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Great Easton

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Note: There is another Great Easton in Essex county. make sure that you are researching in the correct place.

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John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)":

"EASTON (Great), or Easton Magna, a township-chapelry in Bringhurst parish, Leicester; and a sub-district in the district of Uppingham and counties of Leicester and Northampton. The township lies on the verge of the county, between the rivers Eye and Welland, adjacent to the Rugby and Stamford railway, 1 mile NW of Rockingham; and has a post office under Leicester. Real property, £5,544. Pop., 590. Houses, 126. The property is much subdivided. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Bringhurst, in the diocese of Peterborough. The church is very good. There are chapels for Independents and Wesleyans. A school has £6 from endowment; and other charities have £19. The sub-district comprises seven parishes in Leicester, and one in Northampton. Acres, 14,882. Pop., 3,135. Houses, 697."
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Census

  • The parish was in the Great Easton subdistrict of the Uppingham 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.
1841H.O. 107 / 589
1861R.G. 9 / 2309
1871R.G. 10 / 3303
1891R.G. 12 / 2550
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Andrew.
     
  • The church was built before 1684.
     
  • The pinnacles on the church tower were blown down in a storm 24 March, 1895.
     
  • The church seats 320.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of St Andrew's Church on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
     
  • David KELLY also has a photograph of St Andrew's Church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2007.
     
  • And Kate JEWELL has another photo of St Andrew's Church on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2010.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1650 for baptisms; 1652 for marriages; and 1656 for burials.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Gartree (third portion).
     
  • The Independents (Congregationalists) built a chapel here in 1797. By 1908 it was disused.
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel here in 1857.
     
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Great Easton subdistrict of the Uppingham Registration District.
     
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Description & Travel

Great Easton is a parish, a chapelry and a village 96 miles north of London, 22 miles southeast of Leicester city and 8 miles east-northeast of Market Harborough. The parish is bounded on the south by the River Welland which is flowing east to The Wash. The Welland is also the boundary with Northamptonshire on the south. The parish covers 2,360 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

  • This parish is off the major highway routes. By automobile, take the A6003 trunk road south out of Oakham. Turn right (west) just after Caldecott and follow that road 1 mile to Great Easton.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007. Obviously, they need your talent and help to design a more enticing sign.
     
You can see pictures of Great Easton which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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History

  • Much of the land in the parish was used for pasture.
     
  • The parish employed a large number of boot and shoe makers.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP849929 (Lat/Lon: 52.527367, -0.749984), Great Easton which are provided by:

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Military History

  • In 1920 a cross of Clipsham stone was erected on the village green as a memorial to the men of the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
     
  • There is a single Commonwealth War Grave in the St. Andrew churchyard extension from World War One.
     
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Military Records

The Commonwealth War Grave (data from www.CWGC.org) is for:

NameRankUnitDiedFamily
Thomas William FREESTONElance corporal1st Btn., Bedfordshire Regiment22 Nov 1918Age 22, son of John William and Mary Elizabeth FREESTONE
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Politics & Government

  • The parish was in the southern division of the county in the ancient Gartree Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • This place had been a chapelry and a township in Bringhurst parish for centuries. Some time after 1866 the township became a Civil Parish of its own right.
     
  • You may contact the local Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but the CANNOT help you with family history searches.
     
  • District governance is provided by the Harborough District Council.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act reforms of 1834, the parish became part of the Uppingham Poorlaw Union.
     
  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the East Norton petty session hearings the first Friday of each month.
     
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Population

 YearInhabitants
1841600
1871603
1881540
1891510
1901424
1911418
1921397
1931349
1951398
1961408
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Schools

  • There was no school here prior to 1849. The children of the parish were sent to school in Rockingham.
     
  • A Public Elementary School was built here in 1875 for 115 boys & girls and 54 infants.