Honiley
Encyclopedia
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...
of Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall
Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall
Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall is a civil parish in the Warwick District of Warwickshire, England. It was created in 2007 by the merger of the former civil parishes of Beausale, Haseley, Honiley and Wroxall. At the 2001 census it had a population of 565...
, in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, 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...
. It is 2.5 miles from Kenilworth
Kenilworth
Kenilworth is a town in central Warwickshire, England. In 2001 the town had a population of 22,582 . It is situated south of Coventry, north of Warwick and northwest of London....
, and 5.5 miles from 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...
on the A4177. According to the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
, the parish of Honiley had a population of 62. The parish was merged with adjoining parishes in 2007.
The village contains a medieval moat, an upmarket hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and a small business park
Business park
A business park or office park is an area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. All of the work that goes on is commercial, not industrial or residential....
. A little to the north-east of the village is a vehicle proving ground
Proving ground
A proving ground is the US name for a military installation or reservation where weapons or other military technology are experimented or tested, or where military tactics are tested...
, which was once a Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
airfield. Opened in May 1941 the airfield was originally called RAF Ramsey but was renamed RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire seven miles southwest of Coventry, England. The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, is presently subject to planning permission from the Prodrive Formula One team for...
three months later. It ceased to operate in March 1958 and the buildings were demolished in 1960 although new ones have replaced them. Honily is also a major waypoint for aircraft, as it contains an VOR
VHF omnidirectional range
VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...
station.
Honiley was once famous for its two wells
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
, which both had links to the village church of St. Johns (built 1723). If a man and a woman produced a child out of wedlock
Wedlock
Wedlock may refer to:* Marriage* Wedlock , an album by Sunburned Hand of the Man* Wedlock , directed by Lewis Teague* Billy Wedlock, an English footballer* Fred Wedlock, an English folk singer...
the two were to go to village wells (the men to St John's well, the women to Our Lady's well) and bathe. After that they were to crawl to the church to the statue of St John and ask for forgiveness. The village was, for a while at least, a small centre of pilgrimage.