What follows is a very brief history of Newton. Those who would like to know more would do well to read the excellent booklet on Newton (Pamphlet No.7) published in 1999 by the Clifton on Dunsmore Local History Group. Much of the following is based - with grateful acknowledgement - on the work of the Group.

Newton ("new homestead or village") is a common English place name. The Place Names of Warwickshire lists alternative spellings of Newton; in 1086 it was Niwetone, in 1170 it was Newentone, it changed to Newtone juxta Cliftone in 1310 and in 1424 it was referred to as Newton upon Dounesmore.

People have lived in and around Newton for thousands of years. To the north of the village (before the motorway) in the field known as "Black Hovel" crop marks indicated the remains of an Iron Age enclosure and field system.

The Romans were nearby at Tripontium ("three bridges") on the A5 Watling Street. The importance of the Roman settlement, which endured for 400 hundred years, is only now being appreciated. There is a permanent exhibition of the history and finds of Tripontium in the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum.

Within 30 years of being victorious at the Battle of Hastings the Normans carried out an audit of the whole country. This work, known as the Domesday Book recorded that in 1086 Godric held 2 hides in Newton and Aldrith and Ralph had half a hide each. A "hide" was the amount of land that could be ploughed in a year by a team of 8 oxen. Its exact size therefore varied according to how difficult the land was to plough - but it was approximately 120 acres. A hide was basically a unit for tax assessment purposes and the number of hides determined the revenue to be paid to King William (the Conqueror).

In the Middle Ages fields were not fenced but were divided into furlong strips with a ditch between them. The tell tale "ridge and furrows" that remain of this medieval system can be seen around Newton - notable to the north of Newton Manor Lane and above Mill Farm.

The small settlement at Holme, situated just to the north of the Avon (near to St Thomas Cross) disappeared in medieval times, perhaps having been removed by the monks who owned the land to make way for more profiteable sheep. Biggin (which lends its name to the official name of the Parish - Newton and Biggin) lasted much longer. The Mill Farm at Biggin is still active and the last cottage was occupied until the 1950's

The plague of 1604 devastated this area (as it did most of the country). In Clifton, a mile away, records show that 84 people died in the year. For reasons unknown the plague appears to have left Newton unscathed and there are no records of deaths in the village.

An Act of Parliament allowing the enclosure of the open fields of Newton was passed in 1757, paving the way for the traditional English landscape of small fields and hedgerows. The Newton Townslands Allotments (at the bottom of Little London Lane) were created in the same year, 1757, presumably as recompense to those who lost the right to use the open fields.

A squall of hail highlights medieval ridge and furrow - Mill Farm

By the early 19th Century Newton was a centre (albeit a small one) for framework knitting, carried out from cottages. By the early 20th Century there were still a significant number of agricultural labourers living in the village but they lived alongside employees of the British Thompson Houston engineering works in Rugby together with railway workers and machinists.

Nowadays the village maintains its agricultural links - there are 2 working farms in the village - but employment is now much more mixed.