Barkestone-le-Vale is a village and (as just "Barkestone") a former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of

Redmile Redmile is an English village and civil parish in the Melton (borough), Melton district of Leicestershire, about north of Melton Mowbray and west of Grantham. The population of the civil parish, which includes Barkestone-le-Vale and Plungar, w ...

, in the Melton district, in the north east of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 238.

History

The name Barkestone means "farm/settlement of Bark". The village originated as a settlement in the 7th century. It features as a parish in the 1086

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

.http://www.barkestonelevale.com/main.htm , accessed 4 November 2007. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Redmile.

Heritage

There are 120 dwellings in Barkestone-le-Vale. The village had a primary school, which was closed in the late 1980s, by which time it had only 11 pupils. The school building was converted for residential use, as was the former mill house and a large derelict farmhouse. The Church of St Peter and St Paul is a listed building Grade II* dating mainly from the 14th century with 15th-century additions. Most of the windows are in the

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

style of Gothic. Parts of the church were rebuilt in 1840 and the whole was restored in 1857. The congregation belongs to the Vale of Belvoir group. A

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...

chapel was built in 1825, but not mentioned in gazetteers later in the century. It closed for lack of support in 1927.

Countryside

There are several footpaths serving the village, one of them linking it with

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. A castle was first built on the site immediately after the Norman Conquest of 10 ...

. The rural countryside makes it suitable for bird-watching. Among the species seen round the village are the

buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Easte ...

, the

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

, and the reed and sedge warblers. The Grantham Canal, which opened in 1797, is no longer in commercial use. It passes to the north and west of the village, parallel with the disused railway.

Public transport

The nearest railway station is Bottesford (5½ miles, 8.9 km) on the

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

line. Redmile railway station (1½ miles, 2.4 km), with trains between

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

and Grantham or

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

, closed to passengers in 1951. Barkestone is served by daytime buses between Bottesford and

six times a day on Monday to Saturday.

Amenities

There is a primary school in Redmile (1.6 miles, 2.6 km). The nearest shops and a secondary school are in Bottesford (4.8 miles, 7.7 km). The village pub, ''The Chequers'', has become a bar and grill, open most evenings. Plungar (1 mile, 1.6 km) has the nearest traditional pub, ''The Anchor''. The local post office opens for only two hours a week.

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Redmile