Ecology
The hill is a surviving fragment of the formerly extensive Charnwood Forest, and it has both woodland and heath. MatureGeology
The Hill is formed ofQuarry
The earliest mention of aRoyal visit
In 1840, the then deer park was chosen as a picnic spot for a visit byBardon Park
Bardon Park was a medieval deer park, covering about . Bardon Hill was within the area of the park, and also Bardon Hall (see below). It is said that the area was emparked prior to AD 1300. The line of the southerly boundary of the park runs a few metres north of the A 511 road. There are still deer within the area of Bardon park, as well as foxes and badgers. There are breeding pairs of buzzard and peregrine as well as raven and barn owls.Bardon Hall
The old hall was a moated house, in a shallow valley south of Bardon Hill. In the 1830s, a new hall was built halfway up the hillside. The current hall is a gentleman's residence with a southerly aspect and with commanding views over the parkland. The old hall was demolished, probably at about the time the new hall was built, but the moat that surrounded the old hall remains. The current hall is a Grade II Listed building and is the head office of Aggregate Industries, the owners of the Bardon Hill Quarry. For several hundred years Bardon Hall was the home of the Hood family. In the 1830s a Mr Robert Jacomb inherited Bardon Park (which included Bardon Hill and Bardon Hall) from William Hood who was a relative of his father's first wife. Robert took the name Jacomb-Hood.Bardon Park Chapel
In the 1690s the owner of Bardon Hill and Bardon Park, John Hood, built a Christian meeting house at the gate of the Bardon estate. This is said to be the oldest Non-conformist place of worship in Leicestershire, and indeed over a wide area of theBardon village
During the 19th century a village of quarry workers' cottages was built southwest of Bardon Hill. Bardon village had the postal address "Bardon Hill". The cottages were very close to the quarry, and were demolished in about 1988.Parish church
TheSchools
There have been three school buildings at Bardon. In the 19th century, before theSee also
*References
;Citations ;Bibliography * Potter, T. R. (1842) ''The History of Charnwood Forest. – The Villages of the District''. London: Hamilton, Adams and Co. Reprinted by David Dover, Loughborough * Curtis, John (1831) ''A Topographical History of the County of Leicester''. Ashby-de-la-Zouch: W. Hextall; p. 9Further reading
* For detailed information and history, see the book ''Bardon Hill'' by Len Noble (published in 1995). Len Noble describes his book (320 pages) as follows: "a source book being a collection of papers, anecdotes and published work concerning the ancient enclosure of Bardon Park with additional comment". . * For information about 20th century life at Bardon Hill, see the book ''Marking Time – voices from Bardon'' published by Mantle Community Arts Limited. Editors Tracey Roberts and Jane Stubbs. Copyright 1995.External links