Burton Overy St Andrew
This is another pretty village that lies some 8 miles south-east of Leicester. It is recorded in the Domesday book as Burtone, it was later known as Burton Novrey, before eventually ending up as Burton Overy. The population today is around 300. After the Norman Conquest it was acquired by my old friend (I must see his name in most parish histories) Hugh de Grentemesnil. This is an impressive church from the outset when viewing the...
Bottesford Church St Mary the Virgin
This extraordinary church is probably nearer to Nottingham than Leicester and is 16 miles north of Melton Mowbray at the most northern limits of the county of Leicestershire. The distance should not stop you at all from visiting this fine church but more on the reasons soon. This large village has a population of over 3,000 and is named after the ‘ford’ over the river Devon. I could write more on the village but if the...
Tur Langton St Andrew
Ten miles southeast of Leicester is the small pretty village of Tur Langton. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for an enclosure, meaning ‘long town’. For a long time it was part of the parish of nearby Church Langton and the ‘mother church’ there. However Tur Langton had a chapel which is first mentioned before 1162 and was built by the Maunsell family who were lords of the manor. From 1220 onwards...
Newton Harcourt St Lukes
Newton Harcourt is nearly 7 miles south-east of Leicester and its nearest neighbours are the villages of Great Glen and Wistow. Originally in the parish of Wistow, Newton Harcourt is named after Sir Richard de Harcourt who acquired the manor after marrying Arabell the daughter of Saher de Quincy, Earl of Winchester in 1240. ‘The chapel and one large old house stand very near, and on the south side of the Navigation, called The...
Nailstone Church All Saints
The village lies to the west of Leicester which is some 11 miles away. Its nearest neighbours are Barlestone to the south and Ibstock to the north, the population was around 520 people in the 2001 census. All Saints church at Nailstone dates from the 13th & 14th centuries. This large light spacious church has the same characteristics of other Leicestershire churches in having a north aisle which is nearly as large as the nave....
Rothley Church St Mary and St John
Rothley is 5 miles north of Leicester and has a population of 3,612 according to the last census in 2001. We know that the area has been inhabited since Saxon times due to the Saxon shaft. This is a twelve feet high millstone grit cross carved with typical Saxon strapwork that is situated south of the chancel in the churchyard and dates from the 9th century. This object is worth a trip to the church for itself but the church also has...
Foxton Church St Andrews
To the north-west of Market Harborough is the village of Foxton some 13 miles south-east of Leicester. The village is perhaps overshadowed by the nearby Foxton Locks, a set of ten locks set on the Grand Union canal which is a major attraction in the area . As a child it used to be an exciting trip out to see the boats passing through the locks, it still is and I often stop and take walk down if I am passing. Foxton the village itself...
Heather Church St John the Baptist
Some 13 miles north-west of Leicester lies the small village of Heather (pronounced ‘Heether’). Its nearest larger neighbour Ibstock is a couple of miles to the south-east. In the Domesday book of 1086 the village is called Hadre meaning the heathlands. It has seen coal mining and brick works in its past and is situated next to the Sence Valley Country Park which was home to a large open cast coal mine which removed 8...
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