Leicestershire county page

Contents

Leicestershire Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Harby

Description in 1871:
"HARBY, a village and a parish in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester. The village stands on the Grantham canal, in the vale of Belvoir, near the boundary with Notts, 8½ miles N of Melton-Mowbray r. station; and has a post office under Melton-Mowbray. The parish comprises 2,800 acres. Real property, £3,869. Pop., 655. Houses, 136. The property is much subdivided. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £469. Patron, the Duke of Rutland. The church is a neat edifice with a tower; but is not in good repair. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and charities £10."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-1872]

Note: There is a parish of Harby in Northamptonshire, also. Make sure that you are researching the correct one!

Census

• The parish was in the Waltham 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 table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

Return to top of page

Church History

• The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Mary.
  
  
• The church construction date is unknown. The font bears the date of 1606.
  
  
• The church was restored in 1870.
  
  
• The church seats 220.
  
  

Return to top of page

Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1700.
  
  
• The church was in the rural deanery of Framland (third portion).
  
  
• The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built here in 1847.
  
  

Return to top of page

Civil Registration

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
  
  
• The parish was in the Waltham sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District.
  
  
• In 1935, the parish was transfered to the new Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
  
  

Return to top of page

Description and Travel.

Harby was a small parish and is still a large village in the far northeast of the county in the Vale of Belvior. The parish lay about 125 miles north of London and about 9 miles north of Melton Mobray, 12 miles southeast from Nottingham and it encloses a portion of the Grantham Canal. The parish covered 2,062 acres and bordered Nottinghamshire on the north. Stathern parish was to the northeast.

The Grantham Canal passes just north of the village. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, from the A606 trunk road, turn northeast at Nether Broughton and pass thru Long CLawson and Hose to arrive at Harby.
  
  
• Bus servide runs through the village connecting it to Melton and to Bottesford.
  
  
• Check out the Harby Journal for current activities.
  
  
• One may wish to stop for refreshment at one of the two locals Pubs: the Nags Head and the White Hart. Geograph has a photograph to help you find them.
  
  

Return to top of page

History

• The parish had 2,800 acres in 1881, but gave up 738 acres by 1891.
  
  
• The parish had a wharf on the Grantham Canal used for shipping grain.
  
  
• A good portion of the parish was set aside for pasture.
  
  
• About 50 persons left the parish for Australia in 1847-1849.
  
  
• The parish railway station was closed in 1953.
  
  
• In 1999, the Harby Harlequins started doing pantomime performances in the local area.
  
  
• There is a photo of the War Memorial.
  
  

Top

Maps

• The national grid reference is SK 7431.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

Return to top of page

Names, Geographical

• The name "Harby" was "Hardebi" in the 1086 Domesday Book.
  
  

Return to top of page

Politics and Governance

• 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 Harby was abolished and all 2,062 acres were used to create Clawson and Harby Civil Parish.
  
  

Return to top of page

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• The Common Land was enclosed here in 1795.
  
  
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Melton Mowbray Poorlaw Union.
  
  

Return to top of page

Population

Year	Inhabitants
1841	629
1871	539
1881	591
1891	637
1901	652
1911	603
1921	619
1931	608

Return to top of page

Schools

• A Public Elementary School (National School) was built here in 1860 to replace an earlier school. The school is on School Lane, Harby, LE14 4BZ, tele: 01949 860553.
  
  

Return to top of page

Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.