Syston
Description in 1871:
"SYSTON, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in Barrow-upon-Soar district, Leicestershire. The village stands at a forking of the Midland railway system, near the river Wreak, 5 miles NNE of Leicester; carries on frame-work-knitting and some malting; and has a r. station with telegraph, and a post-office under Leicester.
The parish comprises 1,380 acres. Real property, £7,023. Pop., 1,656. Houses, 367. The property is much sub-divided. Gypsum is found, and formerly was much worked. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £115. Patron, the University of Oxford. The church is large and good. There are three dissenting chapels, a grammar-school, a national school, and charities £27.
The sub-district contains six parishes and a part. Acres, 10,860. Pop., 4,749. Houses, 1,072."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]
- A cemetery board was formed in 1879 and set aside 3.5 acres for the cemetery and a mortuary chapel. It was under the control of the Parish Council.
- Syston was made the centre of a subdistrict of the Barrow-on-Soar 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 and Volume 23 covers the Syston subdistrict of which the parish is a part.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2282 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2523 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.
- Some sources show the dedication only to Saint Peter.
- The date of the original structure is uncertain, but the design is Gothic.
- The church was re-pewed in 1800.
- The church was restored and partially rebuilt in 1873.
- Additions were made to the church and the chancel rebuilt in 1881.
- The church seats 550.
- Saint Aidan's Mission church was built in 1900 of corrugated iron.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1644.
- The church was in the rural deanery of Goscote (second portion).
- The Particular Baptists built a chapel here in 1869, replacing an earlier building.
- The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists had chapels here by 1849.
- There appears to be only a single Methodist chapel in the parish in current times.
- Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
- Syston was made a subdistrict of the Barrow upon Soar Registration District.
Syston is a village and a parish in northern Leicestershire. The parish is 107 miles north of London, 8.5 miles south of Loughborough, and 4.5 miles north-north-east from Leicester city. The parish covers 1,720 acres and sits near the junction of the River Soar and the Wreak navigation canal.
If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, there are several approaches off of the A46 north out of Leicester city.
- There is rail passenger service to Syston.
- Check out the photgraphs at Flickr.
- In the 1700s and 1800s many citizens were frame-work knitters.
- The parish was also known for malting, brewing, tanning, chair making, rope making and needle fabrication.
- Take a strole down memory lane at Childhood Memories of Syston by Bill Freer.
- The Earl of Stamford was the lord of the manor.
- There is mention of a Manor House in the Directories of 1881 and 1912, but no discriptions.
- The national grid reference is SK 6211
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- Syston had a rifle range (or "butts") used to train recruits in World War I.
- There is a photograph of the Syston War Memorial at Leicestershire Villages.
- This place was an ancient parish in Leicester county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the ancient East Goscote Hundred in the northern division of the county.
- In April, 1935, the parish gave a 534 acre parcel to Barkby Civil Parish and received a 363 acre parcel in return as part of a boundary re-alignment.
- On that same date, the parish gave a 2 acre parcel to Cossington Civil Parish and received a 17 acre parcel in return.
- You can contact the Town Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT staffed to assist with family history searches.
- For today's district governance, see the Charnwood District Council website.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Barrow-upon-Soar Poor Law Union.
- Bastrady cases were heard in the Leicester petty sessional hearings.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
1,421 |
| 1861 |
1,656 |
| 1871 |
1,877 |
| 1881 |
2,470 |
| 1891 |
2,582 |
| 1901 |
2,930 |
| 1911 |
3,087 |
| 1921 |
3,214 |
| 1931 |
4,322 |
| 1951 |
5,508 |
| 1961 |
6,455 |
- A National School for boys, girls and infants was built here in 1856 in the High Street.
- An Infants' School was built here in 1817 and enlarged in 1893.
- A girls' School was opened in 1882.
- The parish also had a Grammar School prior to 1849.
Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
Last updated: 16-February-2012 - Louis R. Mills
