Elmesthorpe
The partially ruined St Mary's Church, Elmesthorpe
Elmesthorpe is located in Leicestershire
Elmesthorpe
Elmesthorpe
Location within Leicestershire
Population509 (2011)
OS grid referenceSP4696
Civil parish
  • Elmesthorpe
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLeicester
Postcode districtLE9
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

Elmesthorpe (sometimes spelt Elmersthorpe, Elmsthorpe[1] or Aylmersthorpe[2]) is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated to the south-east of Earl Shilton, near to Hinckley on the A47 road. In 2004, the parish had an estimated population of 520,[3] reducing to 509 at the 2011 census.[4]

History

St Mary's Church Elmesthorpe, showing the ruined and restored halves

The village's name means 'outlying farm/settlement of Æthelmaer or Ailmer'.[5]

The village has been inhabited from at least Roman times as there is evidence of Roman occupation within the parish.[6]

In 1297, Elmesthorpe was home to numerous farms and 40-50 families. The Black Death and a failing economy caused the village to depopulate and for a time disappear.[2]

In 1485, it is thought King Richard III and his troops stayed in the partially ruined church for shelter on their march from Leicester to the Battle of Bosworth; with the king and his officers sheltering within the church, and the soldiers camping outside.[2][7]

Inside the ruined section of Elmesthorpe Church

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary and was built in the 13th century.[1] It had "long been in ruins" by the mid 19th century, but the tower was still standing.[1] In 1869 the church was partially rebuilt, in a smaller scale, within the ruins of the church.[1] This, the present church, occupies the east-end of the church and is accessed through the Tower and west end of the church, which have been left as ruins.

The village's population had begun a slow recovery by 1710, at which point 40 people were recorded as living in the village.[2]
In 1863 Elmesthorpe gained its own railway station on the South Leicestershire Railway.[2] The "new village" grew up around this station; starting with workers' cottages and an inn built by The Earl of Lovelace, with designs by architect C.F.A. Voysey.[2]

In 1871, The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Elmsthorpe as:

"...a parish in Hinckley district, Leicester; on the Leicester and Nuneaton railway, 3 miles NE by E of Hinckley. It has a station on the railway; and its post town is Hinckley. Acres, 1,650. Real property, £1,446. Pop., 45. Houses, 5. The living is a rectory, united with the p. curacy of Earl-Shilton, in the diocese of Peterborough. The church was used as the headquarters of Richard's army previous to the battle of Bosworth; and is now in ruins."[8]

In the 1920s a boot and shoe manufacturers opened in the village, called "Harvey, Harvey & Company".[2]

In the 1930s, the government started to address the population of Elmesthorpe, which had not recovered from its collapse in the 13th century. The government initiated a scheme which brought families from depressed areas to make a living from the land. In 1935 Church Farm was purchased by the Land Settlement Association, who built 43 smallholdings in the village.[2] This continued to the 1960s, when the scheme ended. Many of the smallholdings were then purchased by their tenants.[2]

The 1960s saw both the railway station and the shoe factory close.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Church History". Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Written by members of the Leicestershire & Rutland Federation of Women's Institutes. The Leicestershire & Rutland Village Book. Countryside Books. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Leicestershire Small Area Population and Household Estimates 2001–2004" (PDF). Leicestershire County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  4. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Elmesthorpe Parish Council". Archived from the original on 16 September 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  7. ↑ Bailey, Brian J. (1977). Portrait of Leicestershire. R. Hale. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7091-6005-2. OCLC 3241306.
  8. ↑ Wilson, John Marius. "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales", 1870-72. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2013.

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