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Melton Mowbray

Description in 1877:
"Melton Mowbray is in Framland Hundred, and gives name to a township, parish, poor law union, county court, petty sessional and local board district, and the celebrated Melton Hunt. It is a polling place for the northern division of the county, and has attained considerable celebrity for its manufacture of pork pies, and is a pleasant and well built market town, pleasantly seated on the banks of the small river Eye, in a fertile open vale, 15 miles N. E. of Leicester, 10 miles N.W. of Oakham, 16 miles S.W. of Grantham, and 105 miles N. N. W. of London. Melton Mowbray parish, which comprises the townships of Burton Lazars, Freeby, Melton Mowbray, Sysonby, and Welby, in 1871 contained 5559 persons, living in 1123 houses, on 10266 acres of land; of these, 5033 persons, 1020 houses, and about 3300 acres, were in Melton Mowbray township. The soil is generally a black sandy loam, inclining to clay, and having a plentiful substratum of gravel. It had only 1766 inhabitants in 1801, but in 1831 they had increased to 3327, in 1841 to 3740, in 1851 to 4434, and in 1861 to 4436. The return for 1871, given above included a number of persons visiting the steeple-chases, and also 126 paupers in the union workhouse."
[White's History, Gazetteer and Directory of the Counties of Leicester and Rutland. 3rd Edition 1877]

Bibliography.

Hunt, P. E. (1957),"The Story of Melton Mowbray." Palmers Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd. Grantham.

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Census

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 24 covers the Melton Sub-District.

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Church History.

The Parish Church of St. Mary (the Virgin) dates back to 1170. A picture of the church can be found on the MeltonWeb site.

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Church Records

Registers held at The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland include:-
St. Mary's Parish Church (DG36)

The Society of Genealogists holds copies of records from St. Mary's Parish Church and St. John's Roman Catholic Church which can be studied at their library in London.

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Civil Registration

The Registrar's Office in Melton Mowbray closed in 1995. The area is now served from the at Melton and Rutland office.
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Description and Travel.

The MeltonWeb site includes a description of the town along with details of places of interest to visit in the town and locality, local events, and nearby villages.

The Leicestershire Tourist Information website has tourist information and history.

Melton Today website has a variety of information including history.

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History.

A brief history of the town is contained on the MeltonWeb site.

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Maps

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Poorhouses, Poor Law.

The Melton Mowbray Union comprised of 56 parishes. The union workhouse, built in 1836 was situated on the east side of Melton Mowbray and was capable of housing 250 inmates. The 1871 census shows 126 paupers in residence.

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Societies.

There is a Melton Mowbray branch of the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society holds its meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 7.30 p.m. in The United Reform Church, Chapel Street, Melton Mowbray.

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This parish page was developed by Tim Arguile. Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
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