About Dunchurch

The earliest mention of the historic and picturesque village of Dunchurch is contained in the Domesday book of 1086 AD, where it appears as Donecerce, the property of William of Osborne, the son of a Norman Noble, who had claimed it during the Norman Conquest. It boasted a population of only 130.

Following the plague in 1610, during which the village's population was halved, the village stood upon an important fairway, running east to west from London to Holyhead and later becoming the north to south road from Leicester to Oxford and subsequently a Market Charter was granted by Act of Parliament in 1608.

The rattling of the Royal Mail as it passed through and the clanking of tankards floating through the evening air from the many coach houses pays tribute to Dunchurch's role as a favourite hostelry during the height of coaching. Through the centuries, the village has appeared in a number of guises in poetry, song and folklore. Alicia Anne Spottiswood, wife of local landowner Lord John Scott, composed 'Annie Laurie', first published in 1835.

The Old Smithy, still standing on the Rugby Road, is believed to have been the subject of Longfellow's poem 'Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree'. However, the village is perhaps most famed for its role in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when conspirators awaiting news of Guy Fawkes attempt to destroy Parliament, met at the Red Lion Inn, now known as Guy Fawkes House.

Useful links to local websites

The Village Green Hotel Rugby Town