Old Dalby
Description in 1871:
"DALBY-ON-THE-WOLDS, or Old Dalby, a parish in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester; adjacent to the Fosse way and to the boundary with Notts, 4½ miles NNW of Asfordby r. station, and 6½ NW of Melton-Mowbray. Post town, Nether-Broughton, under Melton-Mowbray. Acres, 3,430. Real property, £3,536. Pop., 359. Houses, 75. A preceptory of Knights Hospitallers was founded here in the time of Henry II., by Robert de Bossu, Earl of Leicester. There is a chalybeate spring. The living is a donative in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £40. Patron, the Rev. W. G. Sawyer. The church was built in 1836, at a cost of £5,000; and has a square tower. There is also, at Sixhills, a modern chapel of ease. Charities, £9."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]
- The parish was in the Melton Mowbray sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District until 1935.
- In 1935, the parish was transfered to the Melton and Belvoir 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 / 2301 |
| 1871 |
R.G. 10 / 3295 |
- The Knights Hospitallers owned a preceptory in the village in 1206. The lands of the preceptory passed to the Crown in 1540 with the suppression of the Hospitallers in England. You can find more history of the institution at British History.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
- The date of original construction is uncertain, but believed to in the Norman period.
- The church was rebuilt in 1835 and has a square embattled tower with 4 bells.
- The church was restored in 1894 and the bells rehung (after the tenor bell was recast).
- The church seats 200.
- A small Chapel of Ease was built in 1837 in Six Hills hamlet in this parish, near the Foss Way.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1725. The early years are on parchment and are in good condition.
- The church is in the rural deanery of Goscote (second portion).
- The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1902.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The parish was in the Melton Mowbray sub-district of the Melton Mowbray Registration District until 1935.
- In 1935, the parish was transfered to the Melton and Belvoir Registration District.
Old Dalby is a village and was a parish situated in a pleasant dale in the Wold Hills. It is 6 miles north-west of Melton Mowbray, 11 miles north-east of Leicester city and 111 miles north of London. The parish covered about 3,181 acres. Nottinghamshire forms the northern and part of the western border. Near the Foss Way was the hamlet of Six Hills, named for the many barrows and high hills in the area.
If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A46 trunk road (The Foss Way) north out of Leicester city just past the intersection with the A6006 arterial road. Turn right at the first roundabout and take the first lane to the right. Follow that road about 3/4 mile to Old Dalby.
- Upper Broughton parish sits just across the border in Nottinghamshire.
- You are invited to visit the Village Website.
- Local news and events may be found at the This is Leicestershire website. Enter "Old Dalby" as a search option.
- The Village Hall is located at #4, Main Road.
- Visitors may wish to relax at a pub called 'The Crown' which is set within the village.
- Most of the parish land was used for grazing.
- Stilton cheese was made here.
- The parish contains a chalybeate spring.
- Once a year, on the August bank holiday Monday, the village holds a fete known as "Old Dalby Day" to raise money for charities connected with the village.
- One can find a photograph of the post office and store at the Leicestershire Villages website. At last report (2011), the villagers were campaigning to keep the post office open, but failed in their efforts.
- Near the church stands Dalby Hall. This was the seat of the Rev. William George SAWYER in 1849.
- Dalby Hall is a handsome stone building.
- The national grid reference is SK 6723.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- During World War II, Old Dalby served as an Ordnance Depot.
- "Old Dalby" will also appears in many records as "Dalby on the Wolds" or "Wold Dalby".
- This place was an ancient parish of the county and a modern Civil Parish until 1936.
- The parish was in the ancient East Goscote Hundred in the northern (or eastern) division of the county.
- Kelly's 1912 Directory places the parish, perhaps erroneously, in the ancient Ramland III Hundred.
- In April, 1936, this parish was abolished and all 3,181 acres were amalgamated into the new Broughton and Old Dalby Civil Parish.
- You can contact the local Parish Council for political information. They will NOT do family history lookups for you.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
254 |
| 1841 |
410 |
| 1871 |
320 |
| 1881 |
335 |
| 1891 |
345 |
| 1901 |
353 |
| 1911 |
368 |
| 1921 |
330 |
| 1931 |
315 |
- A Free School for boys and girls can be found here in 1881. Date of construction as yet unknown. This later became a Public Elementary School.
Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
[Last updated: 20-November-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
