Merevale
Encyclopedia
Merevale is a 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 in the North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire is a local government district and borough in Warwickshire, England. The main town in the district is Atherstone where the council is based...

 district of the 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...

 in 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...

. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey (founded in 1148) and Merevale Hall
Merevale Hall
Merevale Hall is a private country house in Merevale, near Atherstone, Warwickshire. It is a Grade II* listed building.The Manor of Merevale was granted in 1540 to Sir Walter Devereux. The Devereux estates were sequestered in 1601 following the attainder and execution of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl...

, (built in 1840 and home to the Dugdale family).

Merevale Abbey

An abbey was built in Merevale in 1148 by Robert de Ferrers the Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby
Earl of Derby is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279...

, it was a relatively small abbey with only around 10 monks, The abbey of Merevale itself was dissolved in October 1538, during the reign of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

 and fell into ruin, but some traces of it still remain to the present day. One of the most significant parts of the abbey to have survived is the Gate Chapel, which is now used as the parish church. The church is significant for its Cistercian stained glass, including its famous Jesse window (one of the most important in the British Isles), and for being the only Cistercian Gate Chapel to be open for regular weekly services throughout the year.

Merevale Hall

Designed by Edward Blore
Edward Blore
Edward Blore was a 19th century British landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland ....

, Merevale Hall
Merevale Hall
Merevale Hall is a private country house in Merevale, near Atherstone, Warwickshire. It is a Grade II* listed building.The Manor of Merevale was granted in 1540 to Sir Walter Devereux. The Devereux estates were sequestered in 1601 following the attainder and execution of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl...

 was completed in 1840 and has been the home of the descendants of Sir William Dugdale since this time. Dugdale was a strong royalist supporter of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

, and was appointed as his 'Garter Principal King of Arms
Garter Principal King of Arms
The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...

'. Many of his artefacts, including ceremonial clothes, can be seen at the hall.

Governance

The village has its own parish called Merevale civil parish although for some purposes it is merged to form Bentley and Merevale Civil Parish.

Merevale was part of the Atherstone Rural District
Atherstone Rural District
Atherstone was a rural district in the administrative county of Warwickshire, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after its main town and administrative headquarters of Atherstone....

. In 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

 the Atherstone Rural District became part of the newly formed district of North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire is a local government district and borough in Warwickshire, England. The main town in the district is Atherstone where the council is based...

. Inside North Warwickshire Merevale is part of the Baddersley and Grendon
Grendon, Warwickshire
Grendon is a Village and Civil Parish in North Warwickshire it situated three miles west of Atherstone and five miles east of Tamworth.- Old Grendon :...

 Ward and is represented by John Moore and Ray Sweet who are both Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, Merevale is covered by the Baddersley Ensor Ward in Warwickshire County Council
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...

 and is also represented by Ray Sweet.

It is part of the North Warwickshire constituency
North Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)
-Notes and references:...

 and the current MP is Conservative Dan Byles, it is also part of the West Midlands European Parliament constituency
West Midlands (European Parliament constituency)
West Midlands is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elected 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency will also elect a "virtual MEP" who will be able to sit in the Parliament if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect...

 which is represented by 6 MEPs.

Public Services

Waste collection services are provided by North Warwickshire Borough Council. Water and sewage services are provided by Severn Trent Water. The Distribution Network Operator
Distribution Network Operator
Distribution network operators are companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets....

 for electricity
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...

 is Central Networks better known as E.ON UK
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...

.

Merevale the a Coventry (CV) Postcode, the Postal Town is Atherstone
Atherstone
Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.-History:...

 where which is also the nearest post office. The nearest Library is also in Atherstone. Merevale uses the Tamworth 01827 area code.

The nearest police and fire stations are in Atherstone,. Atherstone is part of Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It was known as Warwickshire Constabulary until 2001. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 998.6 regular officers as...

, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service serving the county of Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England....

 and West Midlands Ambulance Service
West Midlands Ambulance Service
The West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust is the second-largest ambulance service in the UK. It is the authority responsible for providing NHS ambulance services in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is one of 12 Ambulance Trusts...

.

Health

The village lies in the North Warwickshire NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

 trust area. The village does not have its own doctor's surgery or pharmacy The nearest GP
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...

's surgeries can be found in Atherstone. The George Eliot Hospital
George Eliot Hospital
George Eliot Hospital is a single site hospital located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, it is managed by the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust. It provides a full range of emergency and elective medical services, including maternity services, to the local area....

 at Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...

 is the area's local hospital. It has an Accident and Emergency Department
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

. Out of hours GP services are also based at George Eliot.

Transport

The A5 (Watling Street) at runs to the east of Merevale.

The village has 1 bus stop on the A5 and is served by routes 48 and 765, the nearest railway station is Atherstone
Atherstone railway station
Atherstone railway station serves the town of Atherstone in Warwickshire.It is located on the Trent Valley section of the West Coast Main Line, exactly 102 miles from London Euston station, as a placard on an adjacent building announces...

.

The nearest airports are Birmingham and East Midlands

Media

The local newspapers covering the area are the Tamworth Herald
Tamworth Herald
The Tamworth Herald is a weekly tabloid newspaper published every Thursday in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. Its offices are based in Ventura Park Road, Bitterscote, and its current editor is Gary Phelps...

, which has a separate edition for North Warwickshire and the Atherstone Recorder.

The local BBC radio station covering the area is BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire is the BBC Local Radio service serving the City of Coventry and the county of Warwickshire. It broadcasts on 94.8, 103.7 and 104 MHz FM, DAB Digital Radio and is streamed on the internet via the ....

. Local commercial stations in the area include Mercia and Touch FM
Touch FM (Coventry)
96.2 Touch FM is a radio station that broadcasts to Coventry but not from Coventry, having moved out of the city to base itself elsewhere and co-locate with other Midlands radio stations leaving Coventry with only 1 local radio station left, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire...

.

The village is covered by the Central ITV
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...

 and BBC West Midlands
BBC West Midlands
BBC West Midlands is the BBC English Region producing local television, radio, web and teletext content for West Midlands metropolitan county, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and parts of Northern Gloucestershire - although the county as part of the south west...

 TV regions broadcast from the nearby Sutton Coldfield transmitting station.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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