Bottesford, Leicestershire
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Bottesford is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Melton in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. It lies close to the borders of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
Location
Bottesford is about 15 miles (24 km) east of Nottingham and 13 miles (21 km) north of Melton Mowbray. The village is the largest in the Vale of Belvoir and near to Belvoir Castle, home to the Duke and Duchess of Rutland. It had a population of 3,587 at the 2011 census,[1] estimated in 2018 at 3,382.[2] It borders smaller parishes in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, such as Redmile, Sedgebrook, Orston and Elton on the Hill.
The local amenities include a post office, a railway station, a library, a church, a convenience store, three restaurants and three pubs: The Bull Inn,[3] The Rutland Arms,[4] and The Thatch.[5]
Name
Bottesford derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon "Ford belonging to the botl" (house).[6] The ford was over the River Devon. Bottesford is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Botesford", in the hundred of Framland.[7][8] Historically, Bottesford was closely associated with the Earls and Dukes of Rutland.
History
The village was built along the
There is a local website covering many sides of Bottesford's local history,[12] including mounting evidence of occupation in Roman times and earlier.[13] Bottesford was the venue of one of the country's early friendly societies, thought to have been founded in the 1750s. It provided members with sickness and funeral benefits for over 200 years.[14] Eleven contributors from the history group produced in 2009 a book on the local history since 1850.[15]
From December 1941, there was a
Entertainers Laurel and Hardy stayed for Christmas 1952 at the Bull Inn, where the landlady was Stan Laurel's sister Olga. They were appearing at the Empire Theatre in Nottingham at the time. There is a plaque recording this on the building.[16]
There were two brickyards at Beckinthorpe in the 19th century, one also producing the unique Bottesford Blue pantiles to be seen on some local buildings.[17] Local employment declined in the 20th century. The four pubs, six restaurants, at least 16 retailers and 20 odd small producers and service providers today are one-person or family concerns. Not so the earlier building firm of William Roberts Ltd. Joseph William Roberts (1917–2009) was born and bred in Sutton-cum-Granby, then schooled in Granby, Nottinghamshire and in Bottesford. He moved to the latter and started his firm in 1937, aged 20. It employed over 500 people at one time and branched out as a funeral undertaker.[18]
Character and appearance
The village is somewhat unusual in Leicestershire. Its buildings reflect the traditions of neighbouring Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, as well as local influences, as local materials, initially locally quarried ironstone, but latterly local bricks and distinctive roofing tiles.
There are several open areas in the village, notably an area to the north-east of the churchyard, the churchyard itself, and an area of trees to the south of Devon Lane. Trees play a major part in the street scene in most of Bottesford.
The River Devon flows through the village, almost circling the church. Along its banks in the centre of the village, the soil is a pebbly material known locally as running sand. Views within the village tend to be intimate and enclosed, though the wider Grantham Road provides a slightly extended view out of the village towards Grantham.
Bottesford's many listed buildings include the grade I listed 13th-century Church of St Mary the Virgin. There are two
There are many other listed buildings within the conservation area.
Governance
Bottesford is in the
The
Transport
The village is served by Bottesford railway station on the Nottingham, Grantham and Skegness line. There are also No. 24 and 26 buses, which run to Melton Mowbray at least every two hours, and other services to Grantham and Bingham.
The town was bypassed by the A52 road in February 1989 at a cost of £3 million at the time.[19]
Landmarks
The Victory Commemoration (or VC) Hall is the local name for Bottesford Old Village Hall.[20] The name came about because some of the funds used to buy up the original hall came from leftover money raised in the village during the Second World War to send parcels to those serving in the armed forces.
A new village hall was built in 2003, mainly funded by a grant from Awards for All (Lottery) and local contributions.[21] To mark the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002, several large developments in Bottesford include the creation of a memorial green. One of the 2010 Low Carbon Awards given by the Royal Institute of British Architects went to a house in Bottesford designed by architects Allan Mulcahy.[22]
Clubs and groups
The clubs in the village include two for
Local community information has appeared since 2002 in the Village Voice newsletter, which is delivered free to every house.[23]
Education
Bottesford has a playgroup and a primary school – Bottesford Primary School – and a secondary school – The Priory Belvoir Academy. The latter had its first group of year 10s in 2008, having expanded from being a middle school that year. This initially controversial change was hailed as a success after the schools inspectorate Ofsted rated Belvoir as Outstanding in its 2010 inspection report.[24] It was rated Good in leadership, behaviour, teaching and achievement, and Outstanding in sixth-form provision in its most recent Ofsted report.[25]
There is a public library in the Old School, Grantham Road.[26]
Places of worship
There are Church of England churches in Bottesford (St Mary's) and Muston (St John the Baptist). The poet George Crabbe (1754–1832) moved to Muston Rectory from Stathern in 1789, remaining as incumbent of Muston and of West Allington, Lincolnshire, until 1792. His Natural History of the Vale of Belvoir was a pioneering study of the district.[27]
Bottesford Methodist Church in Devon Lane belongs to the Grantham and Vale of Belvoir Methodist Circuit.[28] The Baptist Church is in Queen Street.[29]
Notable people
In birth order
- Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland (died 1543), courtier and soldier, was buried in Bottesford.
- Abraham Fleming (died 1607), cleric, writer and translator, died in Bottesford. His brother Samuel was Rector here in 1581–1620.
- Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (died 1587), public official, was buried in Bottesford, as were the other earls of Rutland up to John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland (died 1679), politician.
- Joan Flower (died 1619) of Bottesford and her daughters Margaret (executed 1619) and Philippa were among the ostensible Witches of Belvoir and tried as such.
- Henry Beresford Garrett (baptised Henry Rouse in Bottesford in 1818), committed several violent crimes in New Zealand and Australia.[30]
- William Antliff (born 1848), a Derbyshire county cricket player, was born in Bottesford.
- John Parnham (born 1856), a professional cricketer active in the 1880s, was born in Bottesford.
- Willie Young (born 1951), a Scottish footballer who appeared 237 times for Arsenal F.C., now owns a dog kennels in Bottesford.
- Belvoir High School.
- Luke Wright (born 1985), an England all-round cricketer, was born in Bottesford.
Crime victim
Ten-year-old Rosie May Storrie of Bottesford was murdered during a house party in Normanton on 30 December 2003, two days after she had made her first stage appearance as a dancer in a pantomime. She was found by other guests smothered and partly stripped, and died in hospital 36 hours later. A fellow guest, Paul Smith of Sedgebrook, aged 18, was convicted of the murder.[31] Smith, who had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and had a history of violence against girls, was sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum term of fourteen years.[32]
The Rosie May Storrie Memorial Fund established by her parents raised over £270,000 towards charity work with children, notably a Rosie May Children's Home at Boossa, Galle, Sri Lanka.[33]
References
- ^ "Retrieved 3 February 2013". Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ^ "City Population site. Retrieved 27 September 2020". Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Bull, Bottesford". whatpub.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "Own site". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "The Thatch Restaurant Bottesford In The Vale of Belvoir". thethatchbottesford.co.uk. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ Open Domesday Online: Bottesford, Leicestershire Archived 10 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine, accessed November 2019.
- ^ Eckwall 1960.
- ^ J. Betjeman, ed., Collins Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches: the North. London: Collins, 1968, p. 166.
- ^ English Heritage listing of the mausoleum as a Grade II historic building: Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ A pictorial description of the chancel with its monuments. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 27 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bottesford Living History Retrieved 19 September 2010. Archived 27 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Retrieved 6 October 2010". Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ "Retrieved 6 October 2010". Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ Not Forgetting Aspects of Village Life in Bottesford, Easthorpe, Muston and Normanton (Bottesford, 2009).
- ^ Leicestershire Magazine, 31 July 2010 "The Battle for Bottesford - the border town of Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire | Leicestershire Magazine". Archived from the original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.. Retrieved 6 October 2010. Archived 27 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Retrieved 6 October 2010". Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ Grantham Matters, 19 August 2016 Retrieved 6 April 2020. Archived 6 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ History website Retrieved 31 May 2017. Archived 1 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ History website Retrieved 31 May 2017. Archived 11 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bottesford VC Hall Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ This is Leicestershire report: Retrieved 9 October 2010. Archived 6 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Retrieved 10 October 2010. Archived 25 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Leicestershire County Council | Serving the people of Leicestershire". www.leicestershire.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ Published 8 June 2015 Retrieved 4 July 2017. Archived 13 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). villagevoice.bottesford.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ John Marius Wilson: Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-1872.
- ^ "Church site. Retrieved 27 September 2020". Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ "Find a Church. Retrieved 27 September 2020". Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Retrieved 3 January 2015. Archived 9 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2020". BBC News. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- TheGuardian.com. 29 October 2004. Archivedfrom the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ Charity website. Retrieved 12 September 2012. Archived 16 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine