Muston (pronounced ''Musson'') is a village and 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 Bottesford, in the Melton district 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. It is east of

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 ...

, west of

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 ...

on the A52 and north of

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 ...

. It lies on the border of Leicestershire and

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, two miles east of Bottesford. The River Devon (pronounced ''Deevon''
flows
through the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 218. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Bottesford.

Facilities

The parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. It is in the Belvoir Group of parishes, based in Bottesford, and under the

Diocese of Leicester The Diocese of Leicester is a Church of England diocese based in Leicester and including the current county of Leicestershire. The cathedral is Leicester Cathedral, where the Bishop of Leicester has his episcopal chair. The diocese is divided in ...

. Muston Meadows is a nearby grassland

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

featuring 33 types of grass and over 100 other species of flowering plant. The reserve is notable for its colony of over 10,000

Green-winged Orchid ''Anacamptis morio'', the green-winged orchid or green-veined orchid (synonym ''Orchis morio''), is a flowering plant of the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It usually has purple flowers, and is found in Europe, Northern Africa and western Asia. Des ...

s. The 14th-century cross on the village green is a Grade II* listed structure. The

Viking Way The Viking Way is a long distance trail in England running between the Humber Bridge in North Lincolnshire and Oakham in Rutland. History The route was officially opened on 5 September 1976 at Tealby, by the Deputy Chairman of Lincolnshire C ...

, a long-distance footpath between

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...

and

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, passes to the east of the village. The village lies near the Bingham–Bottesford–Grantham bus route, which runs about once an hour in the daytime on weekdays but does not stop at Muston. The local pub, the ''Muston Gap'', occupies a Grade II listed building dating back to the 18th century. It stands on the A52, from the Nottingham–Grantham railway line, where the nearest station is Bottesford 1.8 miles away (3 km). Muston also has a café (the Old Forge Tea Rooms), bed and breakfast facilities (Glebe House, a Grade II listed building, and Chantry Cottage), a children's play area and a village hall (Old School Muston).

Muston of old

Muston belonged to the ancient hundred or

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and in Cumberland County in the British Colony of ...

Framland Framland was a hundred in north-east Leicestershire, England, roughly corresponding to today's borough of Melton. It was recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' as one of Leicestershire's four wapentakes. The name remains in use as a deanery of the Dio ...

. Muston Gorse wharf on the

Grantham Canal The Grantham Canal ran 33 miles (53 km) from Grantham through 18 locks to West Bridgford, where it joined the River Trent. It was built primarily for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797 and its profitability steadil ...

was the terminus of the private Belvoir Tramway to

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 ...

, which opened in 1793. Some detailed, amply illustrated information on Muston and its past appears on the Bottesford Living History website. John Marius Wilson's ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (1870–72): "MUSTON... stands on the River Devon, adjacent to the boundary with Lincolnshire, near the Grantham Canal, 1½ mile east-south-east of Bottesford railway station, and 5½ west by north of Grantham; and has a post office under Nottingham. The paZrish comprises 1,623 acres. Real property, £2,694. Pop., 360. Houses, 74. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £400.*Patron, the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. The church is a handsome structure; and consists of nave, aisles, chancel and two porches, with central tower and spire. There are ''(sic)'' a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

chapel and a national school."

Famous people

Property in Muston was owned by Nathaniel Hallowes (1582–1661) of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, an English politician who sat in the English

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1640 to 1653 and again in 1659. He was an active Parliamentarian during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. The poet

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

(1754–1832) moved to Muston Rectory (later Glebe House) from a curacy at Stathern in 1789, having previously been chaplain to the

from 1782 to 1784. He was a resident incumbent of Muston and of nearby West Allington, Lincolnshire until 1792, but then an absentee until 1805. He remained resident for most of the period up to 1814, when he became rector of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. His ''Natural History of the Vale of Belvoir'' was a pioneering study of the district.Bibliotheca Topographia Britannica, VIII, Antiquities in Leicestershire, 1790. Reproduced on the Harby website. Retrieved 31 March 2011

/ref>

References

External links

Parish Council
(shared with Bottesford)
Leicestershire Villages
{{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton