| Wanlip | |
|---|---|
 Rectory Road, Wanlip | |
  Wanlip Location withinLeicestershire | |
| Population | 305 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SK5910 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEICESTER |
| Postcode district | LE7 |
| Dialling code | 0116 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Wanlip is a small village andcivil parish in theCharnwood district ofLeicestershire, with a population measured at 305 at the 2011 census.[1] It is a countryside village, north ofBirstall, and west ofWatermead Country Park and theRiver Soar. TheA46 road runs directly past the village. Wanlip won the 2008 Leicester and RutlandBest Village Competition for villages with a population under 500.[2]
To the south of Wanlip isWanlip Meadows, aLeicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust nature reserve. To the north is aSevern Trentsewage treatment plant, serving a population of more than half a million.[3]The Cedars Academy lies to the south at the edge of Birstall. To the east lies the 14 hectare ReedbedLocal Nature Reserve, part of theWatermead Country Park.[4]
Wanlip is the site of a 132-metre-highwind turbine which went into operation at the end of 2013.[5]
Mountsorrel he mounted at,
Rodely he rode by,
Onelep he leaped o'er,
AtBirstall he burst his gall,
AtBelgrave he was buried at.
An Iron Age settlement was unearthed just to the north of Wanlip[7] and an Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered during the building ofLongslade School in 1958,[8]
One of the earliest mentions of Wanlip is inDomesday book, where it is listed as Anelepe, among the lands given toEarl Aubrey[9] by theKing. The land described includes a mill. The Earl's sonAubrey de Vere II went on to become Lord Chancellor.
The surnames of the three families who have owned the manor over eight centuries are:
William Wilberforce, the 19th centuryMP and leadingabolitionist, lived for some years atWanlip Hall.[citation needed]
There are fourlisted buildings in Wanlip: a brickice house, the church of Our Lady and St. Nicholas, Manor Farm and Hall Farm.[11]
Much of the structure of this parish church was erected in the 13th and 14th centuries but there have been a variety of later alterations, including changes made in the 19th century and the south aisle which was built in 1904. The walls are constructed mainly of granite rubble with ashlar dressing. It is a Grade II listed building.[12]
The chancel floor is notable for housing the brass that commemoratesSir Thomas Walsh and his wife Katherine. This comprises the figures of the couple with a border that is the earliest surviving example of an English inscription for a high-status tomb monument. The inscription reads:
“Here lyes Thomas Walssh knyght lorde of Anlep and dame Katine his wife whiche in her tyme made the kirke of Anlep and halud the kirkyerd first in Wurchip of god and of oure lady and seynt Nicholas that god have her soules and mercy anno domini millesimo CCC nonagesimo tercio [i.e. 1393].”
The memorial is the subject of a detailed article byNigel Saul, who commented that the church is a distinguished building incorporating motifs from the state apartments atKenilworth Castle that had been commissioned byJohn of Gaunt, with whom Sir Thomas Walsh was closely connected.[13]
In the churchyard is a substantial headstone with the following epitaph:"Sacred to the memory of Rasselas Morjan, who was born at Macadi on the confines of Abyssinia and died at Wanlip Hall August 25th 1839 in the 19th year of his age. Rescued from a state of slavery in this life and enabled by God's grace to become a member of his Church he rests here in the hope of a greater deliverance hereafter. This stone is raised in remembrance of his blameless life by one whom he loved."[14]
Wanlip is said to be unusual because in 1906 the land there was all owned by just one family - the Palmers.[10]
TheBaronetcy at Wanlip has been held by the (later named Palmer) family since 1791 when it was awarded toCharles Grave Hudson.[15] Notable members of the family include the artistCaroline Harriet Abraham and her fatherCharles Thomas Hudson Palmer, 2nd Baronet.
Charles Palmer-Tomkinson, father ofsocialiteTara Palmer-Tomkinson, is a landowner in Wanlip and Birstall, responsible for theHallam Fields development in next-door Birstall.
The current holder of the baronetcy is Sir John Edward Somerset Palmer, 8th baronet.[16]
Towns and villages of theBorough of Charnwood | ||
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| Towns |  | |
| Large villages | ||
| Small villages | ||
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