Knaptoft (Knapton)
Description in 1887:
"Knaptoft, par. and township, Leicestershire, 7 miles NE. of Lutterworth--par., 4940 ac., pop. 697; township, pop. 54; has a mineral spring."
John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)
- The parish was in the Lutterworth sub-district of the Lutterworth 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. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2246 & 2248 & 2250 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2490 |
- The Anglican parish church was decayed by 1842.
- The local parishioners went to church in Shearsby and Mowsley.
- The Anglican church at Shearsby was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen.
- St. Mary Magdalen church was built in early English times and has a tower built in 1789.
- The church seats 300.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1711 for baptisms, 1713 for marriages and 1710 for burials.
- The church was in the rural Guthlaxton deanery (third portion).
- The parish was in the Lutterworth sub-district of the Lutterworth Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Knaptoft is a parish and two townships 9 miles south of Leicester and 4 miles northwest of Theddingworth. The parish covers just over 1,420 acres and includes the townships of Shearsby and Walton.
If you are planning a visit:
- There is a parish website for news, but when I last visited, it was empty. See Leicestershire Matters.
- By automobile, take the A50 south out of Leicester city past Arnesby. The village is tiny, just off the road between Leicester and Welford.
- The Bath Inn in Knaptoft (actually closer to Shearsby) held a mineral spring called "The Spa", which was reputed to have medicinal benefits.
- Three streams rise in the parish. One flows into the Welland River and thence to The Wash. A second flows into the Soar River and onto the Humber. A third flows into the Avon River.
- The land around the village has been mostly pasture for centuries.
- In the 1800s many of the workers in the parish were either graziers or framework knitters.
- Knaptoft Hall was the residence of Wilfred GLOVER in 1912.
- The web page author has been unable to find any discription of Knaptoft Hall.
- The national grid reference is SP 6289.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- You can view an online map at the Axcis site.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The name Knaptoft is from the Old Norse knapi, or "servant".
- The name is given in many old records as "Knapton".
- The parish lies in the Guthlaxton Hundred in the southern division of the county.
- Check the Parish Council site to see what is happening locally.
- In 1898, a portion of the parish (Walton hamlet) was added to the parish of Walton with Kimcote.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
249 |
| 1811 |
312 |
| 1821 |
601 |
| 1831 |
641 |
| 1841 |
669 |
| 1851 |
650 |
| 1881 |
315 |
| 1901 |
46 |
| 1971 |
45 |
- There was a Ladys' Boarding School in Knaptoft, operated by a Miss Ann WESTON in 1849.
- A Public Elementary School was built in Shearsby in 1869 to 52 children.
- A Free School was built in Walton township some time before 1881. It appears to have disappeared by 1911.
Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
[Last updated: 13-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
