Medbourne History

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Useful Information

Medbourne History

The village lies on the main road from Market
Harborough to Uppingham, over 14 miles south-
east of Leicester, in a small valley on the west side
of Nevill Holt hill. The latter, 500ft high, is an
outlier of the Northamptonshire ironstone beds
and has provided the bulk of the building stone for
houses in the district. Two branch railway lines
crossed the boundaries of Medbourne parish. The
line into Medbourne itself was closed at the end of
the First World War. It was hoped at the last
appraisal that the old railway cutting known as the
'Batters' would be preserved as a nature reserve but
it has been developed and is now known as 'Little
Oaks'.

The name 'Medbourne' is Anglo Saxon - meadow
stream, the name unchanged since the Doomsday
Book. The stream and two of its tributaries form
part of the parish boundaries to the north of the
village. Because of the dangers of flooding the
course of the brook was canalised into straight
drains, both north and south of the village, at the
time of the enclosure of the open fields in 1844 -
the last to be enclosed in the county. The centre of
the village used to be a large rectangular green
partially bounded by the brook. The higher ground
on the west side of the brook, where the mosaic
pavement of a Roman villa was first uncovered in
1721, appears to have been on the edge of a
substantial Roman settlement.

The roads from Slawston and Hallaton enter the
village from the west, crossing the brook by a low
concrete bridge, an 'irish' bridge, which replaced
the ford in 1935/36. The road is joined to the
churchyard (1 in the keyed plan) by the old
packhorse bridge (2) across the brook which was
used when floods made the ford impassable. This
narrow stone bridge has round chamfered arches
and triangular cut-waters and dates from
mediaeval times. The surface and handrails of the
bridge were replaced in 2000. The road to Drayton
runs from the south-east corner of the green, but
other lanes running eastwards were driftways
leading to open fields. The most northerly, Old
Holt Road, was the way to Nevill Holt until the
early 1880s when it was blocked by the building of
the railway, the 'Medbourne Curve'. The driftway
leading to the Manor House was then converted
into New Holt Road now Manor Road. The main
road from Market Harborough crosses the River
Welland outside the village at a county bridge
designed by Joseph Vinrace in 1820 and enters the
village by a bridge over the brook in the south-west
corner of the green.

The church of St. Giles (1) stands on the north side
of the green in the centre of the village. Originally
built about 1000 AD, it was destroyed by fire in
1270AD and a new church completed in 1320 AD.
The tower was added about 1370 AD. Extensive
renovations were undertaken in the 17th century.
More recently, the chancel was rebuilt in 1876, the
nave in 1811 and the south transept in 1912. The
carved oak pedestal and ironwork in the choirstalls
are by local craftsmen. In the south transept,
between early English pillars, there are indications
that a screen stretched the length of the transept.
The north transept was fitted out as the parish
school room but abandoned when it was moved
into a new building in 1869, after which it was then
used as a store room. It became the parish room and
vestry in 1963. The nave was rebuilt in 1880 and the
pews and furnishings date from that time. The
13th century circular font was placed on a new stem
in 1882 and its four shafts attached to the basin,
were continued to the base. E.B. Nevinson, cousin
of the Rector at that time, designed the beautiful
south window. The 'Friends of Leicester Infirmary'
gave the east window of the transept to the church
in 1940 in recognition of their founder, William
Watts, who for many years was curate in the parish.
There are six bells, five cast in 1768, the sixth hung
in 1952. A former rector, Rev. L.P. Baker, gave the
clock in 1852 and by his will he left £100 partly for
the repair of the clock and partly to pay the parish
schoolmaster's salary. The weather vane was
probably made about 1890 and presented by Sir
Bache Cunard. The churchyard was extended on
the north east side, near the village pound, in 1916
by the acquisition of two cottages. The parish
registers date from 1588.

The thatched house, Old Queen House (3),
formerly an inn which closed soon after 1905,
stands between Springbank and the brook. It is
dated 1733 but part of the lower north wing
probably belonged to an earlier structure. The
village shop and post office (4) on Springbank
which moved to this location in 1999, retains its
originalVictorian appearance. It was once Warners
grocery shop which later became a butcher's shop.
Pagets Farm (5) in Main Street, opposite Old Holt
Road, was built late in the 17th century and
heightened around 1800. The walls are coursed
rubble throughout with limestone dressings to the
windows and doors.
The old village hall (6) on Main Street is a plain redthe
brick building erected with money raised by public
subscription in 1913. Renovated during the 1970s
by grants and village fundraising, it was converted
to offices after its function was transferred to the
closed village school.
The smaller stone houses of the mid 17th century
were single storeyed with either half or full attic
bedrooms. The heightening of the side walls to
provide a more habitable upper floor resulted in a
flattening of the pitch of the roof and a replacement
of thatch with welsh slate. An example is the old
Crown Inn on Main Street(7), closed between 1926
and 1928.

There is a considerable amount of 19th century
building in Medbourne, most of it dating from the
latter half of the period. The earliest brickwork
dates from 1861 and brick was increasingly used in
the district to the almost complete exclusion of
stone. On Main Street the old smithy (8) and the
house to the south of it (now converted into one
dwelling) were built in 1875 on the site of the parish
workhouse.
The house in Rectory Lane known as the Old
Rectory (9) dates mainly from 1830 but preserves,
at its north end, a cross wing of the 17th century
parsonage and, at its south end, an 18th century
addition.
The Old Hall (10), which lies between Manor Road
and Rectory Lane, is similar in plan to Dale Farm
but of an earlier date. It was probably built soon
after the middle of the 17th century.
The Manor House (11), on the north side of Manor
Road, is the oldest house in the village and probably
dates from the late 13th century. It is T shaped in
plan consisting of a two-storeyed cross-wing, with
later attics and a hall block on its north side,
originally one storey. The east slope of the hall roof
is original, but the west slope is much flatter, the
result of the heightening that probably occurred
soon after the insertion of a first floor and the
massive axial chimney in the late 16th century.
When Sir Bache Cunard became master of the
Fernie Hunt in 1878, the house was renovated for
the use of the huntsman, because the diversion of the
Holt Road through its yard made it impossible to use
as a farm. Kennels (12) and cottages (13) on the
opposite side of the road were also built by Sir
Bache Cunard and include a range of five cottages
with tile-hung and jettied gables dated 1818. Home
Farm, towards Nevill Holt, is similar in appearance
and date.
At the lower end of Manor Road, on its south side, is
Dale Farm (14), a compact H-planned house of the
late 17th. century, with steep hipped slate roofs.
The tall symmetrically placed chimney stacks are of
limestone ashlar and are contemporary with the
house.
The Horse and Trumpet (15) is a rubble walled
building which dates from the late 18th. century.
The inn probably occupied this building since 1870
but in 1844 a house of the same name stood close to
the site on which the village school was
subsequently built. The business has now changed
from an inn to a restaurant and bed and breakfast
establishment. The building has recently been
renovated and the thatch roof restored to its former
glory. In front of the Horse and Trumpet is the
bowling green (16), formerly part of the inn. Thanks
to the generosity of the family of the late Jim Price,
the previous owner of the Horse and Trumpet and
local fundraising, the Parish Council was able to
acquire the ownership of the bowling green on
behalf of the village.
The Old House (17) to the south of the Horse &
Trumpet is contemporary with the Old Hall on
Rectory Lane. A gas house in the garden (17)
originally manufactured gas for the local stables,
cottages and Nevill Holt Hall. The mains are still
embedded in Manor Road.

Beyond the war memorial (18) opposite the end of
Manor Road is a row of cottages, School Row (19),
and the old village school (20). The school and
school house were built in 1868/69 in the Gothic
style, richly ornamented with fishscale roof tiles,
terracotta ridge tiles and cast iron window frames.
The school closed in 1981 and is now used as the
village hall with teas being served by local groups
every Sunday during the summer to raise funds.
The most important building at the south end of
the village is Bridgedale Farm (21)which was
probably built by John and Mary Goodman in
1709. It has their initials and the date over the
central entrance. The house, which was
originally T-shaped in plan, is constructed on an
artificially raised site as a precaution against
flooding.
The former stables (22) in Ashley Road, which
have now been converted to houses, were built by
Sir Bache Cunard to house the Fernie Hunt until
they moved to Great Bowden in May 1924.
The Nevill Arms Inn, (23) facing the brook is a
two storey ironstone building built in Tudor style
and dated 1863. The Inn was rebuilt by Captain
G.R. Nevill, brother and heir of Cosmos George
Nevill owner of the Holt estate, to replace the
former building which was destroyed by fire.
On the west side of the brook are a number of 17th
century ironstone houses including Saddlers
Cottage (24) which retains a thatched roof.
The footpath to the side of the brook, known as the
'towpath', leads to Manor Farm (25), also of mid
17th century construction, which is an L-shaped
house of two stories with attics. The large rear
wing is an addition made later in the 17th century.
Varying window mouldings indicate that the
house is a building of more than one period. The
front entrance was blocked after flooding in
1980/1. Opposite the house is an orientation table
showing points of interest. It was designed and
erected by villagers to commemorate the
millennium, with funding from the Arts Council.

The majority of later building has been infilling or
replacement of earlier cottages apart from the
bungalows at Marlow Court in the former station
yard and the new houses in 'The Batters' now
known as Little Oaks.

Across the Hallaton Road the footpath leads to the
children's play area (26) which is owned by
Medbourne Educational Foundation Trust along
with a large part of the playing field. The
playground was completely refurbished to
commemorate the millennium after three years of
very successful fundraising and the help of grants
from the National Lottery, Medbourne Charities
and Harborough District Council. The Parish
Council owns the upper part of the sports field
(27), the tennis courts area and the land below the
courts. The pavilion (28), used by all the sports
clubs, was rebuilt and opened in 1984 with the aid
of local fundraising, grants and volunteers, in
memory of a popular local sportsman, Stephen
Burrows, who tragically lost his life at a young
age.

Behind the pavilion, below the tennis courts,
lies the nature conservation area known as
'Medbourne Hollow' (29). This area was
originally a clay pit which had been left
derelict to become a rough, marshy area,
overgrown and untidy. Local volunteers
decided to gather interest and support to
excavate two pools and plant trees and shrubs to
encourage birds, butterflies and wild flowers.
With the help of a Shire Grant, a small grant
from Harborough District Council and
donations from the Millennium Fund and local
residents the area was transformed in the spring
of 2000. An all year round bird feeding station
was added in 2002 with a notice board and seats
being added since then.

The history of Medbourne is as much about the
people and their way of life as it is about the
buildings. Medbourne joins with Hallaton
every Easter Monday to play out the ancient
game of Bottle Kicking. There are parades in
both villages with the distribution of the hare
pie in Hallaton which precedes the scramble for
three wooden barrels (the bottles) of ale. The
players from both villages are keen to win this
annual event and there is much celebrating
before and after the game.

An archive of information, ranging from the
church yard gravestones survey to a
photographic history of the Nevill Arms and the
Horse and Trumpet, is kept in the church room
and is available for public viewing by
appointment with the church warden. This
archive is being continually enhanced as other
topics are researched or new information
comes to light.

The population record for the village goes back
to the Doomsday Book when there were 22
workers and their families. The highest
population was of 580 recorded in 1861 and it
then fell to a low of 352 in 1931. It has climbed
since then to its present level of 436.