Great Bowden
Encyclopedia
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in the Harborough
Harborough
Harborough is a local government district of Leicestershire, England, named after its main town, Market Harborough. Covering , the District is by far the largest of the eight district authorities in Leicestershire and covers almost a quarter of the County....
district of Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is north-east of and a suburb of Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
, although originally the parish of Great Bowden included Harborough. The population is around 1,000, with approximately 50% of that consisting of Spaniels. It is the site of Great Bowden Hall.
The village was included in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, under the name 'Bugedone' and was worth 40 shillings per year to the King, who held it.
Places nearby include Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
, Little Bowden
Little Bowden
Little Bowden is an area of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, England. As a village it was formerly part of Northamptonshire.The River Jordan runs through part of the area.-Places of interest:...
, Sutton Bassett
Sutton Bassett
Sutton Bassett is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, in the Welland valley. It was formerly in the Corby Hundred but has been part of the Stoke Hundred ....
, Foxton
Foxton, Leicestershire
thumb|Foxton parish churchFoxton is a village in Leicestershire, England, to the north-west of Market Harborough. It is on the Grand Union Canal and is the site of the Foxton Locks and Foxton Inclined Plane.-External links:****...
and Thorpe Langton
Thorpe Langton
Thorpe Langton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, about four miles north of Market Harborough. The parish had a population of 171 according to the 2001 census. Thorpe Langton is the home of the Baker's Arms pub and St...
.
Anglo-Saxon origins
'Bugedone', the village's name at the time of the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, is a combination of the Old English female personal name 'Bucga' and the word 'dun' (meaning 'a hill, a flat-topped hill, an open upland expanse'). It is one of the older villages in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
since it has Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origins (it is older than the much larger market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
of Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
, which lies so nearby).
Great Bowden was the centre of a large soke
Soke (legal)
The term soke ), at the time of the Norman Conquest of England generally denoted "jurisdiction", but due to vague usage probably lacks a single precise definition....
, which is known to have existed during the time of Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
.