Swithland is a

linear village In mathematics, the term ''linear'' is used in two distinct senses for two different properties: * linearity of a '' function'' (or '' mapping''); * linearity of a ''polynomial''. An example of a linear function is the function defined by f(x)= ...

in the Charnwood borough 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. 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 ...

population was put at 230 in 2004 and 217 in the 2011 census. It is in the old

Charnwood Forest Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland, ...

, between

Cropston Cropston is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thurcaston and Cropston, part of the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. It is on the edge of Charnwood Forest, and lies close to Bradgate Park. In 1931 the pari ...

, Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves. It has a village hall, a parish church and a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

, the ''Griffin Inn''. The village is known for the

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

that was quarried in the area.

History

Swithland was originally held by

Groby Groby (pronounced "GROO-bee" ) is a village in the Hinckley and Bosworth borough Leicestershire, England. It is to the north west of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 6,796. The village saw a huge expansion during t ...

. Part of the village had become held by the Danvers (originally called D'Anvers) family by 1412, and between 1509 and 1796, the whole village was held by the Danvers family.C. N. Hadfield (1952), ''Charnwood Forest – a Survey'', Edgar Backus, pp. 59–60. The village includes the 13th-century St Leonard's parish church, which retains the original

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

s and has an 18th-century west tower built for Sir John Danvers.Pevsner, Nikolaus (1960) ''The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland'',

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

, pp. 246–247. It includes monuments to

Agnes Scott Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of th ...

, Sir John Danvers (actually installed on Danvers's instruction six years before his death) and five of his children. The churchyard of St. Leonard's includes the tomb of

Sir Joseph Danvers, 1st Baronet Sir Joseph Danvers, 1st Baronet (24 December 1686 – 21 October 1753), of Swithland, Leicestershire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1747. Danvers was the eldest son of Samuel Danvers of Swithland and his ...

(1686–1753), which was built half inside the graveyard and half outside (on Danvers' estate) to allow his favourite dog to be buried with him (the dog being buried on unconsecrated ground). Swithland was designated a

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

in 1993, and includes 31

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 ...

s, including the Grade I

Mountsorrel Cross The Mountsorrel Cross is a market cross that dates from the Middle Ages. It originally stood on Main Street in the village of Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, but was moved in the late 18th century to a position 250 metres south-east of St Leon ...

, and several Grade II buildings, including the school, which was built in 1843, and a cottage from 1842.Swithland Conservation Area
, Charnwood Borough Council, retrieved 23 July 2010-07-23 The village pub, the ''Griffin Inn'', originally the ''Griffin Hotel'', was built about 1700 and has been put to several uses in its history, including a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

, and village

mortuary A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

. Most recently, it has had the inclusion of local producer Deli sourcing 80% of their products from within 40 miles. An annual village fair was held in

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

times outside the pub on the Feast of

St Leonard Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Lenart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559) is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, ...

in November.Stevenson, Joan (1982) ''A Family Guide to Charnwood Forest'', Sycamore Press, , pp. 41–42.

Swithland Estate

The

Swithland Hall From ''Morris's Country Seats'' (1880) Swithland Hall is a 19th-century Neoclassical country house in Swithland, Leicestershire, designed by James Pennethorne . History The present Swithland Hall was built for George John Danvers-Butler, late ...

estate was held by the family of Danvers until 1796 but after the death of Sir John Danvers (the last male of his line) it passed to his son-in-law, Augustus Richard Butler, second son of the second Earl of Lanesborough, who adopted the surname of Danvers-Butler and afterwards inherited the title of

Earl of Lanesborough Earl of Lanesborough was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1756 for Humphrey Butler, 2nd Viscount Lanesborough. The Butler family descended from Theophilus Butler, who represented County Cavan and Belturbet in the Irish House ...

. The original Swithland Hall, which stood at the eastern end of the village as it is today, on the site now occupied by Hall Farm, was destroyed by fire in 1822, although part of the hall's boundary wall, including two towers are still in existence, both of which are in Main Street.Whitelaw, Jeffery W. (1996) ''Hidden Leicestershire & Rutland'', Countryside Books, , pp. 124–125.Gerrard, David (1996) ''Leicestershire & Rutland Past: A Guide to Historic Places and People'', Alan Sutton Publishing Limited, , p. 108. The current hall, a Grade II listed building, was partially completed in 1834 and finished in 1852,Swithland Hall, Main Street, Swithland (Grade II)
, Charnwood Borough Council, retrieved 23 July 2010. on a different site to the south-east, in what was then known as Swithland Park, by John George Danvers Butler, sixth Earl of Lanesborough.J. B. Firth (1926), ''Highways and Byways in Leicestershire'', London: Macmillan; pp. 63–66. The estate includes the

that originally stood in Mountsorrel that dates from about 1500 and was moved to its current location in Swithland Park in 1793 by Sir John Danvers, who replaced it with the Buttermarket Cross that still stands there.Bob Trubshaw (1995), ''Little-known Leicestershire & Rutland'', Heart of Albion Press, , pp. 94–100.

Industry

Slate quarrying in the area dates back to

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times,McWhirr, Alan
The Roman Swithland Slate Industry
, Leicester Archaeological & Historical Society, retrieved 2010-07-24. and was an important activity within the village between the 13th and 19th centuries.Swithland Sense of Place
, Leicestershire County Council, retrieved 2010-07-24. Until the mid-19th century, Swithland slate was much in demand for roofing. From the later 17th century until well into the 19th century, slate from Swithland was widely used for gravestones in Leicestershire and neighbouring counties, especially Nottinghamshire. The slate has a poorer cleavage than Welsh slate, but is often exquisitely carved. A distinguishing mark of Swithland slate is the rough texture of the uncarved face. Some gravestones were carved by members of the Hind family of Swithland, but many others were carved by masons elsewhere, to whom the raw slate was sent.Paul Dare (1925), ''Charnwood Forest and its Environs'', Edgar Backus, pp. 96–97. One gravestone type found mainly in a group of villages in the

Vale of Belvoir The Vale of Belvoir ( ) is in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England. The name is from the Norman-French for "beautiful view". Extent and geology The vale is a tract of low ground rising east-north-east, drained by the ...

is called a "Belvoir Angel". Slates from Swithland for roofing were once commonly used, but demand fell in favour of slates from Wales, which were thinner and lighter.John Ashurst and Francis G. Dimes (1998), ''Conservation of Building & Decorative Stone'', Butterworth-Heinemann, , pp. 141–142. Since then the quarry has reverted to nature, with the slate pits now flooded and sometimes used by divers. A memorial stone stands in the centre of the village. The land to the north and south of the village is used for

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, both

arable Arable relates to the growing of crops: * Arable farming or agronomy, the cultivation of field crops * Arable land, land upon which crops are cultivated * Arable crops program, a consolidated support system operated under the EU Common Agricultura ...

and

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

. Swithland Spring Water, based at Hall Farm, sells locally bottled

spring water A spring is a natural exit point at which groundwater emerges from an aquifer and flows across the ground surface as surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere, as well as a part of the water cycle. Springs have long been important f ...

, which is collected from a spring beneath the farm.Swithland Spring Water moves upmarket to attract new business
, thisisbusiness-eastmidlands.co.uk, 11 September 2009, retrieved 2010-07-24.

Local attractions

Swithland Reservoir, completed in 1896, is the largest reservoir in Charnwood; it is situated to the north-east of the village. It is accessible via the causeway road to the east of the village and with a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

that can be reached by Kinchley Lane from Mountsorrel, and is a popular site for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

, as well as for walking. Swithland Wood, to the south-west of the village, is near to

Bradgate Park Bradgate Park () is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, northwest of Leicester. It covers . The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Leicestershire, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithla ...

. This large area of woodland around a former slate quarry is a popular walking, riding, and hunting spot.

Great Central railway line

Towards the

Rothley Rothley ( ) is a village and civil parish within the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. Situated around west of the River Soar and north of Leicester, it had a population of 3,612 inhabitants . The population measured at the 20 ...

end of the village runs the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

, the last main line ever built linking the north of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

with

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(apart from the

HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain ...

line under construction in 2021). When the Great Central line opened on 15 March 1899, it was planned for Swithland to have its own station, the Great Central having visions of turning the area into a tourist spot. This never came into fruition, but a bricked-over stairway under the bridge of the railway provides evidence that these plans were taken into serious consideration.Disused Stations: Swithland
, disused-stations.org.uk, retrieved 2010-07-24. A small set of railway exchange sidings were built at this location, but the nearest passenger station was at

. The preserved

is restoring these sidings to working order. The railway line extends to

Leicester North 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 south, and Quorn & Woodhouse and

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

to the north, crossing Swithland reservoir by a two-part

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

References

External links

Swithland village websiteSwithland
at the Leicestershire Villages website
Swithland Church website
{{authority control Villages in Leicestershire Civil parishes in Leicestershire Borough of Charnwood Slate mines in England