Bardon is a

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 authorit ...

and former village in

North West Leicestershire North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 census was 93,348. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville and Ibstock. The ...

about southeast of the centre of

Coalville Coalville is an industrial town in the district of North West Leicestershire, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England, with a population at the 2011 census of 34,575. It lies on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Tr ...

. The parish includes

Bardon Hill Bardon Hill is the highest Hill in Leicestershire and on a clear day the Malvern and Shropshire Hills (approx. 50–60 miles), summits in Derbyshire (approx. 30–40 miles) and Lincoln Cathedral (almost 50 miles away) can be seen. However ...

, which at above sea level is the highest point in Leicestershire. With the population remaining less than 100, information from the 2011 census was included in the civil parish of

Ellistown and Battleflat Ellistown and Battleflat is a civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, just south of the unparished area of Coalville. Most of the parish's population lives in the village of Ellistown in the western part of the parish. The population o ...

History

The village's name means '

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

hill'. East of Bardon Hill is an oval moat about wide and deep. It encloses an area measuring about by , and the island thus created is raised about above the level of the surrounding land. The site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. This site is about east of Kellam's Farm and a few metres north of the main east-west asphalt driveway (carriage road) linking Copt Oak and Bardon Hall. South of Bardon Hill is a second moat. This moat is square or rectangular. The moat island is the site of the old Bardon Hall, which was demolished in about 1840 after the current

Bardon Hall Bardon is a civil parish and former village in North West Leicestershire about southeast of the centre of Coalville. The parish includes Bardon Hill, which at above sea level is the highest point in Leicestershire. With the population remaini ...

was completed further up Bardon Hill. The latter is a

Tudor revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

house designed by the architect

Robert Lugar Robert Lugar (1773 – 23 June 1855), was a British architect and engineer in the Industrial Revolution. Although born in Colchester, England, Lugar carried out much of his most important work in Scotland and Wales, where he was employed by s ...

and completed in about 1837. Granite was being quarried from Bardon Hill by 1622. In 1832 the

Leicester and Swannington Railway The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&SR) was one of England's first railways, built to bring coal from West Leicestershire collieries to Leicester, where there was great industrial demand for coal. The line opened in 1832, and included a tun ...

was opened, passing close by the then village of Bardon. A branch was built to the quarry and continues to carry granite from the quarry to this day. Bardon Hill railway station was near the parish church. The station was closed in the 20th century but the railway through it remains open for freight as part of the

Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. In 1921 Bardon had a population of 511 and a

public house 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 wa ...

called the Birch Tree. However, in the 1990s the village was demolished to allow the quarry to be expanded.

Bardon Hall

Bardon Hall is a mid-19th century Tudor revival house built in about 1830 or 1837. It was designed by the architect

for Robert Jacomb Hood. An earlier moated house, the Old Hall, was situated in a shallow valley in Bardon Park, south of

. The hall had been the property of members of the Hood family since the 1620s. The last male member of this family, William Hood, died in 1835 without issue. Hood left the estate to his cousin, Robert Jacomb, on condition that Robert assumed the surname of Hood. The Old Hall was demolished in about 1840 for Robert Jacomb Hood, who described it in his memoirs as "too dilapidated for residence, and the situation was low, damp and unhealthy" The moat that surrounded it still remains. In 1864 the whole estate was sold to William Percy Herrick of

Beaumanor Hall Beaumanor Hall is a stately home with a park in the small village of Woodhouse on the edge of the Charnwood Forest, near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, England. The present hall was built in 1842–8 by architect William Railton ...

. To improve access Herrick had a private carriage road built, leading to the

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 ...

road. The Hall is Grade II listed, and is the head office of

Aggregate Industries Aggregate Industries, a member of the Holcim Group, is a company based in the United Kingdom with headquarters at Bardon Hill, Coalville, Leicestershire. Aggregate Industries manufactures and supplies a range of heavy building materials, prima ...

, the owners of

Bardon Hill Quarry Bardon Hill Quarry is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Coalville in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. This quarry has been operated for over 400 years and produces three million tonnes of roc ...

Church and chapel

Parish church

St Peter's Church, Bardon was designed by the architect J.B. Everard (1844–1923) and built in 1899. St. Peter's was built in memory of two members of the Everard family who were co-owners of the quarry, and the architect also is buried in the churchyard. The church is built of granite, and its exterior masonry is not coursed but laid like

crazy paving Crazy paving is a means of hard-surfacing used outdoors, most frequently in gardens. Paving stones of irregular size and shape are laid in a haphazard manner sometimes with mortar filling the gaps between. The method originated in ancient R ...

. The tower has a

saddleback roof A saddleback roof is usually on a tower, with a ridge and two sloping sides, producing a gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed ...

topped by a

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée. Background ...

. It has three bells, all cast by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

in 1899. St. Peter's parish is now part of a single benefice with Christ Church,

and St. Michael and All Angels, Ravenstone. Bardon's ecclesiastical and civil parishes are not coterminous. St. Peter's church is about outside the civil parish, in the civil parish of Coalville.

Chapel

Bardon Park Chapel is a 17th-century nonconformist chapel in the southernmost part of the parish, close to the main A511 road (formerly the A50) between M1 Junction 22 and Coalville. The chapel was built in about 1694 and altered in about 1830, 1877 and about 1900. A number of original 17th-century features survive, including the roof trusses and the wooden pulpit, which is octagonal and has fluted Doric

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s. A wooden screen and doors date from the remodelling of about 1830. The chapel has always been galleried, but the original gallery which had wooden Doric columns was replaced in the remodelling of about 1900 with the present gallery on iron columns. The chapel is part of the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

References

Sources and further reading

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External links

{{Towns and Villages of North West Leicestershire , state=expanded Civil parishes in Leicestershire Former populated places in Leicestershire North West Leicestershire District