Elmesthorpe (''sometimes spelt Elmersthorpe, Elmsthorpe or Aylmersthorpe'') 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

Blaby Blaby () is a town in the Blaby District in central Leicestershire, England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. At the time of the 2011 census, Blaby had a population of 6,194, falling slightly from 6,240 in 2001. Given Blaby's pr ...

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 ...

, England. It is situated to the south-east of

Earl Shilton Earl Shilton ( or locally �w ʃɪwʔn̩'ill Shilton') is a market town in Leicestershire, England, about from Hinckley and about from Leicester. The 2011 Census recorded its population as 10,047. Toponymy The town's name derives from the ...

, near to

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

on 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 ...

. In 2004, the parish had an estimated population of 520, reducing to 509 at the 2011 census.

History

The village's name means 'outlying farm/settlement of Æthelmaer or Ailmer'. The village has been inhabited from at least Roman times as there is evidence of Roman occupation within the parish. In 1297, Elmesthorpe was home to numerous farms and 40-50 families. The

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

and a failing economy caused the village to depopulate and for a time disappear. In 1485, it is thought King

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

and his troops stayed in the partially ruined church for shelter on their march from

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 ...

to the

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...

; with the king and his officers sheltering within the church, and the soldiers camping outside. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

is dedicated to Saint Mary and was built in the 13th century. It had "long been in ruins" by the mid 19th century, but the tower was still standing. In 1869 the church was partially rebuilt, in a smaller scale, within the ruins of the church. This, the present church, occupies the east-end of the church and is accessed through the Tower and west end of the church, which have been left as ruins. The village's population had begun a slow recovery by 1710, at which point 40 people were recorded as living in the village.
In 1863 Elmesthorpe gained its own railway station on the

South Leicestershire Railway The South Leicestershire Railway was founded by the ( 22 & 23 Vict. c. civ) as the Nuneaton and Hinckley Railway, with parliamentary powers to build a railway from on the London and North Western Railway to in Leicestershire. The ( 23 & 24 ...

. The "new village" grew up around this station; starting with workers' cottages and an inn built by The Earl of Lovelace, with designs by architect C.F.A. Voysey. In 1871, ''The Imperial Gazetteer of England'' and Wales described Elmsthorpe as:

"''...a parish in Hinckley district, Leicester; on the Leicester and Nuneaton railway, 3 miles NE by E of Hinckley. It has a station on the railway; and its post town is Hinckley. Acres, 1,650. Real property, £1,446. Pop., 45. Houses, 5. The living is a rectory, united with the p. curacy of Earl-Shilton, in the diocese of Peterborough. The church was used as the headquarters of Richard's army previous to the battle of Bosworth; and is now in ruins."''

In the 1920s a boot and shoe manufacturers opened in the village, called "Harvey, Harvey & Company". In the 1930s, the government started to address the population of Elmesthorpe, which had not recovered from its collapse in the 13th century. The government initiated a scheme which brought families from depressed areas to make a living from the land. In 1935 Church Farm was purchased by the

Land Settlement Association The Land Settlement Association was a UK Government scheme set up in 1934, with help from the charities the Plunkett Foundation and the Carnegie Trust, to re-settle unemployed workers from depressed industrial areas,Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Leicestershire Blaby