Long Itchington is a large village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and 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...

 in the Stratford-on-Avon district

Stratford-on-Avon (district)

Stratford-on-Avon is a local government district of southern Warwickshire in England.The district is named "Stratford-on-Avon" to distinguish it from its main town of Stratford-upon-Avon where the district council is based, although this name often causes confusion .The district is mostly rural and...

 of 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...

. In the 2001 census it had a population of 2,161. The village is named after the River Itchen

River Itchen, Warwickshire

The River Itchen flows through east Warwickshire in England. It is a small river, about long, and its general course is from south to north....

 which flows to the south and west of the village.

Long Itchington is located around two miles north of Southam

Southam

Southam is a small market town in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509 in the town.The nearest sizeable town to Southam is Leamington Spa, located roughly 7 miles to the west...

 upon the A423 road

A423 road

The A423 road is a primary A road in England which leads from central Banbury to the A45 near Coventry. It starts in Banbury town centre as Southam Road and goes through the Southam Road Industrial Estate, then just north of Banbury it crosses over the M40, from there it passes close to several...

. Just south of the village is the Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

.

Long Itchington is mostly made up of 20th century developments, but includes several historic buildings, including the half-timbered "Tudor House" on the main road. Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

 is said to have stayed there in 1572 and 1575. The old "Manor House" in the Square dates from the 15th century.

St Wulfstan, said to have been born in Long Itchington around 1012, became Bishop of Worcester

Bishop of Worcester

The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. He is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury...

 in 1062. Other notables born in the village include the journalist Tom Hilditch

Tom Hilditch

Tom Hilditch is an award-winning journalist and magazine editor based in Hong Kong.He grew up in Warwickshire, England and was educated at Princethorpe College and Manchester University...

.

The village was once served by the former Weedon

Weedon Bec

Weedon Bec , usually just called "Weedon", is a large village and parish in the district of Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. It lies close to the source of the River Nene.-Geography:...

 to Leamington Spa

Leamington Spa

Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

 railway line. The village station was on the outskirts on the road towards Southam, and was therefore known as Southam and Long Itchington railway station

Southam and Long Itchington railway station

Southam and Long Itchington railway station was a railway station that served the villages of Southam and Long Itchington in Warwickshire, England...

, but this closed to passengers in the late 1950s. Part of the old railway line has been converted into a cycleway as part of the National Cycle Network

National Cycle Network

The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...

.

South of the village is a former cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

 works which runs all the way from the outskirts of the village to very near the entrance to Southam, it closed in the late '90s but still remains in place. Quarry

Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...

ing at the site however still continues. Opposite the old cement works is a small Model Village

Model village

A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, in most cases built from the late eighteenth century onwards by industrialists to house their workers...

which was built to house the workers.

External links

• http://www.longitchington.org.uk/ Official Long Itchington Parish Council Website