Stanford upon Avon St Nicholas
Now before all the comments start I know this church is actually in Northamptonshire. But as it is only 500ft from the Leicestershire border and it is closely tied with Stanford Hall in Leicestershire (near Lutterworth) it seems rather churlish to ignore it. It is also a marvellous church and well worth visiting and it is in Leicester Diocese. In Simon Jenkins “England’s Thousand Best Churches” he mentions the stained glass, the 16th...
Skeffington St Thomas a Becket
This small village lies just off the A47 and has a population of around 200. It is about ten miles from Leicester, a mile or so west of Tugby and east of Billesdon. The church is situated on a bend on Main street and is sited on the highest part of the village. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is a pretty situated village and the church is no exception despite its Victorian rebuild (1860) but there are still items of...
Leicester Cathedral St Martins
Leicester does not have a cathedral to match the splendour of Salisbury, York or Lincoln. In fact St Martin’s is an enlarged parish church that was ‘nominated’ to cathedral status in 1927. There was discussion at the time that the nearby church of St Margaret’s or even the grand church at Melton Mowbray would be better alternatives, but in the end St Martins was chosen over the rivals. Leicester was an important Roman town...
Hambleton St Andrews
Three miles south-west of Oakham is the small village of Brooke which is at the head of the River Gwash. In 2001 the population was recorded as 211. Half a mile north of the village was the priory of St Mary of Brooke which was founded during the reign of King Stephen before 1153. By the 16th century it was mostly ruinous. Today there are some remains of the priory built into a later structure and I hope to add this as a separate...
Seaton All Hallows
Seaton is set on the side of a hill overlooking the Welland valley. Nearby is the large Seaton viaduct, on the Oakham to Kettering railway line. It is three quarters of a mile long and took four years to build. It has 82 arches which are up to 72 feet high. The railway is now only used for freight traffic. When Henry Royce (founder of Rolls Royce) was created a baronet, he took Seaton as his territorial designation. His family had...
Ridlington St Mary and Magdalene
The village of Ridlington has some interesting recorded history. The manor was held in the 10th century by a West Saxon Queen as a ‘dower’, a gift from a husband to his wife as insurance on his death. In 1066 Edward the Confessor’s wife Edith held land here, and in 1086 its is recorded as being held by William I and it consisted of seven ‘berewicks’ or hamlets. These were probably Ayston,...
Pilton St Nicholas
This small hamlet in Rutland had a recorded population of 39 in the 2001 census. It is a few miles south of Rutland Water and is sited on high ground rising to 315ft. The village is not mentioned in the Domesday Book but was probably part of Barrowden and held by the Earls of Warwick. A Eustace de Pilton and Hugh de Pilton were witnesses to a charter to Robert Mauduit in the 13th century. Their son Bartholomew de Pilton in 1224 was...
Edith Weston St Mary
With a population of over a 1,000 this Rutland village lies very close to the south side of Rutland Water. It has an unusual name which is derived from Queen Edith who was wife to Edward the Confessor. There is mention of a monastic cell at Edith Weston which may have been sited in the grounds of the Old Hall. The Old Hall was pulled down in 1830 but there is some probability that it stood to the north-west in the park where there are...
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