Houghton on the Hill, Leicestershire
Historical Description
Houghton-on-the-Hill, a village and a parish in Leicestershire. The village stands 2½ miles WNW from Billesden and 1½ mile S from Ingersby station on the G.N.R., and has a post office of the name of Houghton, under Leicester; money order office, Billesden; telegraph office, Ingersby station. The parish comprises 1914 acres; population, 332. There is a mineral spring. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough; net yearly value, £182 with residence. The church is an ancient building of stone in the Perpendicular and Decorated styles, with a fine western tower and spire. There is a Wesleyan chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Leicestershire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Houghton-on-the-Hill St. Catherine | |
Hundred | Gartree | |
Poor Law union | Billesdon |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1651.
Findmypast, in association with the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, have the following parish records online for Houghton on the Hill:
Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
---|---|---|---|
1651-1916 | 1781-1936 | 1654-1931 | 1653-1991 |
Churches
Church of England
St. Catharine (parish church)
The church of St. Catharine is a fine and ancient building of stone, of the 13th and 15th centuries, consisting of chancel, nave of four bays, aisles, north porch, erected in 1874 to the memory of William Freer esq. and a very handsome western tower, with spire, containing 5 bells: there is a parapet round the aisles of the church: the chancel retains a piscina, there is another in the south aisle, and in the north aisle remains of sedilia: the east window, restored in 1857, is a memorial to the Rev. James Sherard Coleman M.A. 47 years rector (1808-55), and there are other memorial windows to Mrs. Elizabeth Freer, wife of William Freer esq.; to William Freer esq. clerk of the peace; Mrs. W. T. Freer; the Rev. W. T. Freer, a former rector; to the family of Herrick; the Rev. J. S. Coleman; the Rev. Charles Wood M.A. of Leicester, and one erected in 1897 by W. J. Freer esq. clerk of the peace, in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Victoria; there are also three windows given as thank offerings by Dr. Greasley, of Canterbury, Mrs. Glover and Mr. W. J. Clark: an oak chancel screen was erected in 1897, and the exterior of the church restored in 1903 at a cost of over £500: in 1921 a richly coloured carved oak reredos was erected in the north aisle as a war memorial: the church plate includes a silver cup dated 1683, given by Joseph Birkhead, a former rector: the interior of the church was restored in 1860, and again between 1897 and 1907, and affords 300 sittings.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Houghton on the Hill from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Houghton-on-the-Hill (St. Catherine))
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Leicestershire is online.
Maps
Online maps of Houghton on the Hill are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Leicestershire newspapers online: