Eathorpe
Encyclopedia
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...
, in the English county 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...
. It is in its own parish, in the electoral ward of Cubbington
Cubbington
Cubbington is a village and civil parish with a population of 4,034 adjoining the north-eastern outskirts of Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. Welsh Road, running through the village crossroads, may have been an old sheep drovers' route connecting London and Wales...
. It is very close to the B4455, which follows the line of the Roman Fosse Way
Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
, and the River Leam
River Leam
The River Leam is a river which flows through eastern and southern Warwickshire. It is a small river about 25–30 miles long. The town of Leamington Spa lies on, and is named after, the River Leam....
. 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 had a population of 113.
Although the village is small it has an excellent village hall
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...
, built in 2006. The village is well-known for its Christmas decorations, each house being spectacularly lit up, and for its pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, The Plough.
Eathorpe Hall is the former home of Samuel Shepheard, whose principal claim to fame is that he built the original Shepheard's Hotel
Shepheard's Hotel
Shepheard's Hotel was the leading hotel in Cairo and one of the most celebrated hotels in the world between the middle of the 19th century and 1952....
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt. An inscription on the bridge, over the River Leam, which links Eathorpe with the nearby village of Wappenbury
Wappenbury
Wappenbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire.Located on the north bank of the River Leam Wappenbury is almost entirely inside the ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort. The nearest town is Leamington Spa, some four miles to the south west of Wappenbury. During the...
reads: "This bridge was erected by Samuel Shepheard of Eathorpe Hall, AD 1862". Close to the bridge is a pipeline which feeds water from the Leam to nearby Draycote Water
Draycote Water
Draycote Water is a reservoir and country park near the village of Dunchurch, 6 km south of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, owned and operated by Severn Trent Water...
. This pipeline was used to fill the reservoir when it opened in 1966.
The first mention of a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
in Eathorpe was in 1875, but the village post office closed in March 1999.
The only Public House in the village of Eathorpe is The Plough, an 18th century former coaching inn situated beside the Fosse Way. The current proprietors are Gaynor and Anton Thorpe (Current as of 2009) and the pub is now known as The Plough @ Eathorpe