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Ilmington
St Mary the Virgin parish church
IlmingtonLocation within Warwickshire
Population	712 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SP211435
Civil parish	Ilmington
District	Stratford-on-Avon
Shire county	Warwickshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Shipston-on-Stour
Postcode district	CV36
Dialling code	01608
Police	Warwickshire
Fire	Warwickshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
Website	Ilmington – A Cotswold Village
List of places UK England Warwickshire 52°05′24″N 1°41′35″W / 52.090°N 1.693°W / 52.090; -1.693

Ilmington is a village and civil parish about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-west of Shipston-on-Stour and 8 miles (13 km) south of Stratford-upon-Avon in the Cotswolds in Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 712. Ilmington is the highest village in Warwickshire and is at the foot of the Ilmington Downs, which is the highest point in Warwickshire. Residents are called "Ilmingtonians".

History

In the 10th century the village's toponym was Ylmandunes in Old English. This evolved into Elmington because it had many elm trees. When Dutch Elm Disease came to England it killed the trees and now none remains in the village. The Elizabethan poet Sir Thomas Overbury was born at Compton Scorpion Manor, just south of the village. In 1934 the Royal Christmas Message broadcast by King George V was relayed worldwide from Ilmington Manor, home of the Flower family, and introduced by 65-year-old Walton Handy, a local shepherd, with carols from the church choir and bell ringing from the church. The early 18th-century Grade II* listed Foxcote House stands in the village. The house was the seat of the Canning family for many years, it is presently owned by the American lingerie billionaire Les Wexner.

Parish church

The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin is Norman and dates from about the middle of the 12th century. Its bell tower has five bells cast by Henry Bagley of Chacombe in 1641, plus three later bells added to make the present ring of eight. The Church of England parish is now part of a single benefice with the parishes of Tredington with Darlingscott, Preston-on-Stour, Stretton-on-Fosse and Whitchurch. It cannot be directly accessed by road but instead by a pathway. Robert Thompson of Kilburn carved the pulpit and pews for the church. He also carved his signature mice in eleven places throughout the church.

June Hobson was a gardener and artist who lived in the village. She inspired villagers to embroider the map that is a copy of old maps which showed where all of the orchards in the village were. It shows that there were an unusually large number of small orchards in the village. The Apple Map is displayed in the village church. Ilmington Apple Day starts with guided viewing of the Apple Map in the church before a search for some of the 38 different apple varieties grown in the village. Many people come to the Apple Days which celebrate the history of the small orchards in the village. The children at the local school devised the apple walk.

Amenities

Ilmington has a Church of England primary school. It has a village hall, village shop and Post Office sharing the same building. Ilmington Revolution Football Club plays on Ilmington playing field. Ilmington has a Cotswold Morris dancing side. Ilmington has two public houses, The Howard Arms (a gastropub) and The Red Lion (Hook Norton Brewery).

The Fifties

A year-long project began in 2012 recording the memories of people who lived in Ilmington during the 1950s. These oral histories then provided the material for the creation of a play about village life in those days and the impact that events of national significance had on people's lives. This original piece of theatre coincided with the four-day countrywide celebrations to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in June 2012. It was performed by actors from the village and was shared with audiences from the local community. The project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, has a website that includes a series of recordings from the village's 50s residents.

Notable residents

• Sir Thomas Overbury (1581 in Compton Scorpion – 1613) an English poet and essayist and famous murder victim.
• Dorothy Hodgkin, (1910–1994 in Ilmington) a Nobel Prize-winning British chemist and tutor of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

References

1. ^ "Literary Connections – Ilmington". Archived from the original on 29 December 2006.
2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 29 December 2015.
3. Anonymous 2003, p. 66.
4. Historic England. "Foxcite House (1024118)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
5. Adam Luck and Robert Mendick (24 October 2015). "Billionaire tycoon behind Victoria's Secret 'keeps his multi-million Cotswolds estate away from prying eyes'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
6. ^ Salzman 1949, pp. 98–103
7. Archbishops' Council. "Ilmington – St. Mary, Ilmington". A Church Near You. Church of England.
8. "A guide to Ilmington". Information Britain.
9. Ilmington C of E Primary School
10. "Ilmington Community Shop & Cafe, Cotswolds". Ilmington Community Shop & Cafe. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
11. Traditional Ilmington Morris Men
12. "The Red Lion in Ilmington". Find A Hook Norton Pub. Hook Norton Brewery. 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
13. Fabulous Fifties
14. Oral Histories
15. Gosse, Edmund William (1911). "Overbury, Sir Thomas" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). p. 304.

Sources

• Anonymous (2003). 50 Walks in Warwickshire & the West Midlands. Basingstoke: AA Publishing. p. 66. ISBN 0-7495-3629-2.
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Wedgwood, Alexandra (1966). Warwickshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 316–317.
• Salzman, LF, ed. (1949). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Warwick, Volume 5: Kington Hundred. pp. 98–103.

External links

• Ilmington map
• Photos of Ilmington and surrounding area on geograph
• Fabulous Fifties – Ilmington Remembers
• Ilmington Village Hall

v t e Stratford-on-Avon District towns, parishes and settlements
Warwickshire County Council elections District Council elections Stratford-on-Avon Constituency
Towns	Alcester Henley-in-Arden Shipston-on-Stour Southam Stratford-upon-Avon
Large villages	Bidford-on-Avon Bishop's Itchington Harbury Kineton Studley Wellesbourne
Other civil parishes, villages and hamlets	Admington Alderminster Ardens Grafton Arlescote Arrow Aston Cantlow Atherstone on Stour Avon Dassett Barton-on-the-Heath Bearley Beaudesert Billesley Binton Brailes Burmington Burton Dassett Butlers Marston Charlecote Claverdon Clifford Chambers Combrook Compton Verney Compton Wynyates Coughton Ettington Exhall Fenny Compton Gaydon Great Alne Great Wolford Halford Hampton Lucy Honington Idlicote Ilmington Kinwarton Ladbroke Lighthorne Lighthorne Heath Little Compton Long Itchington Long Marston Lower Shuckburgh Loxley Luddington Milcote Morton Bagot Moreton Morrell Napton on the Hill Oldberrow Oxhill Pillerton Hersey Preston Bagot Preston on Stour Priors Hardwick Priors Marston Quinton Radbourne Radway Salford Priors Sambourne Snitterfield Spernall Stockton Tanworth-in-Arden Temple Grafton Tidmington Tredington Ullenhall Upper Shuckburgh Warmington Welford-on-Avon Weston-on-Avon Whichford Whitchurch Wilmcote Wixford Wolverton Wootton Wawen Wormleighton
List of parliamentary constituencies in Warwickshire List of places in Warwickshire List of civil parishes in Warwickshire

• Villages in Warwickshire
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