Wolston Priory

Wolston is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England. The village is located approximately midway between Rugby and Coventry, with a population of 2,692 at the 2021 census. It is close to the A45 road and the Roman road the Fosse Way. The River Avon flows through the village. Near the river are the remains of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, Brandon Castle. A Benedictine priory, Wolston Priory, was sited to the east of the village and its earthwork remains are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The village has two churches: the parish church of St Margaret's and Wolston Baptist Church. The ancient parish of Wolston was large, and included Wolston itself, plus the nearby villages of Brandon and Bretford to the north, and Stretton-on-Dunsmore and Princethorpe to the south. The latter two became a separate parish in 1696, whilst Brandon and Bretford became a separate civil parish in 1866.Wolston once had a railway station, Brandon and Wolston railway station on the Rugby-Coventry line, but this was closed in 1960. One of the most notable features in the village is the railway viaduct crossing the Avon, which dates from the 1830s and was part of the original London and Birmingham Railway. The viaduct separates Wolston from the smaller village of Brandon. The two shared a football team "Brandon & Wolston Football Club". They no longer have a senior men's team but they still run a junior club. The village contains a primary school (Wolston St Margarets Primary C of E School). St Margaret's Primary was originally in School Street, but that building is now used as offices. Wolston also used to have a secondary school called Wolston High School, but it was knocked down and replaced with a community centre. Wolston has a small library, two pubs (The Rose & Crown & The Half Moon), a convenience store, a pharmacy and a local doctors surgery. Near to Wolston is the community-owned Brandon Wood. In geology, the village gives its name to the Wolstonian Stage, a British regional subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch.

Brandon is a small village in Warwickshire, England. Along with nearby Bretford, it forms part of a joint civil parish of Brandon and Bretford. Administratively it is part of the borough of Rugby. The River Avon passes just to the east of the village. Brandon is located upon the A428 road between Coventry, 5 miles (8.0 km) to the west, and Rugby, 6 miles (9.7 km) to the east. Just 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Brandon is the suburban village of Binley Woods and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the east is the hamlet of Bretford. Brandon is separated from the much larger village of Wolston by a railway viaduct, but the two villages practically form a single entity. The railway viaduct dates from 1837 and was part of the original London and Birmingham Railway, which is now part of the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line, which runs across the parish; Brandon and Wolston railway station operated here until 1960.The village contains a number of old cottages and has a pub near the railway line. Just to the north of the village is Brandon Stadium, also known as the Coventry Stadium, which was used for speedway racing, greyhound racing, and stock car racing before being sold with the intention of house-building on the site. The stadium was home to the Coventry Bees speedway team. West of the village is Brandon Marsh, a 228-acre (0.92 km2) nature reserve with a wide variety of wildlife, especially pondlife. The reserve's visitor centre was opened in 1998 by Sir David Attenborough. Also to the west and north of Brandon Marsh is Brandon Wood, a community woodland owned and managed by a local group the Friends Of Brandon Wood. A grassy mound marks the remains of Brandon Castle, which is found to the south of the village. The castle was built in the 12th century by the de Verdon family. It was garrisoned in 1195, but was relatively short lived, as it was said to have been ‘pulled down’ in 1265 by the baronial troops from Kenilworth Castle, because John de Verdon was an active supporter of the king.

Brandon Castle was sited overlooking the River Avon between the virtually adjacent villages of Brandon and Wolston in Warwickshire which in turn lie between the town of Rugby and city of Coventry (grid reference SP408759). It was originally a 12th-century earthwork motte and bailey fortress founded by Geoffrey de Clinton. Around 1226 the de Verdon family founded the stone castle consisting of the keep and a large outer enclosure. It is said to have been 'pulled down' (slighted) by the baronial troops from Kenilworth Castle in 1265 because John de Verdon was an active supporter of the king. Only low earthworks and some masonry are now visible. The site is a scheduled ancient monument. It has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register due to the risks from scrub and tree growth and its condition is declining.

Brandon and Bretford is a civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England. It contains the village of Brandon and the smaller hamlet of Bretford. Both are within 1½ miles of each other, along the A428 road. In the 2001 Census the parish had a population of 588, increasing to 643 at the 2011 Census, and again to 675 at the 2021 census.The parish is long and narrow in shape, and extends from Bretford to the border with Coventry, it covers Brandon Marsh as well as Brandon Wood. The River Avon crosses the parish, as does the Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line, which crosses the Avon on a viaduct. west of this, Brandon and Wolston railway station operated here until 1960. The area was historically part of the parish of Wolston. Brandon and Bretford became a separate civil parish in 1866.

Brandon and Wolston railway station was a railway station serving the villages of Brandon and Wolston in the English county of Warwickshire. The original Brandon station was built by the London and Birmingham Railway and was the only one between Coventry and Rugby. It was replaced by a new station nearby, Brandon and Wolston, in 1879.There were small sidings on each side of the double track, with a goods shed on the up. For each, until 1903, there were wagon turntables, with track between them passing at right angles across the running lines. Although this was a common arrangement for small wayside stations, the LNWR had removed them elsewhere before 1880. At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. There was a fairly substantial timber-built booking office on the up platform, and a footbridge, as was required by the Inspector of Railways for stations built at that late date. The LNWR provided only five trains a day in each direction, less than a third for stations at that time and in that area. By 1938 the LMS was providing about a dozen trains a day but this trade virtually disappeared after the war. The station never generated a great deal of business and was closed on 12 September 1960. The signal cabin which had survived, possibly since 1879, was closed when Rugby power box was opened in September 1964.

Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Saturday of the month from April through to November. From 1978 until early 2016 it intermittently hosted greyhound racing. As of 2022, it is closed and has become dilapidated after several fires, including an arson attack.

The 29th Division War Memorial is a war memorial beside the junction of the A45 and the B4455 near Stretton-on-Dunsmore, near Rugby, Warwickshire. It commemorates the service of the British 29th Division during the First World War. The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1987, upgraded to Grade II* in 2015, and it is described by Historic England as "probably the most significant single memorial in Britain associated with the Gallipoli campaign".

Bretford is a hamlet in the Borough of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Brandon and Bretford.

Knightlow Hundred was a hundred of the county of Warwickshire in England, formed in the 12th century out of the Domesday hundreds of Bomelau (Bumbelowe), Stanlei, and Meretone. It covered the eastern part of the county, including Coventry, Bedworth, Rugby, and Leamington. It was one of four hundreds of Warwickshire, alongside Barlichway, Kington and Hemlingford. It contained four subdivisions, those of Kenilworth, Kirby, Rugby and Southam.

Binley Woods is a suburban village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. The village lies marginally beyond the eastern outskirts of Coventry, outside the formal city boundaries. Binley Woods is within the Borough of Rugby, although the town of Rugby is around 7 miles (11 km) to the east. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 2,665.The village is 5 miles (8 km) east of central Coventry, on the A428 road, east of the junction with the A46 road. The small village of Brandon lies 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the east, with the larger village of Wolston a further one-half mile (0.8 km) to the south.

Stretton-on-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. Its population in the 2001 Census was recorded as 1,143, rising slightly to 1,159 at the 2011 Census. In the 19th century the population was 634. The village is situated just south of the A45 road, approximately midway between Rugby and Coventry. Administratively, Stretton is part of the borough of Rugby. Stretton means "settlement on a Roman Road" (from the Old English stræt and tun). In this case the road is Fosse Way. This site is referred to in the Domesday Book.

Coombe Country Park is a country park located in Warwickshire, England. The park is only 4.5 miles (7.5 km) east of Coventry city centre and is managed by Coventry City Council. The park has been developed from the grounds of an old Cistercian abbey, the buildings of which have now been converted into the Coombe Abbey hotel. In the 18th century the landscape of the park was designed by Capability Brown making it an historically important site for the region, however evidence dates back to occupation in the area to the Romans. The eldest daughter of James VI and I, Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia was also educated at Coombe Abbey, and there are links to Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The statue in the lake, 'Fisherman and Nymph', is by Percy George Bentham. The park now contains 500 acres (2.0 km2) of woodlands, formal gardens, arboretum, open grasslands and lake. It has a visitor centre equipped with a Cafe, Gift shop, Crafty cat ceramics and Woodturners workshops. It also has a climbing forest, bird hide, summer wild flower meadow and an extensive events programme.