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Bescaby
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Description in 1877:
"BESCABY, or Besk Abbey, formerly an extra-parochial manor, has been constituted a civil parish, and in 1871 had a population of 25 persons, living in 4 houses, on about 1200 acres of land. It is in Framland hundred, Melton Mowbray Union and County Court District. The parish belongs to the Duke of Rutland, and was formerly the demesne of Croxton Priory, near which there stood here some extensive buildings, surrounded by a moat. Traces of these buildings are still to be seen, near the place called Friars' Walk. William Furnival held the manor in 1382, with a view of frank pledge, as of the Honor of Winton. The chief branch of the river Eye has its source in this parish, near Bescaby Oaks; it is a fine spring of hard water, and flows in front of Bescaby House, the residence of Mr. John Edward Bright."
[WHITE's "History, Gazetteer and Directory of the Counties of Leicester and Rutland," 3rd Edition 1877]
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- The Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society have published details of Bescaby burials from 1813 - 1865 on microfiche.
- The parish was in the Waltham sub-district of the Melton Mowbray 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 1891 Census for Leicestershire can be found at the Leicestershire County Council.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
| Census Year | Piece No. |
|---|---|
| 1841 | H.O. 107 / 588 |
| 1861 | R.G. 9 / 2304 |
| 1871 | R.G. 10 / 3297 |
| 1891 | R.G. 12 / 2546 |
The web-page author could find no mention of a church in this village.
The village used to be the home of "Besc Abbey", hence the name. But the abbey is long gone.
Most church records for parishioners would be filed under Waltham-in-the-Wolds. You might also check Saltby and Sproxton church records.
- The parish was in the Waltham sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Bescaby was an extra-parocial area qnd a lordship that became a parish. It was also a village, lying 7 miles north-east of Melton Mowbray and 8 miles south-west of Grantham, Lincolnshire. The parish sits between Waltham and Saltby and covered 1,208 acres including Holwell Spring, which is noted as the source of the River Eye.
The village is designated an "abandoned medieval village". If you are planning a visit:
- The village can only be reached by public road from Waltham-on-the-Wolds.
- Ask for a calculation of the distance from Bescaby to another place.
The Medieval village of Bescaby lies just south of the present hamlet.
Andrew TATLOW has a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II's Commemorative Plaque in Diamond Wood in Bescaby Oaks, on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2016.
The Croxton Park Racecourse near Bescaby had an annual race day for about 100 years until 1914.
The River Eye rises in this parish. Kate JEWELL has a photograph of the farm where the river starts on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2005.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK819263 (Lat/Lon: 52.828013, -0.785901), Bescaby which are provided by:
- OpenStreetMap
- Google Maps
- StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
- Bing (was Multimap)
- Old Maps Online
- National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
- Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
- English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
- Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
- GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)
- All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- The BESCABY surname, in several variations, appears unique to Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. There is a surname mailing list run by Pauline Kennedy. You are welcome to subscribe at no cost.
- This parish was an "extra parocial area" of Leicestershire for centuries and was converted to a modern Civil Parish in 1858.
- The parish was in the Framland Hundred (Wapentake) in the northern division of the county.
- In April, 1936, the Civil Parish was abolished and all 1,227 acres were amalgamated with Sproxton Civil Parish.
- District governance for civic and political matters is under the Melton Borough Council.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became a part of the Melton Mowbray Poorlaw Union.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Melton Mowbray petty session hearings.