Long Lawford is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire, England, located just west of Rugby, around west of Rugby town centre. in 2001 the parish had a population of 2,863, increasing to 3,180 at the 2011 census.
Geography
The village is situated on a ridge overlooking the valley of the River Avon to the north. It is one of four Lawfords in the locality, and is named long because, historically, the village ran along the road between Rugby and Coventry. The other three Lawfords are Church Lawford, to the west, Little Lawford to the north, and Lawford Heath to the south. The village sits just north of the A428 road between Rugby and Coventry. The Rugby to Coventry railway line runs through the village, but it has never had its own station.
History
Recent archaeological excavations have found evidence that Long Lawford has been used as a settlement for 2000 years. Excavations of a Celtic Iron Age Village uncovered an iron age sword. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book referred to as Lelleford. By 1332 the name was recorded as Longa Lalleford. Long Lawford and Little Lawford were anciently within the parish of Newbold-on-Avon, but both became separate civil parishes in the 19th century. The monks of Pipewell were the lords of the manor for over 400 years from 1160, until the monasteries were dissolved, and then their lands here were granted to Edward Boughton in 1542. The Rouse-Boughton family established themselves at nearby Little Lawford Hall, and dominated the life of the village, until Sir Theodosius Boughton, the last male heir of the Boughtons was allegedly murdered there by his brother-in-law in 1780, after which Little Lawford Hall was demolished. Their lands were then sold to the Caldecott family in 1793, who built a new manor house at Holbrook Grange closer to Long Lawford on the opposite side of the Avon in 1803. Although the house has now changed hands, the influences of the Caldecotts remain, with one of the two village public houses being "The Caldecott Arms". The village underwent considerable expansion in the 1960s with the construction of a large housing estate to the east of the old village, which turned the village into an effective suburb of Rugby. The village was further expanded with another housing development called Avon Pastures in the 2000s, just off the A428 road. The primary road in this development, 'Tee Tong Road', was named by a Malaysian bidder, who made the highest bid in a Children in Need auction in 2005.
Long Lawford is governed by Long Lawford Parish Council, which consists of currently seven councillors. They meet monthly at the Memorial Hall on Railway Street, on the second Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm. The public and press are allowed to attend these monthly meeting to ask question or watch discussions and proceedings of the Long Lawford Parish Council. All the agendas and minutes are published digitally for all members of the public. The current Chairman of the Long Lawford Parish Council is Cllr. S. Jones.
Amenities
Long Lawford has a primary school, and a playing field called King George’s Field with a skate park which opened in 2013. It also has a Co-Op Food store situated on Townsend Lane. The two village pubs are the "Lawford Arms" and the "Caldecott Arms" both on Main Street. The village hall and main community centre is the Memorial Hall on Railway Street.
Notable buildings
Holbrook Grange just north of the village is grade II listed. The main village church of St John, was built in 1839 as a chapel of ease for the main church at nearby Newbold-on-Avon. It was built mainly for the use of servants at nearby Holbrook Grange. The church has been disused since 1995, having been declared unsafe due to structural faults. It is however grade II listed and still standing. Instead the church services now take place at the church hall of 1939 next door. There is also a Methodist Church on School Street, called the Lawford Light House
Folklore
The village and surrounding area is reputedly haunted by a one-armed spectre, known as One-handed Boughton.,
