Bisbrooke
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Bisbrooke 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the county of
Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...
in the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...
of England. The village is situated about east of
Uppingham Uppingham is a market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. ...
, south of the
A47 road The A47 is a major trunk road in England linking Birmingham to Lowestoft, Suffolk, maintained and operated by National Highways. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114 road, B4114. From Peterborough ...
which passes through the parish. In 2001, it had a population of 219, falling to 204 at the 2011 census.


History

The village's name origin is dubious. Possibly, 'beetle brook' or 'brook of Bitel'. Bisbrooke was first recorded 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 then spelt "Bitlesbroch". Over the centuries the spelling has gone through as many as 19 name changes including Bitelesbroke, Pysbroke and Butlisbroke before the present spelling was adopted. At the time of the Norman survey, about half of the land was owned by King William and the rest by
Countess Judith Judith of Lens (born Normandy, between 1054 and 1055 - died Fotheringhay, c. 1090) was a niece of William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of Lambert II, Count of Lens and Adelaide of Normandy (Countess of Aumale), the sister of William ...
of
Fotheringhay Fotheringhay is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. It is north-east of Oundle and around west of Peterborough. It is most noted for being the site of Fotheringhay (or Fotheringay) Castle which was razed in 1627. ...
in Northamptonshire. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in the sixteenth century, in 1547 the land was granted by
King Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
to Sir Richard Lee who soon afterwards settled it on Anthony Andrews. The land was still in the Andrews family nearly a century later with Bisbrooke or Pisbroke as it was then spelled, being owned by Anthony's great-grandson
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, Sheriff of Rutland. In the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
Edward initially supported
King Charles King Charles may refer to: Kings A number of kings of Albania, Alençon, Anjou, Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, England, France, Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Jerusalem, Naples, Navarre, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Sicily, S ...
but afterwards embraced the Parliamentarians’ cause. Fined for his earlier Royalist tendencies, he seemed to have been unable to meet his debts and his land was sold. The Bisbrooke estate was acquired during the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
by Sir George Manners (father of
John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland (10 June 160429 September 1679), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited the title Earl of Rutland on the death of his second cousin George Manners, 7 ...
) and so, most of Bisbrooke passed into 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 ...
's Belvoir Estate. It was auctioned in 1918.


Notable buildings

The parish church of St John the Baptist dates from 1871 in its present form, though the tower was only finished in 1914. It was listed Grade II in 1955. There are a number of fine gravestones, which pre-date the present building.
Samuel Thomas Bloomfield Samuel Thomas Bloomfield (19 January 1783 – 28 September 1869) was an English clergyman and Biblical textual critic. His ''Greek New Testament'' was widely used in England and the United States. Life His surname was also spelled Blomfield or Bl ...
was vicar here from 1814 until his death in 1869 and chess player
George Alcock MacDonnell George Alcock MacDonnell (16 August 1830 in Dublin – 3 June 1899 in London) was an Anglican clergyman as well as a chess master and writer. He tied for 3rd-4th at London 1862 (the 5th British Chess Congress, Adolf Anderssen won), won two match ...
was vicar, 1887–99. Bisbrooke Hall is to the north of the A47 within the parish boundary but actually nearer to the village of Glaston. The Hall was substantially remodelled and extended by Lord Carbery around 1840. The village pub, the Gate was run by Ruby D'ArcyObituary Ruby D'Arcy"
''Stamford Mercury'', 24 April 2012 from 1968 to 2012 and many a schoolboy from Uppingham School (
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
,
Rick Stein Christopher Richard Stein, (born 4 January 1947) is an English celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter. Along with business partner (and first wife) Jill Stein, he runs the Stein hotel and restaurant business in the UK. T ...
,
Jonathan Agnew Jonathan Philip Agnew, (born 4 April 1960) is an English cricket broadcaster and a former cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers" and, less commonly, "Spiro" – the latter, ...
, and
Johnny Vaughan Jonathan Randal Vaughan (born 16 July 1966) is an English television and radio presenter and a film critic. He was the main presenter of '' Capital Breakfast'' alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011. Vaughan currently ...
among them) supposedly slipped across the fields from Uppingham to relax, away from their masters’ watchful gaze. Ruby's husband Peter D'Arcy was spoken of with affection and when he died, 1,500 mourners attended his funeral in Bisbrooke church. The pub did not re-open after Ruby D'Arcy's death and has been converted as a private house. In the 1950s, "small-holdings, orchards and vegetable patches jostle each other in the sheltered hollows of Bisbrooke” where “almost everyone grows and sells strawberries”; much of the fruit was sent for jam-making. The village was too unremarkable to warrant an entry in
Arthur Mee Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', ''The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and ''The King's England''. Ea ...
's ''The King's England'' volume.


References


External links


Bisbrooke Ostrich Farms

A Childhood in Wartime Bisbrooke (WW2 People's War)
{{authority control Villages in Rutland Civil parishes in Rutland