Little Bowden is an area on the edge of

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

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 ...

in the Harborough district, in the county 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. As a village it was formerly part of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. The River Jordan runs through part of the area.

History

Little Bowden was an

ancient 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 Northamptonshire. In 1879 a local government district was created covering the three parishes of Market Harborough, Great Bowden, and Little Bowden, but excluding the hamlet of Little Oxendon from Little Bowden parish. When elected county councils were established in 1889, local government districts were placed entirely in one county, and most of Little Bowden parish was transferred from

to Leicestershire, leaving only Little Oxenden in Northamptonshire. Little Oxendon was subsequently transferred to the parish of Great Oxendon in 1896, after which the parish of Little Bowden was entirely in the Market Harborough Urban District. Little Bowden remained a civil parish until 1927, but as an

urban 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 ...

it had no parish council of its own, instead being administered directly by Market Harborough Urban District Council. In 1921 the parish had a population of 2,768. The three parishes within the urban district were combined into a single parish of Market Harborough in 1927.

Amenities

*Two pubs, The Cherry Tree and The Oat Hill (formerly The Greyhound) *The 13th-century

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

, which is part of the Diocese of Leicester. *Little Bowden County

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

*Little Bowden Recreation Ground, which is the home ground of Harborough South Cricket Club.

Windy Ridge

Windy Ridge is a hill near Little Bowden. The area was often used for walks by local people. There were several attempts to build on Windy Ridge, all of which had been opposed by residents concerned by the effect development may have on the skyline and hazardous effects of battery landfill. However, the most recent proposal to build on this land was accepted by the council and is now completed. The new estate built upon Windy Ridge by Redrow Homes is called Rockingham View. A further scheme of development has received planning permission for another 400 homes.

Notable people

* Arthur Eaglefield Hull (1876–1928), music critic and musician * Kathleen Nunneley (1972–1956), tennis player * Monica Redlich (1908–1965), writer, lived in Little Bowden as a teenager, where her father Reverend Edwin Basil Redlich was rector

References

External links