Belton
Description in 1871:
"BELTON, a parish in Loughborough district, Leicester; 4½ miles NNE of Swannington r. station, and 6 WNW of Loughborough. Its statistics include the extra-parochial tract of Grace-Dieu; and its Post Town is Sheepshead, under Loughborough. Acres, 1,900. Real property, £5,259. Pop., 781. Houses, 161. The property is divided among a few. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £179. Patron, the Marquis of Hastings. The church is a fine old edifice, with tower and spire; and contains a monument of Roesia de Verdun, the founder of Grace-Dieu nunnery. There are two dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, a national school, and a great annual horse fair."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-1872]
Note: There are two other places called Belton in Lincolnshire, one in Rutland and one in Suffolk.
- The parish was in the Loughborough sub-district of the Loughborough 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.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2276 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2517 |
- Grace Dieu Priory was founded here in 1240 by Roesia de VERDUN for 14 nuns and a prioress of the Saint Augustine order. It was dissolved in 1539.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
- The church was built in the Early English style some time before 1538.
- The church was restored in 1850 and again in 1877.
- The church seats 400.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1538 and is in good condition.
- The church is in the rural deanery of West Akeley (later South Akeley).
- The General Baptists had a chapel founded here in 1849.
- The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel here before 1849.
- The Grace Dieu Catholic chapel was dedicated to Saint Mary.
- The parish was in the Loughborough sub-district of the Loughborough Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Belton, Leicestershire, is a small village and a parish in the North West Leicestershire area. It lies 123 miles north of London, very close to the town of Shepshed. To the south lies the main town of Charnwood borough, Loughborough. The parish lies 5 miles south-west of Kegworth and it covered about 1,900 acres in 1871, but grew to 2,345 by 1891 and to 2,413 acres by 1951.
The village is home to a pub, a restaurant, a village shop, a hairdresser, a doctor's surgery, a woodyard and a riding school. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, Belton is off Junction 23 of the M1 motorway. It lies on the B5324 between the M1 and the A447, northwest of Shepshed.
- Belton village is home to one of the few remaining free-standing maypoles in the country. The local residents are very proud of this fact.
- In the neighborhood, to the south, is Charnwood Forest.
- The well-known Belton Horse Fair was held on the Monday after Trinity Sunday.
- Grace Dieu Manor was the seat of Ambrose Charles PHILLIPPS de Lisle in 1849.
- The national grid reference is SK 4420
- You'll want an Ordnance 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 the county of Leicester. It became a Civil Parish when those were established.
- This place contained the extra-parochial liberty of Grace Dieu.
- The parish was in the western division of the ancient West Goscote Hundred in the Mid division of the county.
- The parish was in the Loughborough local government district up to 1936. Since then it has been in the Castle Donington local government district.
- On 1 April, 1936, the Civil Parish was enlarged by 68 acres gained when the Civil Parish of Thringstone was abolished.
- William SHAW's annual charity provided £8 for clothing for the poor in 1849. The charity started in 1704 at SHAW's death.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Loughborough Poor Law Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
718 |
| 1871 |
684 |
| 1881 |
645 |
| 1891 |
571 |
| 1901 |
542 |
| 1911 |
607 |
| 1921 |
588 |
| 1931 |
554 |
| 1961 |
679 |
- The village had a National School by 1849.
- The village has a primary school, but children travel by bus to Shepshed High School once they pass into secondary school.
Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
Last updated: 21-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills
