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Kirby Bellars

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John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, (1870-72)":

"KIRBY-BELLARS, a parish, with a pleasant village, in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester; on the river Wreak, and on the Syston and Peterborough railway, at Ashfordby r. station, 2¾ miles WSW of Melton-Mowbray. Post town, Melton-Mowbray. Acres, 2,590. Real property, £5, 060. Pop., 243. Houses, 52. The manor belongs to the Rev. E. Manners. Kirby Park was a hunting seat of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart.; and is now occupied by a farmer. A college, for a warden and twelve priests, was founded in the parish, by Roger Beller, in 1319; and was converted into an Augustinian priory, by Alice Beller, in 1359. Fossil bones of elephants and other animals were found in 1821. The parish is a meet for the Quorndon hounds. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £88. Patron, Sir Robert Burdett, Bart. The church is handsome; and has a tower, with lofty spire."
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Census

  • The parish was in the Somerby sub-district of the Melton Mowbray 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 Leicestershire Libraries hold copies of the census for 1841 through 1901. See Liec. Libraries to see which Library holds which copies.
     
  • In 1935, the parish was transferred to the Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 587 & 592
1861R.G. 9 / 2299
1871R.G. 10 / 3292
1891R.G. 12 / 2543
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Church History

  • A College for a warden and 12 priests was founded here in the Reign of Edward II (1280 AD) by one Roger Beller. In 1359 this became a convent of Saint Augustine canons. This was also dedicated to Saint Peter.
     
  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter.
     
  • The church is built of ironstone in the Gothic style, but no specific date of construction has been found.
     
  • The church was restored in 1889.
     
  • The church is a Grade I listed building with British Heritage.
     
  • The church seats 200.
     
  • Geograph has a photograph of St. Peter's Church at the very north end of the village.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1713.
     
  • The church is in the rural deanery of Framland (third portion).
     
  • The Congregationalist chapel was built in 1865 and restored in 1892.
     
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Civil Registration

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

Kirby Bellars is a village, a township and a parish which lie about 115 miles north of London, 15 miles northwest of Leicester city and 2.5 miles west-by-south of Melton Mobray. The parish covered almost 2,700 acres, most of which was pasture for sheep and cattle. The River Wreak passes through this parish.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, take the A607 arterial road west out of Melton Mobray. This road cuts through the south part of Kirby Bellars village.
     
You can see pictures of Kirby Bellars which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

  • Sir Francis BURDETT, baronet, wrote a reform letter here which got him imprisoned in the King's Bench.
     
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Manors

Andrew TATLOW has a photograph of Kirby Hall on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2009.

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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK717178 (Lat/Lon: 52.753023, -0.938473), Kirby Bellars which are provided by:

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Military History

On 1 May 1944 Beaufighter KW199 from 304FTU crashed at Kirby Bellars killing both members of the crew.

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Names, Geographical

  • The village is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as "Chirchebi."
     
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish of Leicestershire and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish is in the ancient Framland Hundred in the northern division of the county.
     
  • The Civil Parish was abolished in 1936 to become part of the new Frisby Civil Parish.
     
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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
1841236
1871257
1881271
1891258
1901264
1911271
1921247
1931220
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Schools

  • The children of this parish attended school in nearby Asfordby.