Allesley

The parish

The parish of Allesley covers a much larger area than the village itself, which is based around Washbrook Lane, Browns Lane and Hawkesmill Lane. The parish incorporates the ancient Ardens of Pinketts Booth, Pickford, Pickford Green, Harvest Hill, Hawkes End, Hollyberry End, Wall Hill, and Brownshill Green. The suburbs of Allesley Park and Allesley Green lie to the south and west. Allesley Park is a district developed in the 1950s and 1960s to the east of the A45 and due south of Allesley. Allesley Green, built in the late 1980s, lies a quarter of a mile SW of Allesley. The combined population of the three main districts is about 4000.

Allesley Village denotes the area east the Birmingham Road, including West Point. Although this is largely a dormitory community for Coventry, it retains several aspects of a separate village. Most of the old village is a conservation area on a low ridge of high ground between the River Sherbourne and the Pickford Brook, a tributary.

History

Allesley grew around the 800-year-old All Saints Church, originally All Souls Church to the Reformation era, the spire of which is prominent on the skyline of the village. Originally built around 1140, it was rebuilt in 1863 and remains relatively unaltered since then. A noted writer on husbandry, Walter Blith, was baptised there on 7 August 1605.

The Birmingham Road, which runs through the village, is part of the main road built between 1821–24 by Thomas Telford from Holyhead to London. A toll house originally stood at the junction of the Holyhead Road and Allesley Old Road. The tolls were discontinued and the toll house demolished in the mid-1930s. Tolls ended in 1871 by Act of Parliament. Allesley was home to the Browns Lane Jaguar factory and showroom, which closed in the 1990s.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Allesley is twinned with: