Southam | |
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Market Hill, Southam (click here for alternative view) |
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Southam shown within Warwickshire | |
Population | 6,567 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SP4161 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Southam |
Postcode district | CV47 |
Dialling code | 01926 |
Police | Warwickshire |
Fire | Warwickshire |
Ambulance | West Midlands |
EU Parliament | West Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Southam is a small market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Southam is on the River Stowe (called 'The Brook' by many locals), which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins Warwickshire's River Itchen at Stoneythorpe, just outside the town. The town is about 7.5 miles (12 km) east of Leamington Spa, about 10 miles (16 km) from Rugby and Daventry, 13 miles (21 km) south of Coventry and 14 miles (23 km) north of Banbury.
The 2001 census recorded a parish population of 6,509,increasing to 6,567 at the 2011 Census.
Southam was a Royal manor until AD 998, when Ethelred the Unready granted it to Earl Leofwine. When Coventry Priory was founded in 1043, Leofwine's son Leofric, Earl of Mercia granted Southam to it. The Domesday Book records the manor as "Sucham". The Priory, which in the 12th century became the first Coventry Cathedral, kept Southam until the 16th century when it surrendered all its estates to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The current Manor House is Grade II * listed and dates from the early 17th century.
The present parish church of St James was built in the 14th century. In the 15th century the spire was added and the chancel was rebuilt. The nave's clerestory and present roof were added in the 16th century, along with the present west door. St James' is a Grade I listed building.