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LEICESTERSHIRE |
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Description in 1830:
"Eastwell is in the Hundred of Framland, 6 miles north by East from Melton; contains 1291 acres, 109 inhabitants and 24 acres. The sole proprietor is the duke of Rutland, who has a seat called Eastwell hall. Lord Huntingtower is lord of the manor. The king is patron of the rectory, which has a glebe of 36 acres. The rector receives 85 pounds yearly in lieu of tithes." [Curtis's History of Leicestershire. 1830]
[1] Stanley, D and Stanley, M. (1977) "Eastwell Leicestershire". Privately Published.
[2] Fahy, N. M. and Stanley, D. H. (1998) "Submission for The Miss Linford Award 1998. Manor Farm Site Eastwell, Leicestershire. Investigations of Suspected Medieval Manor". Eastwell Manor Farm Research Group 1997-98.
[3] Farnham, G. (c 1920) "Medieval Parish Notes". Pages 179-190.
[4] Nichols, John. (c 1790) "History of Leicestershire". Pages 166-171.
There are two cemeteries in Eastwell, the Church of England churchyard on the main road and the former Roman Catholic Church in Stanleys Lane (now private property). Note that "Some ancient gravestones were removed from the south side of the Churchyard, to the lower boundary wall during the last [i.e. 19th] century, to enable a notable hunting parson, Edward Bullen, to mow more hay for his horse." [1]
There is a GUY headstone photo on the M.I. photos page at Guy Etchells pages.
Our census section for the county
gives general information.
We have transcripts of the 1851 census and
1891 census for Eastwell. These were transcribed by Victor Paul.
Microfilm copies or transcriptions of some nature are available at the
Record Office for
Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, Melton Mowbray library, LDS Family History
libraries and (1851) the Leicestershire and Rutland FHS.
The
Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society have indexed the 1851 Census for
Leicestershire. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also
published it in print and Volume 25 (Clawson Sub-District) includes Eastwell.
1871 LDS film 0839339.
1881 LDS film 1341760. Note that this is indexed and available on CD-ROM and microfiche from the LDS.
The parish church (St Michael and All Angels) in its early days had associations with Croxton Abbey and we know that in 1209 Robert de Arraby gave the church to the abbey and convent of Leicester. The outstanding feature is the stone screen between the chancel and the nave and it has been suggested that the church consisted of only the chancel initially. [1]
The Eyre family (see Manors) remained Catholic through the civil war and aftermath and "appeared to have had a certain religious influence in the village for as late as 1780 Eastwell had the largest population of Catholics in the county apart from Leicester itself."[1] A Catholic Chapel was built in 1798 after the one at the Hall was destroyed when sold to the Duke of Rutland. The Chapel was licenced for marriages [Whites Directory 1863] and seems to have been financially supported by the Exton family. The 1891 census does not show a resident priest and Wrights Directory of 1888 records "R.C. Church service occasionally conducted by a Priest from Nottingham."
Records held at the Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Record Office include:
LDS film 496698 is the above Phillimore/Randall volume.
LDS film 592704 is the Bishops Transcripts for 1593 to 1846 of births, deaths and marriages.
Guy Etchell has a transcription of some Eastwell parish records.
Take a look at the Melton Web site, for more see other references in the Description and Travel section for the Parish of Melton Mowbray.
19th Century directories that include Eastwell and are held at the
Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Record Office include Whites, Hagars, Melvilles, Drakes, Harods, Wrights.
Bibliography items 2 and 4 have details of the genealogy of the Brabazon family.
Victor Paul has details of the JUDSON family of Eastwell and some other researchers with Eastwell connections on his web page.
Saxon items found locally suggest there was a settlement at Eastwell in those times. The Domesday Survey refers to "Estwelle" and mentions "7 villiens with 3 bordars".
Court records of 1490 and 1507 suggest that enclosure was at least partially achieved by then. Full enclosure was complete by 1656.
The register of land used for the preparation of the Tithe Award Map in 1847 showed the land owners to be:-
Rev. Joseph Bick (Roman Catholic) with 10 acres, rent 2 pounds 2 shillings/year.
There were effectively only three lords of the manor of Eastwell from 1275 to 1921. There were two manors until 1653, of one little is known but it was owned by a Mr Blith when sold in 1631 to Rowland Eyre. Lord Brabazon established his seat in Eastwell around 1275 and the current Manor Farm sits on the original site [2]. The Brabazons sold the estate in 1653 to Rowland Eyre (thus uniting the two manors) and he built the present Eastwell Hall in 1630. The last Eyre died in France in 1792 and the Estate was bought by the Duke of Rutland a few years later thus becoming part of his Belvoir Estate. Death duties lead to Eastwell being sold in 1921, primarily to the then tenants.
This parish page was developed by Tim Arguile with research assistance from Victor Paul.
Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
Last updated: 8 Feb 2005 - David Hawgood