King's Norton 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 authorit ...

in the Harborough district 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 ...

, England. It is situated to the east of

Leicester 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 ...

, and about south-west from

Billesdon Billesdon is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of 745 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 901 at the 2011 census. It is just off the A47, nine miles east of Leicester. ...

. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 69. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and is included in the

of Gaulby. There is a small cluster of houses around the junction of three roads which lead to Gaulby, Little Stretton, and Illston on the Hill; this includes the manor-house, Vicarage, and church. In 1563 there were 12 households, in 1670 there were 17 households. The maximum known population was just over 60 in the 19th century.

Manor house and other houses

The L-shaped manor house is adjacent to the east end of the church. Most of the two storey (plus attics) main structure was probably built by William Whalley (d.1635) or his son Ralph. Sash windows were inserted into the main wing (red brick on an ironstone plinth) in the early 18th century. There is a mid-17th century staircase which has been altered. The old kitchen was in the smaller wing; the kitchen is now in a previous brew-house c.1800. The roof of this wing has an arch-braced collar-beam truss. Also on this plot is a square brick

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

with a small

diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or cont ...

pattern (poss. later 17th century). There is a tablet dated 1726 with the initials of Bernard and Anne Whalley on another building. Other notable buildings are The Limes, Wyggeston Farm (c1700 plus older fragments), a

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

cottage, Lime Cottage (18th century brick), The Grange (1870, formerly The Laurels), the village hall (1921 from Co-operative Society).

Church

The

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

church of St. John the Baptist was built at the cost of just over £20,000 in a little over one year at the commission of Squire William Fortrey. It was designed by local architect John Wing the Younger (1728-94) of

North Luffenham North Luffenham is a village in Rutland, in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 704, decreasing to 679 at the 2011 census. It lies to the north of the River Chater, east of Uppingham and wes ...

. The spire was added in 1775 but destroyed in a storm in 1850. The interior has hardly changed: the central three-decker pulpit,

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in ch ...

s and west gallery remain, lit by clear windows. Outside at its east end is a monument to William Fortrey, and close by is the 17th-century Fortrey manor house. Image:KingsNortonChurch.jpg, Kings Norton Church (Exterior) Image:KingsNortonInterior.jpg, Kings Norton Church (Interior)

References

External links

Resident's articles
Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Harborough District {{Leicestershire-geo-stub