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Kirkby Mallory stands on the old Roman road that ran North East from Leicester to join with the Watling Street approximately 8 miles South of Atherstone. The Watling Street, now the A5, was the main Roman arterial road out of London to access North Wales.
Villages
in mediaeval times often took their name`s from eminent local
landowners and Kirkby Mallory was no exception. References to
the Malory ( or Mallorre), family date back to the reign of King
Stephen in the early 12th century. The first known "Mallory"
was Richard living in about 1100. It is believed that the family
originated from France and possibly came over with William the
Conquer. One of several documents relating to the family and referred
to in Farnham`s Medieval Village Notes is shown below. It concerns
a descendent Thomas Mallorre confirming his families connection
with the village.
Hastings MSS. Dated
1299 on the ascension 27 Edward I.
Charter by which Ralph de Esseby granted to Thomas Mallorre Lord
of Kyrkeby and his lawful issue, an acre of land in Kyrkeby which
the grantor had bought from Thomas de Cherlecote. Witnessed by
.....William Motun of Peckleton, Richard de Shelton, Richard
de Caleby, Simon de Dersford and others.
The above text gives us the status
of Thomas Mallorre as being that of "Lord "
of the village of Kyrkeby. Note the witnesses association
with other nearby settlements, ie. the present day villages of
Cadeby, Shilton and Desford.
An earlier distinguished Mallory descendant
was Ankital Malory, who was keeper of Leicester Castle, he Died
in 1187.
The
Mallory families connection with the village was to last for several
generations, as indicated in this next extract dated
1345 , again indicating a Mallory as being "Lord of the Manor ".
In the rein of Edward 3rd. 1361 or
thereabouts the administration / ownership of the village changed
and control was transferred to the Abbot and Convent of St. Mary
in Leicester. Nichols, Vol. IV informs that Sir Ankitell
Malory sold the manor of Kirkby Mallory to William Clowne, abbot
of Leicester . A document setting out the details of this transfere
is shown in part below, but no mention is made of the Malory family
?? .
Messuage = Site of a home with outbuildings.
A house and yard.
Virgate =
Unit of land considered necessary to support a peasant family,
usually 20 to 30 acres
Advowson
= The right to appoint clergy
The
Abbey & Convent of St. Mary of the Meadow was founded in 1143
by Robert le Bossu, Earl of Leicester. The Abbey stood to the
North of the city, outside of the then 
boundary wall. Administration of the Manor of Kirkby Mallory was
taken over at that time by the Abbot, William of Clown (elected
1345 died 1378). The abbey retained control for the next
176 years until 1537, being the time that King Henry VIII dissolved
the Monasteries. A year later in 1538 King Henry`s army upon entering
Leicester, completely destroyed the Abbey, their enthusiasm was
such that not a stone was left standing above ground. After the
destruction of the Abbey, its wealth and lands were duly confiscated
by the crown, and so it was throughout the land that Henry through
his chief minister Thomas Cromwell vented his anger upon the church
seeking revenge after the Pope had refused to annul his marriage
with Catherine of Aragon.
It was not until 1920 that excavation work began
to reveal the foundation stones that are now visible today, as
shown above. The picture shows only a part of the unearthed Abbey
foundations. This stonework can now be seen on the outer edge
of Abbey Park which is located about a mile from the city centre.
It must have been a truly impressive building in its day and reputed
to have been one of the richest in England.
KING RICHARD 1485 ...It is almost certain that King Richard III passed though Kirkby Mallory on his way to confront the army of Henry Tudor. This historic battle was to become known as the" Battle of Bosworth" and was the final engagement in the War of the Roses. On the 22nd of August, Richard was defeated and killed. The battlefield at Redmoor Plain lay some 2 miles South of Market Bosworth and the old Roman road would certainly have been the most direct route back into Leicester to where Richard`s body was finally taken. For the inhabitants of Kirkby Mallory those few days would have been quite traumatic.
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Site walk and Visitors Centre open to public |
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KING
HENRY VIII In 1541 after the dissolution
of the monasteries King Henry VIII granted the Lordship of Kirkby
Mallory to Thomas Harvey, an already wealthy land owner. His estates
at that time included lands at Elmsthorpe, plus the Manors of
Fleckney, Barwell and Hinckley which together with Kirkby
Mallory made up the following, a 1000 acres of land, 500
of meadow, 1000 pasture, 200 wood, 1000 furze
and heath and 30 Homesteads. Then three years later
in 1544 Thomas Harvey died, and was duly buried in the nearby
village of Peckleton. Following his death, his estates and lands
were divided between his co -heirs, being his 3 surviving daughters
and a granddaughter named Anne Fowler, then aged 14. Anne inherited
the Manor of Kirkby Mallory and later married John Noel, son of
Andrew Noel, Earl of Gainsborough. This was to be the beginning
of the Noel association with Kirkby Mallory
which was to last some 370 years
In 1564 it was recorded, there were then 25 families living in Kirkby Mallory.
A point of interest ........ James Harrington also owned the nearby 2,000 acre Bagworth Park, bought from Lord William Hasting`s son. Lord Hastings commissioned the building of the Ashby and Kirby Muxlow Castles. Lord William Hastings was executed for treason before Kirby Muxlow Castle could be completed.
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Richard Dilke died at Kirkby Mallory on the 13th Feb 1595, leaving his 1/4 share of the Manor to his eldest son George. A memorial stone dedicated to Richard Dilke ( originally a floor stone) may be seen inside Kirkby Mallory church against the West wall to the right of the Belfry, ( see photograph, left ). The inscription reads as follows.- and 1 daughter and Elisabeth 2nd wife who had issue 2 sons and 7 daughters. Richard died 13th day Feb. Anno Dom 1595 |
It would appear from the provisions set out in Richard Dilkes
Will, that the State honoured the lease agreement after the dissolution
in 1538.
Trying
to identify prominent houses of the time, based on the information
given in Richard`s Will, is difficult, for instance, could the
"Manor House of Kirkby Mallory,"and the property
referred to as "my now dwelling house" be considered
the same property ? I think unlikely. George Dilke was obviously
a very wealthy man, so his dwelling house would have been quite
substantial. The Noel family also had considerable wealth with
Anne Fowler inheriting the "Lordship of Kirkby Mallory"
together with several other estates from Thomas Harvey.
John
Noel (husband of Anne Fowler) had died in 1593 . We know that
Sir Verney Noel was living at the Hall in 1666 from the Hearth
Tax returns. So we could speculate on the sites for these three
notable houses thus.
1. The fortified manor house known as "The
Moats" I am sure would have been (The Manor House of Kirkby
Mallory)
2. The original "Kirkby
Hall " was certainly the residence of John and Anne Noel
3. Then lastly the residence of George
Dilk, "My now dwelling house", could this have
been the old Manor Farm?. This building is a good candidate
as it was situated in the centre of the old village, of course
there are other possibilities, perhaps the farm at the Beckfield
Pastures to the North of the village as mentioned earlier.
Note "
Fine" in this context refers to a contract or sale.
"advowson" The right to appoint or recommend
a member of clergy.
The above text, records a sale
in which George Dilk sold land and property to Thomas Glover for
£400 within the Manor of Kirkby
George`s
father and stepmother had recently died 1595 and 1603 respectivly,
so this sale would now make him a very rich man, a millionare
by todays standard.
In
1771 by act of Parliament, the Manor of Kirkby Mallory
was due to be "Enclosed". This meant that any remaining
open fields and common pastures relied on by the villagers for
sustenance were now to be taken, divided and fenced off. The practice
of enclosure in Leicestershire had in fact begun much earlier,
ref. ( L. A.Parker "Enclosure of Leicestershire"
1485 - 1607) and had peaked between the years 1490
and 1510. Leicester Abbey in about 1530 was enclosing on a large
scale. The above publication makes reference to an incident in
Kirkby Mallory when ...... The
Abbot, John Penny in October 1501 evicted 18 people and laid down
5 ploughs by destroying 3 farms and by enclosing and converting
180 acres of arable land into pasture.
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The "Open fields"referred to in the act, being the subject of the enclosure, were the Beckfield Pastures to the North, the Long Sich in the East and Netherfield to the South of the village. The Long Sich and Netherfield formed an area of land that loosely followed the line of the Peckleton Brook, and extended to the South as far as the water course of the Shilton Road brook. This same brook, who`s source lies to the North in the village of Brascote was also used to define the Western boundary between the neighbouring Manors of Barwell, Stapleton and Cadeby. The Long Sich field contained about 144 acres, this being contiguous to a homestead belonging to the church, (possibly the now Glebe Farm on the Shilton Road). The Church Records for 1772 when identifying family locations, other than "Village Street", make reference to areas then known as "The Pasture" and "The Heath".
This Act caused great upheaval to the villagers and their
way of life. The Rev. Rowney Noel Rector of Kirkby Mallory and
Edward, Lord Viscount Wentworth "Lord of the Manor",
were both subject of the above act.
After
the Land Commissioners had completed their task of dividing and
allocating the areas concerned, the "enclosed" sections
they left behind are the fields of the countryside that we see
today.
For the full text
of the Kirkby Mallory Enclosure Act click here
THE RECTORY dates back to the early
17th century ( mentioned in 1643 ) ,then being a Half timbered
building .The Historian, J.Nichols states that the rectory was
rebuilt by the Rev Clobery Noel, then altered and enlarged in
the 18th century by his successor the Rev.Rowney Noel . The 1881
census gives us some idea of the Domestic staff considered necessary
for the upkeep of the Rectory. These being
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Ann Rowly...............Cook,
Hannah
Eagleton .....Ladies Maid Harriet Wood ..........House Maid Sarah Lasitarn......... Parlour Maid Mary Newcombe.....Kitchen Maid George Gibson.........Groom and John Kerrison..........Gardener |
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Left view taken in 1950
Right view taken, 1999 |
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The Village Church dates
back to the early 13th century. The choir stalls are Jacobean,
the rectors stall is early 17th century and the wrought iron work
for the communion rail has been dated 1615
A new
ball and vane was erected on the tower cupola in 1799.
The
church organ was acquired and installed in 1878. Later in 1888
work began on a major refurbishment program which was to cost
some £800. This involved building a new chamber on the North
side of the church to rehouse the organ, on redesigning the West
arch and window, and also carrying out remedial work on the Nave
roof
The
church organ relied on a continuous supply of air for its operation,
and originally this was supplied by a hand operated bellows pump
at the rear of the organ. On brief occasions I was able to accompany
my uncle, (Frank Heath), who had volunteered his services at that
time (the late 1940's) to attend the daily services and operate
this hand pump during the hymn singing. In 1950 thereabouts the
organ was converted to operate with the aid of an electric fan.
The
tower clock was donated by the Newton family and was installed
in 1927.
A survey of the church roof had revealed
extensive decay due to infestation and damp, consequently in 1969
work began to completely replace the roof. This major undertaking
was duly completed in the following year allowing normal church
services to be resumed once again.
The
Bell Tower contains 6 bells, the earlier 3 bells are possibly
16th century. The 4th and 5th bells were installed to commemorate
the dead of World War 1 and were made in Loughborough. The 6th
bell the Tenor was installed in memory of the Rev.Octavius Philpot
who died in 1933.
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The blacksmiths
cottage The census returns for 1881 /91 gives us some insight into the village commuity, for instance the village had a blacksmiths shop, The cottage, once thatched, now modernised, pictured left, can still be seen on the corner of Desford Lane. In the same location,(to the right in the picture) is the cottage known as "Atlasta"this was reputed to have been an old Coaching House standing conveniently as it did next to the Roe Buck Inn, |
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 Stapleton Lane / Dark Lane, |
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The earlier 1861 census gives John Geary (born in Groby) as the Gamekeeper living at Keepers House . Later in 1871 Colin Vann had taken over as estate gamekeeper, George Ellis was Head Gardener at the Hall ,and Thomas Beck was " Vintner " at The Roe Buck Inn, the white house on the corner of Peckleton Road . By the time the next census was taken 1881 John Cahill with his wife Elizabeth had taken over the tenancy
| Roe Buck Inn, The large "White House"on the corner of Peckleton lane also served as village Post Office at one time. |  |
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The 1891 census tells us that this is the home of tenant farmer Timothy Summers, and gives his place of birth as Sutton Cheney, (a small village about six miles away). He lived there with wife Sarah and family being, Tim, Lucy, Charles, Sarah, Frances, Rose and Arthur together with their Governess, Edith Stevens and three servants, Sarah Miller, Frank Cope and John Preston. |
One of the most striking things about all the entries, is the distance individuals and families were prepared to travel to find work. I find this quite remarkable considering the primitive means of transport and communication available at the time, things we now take for granted, for instance the telephone had only just been invented and was not widely available, and the motor car had yet to be, and yet in a small village like Kirkby Mallory we find the "place of origin " being listed as far apart as Leeds, Northumberland, Shrewsbury, Charmouth in Dorset, and Ireland, while others were employed from less distant villages from within the county, namely Carlton, Shenton, Stoke Golding and Wolvey. These journeys could not have been easy, taken on unmade roads with horse and cart.
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THE ESTATE. Up
until the early 1920's the village cottages and the surrounding
farms were all owned by the Kirkby Hall Estate. In 1921 the village
was put up for sale,
The
tenant farmers and villagers were now to be given the opportunity
to purchase their own homes, the Manor was to be split up and
sold off.
AMENITIES in the late 1940`s and 50`s
The
Post Office and general stores in Church Road, was kept by two
sisters, Molly and Mable
Vann. Mrs Biddles owned the Garage,
which provided a taxi service, sold Esso petrol and carried out
minor repairs. The nearest cinema was in Station Road, Earl Shilton
which was about two miles away, so within easy cycling distance.
The small field in the centre of the village known as the "Leas"(meaning
grassy meadow), accommodated the Village Cricket Club. The village
had its own "road sweeper" Jack Parry, employed by the
council, was not a resident in the village but lived in Barwell
I believe. Mr. Huntridge was manager at the Hall. Mr. Dowler was
the gardener (lived in Earl Shilton). Produce from the large garden
was on sale to the village. The Church Wardens were Mr. Alec Summers
and Mr.Burch. The Sextant was Mr.Fred Heath and the church organist
was Miss Edith Summers while Mr. Ben Gibson serviced the church
clock.
Mrs Nellie
Farmer took over the position as "live
in" school teacher about 1956 to 1964
Up until the late 1950`s the community relied
heavily upon traders from outside the village to provide essential
provisions. They would visit weekly or less, some in dedicated
vehicles fitted out for the purpose. Mr. Cooper (from Leicester)
would supply a wide range of hardware and cleaning material. Mr.
J. Weston (Desford) was the Greengrocer. "Archers" (Desford)
sold cycle parts and batteries etc., bicycles far out numbered
cars so this was quite a lucrative business at the time. The Baker,
Butcher, Grocer etc. would each have their respective rounds,
again visiting as necessary.
WOMANS GROUPS
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Click here for enlargement, plus names |
TRANSPORT
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| The Village Post Office The Post Office had been accommodated in various locations throughout its roughly 100 year history. An early Ordinance & Survey map dated 1903 gives its location as being at the Roe Buck Inn. It was certainly incorporated into the then village shop adjacent to the Smithy. It later moved to the small cottage opposite Manor Farm and was subsequently acquired by Mr Edward (Neddy) Gibson . The document opposite is a receipt for the conveyance of that property then known as "The Old Post Office" from the Countess of Lovelace & Others to Mr. Edward Gibson for £120 dated Jan. 1921. The last Post Office in Kirkby Mallory was kept by Mrs Reed and family who lived in Desford Lane. When she retired in October 1990 the Office was obliged to close as no new proprietor could be found. So the closure and transfer of business to the Earl Shilton Main Office. was therefore inevitable |
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PLEASE VISIT AGAIN, RESEARCH
CONTINUING ......
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