Barrow on Soar
Description in 1877:
"Barrow-upon-Soar is a parish and large village, which gives its name to a Poor Law Union district, and a county court district. It has for ages been celebrated for its excellent limestone, and is pleasantly situated on the east side of the navigable River Soar, and on both side of the Midland Railway on which it has a station 2 miles N. of Mount Sorrel, 3 miles S.E. of Loughborough , and 9 miles N. of Leicester. Barrow township comprises about 2510 acres of land and had 1099 inhabitants in 1801, 1638 in 1831, 1800 in 1861, and 1973 in 1871, the increase of the last ten years being 'attributed to the opening of the limeworks.' It is in East Goscote Hundred, but its parish comprises also the townships of Mount Sorrel North-end, Quorndon, and Woodhouse, all of which are in West Goscote Hundred. The area of the whole parish is about 9160 acres, and it had 5857 inhabitants in 1871."
White's "History, Gazetteer and Directory of the Counties of Leicester and Rutland. 3rd Edition," 1877
- The Barrow Cemetery, set aside in 1893, covered only half an acre. It was under the control of the Parish Council.
- The parish was in the Barrow-upon-Soar sub-district of the Barrow-upon-Soar Registration District.
- The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print and Volume 13 covers the Barrow on Soar Sub-District.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2279 & 2280 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2519 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to The Holy Trinity.
- The church chancel was pulled down and entirely rebuilt in 1862.
- The church was completely restored in 1870.
- The church seats 500.
- A brief history of Holy Trinity Church can be found on the parish website along with a number of photographs, and a searchable database of memorial inscriptions in the churchyard.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1563.
- The church was in the rural deanery of East Akeley.
- The Barrow Family History Group tell us: "We have nearly completed the transcription of Holy Trinity
Parish church registers of Baptisms, Burials and Marriages, into a series of microsoft Excell fully searchable files. We are also carrying out a similar exercise with the St Mary's Parish Church registers for Walton on the Wolds, i.e a neighbouring village. We have used the original church registers for this project. The village cemetery registers have also been transcribed." For details contact Vincent Thompson, email <VinandVal@aol.com> . They provide a search service now, and intend to publish the information on CD for sale via the Parish church web site and via the Leicestershire and Rutland Family History Society.
- The Society of Genealogists holds copies of records of marriages from 1563 - 1837, baptisms from 1689 - 1966 and burials from 1689 - 1812 which can be studied at their library in London.
- The Catholic Church had a chapel built here in 1839 and dedicated it to Saint Alban.
- The General Baptists had a chapel built here in 1820 that could seat 300.
- The Weslyan Methodists and the Primitive Methodists all had chapels here by 1849.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The Registrar's Office in Barrow-upon-Soar closed in 1945. Certificates of birth, death and marriage can now be obtained from the Superintendent Registrar at Leicestershire Central or Loughborough.
Barrow on Soar is a village and a parish which lie about 113 miles north of London, 3 miles east of Loughborough and 19 miles north of Leicester. Quorndon parish lies to the west and Sileby parish lies to the southeast. The parish covers just under 2,500 acres.
The village lies just east of the A6. The River Soar passes along the southwest edge of the village, If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A46 north out of Leicester toward Loughborough. At Quorndon turn right (east) into Barrow on Soar.
- There is train service to Barrow upon Soar, but the schedule is unreported.
- The parish was known for the fine limestone quarried here.
- Shoes and boots were another commodity found in Barrow.
- In 1851 the fossil of a large Plesiosaur was unearthed here. It was nicknamed the "Barrow Kipper". The remains are on display at the Leicester Museum.
- The Manor here was known as "Barwe" to the Saxons and it belonged to Hugh Lupus.
- The national grid reference is SK 5717.
- You'll want an Ordinance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- This place was an ancient parish in county Leicester and became a Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish is in the ancient East Goscote Hundred in the northern (or Mid) division of the county.
- The parish became part of the Mountsorrel Borough in the 1800s.
- In October, 1896, the parish reduced in size to enlarge Mountsorrel Civil Parish.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became the centre of the Barrow-upon-Soar Poorlaw Union.
- In the 1840s, the parish had hospitals or almshouses for 11 aged men and 7 aged women.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
1,840 |
| 1861 |
1,800 |
| 1871 |
1,963 |
| 1881 |
2,024 |
| 1891 |
2,245 |
| 1901 |
2,409 |
| 1911 |
2,481 |
| 1921 |
2,575 |
- The Grammar School, was a secondary school by 1911. It was founded in 1717.
- There was a Free School here in 1849.
- A Public Elementary School was built here in 1858 and enlarged in 1897 to hold 300 children.
- A School Board was formed here in 1875.
- A second Public Elementary School was built here in 1880 for 167 children.
This parish page was developed by Tim Arguile. Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
Last updated: 21-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
