Landmark Information Group Ltd. and Ordnance Survey
Thurlaston may be small but it is long on history
with records of former appraisals of the Church and Parish in
the 13th Century, one with far more ominous title that of
Inquisition.
Generally, an Inquisition investigated such matters as the fabric
of the Church, tithes due and ownership of the land. It is interesting
to note that this Appraisal has echoes in the past.
Names given to the Parish or titles associated with it range from Turchiteslestone, Turchilestone, Thorkelestone, Thurlestone, Thurleston, Thurlston, Thulston and latterly Thurlaston. There is little or no record of the Parish in Roman times but it is known that during the Anglo-Saxon era Thurlaston, within part of Leicestershire, was beholden to the Kingdom of Mercia. During the reign of Withlaf there lived in the Parish a Saxon dignitary known as Vice Comes (Vice Earl) who went by the name of Norman (Norseman) and his place of residence (a ton) gave rise to Norman-ton. Later, a Norman Knight with the family name of Turville joined the two names into Normanton Turville.
Pious nobleman assigned part of their land
for sacred purposes and the gifts of Vice Earl Norman to Croyland
Abbey were confirmed by King Withlaf of Mercia in 833 A.D.
Not long after this Egbert, King of Wessex, subdued the other
kingdoms and became the first monarch of England; it was his fourth
grandson who became Alfred the Great. King Alfred had a grandson
who was known variously as Thoketil, Thurketyl or Turchitel from
which was derived Turchitel's ton(e), now Thurlaston. The village,
it seems, has a direct connection with Alfred the Great!
In an attempt to keep the peace with the invading Danes, Alfred and subsequent Kings allowed them to settle in various districts called Dane-laghs, one of which was Leicestershire. Hence, the Danish origins of names such as Enderby, Cosby, Ratby and Kirby. Thurlaston stands alone as an Anglo-Saxon name.
During the reign of Edward the Confessor the
two Parishes of Normanton and Thurlaston were counted as one parish.
Then followed the Battle of Hastings and on the Roll of Battle
Abbey can be found the name of William do Tourvile, ancestor of
the Turvilles of Normanton. King William the conqueror, anxious
to hold Thurlaston in his own possession, exchanged the Manors
of Norton and Staunton Wyvile plus other ploughlands to secure
it.
The Domesday Book confirms the ownership of the Manor of Turchilestone
which later was bestowed to the Viscount of Leicester between
1100 and 1140. Thurlaston Church was founded by Hugh de Champaine,
Lord of Turchiteleston, the first Rector being appointed in 1200
A.D. and known just as Henry.
When we consider present rates of taxation it is interesting to note that in 1327 a special tax levied for the expenses of war resulted in Robert de Compania having a tax bill of 5s 6d (27 1/2p), Adam Martyn 23d (10p) and Henry Martin 3s (15p).
Moving on through the years with expansions and contractions in the size of the manor estates, we reach the Wars of the Roses where the Lords of Thurlaston Manors were on the losing side and they were attainted (outlawed and forfeited their estates).
Edward IV decreed that every Englishman should have a bow of his own height and he should practise on every holiday on penalty of "one halfpenny and some honour" if he failed to do so. The practice grounds were on land through which passes the footpath between Thurlaston and Normanton Hall not a bowshot from the modern clay pigeon shoot!
In the reign of Good Queen Bess there were
only 17 families in Thurlaston and 6 in Normanton Turville but
Parish registers were only officially ordained in 1588, the year
of the Spanish Armada. The first entry was the baptism of Anna
Martin on the 1st April. The purges of Puritanism did not bypass
Thurlaston and the Church was wrecked by the Roundheads which
preceded a period of decay not really halted until the early 1800s.
From 1769 the modern Thurlaston begins to emerge with the enclosing
of the open and common fields, the Lord of the Manor being Joseph
Grundy Esq. The first Baptist Chapel was built in 1787 and in
1832 a day School started in a house near the Dog and Gun. The
first Village School was built in 1835 and The Holt around 1846.
The school was rebuilt and a house added in 1853 at a cost of
£1000. The infant schoolroom, costing another £500,
was completed 6 years later.
Opposite the school on Desford Road a Reading and Recreational room was established, complete with a Village Library now sadly gone. The last bit of local government, the Parish councils, were established in 1894.
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| Map of Thurlaston published in 1899 | ||
| Image produced from the www.old-maps.co.uk service
with permission of Landmark Information Group Ltd. and Ordnance Survey |
The Population Explosion.
| In 1086 the population of Thurlaston was 18. |
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By 1377 the population had risen to 72 in Thurlaston and 49 at Normanton Turvile. By the end of the 14th Century there were four distinct manors connected with the parish.
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| In 1564 there were 17 families in Thurlaston and 6 at Normanton and in 1670 there were 36 houses in Thurlaston and 1 at Normanton. | |
| By 1800 there were 67 houses with 72 families in Thurlaston, 156 males, 164 females and of these 93 were agricultural workers and 134 were in trades and manufacturing. |
