Granby is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Rushcliffe Rushcliffe is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. The borough also includes the towns of Bingh ...

district of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England. It lies in the Vale of Belvoir.

Toponymy

The place-name Granby seems to contain an

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

personal name, ''Gráni '' and ''bȳ'' (Old Norse), a farmstead or village.

Population and facilities

The parish (which includes the hamlet of Sutton-cum-Granby) had a population of 328 in the 2001 census and 485 (also counting Elton on the Hill) in the 2011 census. Granby alone had 394 residents at the 2021 census. It lies about 14 miles east of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. Earlier census returns suggest a peak population of 439 in the 1891 census and a low point of 248 in 1951. The civil and church parishes of Granby include the hamlet of Sutton-cum-Granby, a mile to the north. Both these parishes are run by councils. Present development in Granby is governed by the ''Granby cum Sutton Village Plan'' adopted by Rushcliffe Council. Granby is part of the Rushcliffe constituency in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Granby no longer has a school – the building now serves as the village hall. Most children attend Orston Primary School, and for secondary education many go to Toot Hill School in the nearby town of Bingham. The village has bus services with Nottingham and

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

. The nearest railway station is at

Aslockton Aslockton is an English village and civil parish east of Nottingham and east of Bingham, on the north bank of the River Smite opposite Whatton-in-the-Vale. The parish is also adjacent to Scarrington, Thoroton and Orston and within the Ru ...

, with trains every one or two hours to Nottingham,

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

and beyond. The village has one pub since the closure in 2015 of the ''Boot & Shoe'', whose site was sold for housing. The remaining ''Marquis of Granby'' (possibly the original house of that name, dating back to 1760) serves a range of real ales and has won awards for the quality of its beer. The Marquess of Granby is a subsidiary title of the

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

, used as a

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

by the duke's eldest son. The most famous marquess was General John Manners (1721–1770), who distinguished himself in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and later entered politics.

Buildings

Parts of the All Saints' parish church date back to the 12th century. It is a Grade I listed building, "one of the S Notts churches which were reduced in size in post-Reformation times." According to the English Heritage description, it stands on a pre-Conquest site and underwent restoration about 1777 and in 1888. A Roman altar stone was dug up in the churchyard in 1812. The village also has as Grade II listed features five groups of churchyard gravestones, four farmhouses, a telephone kiosk and a parish pump. Ivy House Farm in Green Lane bears the date 1752 and Granby Farmhouse in Church St that of 1762. The Old Post House, the former village shop and post office, was built in 1796 for Elizabeth May Hopewell, spinster of the parish. Descendants of Miss Hopewell still reside in the village. The deeds for the house refer back to a previous dwelling on the site built in 1580. The Wesleyan Methodist congregation in the village is thought to have dated from 1807. There was already "a place of worship for Wesleyans" in 1848. However, the congregation dwindled and the chapel was converted into a private house in the early 2000s. The

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of Granby was held by the Duke of Rutland, but from 1917, the Vicar of Granby was also the Rector of St. Michael and All Angels' Church, Elton on the Hill, in a village two miles to the north. Appointments thereafter were made by agreement between the two patrons. Now both churches are part of the Wiverton Group. Services are held at Granby once or twice a month.

Granby of old

Granby appears in the

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 with 99 households, a large number for the period. It already had a church and two mills. The lord was Robert d'Oily, who is mentioned in Domesday in connection with 127 other places, mainly in the South Midlands. From the early Middle Ages until the creation of

Bingham Rural District Bingham was a rural district in Nottinghamshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from the Bingham rural sanitary district. It took in the parish of Gamston from Basford Rural District in 1935, ...

1894 Events January * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * Ja ...

, Granby belonged to the Bingham Wapentake (hundred) of Nottinghamshire. "GRANBY, a village and a parish in Bingham district, Notts. The village stands near the source of the River Devon, near the Grantham Canal, and near the boundary with

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, 2½ miles NNE of Elton r. station, and 4 SE by E of Bingham; and has a post office under Nottingham. The parish includes also the hamlet of Sutton. Acres, 2,420. Real property, £3,721. Pop., 479. Houses, 108. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the Duke of Rutland, and gives him the title of Marquis. Gypsum is found. The living is a vicarage in the

diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leice ...

. Value, £123.* Patron, the Duke of Rutland. The church is ancient and tolerable; and has a tower. There are a Wesleyan chapel and a free school."

World War II

In the Nottingham Blitz, 92 high explosive bombs were dropped in the Vale of Belvoir, with 24 dropped at Granby.''Nottingham Journal'' Saturday 28 October 1944, page 3

Famous resident

* John Bradshaw (1812–1880), first-class cricketer and cleric, died in Granby, having been Vicar of Granby-cum-Sutton since 1845.

References

External links

*Parish website
Retrieved 26 July 2011.
{{authority control Villages in Nottinghamshire Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire Rushcliffe