Mountsorrel, Leicestershire
Historical Description
Mountsorrel, a small market-town, a township, a civil parish, and two ecclesiastical parishes in Leicestershire. The town stands on rising ground, on the W side of the river Soar, 14 mile W of Sileby station and 2½ S by W of Barrow station on the main line of the M.R., and 4 SE of Lough-borough; is nearly overhung by a boldly precipitous height called Castle Hill, about 100 feet in altitude; takes its name thence, by corruption, of Mount Soar Hill; had anciently on the hill a strong castle of Robert Ie Rossu, which was occupied by the rebel barons against Henry III., and razed to the ground by that king's command; had formerly also, near its own centre, an old market-cross, which was removed by Sir John Danvers at the end of the 18th century to his grounds at Swithland, now the' property of Lord Lanesborough, who is lord of the manor and chief landowner; and is built and paved with a remarkably hard and durable syenite, found in the neighbourhood. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Loughborongh, two chief inns, an iron bridge over the Soar. a market-house, two churches, and General Baptist and three Methodist chapels. The market-house was built by Sir John Danvers on the site of the old cross, and is a small round structure with an octostyle portico and a cupola. The fair begins on 10 July and continues for nine days. St Peter's Church, or the church of Mountsorrel North End, is a building of granite in the Perpendicular style. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough; gross value, £314. Patron, the Bishop of Peterborough. The church of Mountsorrel South End was erected in 1844 at the sole cost of Miss Brinton, and is a small building 'of the local granite in the Gothic style. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough; net value, £154 with residence. There are some endowed almshouses, and charities worth £200 a year. The General Baptist chapel was formerly occupied by Presbyterians, and is noted for occasional ministrations in it of the famous Dr Watts. A considerable trade is done in connection with the Mountsorrel quarries and granite works. The quarries are in the near neighbourhood; give employment to upwards of 600 men and boys; produce millstones, building-stones, paving stones, and road-metal; were connected by railway, in 1861, with the M.R. at the Barrow station; and send off vast quantities of material daily to many parts of the kingdom. Stocking-weaving and boot-making are carried on, but only to a small extent. Area, 552 acres; population of the civil parish, 2209; of the ecclesiastical parish of St Peter, 1157; of the ecclesiastical parish of Christ Church, 1014. There is a parish council consisting of nine members, and two members are sent to the district council.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Leicestershire | |
Civil parish | Rothley | |
Hundred | West Goscote | |
Poor Law union | Barrow-upon-Soar |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland, have the following parish records online for Mountsorrel:
Parish | Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
---|---|---|---|---|
Christ Church | 1845-1916 | 1857-1940 | 1857-1931 | 1846-1955 |
St Peter's | 1656-1916 | 1754-1940 | 1677-1931 | 1677-1871 |
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Mountsorrel from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Mountsorrel)
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Leicestershire is online.
Maps
Online maps of Mountsorrel 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: