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Knossington

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Description in 1871:
"KNOSSINGTON, a parish, with a village, in the district of Oakham and county of Leicester; on the river Gwash, adjacent to Rutland, 4 miles W by S of Oakham r. station. Post town, Oakham. Acres, 1,443. Real property, £2,686. Pop., 251. Houses, 63. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to T. Frewen, Esq. The parish is a meet for the Cottesmore hounds. An inhabitant possesses a cheffonier which belonged to the mother of Henry VIII., and was found near her ancient residence. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £324. Patron, T. Frewen, Esq. The church is old but good, and has a tower. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and an hospital for four clergymen's widows, with £160 a year from endowment."
John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales", 1870-72

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Cemeteries

Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the Church graveyard on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2008.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Oakham sub-district of the Oakham Registration District (in Rutland).
     
  • 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 / 2305
1871R.G. 10 / 3299
1891R.G. 12 / 2547
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Peter.
     
  • The church dates from prior to the 15th century.
     
  • The church was restored in 1883.
     
  • The church seats 150.
     
  • Roger TEMPLEMAN has a photograph of St Peter's Church on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2015.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1558.
     
  • The church is in the rural deanery of Goscote (first portion).
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1830 and replaced in 1912.
     
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Civil Registration

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

Knossington is a village, a township and a parish which lie 100 miles north of London, about 16 miles east of Leicester city and 4 miles west of Oakham. The parish borders on Rutland county and covers 3,198 acres, most of which was pasture for sheep and cattle.

If you are planning a visit:

  • The River Gwash passes through this parish into Rutlandshire and into the Rutland Water Reservoir.
     
  • By automobile, head due west out of Oakham for about 4 miles. The village is just south of Cold Overton.
     
You can see pictures of Knossington which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

The village has been a designated conservation area since 1977.

Kate JEWELL has a photograph of the Fox and Hounds Pub. on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2005.

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Manors

In the south of the village lies the Manor House, dating from the 16th or early 17th century.

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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK801087 (Lat/Lon: 52.670449, -0.816422), Knossington which are provided by:

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Medical Records

  • William SMITH of Croxton founded a hospital here prior to 1881 to hold up to 4 clergymen's widows. It is unknown if any records survive from this institution.
     
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Military History

There is an alabaster plaque inside St. Peter's Church to the ten men killed in World War I.

Below that plaque is a wooden plaque to the men of the parish who perished in World War II.

There are two Commonwealth War Graves in St. Peter's churchyard, one from each World War.

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Military Records

These are the fallen in the Commonwealth War Graves (data from www.CWGC.org):

NameRankUnitDiedFamily
Charles William SPENCEOrdinary SeamanRoyal Navy Vol. Reserv. HMS Victory10 Oct. 1918Age 19, son of Fred and Annie SPENCE.
Joseph Leslie WALKERLeading AircraftmanRoyal Air Forc31 Oct. 1940Age 20. Son of Joseph W. WALKER and Sarah Ann WALKER.
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Leicester county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish is in the ancient Gartree Hundred in the eastern division of the county.
     
  • In April, 1936, the parish of Knossington was enlarged by 1,729 acres with the abolishment of Cold Overton Civil Parish.
     
  • Knossington and Cold Overton have a Parish Council which you may contact regarding civic and political issues. They CANNOT help you with family history searches.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Melton Borough Council.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Melton Mowbray petty session hearings every Tuesday.
     
  • Richard BELL, in 1718, left a charity of 8 Shillings annually to be distributed in bread to the poor.
     
  • The parish had 2 acres of Common Land left after the enclosure, which they let out for the benefit of 12 poor families for gardens.
     
  • As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the parish became part of the Oakham Poor Law Union.
     
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Population

 YearInhabitants
1821193
1841252
1871319
1881291
1891323
1901297
1911247
1921230
1931252
1961339
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Schools

  • A Public Elementary School was built here in 1899 to hold up to 120 children.
     
  • Roy HAWORTH has a photograph of the old school on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2007.