Shepshed
Encyclopedia
Shepshed, often known until 1888 as Sheepshed, (also Sheepshead - a name derived from the village being heavily involved in the wool industry) is a town
in Leicestershire
, England
with a population of around 14,000 people. It sits within the borough
of Charnwood
local authority, where Shepshed is the second biggest settlement after the county town of Loughborough
.
The town is twinned with the Paris
ian suburb of Domont
.
trade. However, since the construction of the M1 motorway
nearby, it has become a dormitory town for Loughborough
, Leicester
, Derby
and Nottingham
. It was officially a village
until recently , and claimed to be Britain's largest, and also claimed to have the highest number of pubs per head of population in the country. Now, however, it is home to only 15 public houses.
There has been much controversy about the origin of the name of the town. The earliest form is Scepeshefde Regis as mentioned in the Domesday Book
, which means "Hill where sheep graze (of the king)", but since then there have been many changes until the present form, Shepshed, was adopted in 1888. The addition of the suffix 'Regis' signifies that there was once a royal lodge in the area.
Very little information about the settlement on the site of Shepshed appears before the Domesday Book but the name is certainly Anglo-Saxon: local history books claim that Shepshed has two of the oldest roads in the country, Ring Fence and Sullington Road, the latter being an ancient British track named after the goddess Solina. Anglo-Saxon Shepshed cannot have been much more than a hamlet in a large district of forest. However, succeeding centuries provide an abundance of historical material. The prosperity of medieval Shepshed was based on the wool industry
and "Well Yard" on Forest Street may well be a corruption of "Wool Yard", where Bradford
wool merchants congregated to buy from local inhabitants. In addition, there is considerable evidence to suggest that a weekly market was held, at least until the 14th century.
of St. Botolph (the westernmost parish church in England to bear the name) and its land the Oakley Wood was originally given to Odo of Bayeux half brother of William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The ownership of the estate reverted to the Crown a number of times including in 1534. A wood carving exists in the church depicting a visit of Queen Elizabeth I though it is at present unclear if the queen ever came to Shepshed itself, but if she did, it would have been the farthest north that she travelled in the country. The older part of the town is still centred around the church.
The church's original patronage came from Leicester Abbey
. Between 1699 and 1856, however, the patrons were the Phillips family of Garendon Hall. This family has been Lords of the Manor since its purchase by Sir Ambrose Phillips (1637-1691) in 1683. Garendon Hall (now demolished) was built on the site of Garendon Abbey, a prominent Cistercian house which was founded in 1133 by Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
and survived until its dissolution by Henry VIII
in 1536. Garendon Abbey, whose economy was largely based on sheep farming, was one of the most important possessor of granges in Leicestershire.
There were many changes during the 19th century. Shepshed was briefly linked by canal to Loughborough, and to the coalmines of West Leicestershire when the Charnwood Forest Canal
was opened in 1798, but success was only short lived. By 1804 the canal had proved an uneconomic venture and was abandoned, though modern roads and footpaths still follow the course it took through Shepshed. The Charnwood Forest Railway
(nicknamed The Bluebell Line on account of the proliferation of the flower) was opened in 1883, but regular passenger services ceased in 1931. However, the goods service did not close until 1963. Shepshed station no longer stands though part of the old line forms a bridleway between the town and Thringstone
including the now redundant viaduct at Grace Dieu.
Shepshed had a riot on election day in 1868, two hundred policemen were brought into the village the next day and 33 arrests were made (13 of the rioters being sentenced to 3 months imprisonment). Upon release they were met at the boundary by the local brass band and feted as heroes. On 31 December 1915 a German Zeppelin
was seen over Shepshed.
educates pupils from 14 to 19, in the town, and includes students not only from Shepshed, but also from local towns and villages such as Loughborough
, Kegworth
, Belton
, Castle Donington
, Diseworth
, Long Whatton
, and Tonge
. Pupils aged from 10 to 14 attend the recently rebuilt Shepshed High School. The High School and The Community College have a deserved reputation for their work on Inclusion. There are four primary schools in the town; Oxley, St Botolph's and Newcroft for pupils until the age of 10, and St Winefride's which caters for Roman Catholic pupils until the age of 11, after which they transfer to De Lisle Catholic Science College
11-19 school in Loughborough.
, who belong to the UniBond League
and play at the Dovecote stadium on Butthole Lane off Loughborough Road. Shepshed R.F.C play at Hind Leys college and reside at the Pied Bull Inn, Belton street. They currently run 2 adult sides (over 18) and 1 junior side (17 and under).
There are also 2 cricket teams Shepshed Town and Shepshed Messengers who play at Pudding Bag Lane off Ashby Road.
Shepshed Town, was established in 1869 and in recent years has been based at Morley Lane, off Iveshead Road. Shepshed Town 1st XI play in Division 1 of the Everards Leicestershire County Cricket League; the 2nd XI in Division 5 and a newly formed 3rd XI in Division 8. 2 Further teams, Shepshed Town A & B play in the Gunn & Moore South Nottinghamshire League in Divisions K and P respectively.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
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...
, 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...
with a population of around 14,000 people. It sits within the borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Charnwood
Charnwood (borough)
Charnwood is a borough of northern Leicestershire, England. It is named after Charnwood Forest, which it contains. Loughborough is the largest town in the district and serves as the borough's administrative and commercial centre.-History:...
local authority, where Shepshed is the second biggest settlement after the county town of Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
.
The town is twinned with the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian suburb of Domont
Domont
Domont is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department and Île-de-France region of France.-Notable people from Domont:*Bedi Buval footballer*Jean-Pierre Changeux neuroscientist*Yoann Djidonou footballer*Rémi Maréval footballer*Bertrand Ndzomo footballer...
.
Origins
The town originally grew as a centre for the woolWool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
trade. However, since the construction of the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
nearby, it has become a dormitory town for Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. It was officially a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
until recently , and claimed to be Britain's largest, and also claimed to have the highest number of pubs per head of population in the country. Now, however, it is home to only 15 public houses.
There has been much controversy about the origin of the name of the town. The earliest form is Scepeshefde Regis as mentioned 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...
, which means "Hill where sheep graze (of the king)", but since then there have been many changes until the present form, Shepshed, was adopted in 1888. The addition of the suffix 'Regis' signifies that there was once a royal lodge in the area.
Very little information about the settlement on the site of Shepshed appears before the Domesday Book but the name is certainly Anglo-Saxon: local history books claim that Shepshed has two of the oldest roads in the country, Ring Fence and Sullington Road, the latter being an ancient British track named after the goddess Solina. Anglo-Saxon Shepshed cannot have been much more than a hamlet in a large district of forest. However, succeeding centuries provide an abundance of historical material. The prosperity of medieval Shepshed was based on the wool industry
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and "Well Yard" on Forest Street may well be a corruption of "Wool Yard", where Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
wool merchants congregated to buy from local inhabitants. In addition, there is considerable evidence to suggest that a weekly market was held, at least until the 14th century.
Parish Church of St Botolph
The 11th century Parish ChurchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St. Botolph (the westernmost parish church in England to bear the name) and its land the Oakley Wood was originally given to Odo of Bayeux half brother of William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The ownership of the estate reverted to the Crown a number of times including in 1534. A wood carving exists in the church depicting a visit of Queen Elizabeth I though it is at present unclear if the queen ever came to Shepshed itself, but if she did, it would have been the farthest north that she travelled in the country. The older part of the town is still centred around the church.
The church's original patronage came from Leicester Abbey
Leicester Abbey
Leicester Abbey, the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis , standing about a mile north of the city of Leicester in the riverside meadows on the west bank of the River Soar, was built under the patronage of Robert le Bossu, Earl of Leicester. It was founded as a community of Augustinian Canons, the...
. Between 1699 and 1856, however, the patrons were the Phillips family of Garendon Hall. This family has been Lords of the Manor since its purchase by Sir Ambrose Phillips (1637-1691) in 1683. Garendon Hall (now demolished) was built on the site of Garendon Abbey, a prominent Cistercian house which was founded in 1133 by Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester was Justiciar of England 1155–1168.The surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert"...
and survived until its dissolution by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in 1536. Garendon Abbey, whose economy was largely based on sheep farming, was one of the most important possessor of granges in Leicestershire.
Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
The 18th century saw the enclosure of the common lands around Shepshed. There had been enclosures in the 15th and 16th centuries, but towards the end of the 18th century the last remaining common land, approximately 2000 acres (8 km²), was enclosed and divided among the principal commoners of the village. Much destruction was caused in the town when in 1753, 85 bays of buildings were destroyed by fire which had happened at what is now known as Hallcroft named after the school which had been burnt down in the fire.There were many changes during the 19th century. Shepshed was briefly linked by canal to Loughborough, and to the coalmines of West Leicestershire when the Charnwood Forest Canal
Charnwood Forest Canal
The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794...
was opened in 1798, but success was only short lived. By 1804 the canal had proved an uneconomic venture and was abandoned, though modern roads and footpaths still follow the course it took through Shepshed. The Charnwood Forest Railway
Charnwood Forest Railway
The Charnwood Forest Railway was a branch line in Leicestershire constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. The branch line ran from Coalville to the town of Loughborough....
(nicknamed The Bluebell Line on account of the proliferation of the flower) was opened in 1883, but regular passenger services ceased in 1931. However, the goods service did not close until 1963. Shepshed station no longer stands though part of the old line forms a bridleway between the town and Thringstone
Thringstone
Thringstone is a village in north-west Leicestershire, England about north of Coalville. It lies within the area of the English National Forest and is part of the East Midlands region....
including the now redundant viaduct at Grace Dieu.
Shepshed had a riot on election day in 1868, two hundred policemen were brought into the village the next day and 33 arrests were made (13 of the rioters being sentenced to 3 months imprisonment). Upon release they were met at the boundary by the local brass band and feted as heroes. On 31 December 1915 a German Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
was seen over Shepshed.
Education
Hind Leys Community CollegeHind Leys Community College
Hind Leys is an educational institution situated within the town of Shepshed. The college takes in students from a variety of areas including Shepshed, Loughborough, Belton, Kegworth, Diseworth, Melton Mowbray and Castle Donington...
educates pupils from 14 to 19, in the town, and includes students not only from Shepshed, but also from local towns and villages such as Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, Kegworth
Kegworth
Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England....
, Belton
Belton
Belton may refer to:* Belton, Texas* Belton, South Carolina* Belton, Missouri* Belton, Montana, known today as West Glacier, Montana* Belton, Ontario* Belton, North Lincolnshire* Belton, Lincolnshire** Belton House* Belton, Leicestershire...
, Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
, Diseworth
Diseworth
Diseworth is a village in the English county of Leicestershire. It is south of East Midlands Airport and off Junction 23A of the M1 motorway.A village of some 670 residents, it is located 14 km to the north-west of Loughborough and 2.5 km to the south-east of Castle Donington...
, Long Whatton
Long Whatton
Long Whatton is a village in the English county of Leicestershire. It is south of East Midlands Airport, off Junctions 23 and 23A of the M1 motorway, and has easy access to Loughborough via the A6 and to Shepshed, Ashby de la Zouch and Kegworth....
, and Tonge
Tonge
-People:*Jenny Tonge, British politician*Israel Tonge, English devine*Roger Tonge, British actor*Michael Tonge, English footballer*Dale Tonge, English footballer*Gavin Tonge, West-Indian cricketer-Places:...
. Pupils aged from 10 to 14 attend the recently rebuilt Shepshed High School. The High School and The Community College have a deserved reputation for their work on Inclusion. There are four primary schools in the town; Oxley, St Botolph's and Newcroft for pupils until the age of 10, and St Winefride's which caters for Roman Catholic pupils until the age of 11, after which they transfer to De Lisle Catholic Science College
De Lisle Catholic Science College
De Lisle Catholic Science College, formerly De Lisle Roman Catholic Comprehensive School and sometimes called De Lisle School, is a co-educational comprehensive school in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. At the time of its 2000 Ofsted inspection it had 1,223 pupils including 160 in the sixth...
11-19 school in Loughborough.
Shepshed High School
Shepshed High School have been part of the UKMT Team Maths Challenge. The team of 2010 managed to get 6th place out of 21 and managed to beat rivals in the form of Castle Donington and Grace Dieu. The school recently went into vertical tutor groups which resulted in an uprising of the students but after the first term of getting used to it, the students and teachers finally settled down. The new building was well received by students.Hind Leys College
Hind Leys College is an Upper School 14-19 with main feeder schools being Shepshed High and Castle Donington Community College. It has gained Arts Specialist status and in 2010 became one of Leicestershire's two most improved schools in terms of GCSE KS4 results. Post-16 education historically has been a strength.Sport
The main sports team in the town and the surrounding borough is Shepshed Dynamo F.C.Shepshed Dynamo F.C.
Shepshed Dynamo F.C. is a football team based in the small town of Shepshed in the North West of Leicestershire, England.Their home ground is called The Dovecote, which is situated on Butthole Lane. Football has been played on this ground for over 100 years...
, who belong to the UniBond League
Northern Premier League Division One South
Division One South is one of the two second-tier divisions of the Northern Premier League. It is at Step 4 of the National League System, placing it seven divisions below the Premier League...
and play at the Dovecote stadium on Butthole Lane off Loughborough Road. Shepshed R.F.C play at Hind Leys college and reside at the Pied Bull Inn, Belton street. They currently run 2 adult sides (over 18) and 1 junior side (17 and under).
There are also 2 cricket teams Shepshed Town and Shepshed Messengers who play at Pudding Bag Lane off Ashby Road.
Shepshed Town, was established in 1869 and in recent years has been based at Morley Lane, off Iveshead Road. Shepshed Town 1st XI play in Division 1 of the Everards Leicestershire County Cricket League; the 2nd XI in Division 5 and a newly formed 3rd XI in Division 8. 2 Further teams, Shepshed Town A & B play in the Gunn & Moore South Nottinghamshire League in Divisions K and P respectively.