Sheepy is a

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 Borough of Hinckley and Bosworth 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 ...

, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : It contains the villages of Sheepy Magna, Sheepy Parva, Sibson, Wellsborough, Upton, Pinwall and Cross Hands—collectively 449 homes. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,192, including Orton on the Hill but falling slightly to 1,174 at the 2011 census.

History

The parish was created in 1935 from the merger of the four civil parishes of Sheepy Magna, Sheepy Parva, Sibson and Upton. Sheepy was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as comprising 14 households. It was recorded as lying within the hundred of

Guthlaxton Guthlaxton is an ancient hundred of Leicestershire. Its jurisdiction was in the south of the county, and covered Lutterworth and Wigston Magna. At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, it was one of Leicestershire's four wapentakes, and covered ...

and the county of Leicestershire. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Sheepy provided free quarter and horses to troops from the parliamentary garrisons from north

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. In June 1646, Gregory Kent, the parish clerk, submitted a claim for losses to the Warwickshire County Committee, including claims for free quarter for about a hundred horses and men under the command of Captain Flower and Captain Ottway of the

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

garrison. Mr Burbidge, and Captain Turton were charged with taking a mare worth £6.13.4. The offender was probably Richard Burbidge, garrison quartermaster at

Edgbaston Hall Edgbaston Hall () is a country house (albeit now in the middle of the city) in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England. Description and current usage Since 1936, through negotiations initiated by The Birmingham Civic Society with the owner, Ca ...

under Colonel

Tinker Fox Colonel John "Tinker" Fox (1610–1650), confused by some sources with the MP Thomas Fox, was a parliamentarian soldier during the English Civil War. Commanding a garrison at Edgbaston House in Warwickshire – a location that guarded the main r ...

. At the siege of Tamworth, soldiers under the command of Captain Castleton apparently made off with valuable horses belonging to Thomas Owen, John Thurman, John Vincent, John Toon and Mr Kent, the town clerk.

Community

The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

parish church in Sheepy Magna is All Saints while the parish church in Sibson is St Botolph's church. These churches, along with other nearby churches form the Sheepy Benefice. All Saints in Sheepy Magna probably pre-dates 1150, although the present church building was rebuilt in 1778 on the site of the earlier building. There are many groups running in the community including Cubs, Scouts, Beavers, Rainbows, Brownies, Inspirations Choir, School PTA, Mother's Union, WI, Local History, Fruit and Vegetable Society, Playing field committee and Sheepy Bonfire Society NHW. The Memorial Hall is charity run and Thomas Leaving Charity provides two houses on Twitchell Lane.

References

*John Nichols, ''History and Antiquities of Leicestershire'', Vol. IV. *Sheepy, ''A Tale of Two Sheep'', Vol. XVI. {{Authority control Civil parishes in Leicestershire Hinckley and Bosworth