Kineton
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Image:Kineton.jpg Kineton (IPA: Template:IPA) is a village and civil parish in south-eastern Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278.
Kineton is located around ten miles (16km) from the towns of Banbury to the south-east, Warwick and Leamington Spa to the north-west, and Stratford-upon-Avon to the west. Nearby is the village of Wellesbourne with its historic water mill.
The UK's main military non-nuclear ammunition depot is located within Kineton parish, extending to several acres and linked to the main Network Rail system by a branch line. The village was once served by the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway between Stratford-upon-Avon and Towcester but this closed to passengers in the 1950s.
In the centre of the village is St Peter's church, which dates partly from the 13th century.
The village has two pubs: 'The Swan Hotel', which has a number of B&B rooms, and 'The Carpenters Arms', which has a Chinese take-away inside the pub. There is an Indian Restaurant ('Shukars Brasserie') that serves a good range of Indian and Bangladeshi meals.
The village has a primary school, Kineton Church of England Primary, and a secondary school, Kineton High School, both serving the village and surrounding area.
History
The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Kington. On the outskirts of the village is the remains of a motte-and-bailey castle, known as King John's Castle, so called because it is believed that King John held a Court Leet there. Kineton gave its name to area of south-east Warwickshire known as Kineton Hundred.
The English Civil War Battle of Edgehill also took place near Kineton on October 23 1642 - at one point in the battle the Royalist cavalry pursued some Parliamentarian forces off the field of battle (leaving the rest of the Royalist force unsupported) and ended up attacking the Parliamentarian baggage train within the village of Kineton itself.
During the Second World War Kineton served as a transit camp, with Polish and Czechoslovakian troops stationed there.