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Kegworth,
Leicester
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Kegworth
is located in northwest Leicester, on the hills above the
flood plains of the rivers Trent and Soar. The
site of Kegworth was situated well within the territory of
the Caritani, one of the most powerful Ancient British tribes.
A date cannot be put on the foundations of the first settlement,
although the Romans used a ford across the Trent nearby and
a Romano-British farm lies at the end of Long Lane. Anglo
- Saxon burials have been found in Kingston-On-Soar and at
Hathern, a pin of the Seventh century was also found near
the Hermitage which may indicate the date and location of
the earliest settlers.
The name
of Kegworth comes from two languages, English and Danish,
so it must date from some time between 874 and 1086. It means
‘Worth’ or ‘enclosure’ of a man named Kaggi, the Danish name
for Redbeard.
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It was recorded
in the Doomsday Book as being held by Earl Harold Godwin, who became
the last of the Saxon kings. After Harold's defeat at the Battle
of Hastings in 1066 the Earl Hugh of Chester was given the land
by William The Conqueror. It was know in those days as Cachworde,
Caggworth and Cogga. After the Royalists defeated Simon de Montfort
in 1265, estates gained by the Earl of Gloucester included land
in Kegworth.
The River
Soar |
In 1289,
Edward I granted Robert and Margery de Housted the right to
hold a weekly market in Kegworth on Tuesdays. In practise
this meant that the villagers held the market and were charged
by the Lord of the Manor for doing so. He in turn had to pay
the King. At the same time the right to hold two annual fairs
was granted. Each lasted three days, the 'eve, day and morrow'
of saints days, St Margaret the Virgin and St Andrew the Apostle.
The latter, of course, is the patron saint of the village
church.
1642 the
village was a self-contained agricultural community. The largest
number of references are to labourers, husbandman, yeoman
and cottyers (farm servants in tied cottages). Sheep provided
a link with the cottage industry, from shepherds through felmongers
(dealer
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in sheep hides
and fleece) and websters (weaver). Village trades were those of tanner,
blacksmith, miller, carpenter, tailor, cobbler. The social range goes
from gentleman and parson to beggar, while the village carrier provided
links with the outside world. Oddities are a single scuttlemaker,
and a cockar.
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Both weekly
market and annual fairs must have fallen into disuse by the
seventeenth century as in 1679, William III granted William
Bainbrigge a weekly market on Wednesdays and two annual fairs
each lasting for two days. These were to be held on Easter
Monday and the following Tuesday and on St Michael's day,
the 29th, and the 30th of September. In the Gazette, Bainbrigge
is described as an 'esquire', but in the grant he is a merchant.
In any case he was not the Lord of the Manor. These fairs
were for the 'buying and selling of corn, cattle and all manner
of goods and merchandise whatsoever'
During
the middle ages the Parish was responsible for maintaining
the condition of the roads. To try and improve the rough roads
in the village, an Act of Parliament was passed in 1555 ordering
every man in the parish to
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The Great
House - Built 1698 |
work for four [later
six] days a year on the roads; each farmer had to provide horses and
carts according to his land holding. This continued until the early
18th Century when it became necessary to change this to paid labour.
By 1799 the
village life had changed. Over the years 1799 - 1803 the largest
number of references were again to labourers but there appear to
be only one yeoman, one shepherd and no husbandman, indicating a
move from the agricultural natur of the village. In terms of traditional
village trades, there was only one tailor, one blacksmith and two
weavers, however new trades were appearing in the town, with a number
of bakers and grocers, there were also glaziers, bricklayrs, gravestone
cutters, a surgeon and a postmaster. Interestingly there was also
a boatman a couple of breeches maker and a number of forgeman and
soldiers. By 1804 the weekly market was almost disused but the fairs
continued. The Easter Monday Fair lasted longest, the September
fair losing its identity with travelling shows and menageries.
Landmarks
and Buildings
The earliest surviving building as one would expect, is the
church The tower base dates from 1250 and the rest was built
in 1370 when the two manors of Kegworth were united under a
single Lord of the Manor. The next oldest building visible is
the cruck cottage forming the street front of the Cottage Restaurant.
This is 15th Century, but the stucco covering conceals its age.
Many other buildings similarly hide their oldest parts under
stucco or modern fronts as at the top of Packington Hill, where
early 18th Century timber frames show at the rear. Many buildings
in the High Street and London Road date from the 18th Century
when the main London - Manchester Road went up the High Street
and down Packington Hill. |
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Industry
Kegworth has always prospered from its advantages of trade and routes
originally these were farming, road and river trade, was a large
factor in Kegworth life, and farming still remains on the fringes.
Later it was textiles, rail and canal when industry started in the
late 18th Century/early 19th Century with the introduction of Stockingers
Shops. As the industry grew, small courtyards of cottages were built
in the old farm yards. Women and children also worked when they
could, and the hosiery and lace trade were ranked as two of the
most important industries in the village from 1841 onwards. The
Kegworth hand frame stockingers were highly skilled in the art of
making silk stockings and they received many orders from royalty
and people of high rank. Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales, the
Danish Royal family and the King of Spain were all customers of
the stockingers of Kegworth. In the late 1800s industrialisation
was the beginning of the end of this era in Kegworth’s history,
but there were still socks and stockings being made in the village
as late as the 1940’s. Domestic service was also important. In 1851
as many as 121 people were described as servants, housekeepers or
Charwomen.
Population
Despite the growth in trade and manufacturing, there was only a
very slight increase in population during the 19th century. The
number of inhabitants rose from 1416 people in 1801 to 2078 a century
later, but with actual decline in some decades, today there is approximately
3,500 people living in the village with 1,500 houses.
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