LEICESTERSHIRE

Contents

Leicestershire Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Market Harborough

Description in 1877:
"Market Harborough is a small market town, in the heart of a rich farming and grazing district, pleasantly situated on the north side of the small river Welland, which divides it from Northamptonshire, 14 1/2 milesS. E. of Leicester; 83 miles N.N.W. of London; 13 miles E. by N. of Lutterworth;17 miles N. E. of Northampton; and 11 miles N. W. by W. of Kettering. Market Harborough is the head of a Poor-Law Union, a Petty Sessional and County CourtDistrict, and is a township and parochial chapelry, in the Parish of Bowden Magna, or Great Bowden, comprising but very little land besides the site of the town. It is a polling place for the southern division of the county. It had only 1617 inhabitants 1801, and 1873 in 1821 but in 1831 they had increased to 2,272, and in 1841 to 2,433; but in 1851 they had decreased to 2,325, and in 1861 to 2,302, but in 1871 they had increased to 2,362. A branch of the Union Canal, which was opened onOctober 13, 1809, extends south eastward in a sinuous course to within a short distance of the north side of the town; and the great turnpike road from London to Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, &c. passes through the principal street. There is a railway station near the church of St. Mary-in-Arden, about half a mile east of the town, where the Rugby and Stamford, the Leicester and Hitchin, the Northampton and Harborough, and the Newark and Market Harborough railways intersect."
[White's "History, Gazetteer and Directory of the Counties of Leicester and Rutland." 3rd Edition 1877]

Archives and Libraries

• Market Harborough Library
  Penn Lloyd Building
  Adam and Eve Street
  Market Harborough
  
  

Return to top of page

Cemeteries

• The Cemetery, half a mile south of the town in the parish of Little Bowden on Northampton Road, covers over 4 acres. It opened in 1878 and two acres were added in 1904. The Cemetery is under the control of the Urban Disctrict Council and is shared by the three parishes under its control.
  
  
• There is an older burial ground in Great Bowden parish.
  
  

Return to top of page

Census

• The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. Volume 3 includes Market Harborough.
  
  
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
  
  

Return to top of page

Church History.

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Denis (or Dionysius) the Areopagite.
  
  
• The church was built in 1250.
  
  
• The church had considerable repairs done in 1844.
  
  
• The church was restored in 1886-87.
  
  
• The church seats 700.
  
  

Return to top of page

Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1583.
  
  
• The Society of Genealogists holds copies of Market Harborough parish records which can be studied at their library in London.
  
  
• The church is in the rural deanery of Gartree (first division).
  
  
• The Catholic church, in Coventry Road was built in 1877 and dedicated to Our Lady of Victories.
  
  
• A Congregationalist chapel was built in 1844 to replace meeting rooms founded in 1673.
  
  
• A Baptist chapel was built in 1830 and rebuilt in 1907.
  
  

Return to top of page

Civil Registration

• Certificates of birth, death and marriage can be obtained from the Superintendent Registrar at Market Harborough.
  
  
• For method of obtaining certificate copies see the Civil Registration section on our Leicestershire page.
  
  

Return to top of page

Description and Travel.

Market Harborough is a market town, a chapelry and a parish in southern Leicestershire near the Northamptonshire border. It is 18 miles north-east of Rugby, 16 miles south-east from Leicester city and 82 miles north of London.

If you are planning a visit:

• The town sits on the north bank of the River Welland and is bounded on the north by the Union Canal.
  
  
• The train station is on the east side of town.
  
  
• Bigfern Guide to Market Harborough provides descriptions of the town and surrounding area.
  
  

Return to top of page

History.

• British History Online provides an extensive history of Market Harborough and history of the Gartree Hundred, around Market Harborough. This is material from the Victoria County History.
  
  
• On the east side of town are traces of a Roman encampment. Roman urns have been found nearby.
  
  
• The late Barry Summers who died in July 2000 published the fruits of some of his research about Market Harborough during the First World War on the web at www.harboro.ndirect.co.uk/Index.htm. This page is not active, but may be available through internet archives. It included a list of servicemen and their units at www.harboro.ndirect.co.uk/people.htm. See also Harborough Today article about Barry Summers.
  
  
• The Harborough ComKnet Project has published Alison Hutchins' collection of old postcards of Market Harborough on their website.
  
  
• The Town Hall in High Street was built in 1788.
  
  

Return to top of page

Manors

• The Elms, at the north end of town, was the property of Sir William de Capell BROOKE, baronet, in 1881.
  
  

Return to top of page

Maps

• The national grid reference is SP 7387.
  
  
• You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
  
  
• See our Maps page for additional resources.
  
  

Return to top of page

Military History

• In 1881, the Leicestershire Rifle Volunteers (1st), M Company, had their headquarters on High Street. Captn. William Wade WARTNABY, commanding; J. GOSS, head instructor.
  
  

Return to top of page

Newspapers

• The "Market Harborough Advertiser" began in 1854 and was still in service in 1912, on Church Street, published weekly.
  
  
• The "Midland Mail" began in 1800 and was still in service in 1912, on St. Mary's Road, published weekly.
  
  

Occupations

• Symingtons, a Market Harborough firm, became world famous for the invention of the "Liberty Bodice" and as producers of womens' corsetry. The Symington Collection of Corsetry is now housed at the Harborough Museum.
  
  
• In 1912, the town had malthouses, brick, brush, bent timber, joinery and india-rubber works, boot and shoe, stay and hosier factories and a type foundery, plus a few hotels and many specialty shops.
  
  

Return to top of page

Politics and Governance

• For many years this place was a chapelry in the parish of Great Bowden.
  
  
• The parish lies in the Gartree Hundred (or Wapentake) in the southern division of the county.
  
  
• An Urban District Council was established in 1894 for this town and the neighboring villages of Great Bowden and Little Bowden.
  
  

Return to top of page

Poorhouses, Poor Law.

• The Common Land was enclosed here in 1777.
  
  
• After the 1834 Poorlaw Amendment Act, the parish became the centre of he Market Harborough Poorlaw Union.
  
  

Return to top of page

Population

Return to top of page

Schools

• The Grammar School was built in 1614 on the south side of the church by Mr. Robert SMYTH. The school could hold 100 boys.
  
  
• The British School operated on Back Street in 1849.
  
  
• The National School operated on Lubenham Lane in 1849.
  
  

Return to top of page

Societies.

• There is a Market Harborough branch of the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society holds regular meetings.
  
  

Return to top of page