Sheepshead (St. Botolph)
SHEEPSHEAD (St. Botolph), a parish, in the union of Loughborough, hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 4 miles (W.) from Loughborough; containing 3872 inhabitants. The parish comprises 5171a. 2r. 28p. The soil is chiefly marl, clay, and a mixed loam; the surface is hilly, and the substratum contains blue granite, which is quarried for building and for the roads. The manufacture of hosiery affords employment to more than 500 families. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £8. 10. 10.; net income, £350, arising from 181 acres of land; patron, C. M. Phillips, Esq. The church is an ancient structure in the early English style. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Wesleyans. John Lambert, Esq., bequeathed houses and land, now producing £60 per annum, for charitable uses.
Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.