Category: Local History

I have in my possession an interesting newspaper article from the 1960s that shows a picture of Skeffington Hall, which is situated in the village of Skeffington, Leics., adjacent to the Church of St. Thomas A Beckett. According to my records the hall was originally constructed in 1450 and was the birthplace of Thomas Skeffington, Bishop of Bangor and Sir William Skeffington, Lord Deputy of Ireland. It was later owned by a William Farrell whose son, Sir William Farrell-Skeffington 1^st Bt., adopted the Skeffington surname and later sold the hall to the Tailby family in 1815. William Ward Tailby (1825-1914) was a keen huntsman and formed the Fernie Hunt in 1856 and Sir Richard Sutton 2^nd Bt., who was Master of the Quorn Hunt also resided at Skeffington Hall at one time.

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On Wednesday 26 November, the Kibworth Harcourt Post Mill volunteers assisted SPAB employee, Chi Wei Clifford-Frith to install lights on the Mill in preparation for the Christmas season. The lights were installed last year in the customary + formation and could be seen from as far away as Gumley. The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) are the legal owners of the Mill.

Carole Craig has handed the Kibworth & District Chronicle another item of Kibworth memorabilia - a copy of the Kibworth Carnival programme for August 1978 - the year the Chronicle commenced publication.

Dr Miriam A Wohl

Analysis of the 2021 census data that is available on the city population website, reveals that some of the Kibworth and District Chronicle village populations have decreased since the 2011 census, whilst others have, of course, increased; sometimes substantially.

Othorpe House is situated on the outskirts of the village of Slawston and has been the home to many families over the years. I discovered that one resident in particular, by the name of Edward Crawshay, had an interesting past with links to South Wales and beyond. Edward was born in 1821 at his father’s Rofant Estate in the parish of Worth in Sussex. He was the tenth of twelve children born to Richard Crawshay (1786-1859) and Mary Homfray (1779-1863) of Ottershaw Park, Chertsey in Surrey. 

Dear Editor,

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness can yield some perfect days for walking – not too hot, not too cold. So, how about tackling the Leicestershire Round this autumn? 

Between the Church and the Grand Union canal you come across a field where the above three oak trees stand. They are now 20 years old. They were planted in late 2005 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805.