Ashwell Church St Mary
May01

Ashwell Church St Mary

Situated 3 miles north of Oakham this village of approximately 300 people has a category C prison nearby which during World War II housed part of the US 82nd Airborne Division. Before the Norman Conquest the manor was held by Earl Harold. In 1086 a Gozeline held it for Hugh Earl of Chester who held the manor as a third part of a knight’s fee. The Tuchet family came into possession of the manor at some point in the 12th century...

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Ashby Magna Church St Marys
May01

Ashby Magna Church St Marys

Ashby Magna is recorded in the Domesday book as Asseby or Essebi, in medieval times this was a large village and the population has stayed static at a round 300-400. It is 9 miles south of Leicester and its nearest neighbour is Dunton Bassett which the M1 motorway lies between. The church lies on the high ground in the village and was built about 1220 by a Robert Esseby, a descendant of William Peveril who held the manor after the...

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Ashby de la Zouch St Helen
May01

Ashby de la Zouch St Helen

With a population over 12,000 Ashby is a small market town in the northwest of the county of Leicestershire. It was once the largest town in the area but nearby Coalville became its larger rival in the 19th century. It is famous for its fine castle ruins (under the care of English Heritage) and was once a Victorian Spa town. The name ‘Ashby’ means ‘Ash tree farm’ or ‘Ash tree settlement’ and derives...

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Asfordby Church All Saints
May01

Asfordby Church All Saints

Three miles to the west of Melton Mowbray is the large village of Asfordby of around 3,000 people. It is thirteen miles from Leicester and sited in the Wreak valley by the Eye river. The village was known for its large scale coal mining operation which started in 1984 but closed in 1997 due to the low price of coal and geological difficulties. The village has been known as Osseberie, Osferdebie and Offerdebie, it is recorded in the...

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Arnesby Church St Peter
May01

Arnesby Church St Peter

Arnesby is 8 miles south-east of Leicester and 8 miles north-east of Market Harborough. The population in 2001 was recorded at 343 and its nearest neighbours are Shearsby and Peatling Magna. St Peter’s comprises a west tower with an external turret, nave, north porch, north & south aisles, chancel and vestry. The fine tower dates from the 13th century and is an impressive structure with its grand west door and arch...

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Withcote Chapel
Mar04

Withcote Chapel

Withcote lies some 13 miles east from Leicester by the crow and is 4 miles south-west of Oakham very near to the county line with Rutland. The name probably derives from the Old English meaning of ‘clump of willows’, it lies in a valley with small hills either side and a small lake lies to the south east. The chapel is Early Tudor probably finished around the 1530’s by Catherine and her second husband Roger...

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Wymondham Church St Peter
Mar04

Wymondham Church St Peter

The small village of Wymondham is a few miles from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. The village has a close association with Stilton cheese, Mrs Francis Pawlett a resident of the village in the 18th century did much to establish the cheese. She supplied her brother-in-law who was landlord at the Bell Inn at Stilton on the A1. She died a wealthy woman aged 88 in 1808. The cheese was made in the village but during the war in the 1940’s...

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Kirby Bellars St Peter
Dec21

Kirby Bellars St Peter

The small village of Kirby Bellows is a couple of miles southeast of Melton Mowbray on the A607 towards Leicester near to the river Wreake. Most of the village lies to the north of the busy road along Main Street. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book with the name ‘Chirchebi’ the ‘Bellars’ was added later. During Edward II’s reign a Roger Bellar founded a college with a warden and twelve...

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