Pickwell is a small, hill-crest village south-east of

Melton Mowbray Melton Mowbray () is a market town in the Borough of Melton, Melton district in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester and south-east of Nottingham. It lies on the River Eye, Leicestershire, River Eye, known below Melton as the Rive ...

in the Melton district, in

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 ...

which used to have an

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of its own and is since the early 20th century has been in the

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 ...

and Church of England parish of Somerby which is to the SSW, connected by an almost straight lane. A spring rises here as the source of a small stream which explains the well part of its name. It is also pronounced like 'Pickle'

Landmarks

Church

All Saints's tower was built in the 15th century with earlier features dating from the 13th century. Its distinctive features include a wide array of double

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s, a full complement of four gargoyles and a moulded parapet and gable roof with cross, and further cross finials to its east end. Altogether the church has gained Grade I

listed building 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, Hi ...

status for its architecture. Its south aisle with porch was rebuilt by R. W. Johnson in 1860.

Manor

Pickwell Manor is also Grade II listed and is an entirely rebuilt structure of the late 17th century, with later additions. It is five bays wide, has a Collyweston slate roof and attics. Its windows are its particular architectural note with a squat Venetian window and a round-headed plain sash in fine

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

surrounds surmounted by a keystone

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

. An earlier manor on this site or in much larger grounds belonged to various nobles in the medieval period, including, most notably

History

Under Edward the Confessor Pickwell and Leesthorpe manors and in all but their rectories were held by Ordmar, and in 1086 of the king by Geoffrey de Wirce. In 1129 Pickwell and Leesthorpe were held by

Roger de Mowbray (Lord of Montbray) Sir Roger de Mowbray (–1188) was an Anglo-Norman magnate. He had substantial English landholdings. A supporter of King Stephen, with whom he was captured at Lincoln in 1141, he rebelled against Henry II. He made multiple religious fo ...

who had acquired all Geoffrey's land in Leicestershire. The Mowbray family continued to hold Pickwell and Leesthorpe as tenants-in-chief until the 15th century. After the death of

John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (18 October 144414 January 1476), known as 1st Earl of Surrey between 1451 and 1461, was the only son of John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Eleanor Bourchier. His maternal grandparents were William ...

, in 1476, and of his daughter and heir Anne in 1481, the Mowbray estates were divided between the representatives of her two co-heirs, one of whom, William, Lord Berkeley, obtained the overlordship of Pickwell and Leesthorpe for considerable time for

his family ''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. Plot introduction ''His Family'' tells the story ...

: last mentioned in connection with Pickwell and Leesthorpe in 1630. Under the Mowbrays the abbey of Vaudey held the manor at Leesthorpe in the old parish, and in the 12th century another holding, at Pickwell and Leesthorpe, was held by the Camville family. Under Henry II Walter de Camville held land (later known as Camville Fee) at Pickwell which had apparently been in the possession of the Camville family before he inherited it. Walter was succeeded by his son Roger. By 1279 the Camville fee at Pickwell and Leesthorpe was being held as 3 knights' fees by Andrew of Astley, or Eastley, before being leased to the Morwic and Sproxton families. In 1299 the Morwic lands were co-held by de Bulmer, de Lumley, and de Waterville heirs. Later names of heirs were de Kelleby, Bek. and le Brabazon, and by 1346 William Curzon whose family thereafter appears as the only considerable landowners at Pickwell itself and the family continued to hold the manor which appears to be the main estate, until 1532, when Thomas Curzon sold his lands in the parish, then described as the manors of Pickwell and Leesthorpe, to Richard Cave. The manor was held by the Caves until sold in 1638 by William Cave to Elizabeth Hicks, Viscountess Camden. From her the lands, generally described subsequently simply as the manor of Pickwell, passed to her descendants, the Noel family,

Earls of Gainsborough Earl of Gainsborough is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation ended in extinction when the sixth Earl died without heirs. However, the title was revi ...

who were still in possession in 1936. Until 1 April 1936 it was in the civil parish of Pickwell with Leesthorpe.

Leesthorpe Manor

After being granted to and then forfeited by the anti-Protestant execution of

John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane ...

, (throughout 1544–1553), a series of sales arrived, first to Thomas Farnham of Quorndon, then Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, then Sir Anthony Mildmay. Then in 1658 was a family sale to Edmund Arnold. Later owners appear to have ceded much land with John Suffield Brown, Ayscough Smith and Rev. A. T. Smith at different later periods being the latter owners of the manor.

Notes

External links

{{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Somerby, Leicestershire