Edmondthorpe is a small 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, now in the parish of

Wymondham Wymondham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, south-west of Norwich off the A11 road to London. The River Tiffey runs through. The parish, one of Norfolk's largest, includes rural areas to ...

, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Rutland. In 1931 the parish had a population of 195. It has

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

origins. The name ''Edmondthorpe'' is derived from a corrupted form of the Old

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

personal name 'Eadmer', in old records spelled variously, ''Edmersthorp'' (

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 manus ...

); ''Thorp Edmer''; ''Thorp Emeri''; ''Thorp Edmeer''; ''Edmerthorp''; or ''Thorp''. The most likely origination of the name could be from the Saxon: ED = East; MUND = mound or barrier; THORPE = a street or village. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Wymondham. The Church of St Michael and All Angels, maintained by

The Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

, is situated in the centre of the surrounding farms and cottages, close to the ruins of Edmondthorpe Hall. Although in former times a number of households from the neighbouring village of

"parished" to Edmondthorpe, St Michael and All Angels' Church now holds services on special occasions, only. There is a

canonical sundial A tide dial, also known as a Mass or scratch dial, is a sundial marked with the canonical hours rather than or in addition to the standard hours of daylight. Such sundials were particularly common between the 7th and 14th centuries in Europe, at w ...

on the south wall. The church holds the tomb of Sir Roger Smith, which includes decorative alabaster figures. A fault in the alabaster of the Smith monument helped give rise to the Edmondthorpe Witch Legend. The legend tells that Lady Ann Smith was a witch who could turn herself into a cat. While a cat, she was wounded in the paw by her butler, and the injury remained on her hand when she became human again. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the Hall (built by Sir Roger Smith in 1621) was used as a military fuel depot, but was destroyed by fire in the early hours of 10th February, 1942. This was due to the unsafe handling of hot ashes from a coal fire, according to Edmondthorpe resident, John Gresham (1923-2011). Buildings from the 19th century stable block, which was designed by R. W. Johnson in 1869, remain, and were used to accommodate, firstly Italian, and then over 80 German prisoners of war, until 1947 (perhaps later), as a satellite to Allington Camp, near Grantham. An avenue of mature trees leads from South Lodge (formerly West Lodge) to the Hall through the park on the southern edge of the village. From the road near South Lodge a set of bee boles, used for keeping bees before the advent of modern hives, may be seen in the wall to the left of the church. An embanked section of the disused Melton to Oakham Canal lies to the west of the village and loops under the road between Edmondthorpe and

Teigh Teigh is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the village was 48 in the 2001 census. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and was included with the civil parish ...

. There are several families that have lived in Edmondthorpe over many centuries. These include the Veaseys and Extons, which are detailed in the

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

transcripts for the village.

References

{{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Melton

See also

References