Warwickshire

Warwickshire (pronounced either /?w????k???/ or /?w????k????/) is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in central England. The county town is Warwick. The shape of the administrative area Warwickshire differs considerably from that of the historic county. Commonly used abbreviations for the county are Warks or Warwicks.

Geography

Warwickshire is bounded to the northwest by the West Midlands metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to the northeast, Northamptonshire to the east, Oxfordshire to the south, and Gloucestershire to the southwest (all of which were created in the local government reorganisation of 1974), and Worcestershire (created in the local government reorganisation of 1996) to the west.

Related Topics:
West Midlands - Metropolitan county - Staffordshire - Leicestershire - Northamptonshire - Oxfordshire - Gloucestershire - 1974 - Worcestershire - 1996

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The bulk of Warwickshire's population lives in the north and centre of the county. In the centre and west of Warwickshire lie the prosperous towns of Leamington Spa, Warwick, Kenilworth, and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Related Topics:
Leamington Spa - Warwick - Kenilworth - Stratford-upon-Avon

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The north of Warwickshire is generally less well known, and has traditionally been industrial, with towns such as Atherstone, Bedworth, Nuneaton and Rugby whose traditional industries include (or included) coal mining, textiles, cement production, and engineering.

Related Topics:
Atherstone - Bedworth - Nuneaton - Rugby - Coal mining - Textiles - Cement - Engineering

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The south of the county is largely rural and sparsely populated, and includes a small area of the Cotswolds. The only town in the south of Warwickshire is Shipston-on-Stour. The highest point in the county, at 261 m (856 ft), is Ebrington Hill on the border with Gloucestershire, GR SP187426.

Related Topics:
Cotswolds - Shipston-on-Stour - Ebrington Hill - Gloucestershire

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The largest towns in Warwickshire as of 2004 are: Nuneaton ( pop. 77,500), Rugby (62,700), Leamington Spa (45,300), and Bedworth (pop 32,500).

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Historically much of western Warwickshire, including the area now forming part of Birmingham and the West Midlands, was covered by the ancient Forest of Arden (although most of this was cut down to provide fuel for industrialisation in the 17th to 19th centuries). For this reason, the names of a number of places in the northwestern part of Warwickshire end with the phrase "-in-Arden".

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Traditional boundaries

Areas traditionally part of Warwickshire include Coventry, Solihull, and most of Birmingham. These became part of the West Midlands metropolitan county following local government re-organisation in 1974.

Related Topics:
Coventry - Solihull - Birmingham - West Midlands - Metropolitan county - 1974

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Since 1986 Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull have been effective unitary authorities, but they still remain legally part of the West Midlands.

Related Topics:
1986 - Unitary authorities

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Some organisations, such as Warwickshire County Cricket Club, which is based in Edgbaston, in Birmingham, still observe the traditional county boundaries.

Related Topics:
Warwickshire County Cricket Club - Edgbaston - Traditional county

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Coventry is effectively in the centre of the Warwickshire area, and still has strong ties with the county. Coventry and Warwickshire are sometimes treated as a single area and share a single NHS trust as well as other institutions.

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Coventry has been an administrative part of Warwickshire for only some of its history. In 1451 Coventry was separated from Warwickshire for some purposes and made a county corporate in its own right, called the County of the City of Coventry. In 1842 the county of Coventry was abolished and Coventry was re-merged with Warwickshire.

Related Topics:
1451 - County corporate - County of the City of Coventry - 1842

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The town of Tamworth was historically divided between Warwickshire and Staffordshire, but since 1888 has been fully in Staffordshire.

Related Topics:
Tamworth - Staffordshire - 1888

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In 1931, the administrative county of Warwickshire gained the town of Shipston-on-Stour from Worcestershire and several villages, including Long Marston and Welford-on-Avon, from Gloucestershire.

Related Topics:
1931 - Administrative county - Shipston-on-Stour - Worcestershire - Long Marston - Welford-on-Avon - Gloucestershire

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