Leicestershire county page

Contents

Leicestershire Towns & Parishes

Nearby places

Wistow

Description in 1871:
"WISTOW, a parish, with two townships, in Billesdon district, Leicestershire; on the Union canal, near Glen r. station, and 7 SE of Leicester. Post town, Leicester. Acres, 2,100. Real property, £3,488. Pop., 247. Houses, 56. The manor, with W. Hall, belongs to Sir H. Halford, Bart. The Hall received Charles I., after his escape from the battle of Naseby; and contains his saddle and stirrups, and some interesting portraits. The living is a vicarage, with Newton-Harcourt chapelry, in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £92. Patron, Sir H. Halford, Bart. The church is early English."
John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1870-72"

Census

• The parish was in the Billesdon subdistrict of the Billesdon 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:
  
  

Return to top of page

Church History

• The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Winston.
  
  
• The church is in the park near the Hall.
  
  
• The church was built before 1575.
  
  

Return to top of page

Church Records

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1575.
  
  
• The church was in the rural Gartree deanery (second portion).
  
  

Return to top of page

Civil Registration

• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
  
  
• The parish was in the Billesdon subdistrict of the Billesdon Registration District.
  
  

Return to top of page

Description and Travel.

Wistow is a village and an ancient parish sitting 7 miles south-east of Leicester and 9 miles north of Market Haborough. The parish covered just over 892 acres (in 1881), 905 acres in 1912 and much larger in 1936.

The village has always been a rather small affair. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, take the A6 motorway south-east out of Leicester city past Newton Harcourt.
  
  
• On the web-page author's small scale map (large area) the village of Wistow is not noted.
  
  
• The Union Canal passes through the parish.
  
  

Return to top of page

Manors

• Wistow Hall was the seat of Sir Henry St. John HALFORD, baronet and loard of the manor, in 1881.
  
  
• In the Hall is a glass case containing the saddle and stirrups of King Charles I after his escape from the battle of Naseby.
  
  
• By 1912, Wistow Hall had passed to Thomas Francis FREMANTLE.
  
  

Return to top of page

Maps

• The national grid reference is SP 6495.
  
  
• 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

Politics and Governance

• The parish lies in the Gartree Wapentake (or Hundred) in the southern division of the county.
  
  
• In April, 1936, the parish was enlarged when Newton Harcourt parish was abolished and 1,132 acres added to this parish.
  
  

Return to top of page

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Billesdon Poorlaw Union.
  
  

Return to top of page

Population

Year	Inhabitants
1801	201
1811	225
1821	307
1831	298
1841	296
1851	261
1881	49
1901	61
1911	53
1971	263

Return to top of page

Schools

• No school is noted in the sources used for this web page.
  
  

Return to top of page

Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.