Billesdon

• A cemetery of one acre on Uppingham Road was set aside in 1870.
   
• The cemetery is shared with Rolleston and managed by a Joint Burials Committee.
   
• Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of Uppingham Road heading towards the cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2013.
   
• Mat FASCIONE also has a photograph of the Entrance to Billesdon Cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2013.
   

• The parish was the center of the Billesdon sub-district of the Billesdon 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:
   

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
   
• The church was restored in 1865.
   
• The church seats 400.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. John's Church on Geo-graph, taken on a sunny day in February, 2011.
   
• Colin PARK also has a photograph of St. John's Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2016.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1579.
   
• The Anglican parish was in the rural deanery of Gartree (third portion).
   
• A General Baptist chapel and a Particular Baptist chapel were both here by 1849.
   
• A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built here in 1859 and restored in 1892.
   

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
   
• The parish was the center of the Billesdon sub-district in the Billesdon Registration District.
   

Billesdon is both a village, a township and a parish in a nice valley just east of Leicester city. The parish is 9 miles east of Leicester city on the Uppingham Road and 10 miles north of Market Harborough. The parish covers about 2,160 acres and was primarily pastureland for centuries.

If you are planning a visit:

• There are three springs which rise in the parish. They are known as the Billesdon Brooks.
   
• By automobile, take the A47 east out of Leicester or west out of Uppingham. The road passes along the north edge of the village.
   
• David THOMPSON has a photograph of the Village sign in the heart of the village, on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2017.
   

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Billesdon to another place.

• Near the village is a mound, thought to be Roman. The encampment area covers about 3 acres.
   
• Most of the parish land was given over to pasturage.
   

• The Coplow House sits on a height about a mile north of the village, but was unoccupied in 1912.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Billesdon Manor on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2011.
   

• See our Maps page for additional resources.
   

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK719028 (Lat/Lon: 52.618219, -0.939424), Billesdon 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.

• Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2008. The column in the foreground is the War Memorial. This stands at the beginning of West Lane where it intersects Long Lane. The column, erected in 1918, is a Grade II listed structure with British Heritage.
   
• This War Memorial cross was damaged by being struck by a tank and an articulated tanker, the latter in 1966.
   
• Sam TAIT has a photograph of the Cold war ROC post on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2007. This is south of the village on Gaulby Road.
   
• David THOMPSON also has a photograph of the Cold war ROC site on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2015.
   
• Inside the parish church there is a wooden plaque with gold lettering listing all those who served in World War One (a Roll of Honour).
   
• Inside the parish church there is also a wooden plaque to George CHRISTIAN, chaplain and house-master at Uppingham School and to his son, George Jarred WILKINSON who died age 30 on Jan. 7th, 1916, while serving in the 16th Btln., Middlesex Regt. as sergeant in the Battle of the Somme.
   
• In the village shop you may purchase a copy of "Billesdon in the Great War," promoted by the Parish Council. Price was about Five Pounds.
   

• This place was an "ancient parish" in the county of Leicestershire and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• The parish was in the eastern division of the county in the ancient Gartree Hundred (or Wapentake).
   
• You may contact the Billesdon Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are Not funded to help you with family history searches.
   

• The parish had almshouses for four poor widows.
   
• After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became the centre of the Billesdon Poorlaw Union.
   
• Bastardy cases would be heard in the East Norton petty session hearings the first Friday of each month.
   

Population figures after 1835 often include the Poorlaw Union Workhouse staff and inmates.

Year	Inhabitants
1841	713
1871	802
1881	839
1891	754
1901	726
1911	594
1921	514
1931	543
1951	717
1961	727

• A Free School was built here in 1650 for 100 children.
   
• Richard CROFT has a photograph of the Old School on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2011.