Allesley is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 on the northwestern edge of the City of Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, about 3 miles (5 km) west of Coventry city centre. According to the 2001 census. the parish had a population of 805. Until recently it contained to a factory belonging to the car maker, Jaguar

Jaguar (car)

Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....

. Despite now being a suburb of Coventry, several original buildings have survived from when the area was a separate village.

Most of the old village, nearest the church, is a conservation area on a low ridge of high ground between the River Sherbourne

River Sherbourne

The River Sherbourne is a river that flows under the centre of the city of Coventry, West Midlands, England.The source of the river is in the fields of Hawkes End in the Parish of Allesley. From where it flows south continuing through the city centre, where it is mainly culverted, and through the...

 and the Pickford Brook, a tributary.

The Parish of Allesley

The Parish of Allesley is a much larger area that includes Allesley, and is based around Washbrook Lane and the top of Browns Lane via Hawkesmill Lane. The Parish incorporates the Ancient Ardens of Pinketts Booth, Pickford, Pickford Green, Harvest Hill, Hawkes End, Hollyberry End, Wall Hill, and Brownshill Green.

The suburbs of Allesley Park and Allesley Green lie to the south and west. Allesley Green

Allesley Green

Allesley Green is a modern suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands, England, within the civil parish of Allesley.The suburb lies west of the A45 road and is approximately north-west of Coventry city centre. Most of the housing dates from the late-1980s....

, built in the late-1980s, is the development a quarter mile southwest of Allesley on the west side of the A45 Coventry bypass. Allesley Park is the district developed in the 1950s and 1960s, to the east of the A45 and directly south of Allesley. Allesley Village is the area east the Birmingham Road including West Point. Allesley Village is not much more than a suburb of Coventry, but retains several aspects of a separate village. The combined population of the three main districts is approximately 4,000 residents. Being situated on the outer northwest periphery of Coventry, access to Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, Solihull

Solihull

Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

 and the National Exhibition Centre

National Exhibition Centre

The National Exhibition Centre is an exhibition centre in Birmingham, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and Birmingham International railway station. It has 20 interconnected halls, set in grounds of 628 acres making it the...

 from Allesley is relatively easy.

History

Allesley grew around the 800-year-old All Saints Church, the spire of which is prominent on the skyline of the village. Originally built around 1130, it was rebuilt in 1863 and remains relatively unaltered since then. The noted writer on husbandry, Walter Blith

Walter Blith

Walter Blith was an English writer on husbandry and an official under the Commonwealth.-Family:Blith was baptised in Allesley, Warwickshire, as the fourth and youngest son of John Blith , yeoman, a prosperous cereal and dairy farmer, and Ann, daughter of Barnaby Holbeche of Birchley Hall, Fillongley...

, was baptised there on 7 August 1605.

The Birmingham Road which runs through the village, is part of the main road built between 1828 and 1831 by Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

 from Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

 to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. A toll house originally stood at the junction of the Holyhead Road and Allesley Old Road, and users of the Holyhead or Turnpike Road were charged a toll as a means of contributing towards the cost of building the road. Around 1930, the charges were discontinued and the toll house was demolished in the mid 1930s.