Barwell
| Barwell | |
|---|---|
 Barwell
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| Barwell shown within Leicestershire | |
| Population | 9,022 |
| OS grid reference | SP444968 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Leicester |
| Postcode district | LE9 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
Barwell is a civil parish and large village in Leicestershire, England, with a population of around 8,750 people, Increasing to 9,022 at the 2011 census, the name literally translates as "Stream of the Boar" and is said to originate from a boar that used to drink from the well near a brook in Barwell. It was originally known as Borewell, but later became "Barwell", the name in use today. The brook is now called the River Tweed, and is a tributary of the River Trent.
The village has two churches; Barwell Methodist Church in Chapel Street, and St. Mary's Parish Church in Church Lane. St. Mary's was built in 1220. A board inside the church lists all of the rectors up to the present day, beginning with William in 1209.
The village has successful football clubs Barwell FC and AFC Barwell as well cricket teams and a large indoor bowling complex.
The Queens Head is the oldest public house, and second oldest building in the village. In 1902 the pub was owned by one Sarah Ann Powers. It was later owned by the Haines family. In recent years, the old pub roof has naturally deformed so that it is no longer straight. In the 1980s the front of the building was completely restored and returned to its original style after years of Victorian style black and white.
It was on the lands of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, a rich and powerful magnate who had fought alongside Canute in his wars against Wessex. In old English, "wella" is the word for stream and "bar" the name for boar, and so this clearing in the woods was known in the Saxon tongue as Barwelle. In 1043, Earl Leofric and his wife, Godiva, established a Benedictine Abbey at Coventry and gave the Abbot and his twenty-four attendant monks, lands for their upkeep. Barwelle, along with nineteen other villages passed into the domains of the Abbot of Coventry.
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Wikipedia