Bitteswell is a small village and former

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 ...

, now in the parish of Bitteswell with Bittesby, in the Harborough district of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

in England. It is situated just north of the town of

Lutterworth Lutterworth is an historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, close to the borders with Warwicks ...

, and in the 2001 census had a population of 454 (including Magna Park). The population had increased to 554 at the 2011 census. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Betmeswelle. The village's name means 'the spring/stream in the broad valley'.

History

The village contains two thatched houses and a number of Georgian dwellings alongside modern houses. Population figures have not altered much since records began in 1801 with a population of 398 was recorded as against around 380 today. In 1841 there was a big increase caused by the building of Bitteswell Hall, north of the village. This brought employment and new families as it had its own farms, gas installation etc., but in the 1920s it was demolished, the land and buildings split up. The village also had its own airfield; a RAF station called RAF Bitteswell. The construction of the grass airfield started in March 1940 and by August 1941 night flight training was able to commence using

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

bombers. By 1943, three concrete runways were completed with connecting perimeter track and hard standings. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers ...

built a factory next to the airfield, where Vulcan bombers (and many other aircraft) were built and maintained. Bitteswell has a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, with 13 domestic buildings, two memorials and a village telephone box that are

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, a Church of England Primary School, and two pubs (The Man at Arms and The Olde Royal Oak).

Sport

Cricket

Bitteswell Cricket Club is an English amateur

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club, established in 1903, that is situated north of the village on Ullesthorpe Road. Bitteswell have 2 Saturday senior XI teams that compete in the Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket League, a Sunday XI team, and a junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Leicestershire Youth League.

Rugby

Lutterworth RFC was established in 1872, and their ground is situated on the northern edge of the parish boundary on Ashby Lane and they claim to be the oldest rugby union club in Leicestershire.

Tennis

Lutterworth Tennis club is based on Hall Lane and has a clubhouse with 5 tennis courts and floodlights. The club plays competitive matches in the Leicestershire and Rugby leagues for adults and juniors.

Notable people

* Frederic Watson (1840–1885), cricketer

References

External links

Bitteswell Parish Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitteswell Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Harborough District