CHRONOLOGY - IBSTOCK

 

1086    First mention of Ibstock (then spelt Ibbestoche) in the Domesday Book.

The church of St Denys is said by Pevsner to be mainly 14th century

1564    Only 29 families in Ibstock.

1564    William Laud was made rector of Ibstock, he was inducted to the living at Ibstock 2nd August 1617. He would later become Archbishop of Canterbury and advisor to Charles I and was the author of the Laudian reforms before his arrest in 1640 and execution in 1645.

1732    A schoolroom was provided for Ibstock by one Thomas Clare.

c. 1785 In the summer, a violent storm came on at Ibstock, attended with thunder and lightning.  The lightning struck a windmill near the town and did considerable damage.

1792    A free school for 50 poor children was opened in Ibstock, and a Sunday school for 80 boys and girls of the poor of Ibstock, both by the charitable contributions of the parishioners.

1801    Ibstock contained 148 houses inhabited by 152 families, consisting of 379 males, 384 females, of whom 270 were employed in agriculture and 105 in trade, manufactures, etc.

1818    A Public Elementary School, usually referred to as the National School, was built on the lower side of High Street.

1836    The National School had 117 pupils.  The schoolmaster Mr Bates, received 52 per annum plus “the interest of 20, derived from the sale of the site of the old classroom.

1846    The population of Ibstock was 1138.

1894    Heather Station renamed Heather and Ibstock (Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway Co.)

1895    A public Elementary School (infants) was built for 237 children.

1897    Bernard Newman, lecturer and author, was born in the Parish of Ibstock.

1907    An Elementary Council School (juniors) was built in Melbourne Road for 336 children.

1923    Ibstock Penistone Rovers formed.

1925    On September 14th of this year, Ibstock Secondary School was opened – the first separate ‘Secondary’ school in Leicestershire.

1928    Ibstock Pit closed.  It was decided it would be too expensive to keep it open.  Major shoring would have had to be undertaken to ensure the safety of the pit workers as the ground near the pit has a large fault running through it.

1928    Ibstock Scout Group formed.

1931    Ibstock and Heather Station shut for passengers.

1944    School becomes known as Ibstock Secondary Modern School.

1954    Ibstock and Heather Station closed altogether.

1963    School became a Community College.

1978    Ibstock population 5359.

 

LISTED BUILDINGS

1. Church of St. Denys’.  Medieval Parish Church.  The Church is mainly 13th Century, although the list of Rectors does go back to 1160. There were probably Saxon and Norman Churches on the same site.

2. The Rectory, High Street.  Late 18th Century.  Mentioned In the N. Pevsner – “Buildings of Leicestershire and Rutland”, Penguin 19

3. Lockers End, Overton Road.  Late 18th Century.

4. Archbishop Laud’s Pantry.  16th, 17th Century.

5. The Manor, High Street. 17th, 18th Century.

6. Number 119 High Street, c. 1800. Two storey house.

7. Number 121 High Street. C. 1800. Three storey house.

8. Number 150 High Street. Three storey house.

 

The information on this page has been gathered from a number of sources and the Society try where possible to verify the information it uses, therefore we warn viewers that the detail below has yet to be independently verified.

 

ELLISTOWN

Although the settlement predates him the village takes its name from Colonel Joseph Joel Ellis of London who established the colliery on Victoria Road in 1874. Around 1140 Swinfen Grange was one of two granges given by nobleman Robert Byrton to the Abbot of Garendon Abbey but with the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VII, Garendon Abbey surrendered its lands to the Crown which then sold or let them. Swinfen Grange was let to a John Pykeringe in 1531 and the name changed to "Pykeringe Grange". The area that would eventually be named Ellistown was called Swinfen Rushes at the start of the 19th century. The site of the medieval Pickering grange lies wholly within the parish and was referred to as Swinfen alias Pickering in the tithe book for 1670 though after 1700 it is generally known as Pickering

 

The South Leicester colliery in what was the village of Whitehill was sunk two years after Ellistown in 1876. Following the 1901 census the original settlement of Ellistown that lay in the Ibstock Parish; centred on the staggered cross roads of Victoria Road, Wood Road, Terrace Road and Station Road amalgamated with its neighbour to the north, Whitehill, centred on the crossroads of Beveridge Lane, Ibstock Road, Midland Road and Bagworth  Road (now called Whitehill Road) which lay in the Hugglescote Parish meaning the church dedicated to St Christopher that was at the northern edge of Ellistown now lay in the centre of the combined village. Although the Trade Directories from the Victorian era normally listed the business of Whitehill and Ellistown together demonsrating a long standing link between the two villages.

 

HEATHER

‘Hadre’ was recorded in the Domesday Book with 4 households and 2 ploughlands under the ownership of Countess Judith (or Judith of Lens, niece of William the Conquerors), prior to 1066 the Lord was Esbiorn of Oadby although there was evidence of Iron Age settlements to the North West of the village uncovered during open cast coal mining at Sence Valley, the settlement was identified from the late 2nd century BC through to early 2nd century A.D. Mesolithic flint and a Neolithic Saddle Quern were recovered from near to Heather Hall, several Iron Age Bee Hive Querns have been found which are associated with pit aliments plus earth work features of the same period in fields off the Swepstone Road and roman pottery, maybe from a kiln site has also been found close to the village.

 

The parish church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was established in the 12th century as a chapel for the Knights Hospitallers. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1828 and a group of Primitive Methodists built their first chapel in 1855. The first large scale coal mine was first established in the village in 1870, although it is believed that there was a smaller scale from the Medieval period; the first written evidence for coal mining is from the first part of the 17th century. The mine closed in 1901 although Brickclay continued to be extracted on the site well into the millenium. The railway arrived in the village in August 1873 adjacent to the road leading down to the mine and served both Ibstock and Heather; the station closed in June 1954.

 

NAILSTONE

There is a suggestion that the Anglo Saxon settlement here was renamed Nagels Tun (Nagel’s land or farm) following Viking redistribution of land in the Danelaw. Few doubt that there was a settlement when the Domesday Book was compiled but there is still debate over its name thanks to the use of both old English and Latin, some say it was Aileston, others Neluestone or some say it is Neulebi. The Nailstone large wood mentioned in Domesday extended two furlongs by three. The medieval period saw the continued development of a farming community and the landscape changed with the Enclosure Acts during the 17th century with the final enclosures recorded in 1674. Amongst the villages claims to fame are the 12th century church of All Saints, a familiar landmark with its 117 feet high Broach spire which houses a memorial stone to Thomas Corbett, Sergeant of the Pantry to four Tudor monarchs, he died in 1586 aged 94.

 

Legend tells us that Nailstone marks the southern most point of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s 1745 Jacobite campaign. Having consulted the Knowles family to gauge support for his claim to the Crown he returned north. An elm tree was planted to mark the spot, the tree blew down in 1962. Earl Howe endowed the National School that opened in 1828. A fee paying school for local children continued in use until the Dove Bank school opened in 1982. The discovery of coal in the parish in 1863 brought new employment to the area. In more recent times there is a rich history of village life. The two pubs, The Bulls Head and the Nut and Squirrel (formerly the Queen’s Head) also incorporated an undertakers and butchers.

 

ODSTONE

Is a hamlet forming part of the Shackerstone civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire. It stands on a marked promontory of high ground between two river valleys. The village appears in the Domesday Book as Odeston, meaning either "Odd's farm or village", or "settlement on the protruding piece of land", oddr being the Old Norse for "point", the largest production was always and remains farming.

 

NEWTON BURGOLAND

Newton, or ‘Neutone’, is another village that was recorded in the Domesday Book.  It was further referenced in 1390 as Neuton Burgilon, 'Newton' meaning 'new homestead or village’, 'Burgoland' refering to the Burgilon family from Burgundy.  In 1870 Newton Burgoland had a population of 230 and covered 786 acres.  There were 3 non-conformist chapels in Newton although only one remains in use, built in 1807, a school was built on land given by Lord Belper with financial support provided by the Wesleyan chapel. 

 

Among Newton’s listed buildings are Grange farmhouse c1800, 7 & 9 School Lane, a timber framed cottage of 17th century, Abingdon Lodge, the Congregational Church and The Green cottage which was formerly the church Sunday School. The village is home to the oldest pub in Leicestershire, the Belper Arms, which dates back to 1290 when it was called "The Shepherd and Shepherdess”. The second village pub, ‘The Spade Tree’, was demolished in 2013 to make way for housing, it took its name from the Spade Tree Maker or Spade Tree Turner who made wooden spade handles on a lathe.

 

The Swepstone parish also includes a small settlement named Newton Nethercote, (now deserted) which formed part of the village.  The cause of the desertion of the village is not known but could be a result of depopulation as a result of the Black Death or later as a result of land enclosures. However the medieval village of Newton Nethercote is clearly visible by means of aerial photography which shows the outline of the hollow ways and house platforms.

 

SWEPSTONE

The Domesday book refers to Swepstone as ‘Scopestone’ with ten ploughlands, fifteen villains, a priest, six borders and twelve acres of meadows and it’s thought that Swepi or Swaepa’s homestead (tun). Notable Lords of the Manor in the 13th century was Henry Hastings, Governor of Kenilworth Castle and Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, who held the Manor in 1376 – the ancient blocked north door of St. Peter’s church is known as the Black Prince’s door. The church is in the Gothic style with a newly built tower and four bells. There is a National school for boys and girls of the poor who have £75 a year left in a will by Anne Clare in 1691, today the old school is a well-used village hall and Anne Clare’s charity still exists.

 

The village contains five listed buildings: Manor House, Church Farmhouse, St. Peter’s church, Swepstone House and Tempe Farmhouse. The 1911 census records 1 miller at the nineteenth century Clock Mill with adjoining bakery which went out of use in 1967 with the water course now diverted. In 1911 there were nearly as many coal miners in the village as agricultural workers. As early as 1660 “Swepstone pits” in the far western part of the parish produced coal for the Mayor of Leicester, this area developed into Measham colliery where the Swepstone men would probably have been employed. The Minorca shaft was sunk opposite Clock Mill during WW1.