Kirby Bellars is a village and

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

near

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, known below Melton as the Wreake. The town had a population 27,670 in 2019. The town is sometimes promo ...

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 ...

, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 369.

History

The village is recorded 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 ...

under the name of Chirchebi. The name Bellars probably originates from

Roger de Beler Roger Beler was a Baron of the Exchequer and right-hand man of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, Hugh le Despencer and King Edward II of England, Edward II. Beler was killed by the Folville gang in 1326. Ancestry Beler was the son of Wi ...

who owned the manor house and founded the priory in 1316. Sir Roger de Bellar's Tomb (1326), Kirby Bellars Leicestershire

The large and ancient Parish Church of Saint Peter's, was built in the 13th century and developed by the Priory in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, probably as their own chapel. It is made of

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

and has a tall

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. It is now a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. John Marius Wilson's ''

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

'' (1870-1872) said of Kirby Bellars:

Present day

Part of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Melton, Kirby Bellars also has its own elected parish council. The Village Hall in the Main Street, opposite to Hunters Rise, is used for many local purposes and can seat 150 people. The

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

is called 'The Flying Childers' after the undefeated 18th century

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. In Gaddesby Lane are the kennels of the

Quorn Hunt The Quorn Hunt, usually called the Quorn, established in 1696, is one of the world's oldest fox hunting packs and claims to be the United Kingdom's most famous hunt. Its country is mostly in Leicestershire, together with some smaller areas of ...

, which claims to be the most famous

fox hunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

in the United Kingdom. Priory Lakes, near Kirby Bellars - geograph

Near the village is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

area called Priory Lakes, where the Leicestershire Wildfowler's Association has its office. The 'Kirby Bellars Group of Artists' has existed since the 1980s and includes professional artists as well as amateurs.Welcome to Kirby Bellars Group of Artists
at kbga.org.uk

References

External links

Kirby Bellars
at leicestershirevillages.com
Kirby Bellars
at meltononline.co.uk
Kirby Bellars maps and photos
at francisfrith.com {{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton