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 Main Street, Kirby Muxloe | |
  Kirby Muxloe Location withinLeicestershire | |
| Population | 4,667 (2011) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SK519044 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEICESTER |
| Postcode district | LE9 |
| Dialling code | 0116 |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | http://kirbymuxloe.net/ |
| |
Kirby Muxloe is a large village andcivil parish that forms part of theBlaby district ofLeicestershire,England. Located to the west ofLeicester, its proximity to the city has resulted in its inclusion in theLeicester Urban Area. TheLeicester Forest East parish border runs along the Hinckley RoadA47. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 4,523,[1] which had increased to 4,667 at the 2011 census.[2]
The name "Kirby" comes from theDane Caeri who established the community here in the late ninth or early tenth century. The settlement was known as Carbi, and then later Kirby.[3] The village was recorded in theDomesday book as 'Carbi'. (Caeri's settlement) with a working population of 8. At the time the land in Kirby Muxloe was owned by Hugh de Grandesmaynel and byWilliam Peverel.[4]In 1461,William Hastings, the 1st Baron Hastings of Hungerford, became the Steward of the Honor of Leicester and Ranger of Leicester Forest. His father, Sir Leonard Hastings, had owned a modest estate in Leicestershire andGloucestershire, where the family had long been established. On 14 April 1474 Hastings acquired the manorial right to Kirby from the Pakeman family, although he had rented it for some years previous to this. In 1480 he began to build themoatedKirby Muxloe Castle during the period of theWars of the Roses. However, work on the castle stopped soon after Lord Hastings was executed on 13 June 1483 on the orders of Richard, Duke of Gloucester (days later to becomeKing Richard III) at theTower of London for conspiracy. William was caught up in the rivalry for the throne after the death ofEdward IV.[4][5]
In 1582 the name of the village is recorded as Kirby Muckelby, with variants Mullox, Muckle. About 50 years later in 1628 disafforestation of Leicester Forest occurred, effectively dividing the land near Kirby Muxloe into forest and pasture. The results are visible today. In 1636, the Hastings families sold the castle, and estates in Kirby andBraunstone, to the Winstanley family. The first official use of Kirby Muxloe was in 1703 in theOxford Dictionary of Placenames, which states that 'Muxloe' is a family name. There was such a family but they lived three miles away, in the village ofDesford.
An earlyQuaker, John Penford, was a substantial resident of Kirby Muxloe and member of theLeicester Quarterly Meeting. A business meeting of theSociety held at his home to consult on works of charity in 1670 was interrupted by informers, with the result that Penford and others were heavily fined.[6]
The railway came to Kirby Muxloe in 1848 when theMidland Railway built aline through Kirby, and on 1 July 1859Kirby Muxloe railway station opened at Kirby fields. (The station closed on 7 September 1964 as part of theBeeching cuts). In 1882, the fields known as Far and Near Townsend Close were bought by Kirby Muxloe Land Society. Barwell Road, Castle Road, and Church Road were laid out for the village and building went on over the next 30 years.
In 1911, Kirby Muxloe Castle was handed over to theOffice of Works. It is now in the care ofEnglish Heritage. In 1941, duringWorld War II, the village was heavily bombed. A German bomber returning from an attack onCoventry emptied its load on two streets, destroying the Free Church and several houses. Gaps left in the houses can still be seen.
The village has a primary school which is rated as one of the top schools in the county. There is a chemist, bakery, supermarket, two pubs, a popular sports and social club and a golf club.
Many people who lived there during the late 20th century were born in either a small maternity home in Station Road, near Barwell Road or Roundhill Maternity Home (NHS) in Hastings Road, Kirby Fields. Both are now private residences, as they were before they became Maternity Homes. What was the nurses' home at the entrance to Roundhill is now also a private residence.
Sports clubs/leisure:
Destinations from Kirby Muxloe | |
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Towns and villages ofBlaby District | ||
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