Wyken
Encyclopedia
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...
, is situated between the areas of Stoke and Walsgrave
Walsgrave
Walsgrave-on-Sowe is a village located about 3 miles north-east of Coventry, West Midlands in England. It was built on marsh lands, although it now sees very little flooding. However, due to urban growth, it is now an outer suburb of Coventry, near to Ansty and Shilton...
, three miles northeast of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
city centre. It is a fairly large ward spreading as far as the Binley
Binley, Coventry
Binley is a suburb in the east of Coventry, England. Binley evolved from a small mining village on the outskirts of Coventry to a large residential area composing private residences and council-owned properties....
area. The majority of the houses in Wyken are terraced house
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s.
The original parish ran close to the River Sowe
River Sowe
The River Sowe is a River in Warwickshire and West Midlands, England. It is a tributary of the River Avon, and flows into it just south of Stoneleigh....
and was mainly flat except for Wyken Heath and Wyken Knob near Stoke Heath.
History
The oldest building within Wyken is Saint Mary Magdalene's Church, located within Wyken Croft, which dates to the early 11th century. The village developed opposite the church and remained a small settlement until the 18th century at which point it began to expand. This original layout has since evolved as Wyken was incorporated into Coventry in 1932 resulting in boundary changes. Wyken became much larger than the original village and in the latest boundary change of 1993, Wyken received Coombe Fields from the parish of RugbyRugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
.
Politics
Wyken is a part of the Coventry North East Constituency, and the Wyken Ward elects three councillors to Coventry City Council, two of whom are LabourLabour 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...
, and one Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Local legends
The churchyard of St Mary Magdalene's church has been known to generations of residents as the site of a pirate grave dating to some time in the 19th century. The legend had it that to summon the spectre one had to run around the grave three times. This legend later evolved to running around the church itself three times followed by throwing a stone through the windows of the church, which lead to the removal of the headstone by the vicar of the parish in the 1960s.Churches and schools
St Mary Magdalene's church is part of a group of Anglican parishes: the group also includes three churches in Stoke and the churches of the Risen Christ and of the Holy Cross in Wyken.The secondary schools for the area are Caludon Castle School
Caludon Castle School
Caludon Castle School is a Academy in Wyken, Coventry, England.The previous buildings dating from the 1950s were recently demolished to make way for a new £24 million PFI project resulting in the school being totally rebuilt...
and Lyng Hall School
Lyng Hall School
Lyng Hall School is a comprehensive school in Coventry, England, with specialist status as a Sports College. It is well known for its prolific work within its community and the city of Coventry, also for its 'Batty-Rider' status. It has a wide range of new facilities from a running track to modern...
.
Notable residents
- Professional footballer Luke McCormickLuke McCormickLuke Martin McCormick is a former English football goalkeeper. He played for Plymouth Argyle between 2003 and 2008, but his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in July 2008 after he caused a car crash which killed two children...
grew up in the district attending St John Fisher Catholic Primary School. - Professional footballer Ian EvattIan EvattIan Ross Evatt is an English footballer who currently plays for Blackpool.He began his professional career in 1999 at Derby County and has also played for Northampton Town , Chesterfield and Queens Park Rangers.-Early life:...
grew up in the area attending Caludon Castle