Blaby
Description in 1887:
"BLABY, par. and township with ry. sta., in co. and 4½ miles S. of Leicester, on Union canal -- par., 3300 ac., pop, 2406; township, pop. 1353; P.O."
[John Bartholomew's "Gazetteer of the British Isles," 1877]
- A cemetery of one acre was set aside in 1862 with two mortuary chapels. It was under the control of the parish council's burial board.
- The parish was in the Wigston sub-district of the Blaby 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 10 covers Blaby.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew.
- The origin of the church is uncertain, but was earlier than 1594.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1561.
- The church is in the rural deanery of Guthlaxton (first portion).
- The Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society have indexed Blaby baptisms from 1560 - 1920, burials from 1568 - 1911 and deaths from 1568 - 1911. These have been published on microfiche.
- The Society of Genealogists holds copies of parish registers including baptisms from 1560 - 1921 and marriages from 1568 - 1837 which can be studied at their library in London.
- The original records are held at the The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland.
- The Baptist chapel was built here before 1871.
- The Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built here before 1871.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The parish was in the Wigston sub-district of the Blaby Registration District.
Blaby is a small town, a parish and a suburb in the conurbation now known as Leicester city. It used to be a separate village and parish about 4 miles south of Leicester and 101 miles north of London. The parish includes the chapelry of Countesthorpe and covered 3,300 acres in 1887. A branch of the River Soar passes just north of the village, as does the Union Canal.
If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A426 motorway south out of Leicester city.
- In the 1800s and early 1900s, most of the workers in the parish were frame-work knitters turning out stockings.
- On Blaby District Council website, see "heritage" in the A to Z index for information on Blaby and nearby villages.
- Blaby Hall is an ancient building, formerly the seat of the PEVERIL family, the VERNONs and the RUTLAND families.
- The Hall was restored about 1850 and in 1881 was the residence of the Misses STONE.
- The national grid reference is SP 5697.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- Multi Media Mapping have a current map showing the location of Blaby.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- This place was both an ancient parish in Leicestershire and a modern Ciil Parish.
- The parish was in the ancient Guthlaxton Hundred in the southern division of the county.
- In 1881 to 1891, this parish was reduced in size from 3,300 acres to 1,332 acres.
- In April, 1935, this parish was reduced by 23 acres to enlarge Countesthorpe Civil Parish.
- One year later, in April, 1936, this parish was reduced by 35 acres to enlarge Wigston Magna Civil Parish.
- Blaby is now part of the Leicester Urban Area.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Blaby Poorlaw Union.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1871 |
1,066 |
| 1881 |
1,303 |
| 1891 |
1,646 |
| 1901 |
1,842 |
| 1911 |
1,959 |
| 1921 |
2,012 |
| 1931 |
2,329 |
| 1951 |
2,991 |
| 1961 |
4,242 |
- The Public Elementary School (National School) was built about 1845.
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[Created: 19-August-2009 - Louis R. Mills]
