Brinklow is a village and civil 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), increasing to 1,101 at the 2011 Census. Geography 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 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 authorised in 1769 and the section through Brinklow was completed in 1778. The original route of the canal crossed Broad Street (B4455) near the Church Rooms, circled through the playing fields to the west of the village before crossing the Lutterworth Road again at the north end of the village. This brought much trade and prosperity to Brinklow. However, by the late 1820s, the extravagant winding contour route of the Oxford canal had become outdated. It was said that boatmen with their horse-drawn boats could hear the sound of Brinklow church bells ringing for morning and then evening prayer on the same day! To maintain its competitive edge much of the northern section of the canal between Braunston and its