Hillmorton
| Hillmorton | |
| Warwickshire | |
|---|---|
 Oxford Canal at Hillmorton | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 52°21’20"N, 1°13’19"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5,276 (2011[1])) |
| Post town: | Rugby |
| Postcode: | CV21 |
| Dialling code: | 01788 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Rugby |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Rugby |
Hillmorton is an ancient parish in Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Northamptonshire, that forms a suburb of the town of Rugby, comprising much of the eastern half of the town.
Before Rugby spread to the east, Hillmorton was a separate village. At one time a market was held in Hillmorton, and remnants of the old village green still remain. The market began in 1265 when a charter was granted to Thomas de Astley but was abandoned by the mid 17th century.[2]
The village was formed by amalgamation of two settlements: Hull and Morton: The former being the part on high ground, the latter being the part on lower ground where the church of St John the Baptist stands, and where the canal runs through. Morton was mentioned in the Domesday Book as land that belonged to Hugh de Grandmesnil. The church of St John the Baptist is the oldest building in the locality with the oldest parts dating from the 13th century.[2] It is now Grade-II listed.[3]
Hillmorton is the ancestral home of a U.S. president, James Garfield, his ancestor, Edward Garfield, having immigrated to America from this village in around 1630.[4]
The Oxford Canal was built around Hillmorton in the 1770s, where a flight of three locks known as 'Hillmorton Locks' was constructed. Later the London and Birmingham Railway was constructed around Hillmorton in the 1830s.[2]
Hillmorton was subsumed by the growth of Rugby in the early 20th Century, and was annexed by Rugby corporation in 1932, effectively becoming a suburb of the town.[2]
In the 1940s, Hillmorton was home to a notorious character Unity Mitford; socialite and close friend of Adolf Hitler, following her return to Britain following a failed suicide attempt. She stayed with a local vicar and his family under close supervision.[5][6]
Most of Hillmorton consists of 20th-century housing estates, although a some older buildings survive near the old village green.[2]
To the east of Hillmorton was the former Rugby Radio Station, which opened in 1926, and contained radio masts 820-ft high. For many years this was a major landmark, until 2007, when the last masts were demolished.[7][2]
The main secondary school serving the area is Ashlawn School.
References
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hillmorton) |
- ↑ "Rugby Ward population 2011". http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13696140&c=hillmorton&d=14&e=62&g=6471914&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1451318505997&enc=1. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Parishes: Hillmorton". British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol6/pp108-114. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1035023: CHURCH OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
- ↑ "Edward Garfield, "The Immigrant"". Geni.com. https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Garfield-The-Immigrant/3931422262400122418. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ↑ "When Adolf Hitler confidante Unity Mitford came to stay". BBC News. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-39304317. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ↑ "The truth behind Hitler's spurned lover". Rugby Advertiser. http://www.rugbyadvertiser.co.uk/news/the-truth-behind-hitler-s-spurned-lover-1-1480889. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ↑ "RUGBY RADIO STATION A short history". Our Warwickshire. https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/rugby-radio-station-2. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
