Kilby
Description in 1871:
"KILBY, a parish, with a village, in Blaby district, Leicestershire; on a branch of the river Soar, and on the Union canal, 2 miles SSE of Wigston r. station, and 6½ SSE of Leicester. Post town, Wigston, under Leicester. Acres, 1, 060. Real property, £2, 200. Pop., 362. Houses, 95. The property is divided among a few. Framework knitting is carried on. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £63. Patron, Sir H. Halford, Bart. The church is plain and good, with a very low tower. There is an Independent chapel."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]
- There is no civic cemetery in Kilby. The nearest crematorium is Leicester Crematorium, Gilroes Cemetery, Groby Road, Leicester LE3 9QG. Records are available on request or in person from Leicester City Council, New Walk Centre, Welford Place, Leicester LE1 6ZG. There is a charge.
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen.
- The church was originally built in 1220, but was replaced by the new building begun in 1857. The new church was consecrated in 1858.
- The churchyard has graves dating back to 1714.
- The church seats 350.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1570.
- The church is in the rural deanery of Gartree (second portion).
- The nearest Baptist chapel was in Arnesby parish.
- The Independents (Congregationalists) had a chapel here by 1849.
- The registers of Kilby parish can be found at the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. The dates covered are: Bapt. 1570 - 1998, Marr. 1570 - 1987, Banns 1570 - 1973, Burials 1570 - 1985. There are also the Bishop's Transcript for 1572 to 1864.
- There are also some entries in the register for Wigston's parish church.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
- The parish was in the Wigston sub-district of the Blaby Registration District.
Kilby is a small village and a civil parish about 7 miles south of Leicester city, 10 miles north of Lutterworth and 100 miles north of London. The parish covers 2,401 acres.
The village contains about 100 households, but the Post Office and the shop are gone. If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the A50 arterial road south out of Leicester about 7 miles. A road to the left (east) leads to Kilby village.
- The Arriva Bus Company provides hourly service through the day, between the bus station in Leicester city and the village of Fleckney.
- There is a nice street scene near the "Dog and Gun" pub at Leicestershire Villages.
- You may wish to pick up a copy of Paul Biggs' booklet, "Waterway walks in Leicestershire and Rutland", 1995, Sigma Leisure Pulishing CO., ISBM 1-85058-442-7.
- The Union Canal runs through the parish.
- The Domesday Book (1068) tells us: "In Guthlaxton Wapentake [a district] Oger the Breton holds two parts of one hide [a land unit reckoned as 120 acres] in Cilebi [Kilby] from the King, that is 12 c. of land. In Lordship 8 ploughs, 2 slaves. Nine villagers with seven smallholders and ten freemen have four ploughs. A mill at 2 shillings, meadow, 12 acres. The value was and is 40 shillings. Eurad [Everard the Saxon] held it freely before 1066.
- There are still some 17th century buildings in the parish.
- In the 19th century a large portion of the parish was left to pasturage.
- In the 19th century much of the village was part of the Wistow estate although there were some private landowners.
- About half of the people worked on the land as farmers, and the other half worked as fream-work knitters.
- Stilton Cheese was made here.
- There are 7 old photographs of Kilby at the Francis Frith website.
- The village turned down a water supply in 1934, but in 1955 water finally flowed to most homes and shops.
- A Patronal Festival (or the Kilby Feast) is held each year on or near the weekend of July 22nd.
- The national grid reference is SP 6295.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The word "Kilby" itself is derived from two words, "Kil" and "By." "Kil" is derived from the Latin word meaning "cell." It means church, monastery, or cell, and was adopted by both the Gaelic and Saxon speaking priests, who spoke and wrote in Latin. It is a common prefix among towns in Ireland and Scotland, but is less common in English towns.
- "By" is a Danish word meaning "place of" or "hamlet".
- This place was an ancient chapelry of Leicestershire and a modern Civil Parish as well.
- The parish is in the ancient Guthlaxton Hundred in the southern division of the county.
- In April, 1936, this parish was enlarged when Foston Civil Parish was abolished and all 1,333 acres were amalgamated with this parish. This parish went from 1,068 acres to 2,401 acres.
- You can find out more about local governance at the Parish Council website. They will NOT do family history lookups for you.
- As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Blaby Poorlaw Union.
- Bastardy cases would be heard in the Leicester petty session hearings.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
400 |
| 1871 |
334 |
| 1881 |
291 |
| 1891 |
242 |
| 1901 |
282 |
| 1911 |
253 |
| 1921 |
249 |
| 1931 |
242 |
| 1951 |
264 |
| 1961 |
214 |
- The Kilby Church of England School was built in 1875 in the heart of the village to hold 57 children.
- Around 1930, the children over the age of 11 began attending school in Wigston.
- May Day and Empire Day are always celebrated at the school. The school is on Main Street, LE18 3TD, tele: 0116-240-2434; fax no. 0116-240-2434.
- The school has a website but not much history. Read their Welcome Message.
Follow this link to find help, report problems or contribute information.
[Created: 4-September-2009 - Louis R. Mills]
