Eaton
Description in 1871:
"EATON, a parish in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester; on the river Devon, 7 miles N of Saxby r. station, and 8 NE by N of Melton-Mowbray. Post town, Branstone, under Grantham. Acres, 2, 470. Real property, £2, 771. Pop., 421. Houses, 92. The property is divided among a few. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £83. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is a neat building, with tower and spire. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and charities £32."
John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-1872
Note: There is a parish of Eaton in Nottinghamshire, also, as well as 3 others across England. Make sure that you are researching the correct one!
- The parish established a 1/2 acre cemetery in 1892. It was a gift from the 7th Duke of Rutland and was placed under the control of the parish council's burial board.
- The parish was in the Clawson sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District.
- In 1935, the parish was transfered to the new Melton and Belvoir 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 Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Denis (Denys).
- The church construction date is unknown. It appears to be Norman from the late 1500s
- The church was restored in 1905.
- The church seats 160.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1788.
- The church was in the rural deanery of Framland (first portion).
- The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built here before 1849.
- The Congregationalsts had a chapel built here before 1881, but that appears to be closed by 1912.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The parish was in the Clawson sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District.
- In 1935, the parish was transfered to the new Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
Eaton is a parish and a village in the far northeast of the county in the Vale of Belvior in the Wold Hills. The parish lay about 121 miles north of London, about 8 miles north of Melton Mobray and about the same distance southwest of Grantham in Lincolnshire. The parish covers 4,780 acres and includes the villages of Eastwell and Goadby Marwood.
The Devon Stream passes just east of the village and empties into the Knipton Reservoir. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, from the A607 trunk road, turn west at Branston to arrive at Eaton.
- A good portion of the parish was farmland.
- Ironstone was plentiful in the parish.
- The village feast is held on the first Sunday after 17 June, which is the festival of St. Botolph.
- The national grid reference is SK 7929.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The parish was in the Framland Hundred (Wapentake) in the northern (or eastern) division of the county.
- This parish was an "ancient parish" of Leicestershire as well as a modern Civil Parish.
- In April, 1936, the parish of Eaton was enlarged by 1,361 acres with the abolition of Eastwell Civil Parish.
- That same month, the parish of Eaton was enlarged by 1,650 acres with the abolition of Goadby Marwood Civil Parish. This left Eaton covering 4,780 acres.
- In 1822, Mrs. Ann BATES left £200, which was invested and the interest distributed to the poor.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Melton Mowbray Poorlaw Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
404 |
| 1871 |
382 |
| 1881 |
351 |
| 1891 |
437 |
| 1901 |
421 |
| 1911 |
436 |
| 1921 |
490 |
| 1931 |
413 |
| 1951 |
658 |
| 1961 |
571 |
- The Public Elementary School (National School) was rebuilt in 1874 and enlarged in 1905.
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[Created: 31-August-2009 - Louis R. Mills]
