Kirby Bellars

Kirby Bellars
Kirby Bellars
 Kirby Bellars shown within Leicestershire
Population 369 (2011)
DistrictMelton
Shire countyLeicestershire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town MELTON MOWBRAY
Postcode district LE14
Dialling code 01664
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentRutland and Melton
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire

Coordinates: 52°45′02″N 0°56′25″W / 52.7506°N 0.9402°W / 52.7506; -0.9402

Kirby Bellars is a village and civil parish near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 369.[1]

History

The village is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Chirchebi.[2]

The ancient Church of England parish church, dedicated to Saint Peter, is built of ironstone and has a tall spire. It is now a Grade I listed building.[3][4]

John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-1872) said of Kirby Bellars:

KIRBY-BELLARS, a parish, with a pleasant village, in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester; on the river Wreak, and on the Syston and Peterborough railway, at Ashfordby r. station, 2¾ miles WSW of Melton-Mowbray. Post town, Melton-Mowbray. Acres, 2,590. Real property, £5,060. Pop., 243. Houses, 52. The manor belongs to the Rev. E. Manners. Kirby Park was a hunting seat of Sir Francis Burdett, Bart.; and is now occupied by a farmer. A college, for a warden and twelve priests, was founded in the parish, by Roger de Beler, in 1319; and was converted into an Augustinian priory, by Alice Beller, in 1359. Fossil bones of elephants and other animals were found in 1821. The parish is a meet for the Quorndon hounds. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £88. Patron, Sir Robert Burdett, Bart. The church is handsome; and has a tower, with lofty spire.[5]

Present day

Part of the district of Melton, Kirby Bellars also has its own elected parish council.[6] The Village Hall in the Main Street, opposite to Hunters Rise, is used for many local purposes and can seat 150 people.[7]

The pub is called 'The Flying Childers'[8] after the undefeated 18th century racehorse.

In Gaddesby Lane are the kennels of the Quorn Hunt, which claims to be the most famous fox hunt in the United Kingdom.[9]

Priory Lakes

Near the village is a wetland area called Priory Lakes, where the Leicestershire Wildfowler's Association has its office.[10]

The 'Kirby Bellars Group of Artists' has existed since the 1980s and includes professional artists as well as amateurs.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Kirby Bellars at probertencyclopaedia.com
  3. ↑ Kirby Bellars St Peter at achurchnearyou.com
  4. ↑ SK7118 St Peter's Church, Kirby Bellars, Leicestershire at geograph.org.uk
  5. ↑ Kirby Bellars at visionofbritain.org.uk
  6. ↑ Kirby Bellars (Parish Council) at Leicestershire & Rutland Association of Local Councils web site
  7. ↑ Kirby Bellars Village Hall at ruralcc.org.uk
  8. ↑ The Flying Childers at pubsulike.co.uk
  9. ↑ Quorn Hunt Kennels at yell.com
  10. ↑ SK7118 Priory Lakes, near Kirby Bellars at geograph.org.uk
  11. ↑ Welcome to Kirby Bellars Group of Artists at kbga.org.uk
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