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Hathern

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Description in 1871:
"HATHERN, a parish in Loughborough district, Leicester; adjacent to the Midland railway and the boundary with Notts, and near the river Soar, 3 miles NW of Longhborough. It has a post office under Loughborough. Acres, 1,340. Real property, £3,177. Pop., 1,112. Houses, 280. The property is subdivided. The manor belongs to A. L. M. Phillips de Lisle, Esq. Many of the inhabitants are stocking makers. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborougli. Valne, £650. * Patron, the Rev. Edward Smythies. The church is ancient, with a square tower; and was recently restored, at a cost of £1,455. There are chapels for: Baptists, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, and charities £73."
"John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-1872"

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Archives & Libraries

The Hathern Community Library which opened in 2016 in Greenhill is a branch of the Leicester County Council Library System. It is open 5 days each week (verify by phone if you are visiting) and has a section on Family History to assist you.

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Cemeteries

  • The cemetery was formed in 1896 and covered nearly an acre. It was under the control of the Parish Council.
     
  • The local Women's Institute has created a document of all the monument inscription in Hathern's two cemeteries. Over 500 gravestones are listed. These laminated pages can be found in the parish church.
     
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Census

  • The parish was in the Loughborough sub-district of the Loughborough 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 / 2276
1871R.G. 10 / 3258
1891R.G. 12 / 2517
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Peter.
     
  • The church was built in the latter part of the 14th century.
     
  • The church was thoroughly restored in 1864.
     
  • The church seats 364.
     
  • Tim GLOVER has a photograph of St. Peter's Church on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2009.
     
  • Near the church, in the centre of the street, stands an ancient preaching cross on a graduated base of five steps.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Preaching Cross on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2016.
     
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Church Records

  • The church is in the rural deanery of East Akeley.
     
  • The Catholic Church is dedicated to Saint Aloysius.
     
  • The Baptist chapel was rebuilt in 1880.
     
  • Geoff PICK has a photograph of The Baptist Church on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2011.
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists also had chapels here before 1912.
     
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Loughborough sub-district of the Loughborough Registration District.
     
  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
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Description & Travel

Hathern is a village and was a parish. It is near the River Soar, and on the border with Nottinghamshire. The parish lies just northwest of Leicester city, 3 miles northwest of Loughborough and 112 miles north of London. The parish covered 1,341 acres, most of which was pasture for sheep and cattle.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, Hathern is on the road between Loughborough and Derby.
     
  • Eirian EVANS has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2008. This sign is just off the Loughborough Road
     
You can see pictures of Hathern which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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Genealogy

In the early 1800s the family of William and Ann CALDWELL moved to Radford before returning to Hathern in c1810. The following children, all of William & Anne CALDWELL, appear in the Hathern registers:

  • Bapts
  • 1800 Dec 30th John
  • 1802 Feb 7th Thomas Bates
  • 1803 Feb 27th Thomas Stephen Bates
  • 1805 Oct 13th Samuel
  • 1810 Apr 23rd Joseph Bates
  • 1810 Apr 23rd Henry
  • 1815 Dec 24th Ann (father a FWK)
  • 1818 Apr 5th Elizabeth (father Stocking Lacemaker)
  • 1821 Mar 25th Betsy (father a FWK)
     
  • Burials
  • 1811 Dec 7th Thomas CALDWELL aged 8yr
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History

  • This place was once mostly pasture and small farms.
     
  • In the 1800s and early 1900s, most inhabitants of the parish were frame-work knitters.
     
  • Hathern was for some time the residence of Mr. John HEATHCOAT, the inventor of the bobbinnet machine, born 7 Aug. 1783, in Leicestershire.
     
  • Tim GLOVER has a photograph of The Anchor Inn on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2009. It is on the south end of the village.
     
  • Chris J. DIXON has a photograph of the Dew Drop Inn on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2005.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the medieval Preaching Cross (across from the school) on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2016. The cross is listed as Grade II* with English Heritage.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK502225 (Lat/Lon: 52.797572, -1.256905), Hathern which are provided by:

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Military History

There is one Commonwealth War Grave in the churchyard from World War II.

There are two brass plaques on a wooden board inside the parish church. There are names from both World Wars and the conflict in Egypt.

In July, 1920, a War Memorial was dedicated in the cemetery in Hathern. It is a dark green Aberdeen granite cross surmounting ornate crown support on a tall shaft. There is an inscription on 3 faces of the shaft and on the small tablet in the front.

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Military Records

The person buried in the churchyard is (from the www.Cwgc.ord site):

  1. Leslie BLYTH, sapper, 263 "A" Field Coy, Royal Engineers, died 12 June 1943. He unfortunately died in barracks when another man's rifle went off and the bullet struck him.
     
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish. It became a Civil Parish, but was abolished in 1935.
     
  • The parish was in the ancient West Goscote Hundred in the mid (or northern) division of the county.
     
  • On 1 April, 1935, the parish was abolished and split into three pieces: 1,322 acres went to Loughborough Civil parish, 11 acres went to Long Whatton parish and the final 8 acres went to Shepshed parish.
     
  • The parish must have re-formed, because it now has a Parish Council. You may contact them regarding civic or political issues, but they CANNOT assist you with family history searches.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

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

 YearInhabitants
1801956
18211,144
18411,252
18511,187
18711,120
18811,312
18911,133
19011,114
19111,209
19211,124
19311,225
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Schools

  • A Public Elementary School (National School) was built here in 1850 to hold 193 children.
     
  • Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of Hathern Primary School on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2016.