advice to farmers.
