Wistow, Leicestershire

Last updated

Wistow
St Wistans church, Wistow.jpg
St Wistan's church, Wistow
Leicestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Wistow
Location within Leicestershire
Area1.421875 sq mi (3.68264 km2)
Population62 (2011) [1]
•  Density 44/sq mi (17/km2)
OS grid reference SP643960
•  London 82 mi (132 km)
Civil parish
  • Wistow
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LEICESTER
Postcode district LE8
Dialling code 0116
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
UK Parliament
Website Wistow cum Newton Harcourt Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire
52°33′30″N1°03′10″W / 52.5582802°N 1.0529135°W / 52.5582802; -1.0529135

Wistow is a deserted medieval village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in the English county of Leicestershire, and lies seven miles south-east of the city of Leicester in the valley of the River Sence. Since 1 April 1936 it has included most of the former civil parish of Newton Harcourt [2] which was a chapelry of Wistow. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 256. [3]

Contents

The village was named as Wistanestou in the Domesday Book and is thought to derive from Wigstan (OE male personal name) + OE stow 'a holy place'; 'The holy place of Wigstan'. [4] It is thought to be the site of the martyrdom of Saint Wigstan, a Mercian prince. Wistow was part of the royal multiple estate of aet Glenne (Great Glen). [5] Wistow is listed in the Domesday book of 1086 as a settlement of many households owned by Robert the bursar. [6] [7]

St Wistan's Church

The present structure, which dates from the 12th century, was enlarged c. 1300, again altered in the 14th and 15th centuries, and remodelled in the 18th century. The church of St Wistan consists of nave and chancel under one roof, south porch, west tower, vestry, and north chapel. It is built of rubble, chiefly ironstone, with some limestone dressings, and lead roofs. [8] It is a Grade II* listed building. [9]

Wistow Hall

Lake next to Wistow Hall in 2014 Lake next to Wistow Hall (geograph 4078299).jpg
Lake next to Wistow Hall in 2014
Wistow Hall in 1818 Neale(1818) p2.270 - Wistow Hall, Leicestershire.jpg
Wistow Hall in 1818

Wistow Hall, which may be built on or near the site of the earlier medieval house, retains the form of a large house of early-17th-century date. It consists of two stories with attics, built of red brick with stone dressings and now completely stuccoed on all sides. The original plan appears to have been H-shaped consisting of a central hall between two cross-wings which extended westwards to enclose a rear court. Then, as now, the principal front faced east with a central entrance, while the south wing contained the parlour rooms and the north wing the kitchen and service rooms. The map of 1632 shows the house with its H-plan having two three-storied tower-like features with pyramidal roofs standing at the front of each wing on their outer sides. Formal gardens are also shown to the south and east of the house.

During work on the house in 1960 certain early features were exposed; these included stone dressings in the rear wall of the hall marking the position of a large lateral chimney stack, and a blocked north window and quoins in the existing west wall of the house apparently surviving from a former south extension of the kitchen wing. The first-floor rooms in the north wing have reset panelling of the 17th century and more of a similar date is preserved piecemeal in the attic rooms. One stone doorway with a Tudor head remains in the side wall of the south wing. The multi-gabled appearance of the house with finials, kneelers, and large lateral stacks remained more or less unaltered until after the end of the 18th century.

Little work appears to have been done to the house between 1783 and 1814. In 1814, the building was in poor condition and subsequently underwent a drastic remodelling: this involved removing the gables on the north, south, and east sides and substituting hipped slate roofs with dormer windows set behind a tall parapet. A large glass hot-house was added at the south-west corner of the house in 1819 which has since been demolished. Later in the 19th century the same side of the house received two semi-circular bay windows, the work of the second Sir Henry Halford, who was also responsible for laying out a small formal garden. The rococo decoration in the south wing is probably of this period. In 1912 and the following years the balustrade and parapet were removed and additional dormer windows were provided, and in 1960 parts of the house were converted into five self-contained flats. The interior has few features of distinction, but the fine wrought-iron staircase balustrade built in the inner hall by Sir Charles Halford is similar in design to the wrought-iron gates of the Halford chapel in the church. Wistow Hall was Grade II* listed in 1951. [10]

Present day

Today, Wistow is notable as the location of a rural crafts and garden centre and of a maze.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wigston</span> Human settlement in England

Wigston, or Wigston Magna, is a town in the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire, England, just south of Leicester on the A5199. It had a population of 32,321 in 2011.

Wigstan, also known as Saint Wystan, was the son of Wigmund of Mercia and Ælfflæd, daughter of King Ceolwulf I of Mercia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsthorpe</span> Suburb in Northampton, England

Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of the district council ward as 4,477.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drayton, Leicestershire</span> Human settlement in England

Drayton is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district of south-east Leicestershire, bordering Northamptonshire and Rutland. It is situated 6.7 miles (11 km) northeast of Market Harborough and 5 miles (7.5 km) southwest of Uppingham on the north side of the Welland valley. Nearby villages are Bringhurst, Great Easton and Nevill Holt. The church of St James in Drayton is one of the smallest churches in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weobley</span> Village in Herefordshire, England

Weobley is an ancient settlement and civil parish in Herefordshire, England. Formerly a market town, the market is long defunct and the settlement is today promoted as one of the county's black and white villages owing to its abundance of old timber-framed buildings. Although it has the historical status of a town and is referred to as such in the sources, it nowadays refers to itself as a village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleckney</span> Human settlement in England

Fleckney is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the A6 national route between Market Harborough and Leicester.

Wistow is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Wistow lies approximately 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Huntingdon, near Warboys. Wistow is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilby</span> Human settlement in England

Kilby is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. Kilby is the easternmost village in the district, and is 6.1 miles (9.8 km) south east of Leicester. Kilby civil parish includes the former parish of Foston and it's deserted medieval village. Nearby places are Countesthorpe 2.21 miles (3.56 km), Fleckney 2.12 miles (3.41 km), Arnesby 1.96 miles (3.15 km), Wistow 1.4 miles (2.3 km) and Kilby Bridge 1.18 miles (1.90 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton Harcourt</span> Human settlement in England

Newton Harcourt is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wistow, in the Harborough district, in the English county of Leicestershire, and lies 7 miles south-east of the city of Leicester on the northern ridge of the River Sence valley. In 1931 the parish had a population of 142.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chadwell, Leicestershire</span> Village in United Kingdom

Chadwell is a small village in the district of Melton, which is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, and is part of the civil parish of Scalford, which also includes the neighbouring hamlet of Wycomb. Until 1 April 1936 it was in the parish of Wycomb and Chadwell. The village name means 'spring/stream which is cold'. Chadwell is half a mile east of Wycomb, and they share the Church of St. Mary in the same ecclesiastical parish. The Church of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevington, Suffolk</span> Human settlement in England

Chevington is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in East Anglia, England. Located around 10 km south-west of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 630, reducing to 602 at the 2011 Census. The parish also contains the hamlets of Broad Green and Tan Office Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. R. Stevens House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The H.R. Stevens House is located on Congers Road in the New City section of the Town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. It is a stone house dating to the late 18th century. In the early 19th century, it was expanded with some wood frame upper stories added later. The interior was also renovated over the course of the century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilston Park</span> Building in Boughton Malherbe, England

Chilston Park is a country house in Boughton Malherbe, Kent, England. Started in the 15th century, the house has been modified many times and is a Grade I listed building, currently operated as a country house hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bardon House</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Bardon House is a heritage-listed detached house at 41 The Drive, Bardon, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1864 to 1926. It is also known as Franciscan Sisters' Convent. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonsdale House</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Lonsdale House is a heritage-listed detached house at 283 Boundary Street, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1860s circa to 1950s circa. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 27 August 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of the Assumption Convent, Warwick</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Our Lady of Assumption Convent is a heritage-listed former Roman Catholic convent at 8 Locke Street, Warwick, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Simkin & Ibler and built from 1891 to 1914. It is also known as Assumption College, Cloisters, and Sophia College. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wistow Hall</span>

Wistow Hall is a 17th-century country house in Wistow, Leicestershire, England which has been converted into an apartment building. It is Grade II* listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Housham Tye</span> Human settlement in England

Housham Tye is a hamlet in the civil parish of Matching, and the Epping Forest district of Essex, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Undercliffe Terrace</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Undercliffe Terrace is a heritage-listed row of terrace houses located at 52–60 Argyle Place, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Millers Point in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The property is also known as Grimes' Buildings. was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascott, Oxfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Ascott is a hamlet and manor house in the English county of Oxfordshire. Ascott lies close to the River Thame north of Dorchester, around about 7 miles to the southeast of Oxford in the parish of Stadhampton.

References

  1. ↑ "Wistow parish postcodes". doogal.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Relationships and changes Newton Harcourt Ch/CP through time". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Wistow Parish Local Area Report". nomisweb.co.uk. nomis official labour market statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  4. ↑ Bourne, Jill (2003). Understanding Leicestershire and Rutland place-names. Loughborough: Heart of Albion. p. 92. ISBN   1-87288-371-0.
  5. ↑ Bourne, Jill (1996). Anglo-Saxons landscapes in the East Midlands. Leicester: Leicestershire Museums Arts and Records Service. ISBN   0-85022-394-6.
  6. ↑ "Open Domesday: Wistow, Leicestershire". opendomesday.org. Open Domesday. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "bursar, or dispenser". domesdaybook.net. Hull Domesday Project. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Lee, J M; McKinley, R A (1964). A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5, Gartree Hundred. Vol. 5. United Kingdom -- England -- London. p. 336-345. Retrieved 21 November 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ↑ "Church of St Wistan". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Wistow Hall, including flats and in wing, Brown's flat, Dairy Cottage, Laundry Cottage, Brew House, and Forge Cottage". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2022.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Wistow at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.