Appleby Parva, or Little Appleby (Known locally as Over-Town), part of the parish of
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, is a hamlet about south-west of Appleby church. It straddles the
A444, south of the crossroads of the highways from
Ashby de la Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
to
Tamworth, from
Atherstone
Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...
to
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011, it had a ...
and Junction 11 of the
M42/
A42.
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
and Appleby Parva are usually collectively known as Appleby.
The village was also calculated to be the
centre of population
In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geogr ...
of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
in 2000, according to research by Professor
Danny Dorling
Danny Dorling (born 16 January 1968) is a British social geographer. Since 2013, he has been Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography of the School of Geography and the Environment of the University of Oxford.
He is also a visiting professor ...
.
History
Appleby Parva is originally believed to be a Danish settlement, whilst
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
is believed to be an earlier settlement pre-dating the Anglo-Saxons.
The name is derived from a combination of 'apa', meaning water or stream, and 'by(r)', meaning settlement.
Appleby appears three times in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, with
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
(listed as Aplebi and Apleby) and Appleby Parva (listed as Apleberie) recorded separately.
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
is listed as partly in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
and partly in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, where Appleby Parva is listed as being in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
Both have shifted across the borders several times but have been part of
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
since 1897.
Appleby Parva is listed in the
Doomsday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as under the lordship of
Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby
Robert I de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby ( 1068 – 1139) was born in Derbyshire, England, a younger son of Henry de Ferrières and his wife Bertha (perhaps l'Aigle). His father, born in Ferrières, Normandy, France accompanied William the Conqu ...
, who held it under his father
Henry de Ferrers
Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a Norman who after the 1066 Norman conquest was awarded extensive lands in England.
Origins
He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's ...
, a French Nobleman and companion of
William I
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...
.
The Hamlet is valued at £0.5, with a taxable value of 1 Geld Unit, and a population of 4 households and 4 freeman.
The hamlet is thought to have been relatively undeveloped until prior to the
Norman Invasion of 1066; the land sits at the bottom of a hill and is poorly drained, so was not cultivated by the Saxons or Danes: the settlement only began to properly develop under its new French Lord, post-1066.
There is thought to have been some local ethnic divide, with
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
(owned by
Burton Abbey
Burton Abbey at Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, England, was founded in the 7th or 9th century by St Modwen or Modwenna. It was refounded in 1003 as a Benedictine abbey by the thegn Wulfric Spott. He was known to have been buried in the abbey ...
and
Lady Godiva
Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...
) inhabited by primarily Anglo-Saxon villagers, and Appleby Parva inhabited by a small group of Normans.
Post 1600
The land of the hamlet was then leased to farmers until in the 1600s, the Manor of Appleby Parva was purchased by the Moore Family.
The family held no formal titles, but were known locally as Squires.
The most famous member of the family was
Sir John Moore. As second (and thus non-inheriting) son, he went to London to make his own fortune, becoming a merchant, an MP, and later Lord Mayor and Alderman of London.
He contributed large sums to the erection of schools at
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553 ...
, and founded a free grammar school in
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
, now called
Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School
Sir John Moore Church of England Primary School, previously known as Appleby Grammar School, is a junior school situated in the village of Appleby Magna, in Leicestershire, England. The school was constructed between 1693 and 1697, based on ...
. He died aged 81, on 2 June 1702, leaving his estates, worth £80,000 (£6,247,200 today
), to his two nephews living in Appleby Parva.
The family came to own much of the land in the Parish of
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
, as well as
Snarestone Lodge in a neighbouring village,
Kentwell Hall
Kentwell Hall is a stately home in Long Melford, Suffolk, England. It includes the hall, outbuildings, a rare-breeds farm and gardens. Most of the current building facade dates from the mid-16th century, but the origins of Kentwell are much ear ...
in Suffolk and land in (and the Lordship of)
Bentley, Warwickshire
Bentley is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, about two miles south-west of Atherstone. According to the 2001 Census it had a population of 101. From the 2011 Census the population of Bentley ...
.
The direct line of the Moores as lords of the manor failed three times, and the family were not in constant occupation.
The land of the hamlet enclosed by the Moores in the 18th Century.
George Moore, who inherited in 1813, was a pioneer in agricultural techniques. As previously mentioned, much of the hamlet was poorly drained, waterlogged and prone to flooding, especially in the winter months.
George sought to improve this. He is described by
John Nichols as "the first introducer of the improved system of watering grass-lands in this country".
George had previously won a gold medal, for under-draining land, from the Society of Arts in the year 1794.
![5 Appleby Hall 1912 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/5_Appleby_Hall_1912_crop.jpg)
The Moore's demolished the existing manor house in 1770; they constructed another house on the site known as Appleby House but were not in constant occupation.
Appleby House was extended to create
Appleby Hall
Appleby Hall was a manor house or stately home built in the small hamlet of Appleby Parva, on the outskirts of Appleby Magna.
A Manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and there have been several houses on the site until the final building, a Cl ...
between 1832 and 1838.
The late medieval settlement pattern was largely obliterated by the construction of
Appleby Hall
Appleby Hall was a manor house or stately home built in the small hamlet of Appleby Parva, on the outskirts of Appleby Magna.
A Manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and there have been several houses on the site until the final building, a Cl ...
, as older surrounding properties were demolished and 'New Road' was built to replace the earlier road that passed by the front of the house; so creating a private garden and parkland around the house, which was then landscaped.
New carriage ways were built, as were gatehouses (which still exist today).
By the 1880s the Moores family's fortunes had turned: The Agricultural slump caused revenues to fall sharply.
The family initially tried to save the estate by searching for coal: The Appleby Magna Colliery Company was formed in the 1870s but failed to find any workable coal seams.
Attempts were made to cut expenses by demolishing several of the family's ancillary and dower homes, but they were ultimately forced to put
Appleby Hall
Appleby Hall was a manor house or stately home built in the small hamlet of Appleby Parva, on the outskirts of Appleby Magna.
A Manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and there have been several houses on the site until the final building, a Cl ...
and its estate up for sale: the quire then retired to Witchingham Hall in Norfolk.
The estate ran to 4,500 acres and included land in many of the neighbouring villages; however, attempts to sell failed.
Several farms were auctioned in 1888 and 1889.
Squire George John Moore returned to
Appleby Hall
Appleby Hall was a manor house or stately home built in the small hamlet of Appleby Parva, on the outskirts of Appleby Magna.
A Manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and there have been several houses on the site until the final building, a Cl ...
in 1891 and, despite his financial situation, continued to live an extravagant lifestyle with numerous household staff.
With insufficient income, ends were met by the repeated sales of farms and land.
George John died in 1916 and his son Charles L G Moore inherited the Hall and estate (now less than 2400 acres).
In 1918 the estate was no longer viable and Charles looked to sell.
In 1919 he forced an ultimatum on his tenant farmers: they would have to give him 10 shillings more rent per acre, or he would be forced to sell (a rise of between 32% and 50%).
The farmers initially agreed, but later reneged, thinking he was bluffing and doubting he would actually sell the estate the family had lived in for 300 years.
Charles had, however, already received an offer and the house was sold to property speculators.
The rest of the estate was auctioned on Thursday 20 November 1919 at the Royal Hotel,
Ashby de la Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
.
The estate was divided into 49 lots comprising a total of 2786 acres, and included 12 farms, 22 small holdings, 2 inns and about 50 cottages.
With the estate sold, Charles retired to Devon where he died in 1961.
The farms and small holdings were mainly sold to their tenants.
After being sold,
Appleby Hall
Appleby Hall was a manor house or stately home built in the small hamlet of Appleby Parva, on the outskirts of Appleby Magna.
A Manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and there have been several houses on the site until the final building, a Cl ...
was stripped of its valuable materials (interiors and lead roof) and had been completely demolished by 1930; only the gatehouses and part of the stables building remained.
See also
*
Appleby Hall
Appleby Hall was a manor house or stately home built in the small hamlet of Appleby Parva, on the outskirts of Appleby Magna.
A Manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book and there have been several houses on the site until the final building, a Cl ...
*
Appleby Magna
Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It includes the small hamlets of Appleby Parva and Little Wigston.
The parish has a total collective population of 1,084 (2011) spread across 500 properties (2020), with ...
*
John Moore (Lord Mayor)
Sir John Moore (11 June 1620 – 2 June 1702) was a British politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the City of London from 15 May 1685 to 9 January 1687, and Lord Mayor of London, 1681–82. He also invested in the slave trade.
Biography ...
*
George Moore
References
External links
*
*
{{Towns and Villages of North West Leicestershire , state=expanded
Hamlets in Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire District