Nether and Over Seal, Leicestershire
Historical Description
Seal, Nether and Over, two villages, a township, and a parish in Leicestershire, on the borders of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, bounded on the S by the river Mease, 2½ miles SSW from Moira station on the Burton, Ashby, and Nuneaton branch of the M.R., and 5½ SW from Ashby-de-la-Zouch. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office at Over Seal, under Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and there is a post office at Nether Seal. Over Seal is a hamlet of the parish of Seal, about 1½ mile N of the village of Nether Seal, and 4 miles SW from Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Acreage of the civil parish, 3795; population, 1513; of the ecclesiastical, 1546. For parish council purposes, Nether Seal and Over Seal has been divided, each having a parish council consisting of six members. There is a large colliery in the parish. A British camp was at Cadborough, and a barrow is near Dead Dane Bottom. Nether Seal Hall is an ancient Tudor mansion, and the Old Hall and Grangewood House are chief residences. Near Nether Seal Hall, on a tract of land called " No-Man's Heath," there is an ancient boundary stone, having four sides, each of which is in one of the counties of Leicester, Derby, Warwick, and Stafford. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough; gross value, £885 with residence. The church is an ancient building of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, N aisle, S porch, and a western tower. It has a tomb of the 15th century, with the effigy of a former rector. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels, and some endowed almshouses for nine poor persons. There is also a chapel of ease at Over Seal.
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Leicestershire is online.
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Leicestershire newspapers online: