| Bottesford | |
|---|---|
 Bottesford Market Cross | |
  Bottesford Location withinLeicestershire | |
| Population | 3,587 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SK8038 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NOTTINGHAM |
| Postcode district | NG13 |
| Dialling code | 01949 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Bottesford is a village andcivil parish in theBorough of Melton in the ceremonial county ofLeicestershire, England. It lies close to the borders ofNottinghamshire andLincolnshire.
Bottesford is about 15 miles (24 km) east ofNottingham and 13 miles (21 km) north ofMelton Mowbray and 7 miles (11 km) west ofGrantham. The village is the largest in the Vale of Belvoir and near toBelvoir Castle, home to theDuke and Duchess of Rutland. It had a population of 3,587 at the 2011 census,[1] estimated in 2018 at 3,382.[2] It borders smaller parishes in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, such asRedmile,Sedgebrook,Orston andElton on the Hill.
The local amenities include a post office, arailway station, a library, a church, a convenience store, three restaurants and three pubs:The Bull Inn,[3]The Rutland Arms,[4] andThe Thatch.[5]
Bottesford derives its name from theAnglo-Saxon "Ford belonging to the botl" (house).[6] The ford was over the River Devon. Bottesford is listed in the 1086Domesday Book as "Botesford", in thehundred ofFramland.[7][8] Historically, Bottesford was closely associated with the Earls and Dukes of Rutland.
The village was built along theRiver Devon (pronounced Dee-von) and named after theford at the centre of the village.St Mary the Virgin's Church, sometimes known as the "Lady of theVale", is a large medieval church at the centre of the village. Like many churches, this was built over centuries in mixed architectural styles. The lower part of thechancel dates from the 12th century with the remainder added over the next 300 years. Thenave roof was finally completed in 1740. The octagonalcrocketedspire is thought to be the tallest in the county at 210 feet (64 metres).[citation needed] There are twogargoyles on the southtransept. A headstone to Thomas Parker and atable tomb in the churchyard are both Grade II listed, as are the gate piers and gates to the churchyard to the north. The church is the burial place of severalearls of Rutland. One Rutland tomb is famous for an inscription that attributes a death towitchcraft by theWitches of Belvoir. Most of the church dates from the 15th century, but the chancel was rebuilt in the 17th century to accommodate the Rutland monuments. These fill the chancel and give a view of changing aristocratic taste in the 16th and 17th centuries.[9] After the Manners family gained the dukedom of Rutland in 1703, it built amausoleum in the grounds ofBelvoir Castle, the family home,[10] where all the dukes have been buried.[11]
There is a local website covering many sides of Bottesford's local history,[12] including mounting evidence of occupation in Roman times and earlier.[13] Bottesford was the venue of one of the country's earlyfriendly societies, thought to have been founded in the 1750s. It provided members with sickness and funeral benefits for over 200 years.[14] Eleven contributors from the history group produced in 2009 a book on the local history since 1850.[15]
From December 1941, there was aSecond World WarRAF Bomber Command airfield to the north nearLong Bennington, calledRAF Bottesford. Initially it hostedNo. 3 Group RAF, then after serving USAAF'sIX Troop Carrier Command forD-Day, was used byNo. 5 Group from late 1944. It is no longer used as an airfield, but the runways can still be seen.
EntertainersLaurel and Hardy stayed for Christmas 1952 at theBull Inn, where the landlady wasStan Laurel's sister Olga. They were appearing at the Empire Theatre inNottingham at the time. There is a plaque recording this on the building.[16]
There were two brickyards at Beckinthorpe in the 19th century, one also producing the unique Bottesford Bluepantiles to be seen on some local buildings.[17] Local employment declined in the 20th century. The four pubs, six restaurants, at least 16 retailers and 20 odd small producers and service providers today are one-person or family concerns. Not so the earlier building firm of William Roberts Ltd. Joseph William Roberts (1917–2009) was born and bred inSutton-cum-Granby, then schooled inGranby, Nottinghamshire and in Bottesford. He moved to the latter and started his firm in 1937, aged 20. It employed over 500 people at one time and branched out as a funeral undertaker.[18]
The village is somewhat unusual in Leicestershire. Its buildings reflect the traditions of neighbouring Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, as well as local influences, as local materials, initially locally quarried ironstone, but latterly local bricks and distinctive roofing tiles.
There are several open areas in the village, notably an area to the north-east of the churchyard, the churchyard itself, and an area of trees to the south of Devon Lane. Trees play a major part in the street scene in most of Bottesford.
TheRiver Devon flows through the village, almost circling the church. Along its banks in the centre of the village, the soil is a pebbly material known locally as running sand. Views within the village tend to be intimate and enclosed, though the wider Grantham Road provides a slightly extended view out of the village towardsGrantham.
Bottesford's many listed buildings include the grade I listed 13th-century Church of St Mary the Virgin. There are twoscheduled monuments within the village – Fleming's Bridge and the stone cross in the Market Place. Thestocks andwhipping post are Grade II listed. One of the Grade II listed buildings, Providence Cottage in Rectory Lane, is dated 1723 in burnt bricks on the eastern elevation, where the initials REH set into wall. The roof is now pantiled, but the slope suggests it wasthatched in times gone by. The Duke of Rutland's Almshouse, also Grade II listed, was begun in 1590 and was a home for elderly local men called bedesmen (i. e. almoners), having once been a hospital. The building has two M-shaped roofs of differing pitches, both with concrete tiles dating from 1985. The Rectory, Grade II listed, is anironstone and brick building dated 1708, enlarged in the 19th century and altered in 1988. It stands in Rectory Lane behind wrought iron gates, amid large, landscaped gardens, and has a slate roof. The police station, in Queen Street, is likewise Grade II listed and dates from 1846. It is in red brick with a slate roof and three bays. The central bay projects under a pediment and the building is an early example of a purpose-built police station. Market Street is the location of the Grade II listed Dr Fleming's House, which was once a terrace of women's almshouses built in ironstone and mainly rebuilt in brick in the late 18th century. A stone plaque over a door reads "Dr. Fleming's Hospital 1620". There are several Grade II listed properties in High Street, including the Thatched Restaurant, set back from the road in spacious grounds and the only remaining thatched building in the village.
There are many other listed buildings within theconservation area.
Bottesford is in theMelton borough of Leicestershire and in theMelton and Syston constituency. The currentMember of Parliament is theConservativeEdward Argar.
Thecivil parish includes the villages of Bottesford, Easthorpe (directly adjacent to Bottesford),Muston andNormanton. The parish council has nine members.
The village is served byBottesford railway station on theNottingham, Grantham and Skegness line. There are also No. 24 and 26 buses, which run to Melton Mowbray at least every two hours, and other services toGrantham andBingham.
The village was bypassed by theA52 road in February 1989 at a cost of £3 million at the time.[19]
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The Victory Commemoration (or VC) Hall is the local name for Bottesford Old Village Hall.[20] The name came about because some of the funds used to buy up the original hall came from leftover money raised in the village during the Second World War to send parcels to those serving in the armed forces.
A new village hall was built in 2003, mainly funded by a grant from Awards for All (Lottery) and local contributions.[21] To mark the celebration of theGolden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002, several large developments in Bottesford include the creation of a memorial green. One of the 2010 Low Carbon Awards given by theRoyal Institute of British Architects went to a house in Bottesford designed by architects Allan Mulcahy.[22]
The clubs in the village include two forbadminton, abowling club, acricket and social club, fourfootball clubs, several sections of theScout andGuides movement, and many other associations and events such as a youth club catering for 11 to 19-year-olds and askate park. The village has several charity groups raising funds mainly to provide for new facilities locally. One group raising funds in Bottesford in particular is the Vale of Belvoir Lions.
Local community information has appeared since 2002 in theVillage Voice newsletter, which is delivered free to every house.[23]
Bottesford has aplaygroup and aprimary school – Bottesford Primary School – and asecondary school –The Priory Belvoir Academy. The latter had its first group of year 10s in 2008, having expanded from being amiddle school that year. This initially controversial change was hailed as a success after the schools inspectorateOfsted rated Belvoir as Outstanding in its 2010 inspection report.[24] It was rated Good in leadership, behaviour, teaching and achievement, and Outstanding in sixth-form provision in its most recent Ofsted report.[25]
There is a public library in the Old School, Grantham Road.[26]
There areChurch of England churches in Bottesford(St Mary's) and Muston (St John the Baptist). The poetGeorge Crabbe (1754–1832) moved to Muston Rectory fromStathern in 1789, remaining as incumbent of Muston and of WestAllington, Lincolnshire, until 1792. HisNatural History of the Vale of Belvoir was a pioneering study of the district.[27]
BottesfordMethodist Church in Devon Lane belongs to the Grantham and Vale of Belvoir Methodist Circuit.[28] TheBaptist Church is in Queen Street.[29]
In birth order
Ten-year-old Rosie May Storrie of Bottesford was murdered during a house party inNormanton on 30 December 2003, two days after she had made her first stage appearance as a dancer in a pantomime. She was found by other guests smothered and partly stripped, and died in hospital 36 hours later. A fellow guest, Paul Smith ofSedgebrook, aged 18, was convicted of the murder.[32] Smith, who had been diagnosed withAsperger syndrome and had a history of violence against girls, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of fourteen years.[33]
The Rosie May Storrie Memorial Fund established by her parents raised over £270,000 towards charity work with children, notably a Rosie May Children's Home at Boossa,Galle,Sri Lanka.[34]
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