A Brief History of Newbold Verdon

In 1086, Newbold Verdon belonged to Hugh de Grandmesnil, held from the Queen. Some land was also held by Howard. By the time of King Stephen (1135 - 54), Newbold Verdon belonged to Robert de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, who gave it to Bertram de Verdon whe he married Maud, Robert's daughter. In 1273, the manor of Newbold verdon belonged to John, lord of Verdon, at the time of his death and it passed to his 26 year old son Theobald.

Theobald and his first wife Maud had three daughters, Johanne [Joan], Elizabeth and Margaret who were his heirs. His second wife Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter Isobel after his death. Joan married Thomas de Furnyval, Elizabeth married Bartholomew de Burghersh, Margaret married Mark de Hose and Isobel married Henry Ferrars. The land in Newbold verdon was divided between them.

All of these famillies contributed to the development of Newbold Verdon and by 1381 Thomas and Elizabeth Crophull held the manor. by 1401 it was held by Walter Devereux and his wife Agnes who was the daughter and heir of Thomas Crophull. Their grandson Walter, Viscount Hereford, succeeded to the manor in 1559.

In 1564 there were 16 families in Newbold Verdon. The manor passed briefly to the Earls of Huntingdon. George succeeded Henry and, following the death of George's son Francis, he was succeeded by his son Henry. Henry sold part of the land to William Mounteney, gent., in 1608 and the manor and the rest of the land was sold to Nicholas Herne in 1610. Herne sold it to Sir Thomas Crewe in 1625.

In 1630 with Sir Thomas Crewe as lord of the manor, there were four other freeholders: William Mounteney gent., John Chapman, John Haike and Robert Atterton. In 1712 William Mounteney, a descendant of the afe-mentioned William Mounteney, sold part of his land to Ralph Trotter. It was a little farm on which Trotter built a house called Chaterhouse.

In 1801 Newbold Verdon had 80 houses in which lived 90 families, 339 people. Of those employed, 89 worked in agriculture and 116 in trade and manufacture.

Newbold Verdon grew quickly during the nineteenth century and by 1846 there was a population of 605 inhabitants, rising to 716 in 1871. By this time too there had been other changes and Sir Edward Hartopp was Lord of the Manor.

Three miles east of Market Bosworth, the parish of Newbold Verdon covers 1, 750 acres and includes the hamlet of Brascote. There is some pasture but most of the agricultural land is arable. The soil is mainly light but heavier in the north and the main crops include wheat, barley, oats and roots.

As well as the parish church of St. James, a Baptist Chapel was built in 1833 and later, a Primitive Methodist Chapel. Money left by Lord Crewe, then the Bishop of Durham, when he died in 1720 bought a building for a Free School at a cost of £30. The Manor House, once the home of Lord Crewe, became the home of the Montagu family. There was a corn mill on Desford Road in Newbold Verdon and it was operational in 1846. However by 1884 it had been demolished and was not included on the Ordnance Survey map that was published in that year. There is no evidence of the mill today.

For information about people in Newbold Verdon, click on Family History.

Sources
The history and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, J.Nichols
History, Gazateer and Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland 1846, William White
Kelly's Directory of Leicestershire and Rutland 1881, E.R.Kelly