View source for Keresley

{{Short description|Suburban village in the City of Coventry, England}}
{{for|the suburb of Bolton|Kearsley}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
'''Keresley''' is a suburban village and [[civil parish]] in the [[Coventry|City of Coventry]], [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], [[England]], about {{convert|4.5|mi|km|0}} north of Coventry city centre and {{convert|3.5|mi|km|0}} southwest of [[Bedworth]]. According to the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 census]], the parish had a population of 791 falling to 713 at the 2011 Census, although the 2018 population was estimated at 783.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125131&c=Keresley&d=16&e=62&g=6364368&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1450277006734&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=16 December 2015|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
Keresley and [[Keresley End]] are two separate areas; Keresley is in Coventry, whilst Keresley End, also known as '''Keresley Village''' or '''Keresley Newlands''', is in [[Warwickshire]], with the exception of Thompsons Road in the village, which lies within the Coventry boundary. The village features two grocers shops, two bus stops, a beauty salon, primary school, doctors surgery, a fish and chip shop, a small church, a post office, library, park, garden centre and community centre.
==Location==
Keresley is located to the northwest of the city and lies within the Bablake ward, bounded by the Woodlands, Whoberley, Sherbourne, Radford and Holbrook wards.<ref name="CCC Bablake">{{cite web|title=Bablake Ward |url=http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000635/bablake_ward/50/bablake_ward/1 |publisher=Coventry City Council |access-date=10 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224004152/http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000635/bablake_ward/50/bablake_ward/1 |archive-date=24 February 2014 }}</ref>
Neighbouring villages include [[Corley]], Corley Moor, [[Ash Green, Warwickshire|Ash Green]] and [[Brownshill Green]].
==History==
For most of its history, Keresley was a combination of two further villages: Keresley Green was the most northerly and first to exist, but it was Keresley Heath to the south which was developed the most with the building of schools and the church of St. Thomas. However, in 1911 the construction of [[Coventry Colliery]] by the Warwickshire Coal Company near to Keresley Green brought the focus of development back to that area.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mining Engineer |author=Institution of Mining Engineers |publisher=Institution of Mining Engineers |year=1915 |page=799}}</ref> It was not until 1974 that the two parts of Keresley lost their separate identities and became united.  The closure of the colliery followed in 1991.<ref name="St Thomas'">{{cite web|title=St Thomas' Church Keresley|url=http://www.st-thomas-keresley.org.uk/|access-date=10 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221100959/http://www.st-thomas-keresley.org.uk/|archive-date=21 February 2014}}</ref>
Keresley parish is largely rural and contains some beautiful ancient woodland. Coventry City Council's wildlife surveys which include Keresley parish, have classified much of the area as an "A" grade - "An area of very high natural history value, containing several varied habitats and a wide diversity of plants and animals".  The area has a lot of footpaths which make it accessible to the public and is probably one of the few areas of Coventry where you can hear skylarks.  Despite this Coventry City Council propose the area can be developed as an "Eco" suburb with 3000 homes, and a separate estate of new properties is currently being built, as of January 2010.<ref name=KV>{{cite web|title=Keresley Eco-Suburb|url=http://www.keresleyvillages.org.uk/ecosuburb.php|publisher=Keresley Villages|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
==Etymology==
The etymology of the word Keresley suggests that it is Saxon in origin, meaning that the name could originate from the 7th century, although the village was not cited in the ''[[Domesday Book]]'' of 1086.
The -ley suffix is shared by many villages in the country, and means a clearing in the woods. This means that Keresley was a clearing in the [[Forest of Arden]]. And the Keres- prefix is thought to either be a corruption of the Saxon word for cress or someone's name, meaning together either: The cress clearing, or 'Mr' Cress's Clearing.
==Parish Church==
The [[Church of England parish church]] of [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]] is just off the Tamworth Road ([[B4098 road|B4098]]). It was designed by the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival architect]] [[Benjamin Ferrey]] in the [[English Gothic architecture|Early English]] style<ref>{{NHLE |num=1076609 |accessdate=7 February 2008}}</ref> and built in 1844–45.<ref>Pevsner & Wedgwood, 1966, p. 326</ref> The [[bell tower]] has a [[Change ringing|ring]] of six bells.<ref>[http://www.coventrydg.co.uk/ Coventry Diocesan Guild of Church Bellringers: Tower Directory]</ref> St Thomas's is a [[Grade II]] [[listed building]].
<gallery>
File:St Thomas church in Coventry 1a07.jpg|St Thomas' Church, Keresley.
File:St Thomas Church tower - Keresley.jpg|The tower of St Thomas' Church.
</gallery>
==Public services and local amenities==
[[Coventry City Council]] is the local government body of the City of Coventry.  The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors.<ref name=CCC>{{cite web|title=Coventry City Council|url=http://www.coventry.gov.uk/|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
Coventry forms part of the [[West Midlands Police]] force area.<ref name=WMP>{{cite web|title=West Midlands Police - About Us|url=http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/keeping-you-safe/about-us/|access-date=10 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222134752/http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/keeping-you-safe/about-us/|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The neighbourhood policing team for Keresley, Coundon and [[Allesley]] are the Bablake neighbourhood team.<ref name="WMP Bablake">{{cite web|title=Bablake Neighbourhood Policing Team|url=http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-local-police/coventry/your-neighbourhood/index.aspx?id=51|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
==Notable residents==
The actor [[Clive Owen]] and the [[cybernetics]] professor [[Kevin Warwick]] were born in Keresley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localhistories.org/keresley.html|title = A History of Keresley|date = 14 March 2021}}</ref> So was novelist [[Graham Joyce]].
Also from Keresley is [[Roddy Radiation|Roddy 'Radiation' Byers]] guitarist of 1980s ska band [[The Specials]].
British Communist leader, trade unionist, and author [[Graham Stevenson (trade union leader)|Graham Stevenson]] was born in Keresley.<ref>{{cite news|date=26 May 2020|title=Remembering Graham Stevenson, titan of the labour movement|work=The Morning Star|url=https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/remembering-graham-stevenson-titan-labour-movement|accessdate=22 August 2023}}</ref>
[[William Tallon]], nicknamed "Backstairs Billy", was a resident of the village as a teenager, prior to him joining the [[Royal Households of the United Kingdom|Royal Household]] in 1951.<ref>{{cite news|date=27 April 1951|title=Buckingham Palace is now Address of Keresley Boy|pages=7|work=Coventry Standard|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94180447/buckingham-palace-is-now-address-of/|access-date=4 February 2022}}</ref>
==Apple rain==
On the evening of Monday 12 December 2011 hundreds of [[apple]]s reportedly fell from the sky over the junction between Kelmscote Road and Keresley Road, in Keresley, Coventry. Several witnesses reported that hundreds of [[apple]]s seemingly fell out of the sky landing on the ground, and several cars, below. This incident received both local and national media coverage and, although it drew comment by the [[Met Office]], it still remains unexplained.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2011/12/14/mystery-of-apples-falling-from-sky-in-keresley-92746-29949102/|title = Coventry News: The latest Coventry news updates from CoventryLive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/14/apples-fall-from-the-sky-coventry_n_1148287.html?ref=uk|title = It's Raining Apples: Fruity Shower in Coventry|date = 14 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-16203214 | work=BBC News | title=Keresley residents mystified by apple shower | date=15 December 2011|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book |author=Pevsner, Nikolaus |author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Wedgwood|first2= Alexandra |title=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]]: Warwickshire |date=1966 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth |isbn=0-14-071031-0 }}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140221100959/http://www.st-thomas-keresley.org.uk/ St Thomas' Church, Keresley]
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[[Category:Suburbs of Coventry]]
[[Category:Villages in the West Midlands (county)]]