Heather
Description in 1871:
"HEATHER, a parish in Ashby-de-la-Zouch district, Leicester; on the river Sence, 3 miles SSW of Swannington r. station, and 5 SE by S of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Post town, Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Acres, 1, 01 5. Real property, £2, 620. Pop., 371. Houses, 86. The manor belongs to the Rev. G. P. Belcher; and the manor house contains some relics of a commandery of the Knights of St. John, which dated prior to the time of King John, and was given, at the dissolution, to Oliver St. John and Robert Thornton. Heather Hall is the seat of the Goode family. Stocking making is carried on. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £377. Patron, the Rev. G. P. Belcher. The church is early English, with a tower; and was repaired in 1853. There are a Wesleyan chapel and a national school."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales", 1870-72]
- The parish was in the Measham subdistrict of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch 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 and Volume 7 covers the Measham subdistrict.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2267 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2508 |
- The Anglican parish church for Heather is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
- The church is considered "very old" and has a large tower with 3 bells. The church was built before 1615.
- The church was repaired in 1846.
- The churchyard was enlarged in 1886.
- The church seats 200.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1619.
- The church is in the rural deanery of South Akeley.
- The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel here prior to 1849.
- The Primitive Methodists had a chapel here prior to 1881.
- The parish was in the Measham subdistrict of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Registration District.
- Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
Heather is a small village and a parish about 112 miles north of London, 14 miles northwest of Leicester city, just 1 mile west of Ibstock and 5 miles southeast of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The parish covers about 1,031 acres.
The River Sence runs along the east side of the village. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A447 to Ibstock and turn west onto the B586. Follow that for about a half mile to Heather.
- By the mid-1850s, the local coal mines had been worked out. Most of the inhabitants of this parish were framework knitters or farmers in the latter half of the 1800s.
- By 1900 the village had a brickworks and tile company.
- The village had a station on the Midland railway in 1881.
- The railway station manager in 1912 was Alfred H. TAYLOR.
- There is a Manor House in Heather, but the web page author could find no description of it.
- The Manor House incorporates some remains of the Commandery of the Knights' Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem which formerly existed here.
- Heather Hall is a handsome structure about 3/4 of a mile outside the village. It was the seat of the GOODE family.
- The national grid reference is SK 3810.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has a scale of 2.5 inches to the mile.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- On 1 April, 1936, the parish was reduced by 11 acres which were ceeded to Ibstock Civil Parish.
- The parish was in the ancient Sparkenhoe Hundred in the western division of the county.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1871 |
429 |
| 1881 |
447 |
| 1891 |
538 |
| 1901 |
624 |
| 1911 |
702 |
| 1921 |
687 |
| 1931 |
678 |
| 1951 |
661 |
| 1961 |
646 |
- The parish built a Public Elementary School (National School) in 1845. It was enlarged in 1884 and again in 1890 to hold up to 140 children.
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[Last updated: 18-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
