Ratcliffe Culey is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

, now in the parish of Witherley, in the

Hinckley and Bosworth Hinckley and Bosworth is a local government district with borough status in south-western Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Its only towns are Hinckley, Earl Shilton and Market Bosworth. Villages ...

district, in Leicestershire, England, near the county boundary with

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 184. The village has the

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 ca ...

of All Saints, a pub called The Gate, a post office and a greyhound kennels.

History

The

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name o ...

"Ratcliffe" is derived from Old English, referring to the local red clay and the fact that it is on high land. Culey is the name of a former lord of the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

. In June 1646 the town of Ratcliffe Culey submitted claims to the Warwickshire county committee for losses and free quarter from the parliamentary garrisons in Warwickshire. Colonel Purefoy, Captain Potter and Major Pout of the

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

garrison were charged for "free quarter" worth an estimated £12 6s 8d Captain Turton is said to have taken six horses worth £6. On another occasion the parish claimed for 6 saddles worth £1 10s taken by Lieutenant Hunt of the Astley garrison and a mare worth £3 taken from Thomas Richardson. Ratcliffe Culey was formerly a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the com ...

in Sheepy-Magna parish, from 1866 Ratcliffe Culey was a civil parish in its own right until it was abolished on 1 April 1935 and merged with Witherley.

References

External links

Witherley Parish Council
Villages in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Hinckley and Bosworth {{Leicestershire-geo-stub