Wyken
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Wyken is situated between the areas of Stoke and Walsgrave, three miles northeast of Coventry city centre. It is quite a big area spreading to as far as the Binley area. The majority of the houses in Wyken are terraced houses.
The original parish ran close to the River Sowe and was mainly flat except for Wyken Heath and Wyken Knob near Stoke Heath.
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[edit] History
The oldest building within Wyken is Saint Mary Magdalene Church, located within Wyken Croft, which dates to the early 11th century. The village developed opposite the church and remained a small settlement until the 18th century at which point it began to expand. This original layout has since evolved as Wyken was incorporated into Coventry in 1932 resulting in boundary changes. Wyken became much larger than the original village and in the latest boundary change of 1993, Wyken received Coombe Fields from the parish of Rugby.
[edit] Politics
Wyken is a part of the Coventry North East Constituency, and the Wyken Ward elects three councillors to Coventry City Council, two of whom are Conservative, and one Labour.[1]
[edit] Local legends
The churchyard of the St. Mary Magdalene church has been known to generations of residents as the site of a pirate grave dating to sometime in the 19th century. The legend had it that to summon the spectre one had to run around the grave three times. This legend later evolved to running around the church itself three times followed by throwing a stone through the windows of the church, which lead to the removal of the headstone by the parish vicar in the 1960s.[2]
[edit] Notable residents
Professional footballer Luke McCormick grew up in the district attending St John Fisher Catholic Primary School.
[edit] References
- ^ Councillors for Wyken ward. Coventry City Council.
- ^ McGrory, David (2005). Haunted Coventry. NPI Media Group. ISBN 0752437089.
