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Sharnford

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"SHARNFORD, a parish, with a village, in Hinckley district, Leicester; on the river Soar and the Fosse way, 3 miles N N W of Ullesthorpe r. station, and 4 E S E of Hinckley. Post-town, Hinckley. Acres, 740. Real property, £3,629. Pop., 589. Houses, 130. The property is much subdivided. Frame-work knitting is carried on. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £450. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church was restored in 1866. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and charities £9."
[John Marius WILSON's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]

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Cemeteries

The Wesleyan Chapel has a grave-yard, still in use since the 1850's.

Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of St. Helen's churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2014.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Burbage sub-district of the Hinckley Registration District.
     
  • The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print and Volume 6 covers the Burbage and Earl Shilton sub-district which includes Sharnford.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 603
1861R.G. 9 / 2259
1871R.G. 10 / 3235
1891R.G. 12 / 2502
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Helen.
     
  • The church was built in the Gothic style and contains a square tower.
     
  • The church was repaired in 1846.
     
  • The church was restored in 1866.
     
  • The church was severly damaged by fire in 1984, but the church has since been reparied.
     
  • The church seats 200.
     
  • Tim HEATON has a photograph of St. Helen's Church on Geo-graph, taken in July, 2011.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish register dates from 1593. Some sources give 1566.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Guthlaxton (second portion).
     
  • The Wesleyan Methodists had a chapel built here in 1827. There are graves in the chapel yard.
     
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Burbage sub-district of the Hinckley Registration District.
     
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Description & Travel

Sharnford is a village and a parish 93 miles north of London, 4 miles east of Hinckley and 8 miles north-west of Lutterworth. The River Soar passes through the parish, but it is here much reduced in flow most of the year. The parish covers 1,439 acres.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By automobile, the village is just off the Old Foss Way, now the B114 arterial road, south out of Leicester city. If you reach Whatling Street, you've gone too far.
     
  • The village has two public houses; The Sharnford Arms and the Countryman.
     
  • Peter MacKENZIE has a photograph of the Evergreen Hall on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2017. The Hall often functions as a "Village Hall" for lectures and presentations.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of Welcome to Sharnford on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2008. You may wish to provide the village with more artistic or embellished signage after you arrive.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a second photograph of the Village Sign from a different roadway on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2014.
     
You can see pictures of Sharnford which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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History

  • During the English Civil War soldiers from the garrisons around Coventry came to this village in search of horses and "provinder".
     
  • The land around the village has been mostly pasture for centuries, with the rest of it in oats, wheat and root crops.
     
  • In the 1800s, most of the people here were either framework knitters or farmers.
     
  • The River Soar here is a small stream or beck.
     
  • Immediately south of the village is "High Cross", presumably a good place to cross the River Soar.
     
  • "High Cross" may be the location, or near it, of the Roman station of Venonis. Venonis stood at the intersection of the Fosse Way and Watling Street.
     
  • J. THOMAS has a photograph of the Sharnford Arms on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2016.
     
  • Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the Countryman public house on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2014.
     
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Manors

  • The parish has no lord of the manor.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.
     

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SP484919 (Lat/Lon: 52.522835, -1.288086), Sharnford which are provided by:

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Military History

There is an obelisk in St Helen's Churchyard, commemorating those who fell in World Wars I and II.

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Names, Geographical

  • The name Sharnford is in the 1086 Domesday Book as Scerneford.
     
  • A "sceane" is a muddy crossing or ford over the River Soar.
     
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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish of Leicestershire and became a Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • The parish lies in the Sparkenhoe Hundred in the southern division of the county.
     
  • In April, 1935, this parish gained 8 acres from Copston Magna Civil Parish in Warwickshire as the boundary was aligned.
     
  • You may contact the local Parish Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT funded to perform family history searches for you.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Hinckley Poorlaw Union.
     
  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Market Bosworth petty sessional hearings.
     
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Population

 YearInhabitants
1841624
1871472
1881459
1891361
1901418
1911373
1921399
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Schools

  • There was a Free School here by 1849. In 1871 it was enlarged and entitled as a National School. By 1912 it was a Public Elementary School.