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Grimston

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Description in 1871:
"GRIMSTON, a parish in Melton Mowbray district, Leicester; on the Wolds, 4 miles N of Kirby r. station, and 5 WNW of Melton Mowbray. Post town, Melton Mowbray. Acres, 920. Real property, £1,726. Pop., 190. house, 39. The manor, with most of the land, belongs to the Earl of Aylesford. The living is a vicarage, under the vicarage of Rothley, in the diocese of Peterboringh. Value, £43. Patron, the Vicar of Rothley. The church is old; has an embattled tower; and was recently in disrepair. Charities, £13."
[John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-1872]

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Census

  • The parish was in the Melton Mobray sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District.
     
  • In 1935, the parish was transferred 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 table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1861R.G. 9 / 2301
1871R.G. 10 / 3295
1891R.G. 12 / 2544
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
     
  • The church construction date is unknown. It appears to be Norman from the 1400s. It has a square embattled tower with three bells.
     
  • The church was restored in 1866.
     
  • The church seats 160.
     
  • Richard GREEN has a photograph of the Church Tower on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2012.
     
  • Tim GLOVER also has a photograph of St John's Church on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2014.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1635.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Akeley East.
     
  • Kelly's 1912 Directory of Leicestershire places the church in the rural deanery of Framland (third portion).
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built here in 1839.
     
  • Richard GREEN has a photograph of the replacement Methodist chapel on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2012.
     
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Melton Mobray sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District.
     
  • In 1935, the parish was transferred to the new Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
     
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Description & Travel

Grimston is a parish and a small village in the Wold Hills. The parish is about 5 miles WNW of Melton Mowbray and about the same distance north of Brooksby and 114 miles north of London. The parish covers 3,085 acres and includes the village of Saxelby.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, from the A6006 trunk road west out of Melton Mowbray, about a mile outside of Asfordby, turn right (north) for Grimston.
     
  • You can put your teenagers in this Village Stock until you need them again.
     
You can see pictures of Grimston which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

  • Stilton Cheese was made here.
     
  • Much of the parish land was used for pasturage.
     
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Manors

  • Kelly's 1912 Directory tells us that Saxelbye Park was the property of Charles W. WRIGHT.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK685218 (Lat/Lon: 52.789434, -0.985685), Grimston which are provided by:

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Military History

In St John's Church there is a paper Roll of Honour in a wooden frame mounted on the wall.

In April 1920, a Portland stone cross was erected to the men of the parish who fell in the Great War.

There is a single Commonwealth War Grave in St. John's churchyard from World War One.

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Military Records

The Commonwealth War Grave (data from www.CWGC.org) is for:

NameRankUnitDiedFamily
Frederick William ATKINSONprivateLeicestershire Regiment (depot)02 May 1917Age 19, son of George Francis and Eliza Jane ATKINSON, of Thorpe-in-the-Glebe, Wysall, Notts.
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Politics & Government

  • The parish was in the East Goscote Hundred (Wapentake) in the northern (or eastern) division of the county.
     
  • This parish was an chapelry in Leicestershire and became a modern Civil Parish. In 1881, the parish covered 920 acres.
     
  • In April, 1936, the parish of Grimston was enlarged by 1,052 acres with the abolition of Saxelby Civil Parish.
     
  • That same month, the parish of Grimston was enlarged by 969 acres with the abolition of Shoby Civil Parish. This left Grimston covering 3,085 acres.
     
  • You may contact the local Parish Council regarding civic or political matters, but they can NOT do family history searches for you.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Village Hallr on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2014. Stop in when it is open and ask for a schedule of forth-coming events.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Melton Mowbray petty session hearings.
     
  • As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Melton Mowbray Poorlaw Union.
     
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Population

 YearInhabitants
1801183
1841175
1871164
1881153
1891175
1901137
1911176
1921198
1931145
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Schools

  • The Public Elementary School (National School) was built here in 1867 for 46 children.