Brinklow

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For other uses, see Brinklow (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 52°24′33″N 1°21′48″W / 52.40909°N 1.36342°W / 52.40909; -1.36342

Brinklow
The church and main road in Brinklow
Brinklow Brinklow shown within Warwickshire
Population	1,041
OS grid reference	SP434792
Civil parish	Brinklow
District	Rugby
Shire county	Warwickshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	COVENTRY
Postcode district	CV23
Dialling code	01788
Police	Warwickshire
Fire	Warwickshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Nuneaton
List of places UK England Warwickshire

Brinklow is a village and parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, England. It is about halfway between Rugby and Coventry, and has a population of 1,041 (2001 census).^[1]

Brinklow sits astride the former Roman Fosse Way and is most notable for the remains of a large Norman motte-and-bailey castle (Brinklow Castle, known locally as The Tump or the Big Hill), which is one of the largest and best preserved of its type in England. The castle is believed to be built on the site of an ancient burial mound or Roman signal station, although this has not been confirmed. Brinklow's name may have come from Old English Brincehláw = "burial mound on the brink of a hill" or alternatively perhaps "The Hill of Brynca", an Anglo-Saxon personal name.More likely though the name Brinklow is a combination of the British/Welsh bryn,a hill and the Anglo Saxon hlaw also meaning hill.The name came about when the original Celtic speaking inhabitants were assimilated into Anglo Saxon culture. The meaning of the British word bryn was after some time forgotten causing the Anglo Saxonized inhabitants to add the word hlaw or low to signify a hill. Place names in England which combine both British and Anglo Saxon elements which have the same meaning are quite common. Penhill in Buckinghamshire and Mount Caburn, originally called Caer Bryn, in Lewes East Sussex are both notable examples.

Brinklow is a picturesque village, and contains a 13th-century church, a primary school, and several shops and pubs. Brinklow was established as a market town during the Middle Ages, and was once considerably more important than it is today.

The Oxford Canal was constructed alongside the village in the 1790s and brought renewed trade and prosperity to the village. The village was once served by an arm of the canal, but this is now disused. The village still has links with the canal however with a thriving boatyard/Narrowboat holiday hire company located there on the Oxford canal.