Somerby 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 ...

in the Melton district, in the county 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 ...

, England. It is south of

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 ...

. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 812. Somerby is a small country village containing a parish church (All Saints), a primary school, a

Doctor's surgery A doctor's office in American English, a doctor's surgery in British English, or a doctor's practice, is a medical facility in which one or more medical doctors, usually general practitioners (GP), receive and treat patients. Description Doc ...

, a pub, a small shop/post office, and a large Equestrian Centre. The population is close to 500. It is the largest village in the parish of Somerby and is located in East Leicestershire close to the border with

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

; the parish also includes the settlements of

Burrough on the Hill Burrough on the Hill is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Somerby, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is north east of Leicester. The parish church is St. Mary Close. Burrough Hill ...

Leesthorpe Leesthorpe is a hamlet (place), hamlet in the civil parish of Somerby, Leicestershire, Somerby, in the Borough of Melton, Melton district, in the English county of Leicestershire. Leesthorpe is located in the north east of the county close to t ...

and

Pickwell Pickwell is a small, hill-crest village south-east of Melton Mowbray in the Borough of Melton, Melton district, in Leicestershire which used to have an ecclesiastical parish of its own and is since the early 20th century has been in the civil ...

. The surrounding countryside is very attractive and is often referred to as 'High Leicestershire'. Much of the Parish is several hundred feet above sea level and there are often superb views to be found. Although predominantly a rural community there are a significant number of successful business enterprises in the local area. All Saints' Church, Somerby, Leicestershire 01

All Saints' Church, Somerby, Leicestershire 01

During World War II, the village was used as a base station and testing ground for

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

, the airborne attack on Arnhem. It was in the parish of Somerby (but the village of

) that the surgeon

William Cheselden William Cheselden (; 19 October 168810 April 1752) was an English surgeon and teacher of anatomy and surgery, who was influential in establishing surgery as a scientific medical profession. Via the medical missionary Benjamin Hobson, his work ...

was born.Cope, Zachary, William Cheselden, 1688–1752. Edinburgh: E. & S. Livingstone, 1953, p.1

References

External links

Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton {{Leicestershire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links