Wanlip
Encyclopedia
Wanlip is a small village and civil parish
in the Charnwood
district of Leicestershire
, with 68 properties and a population of about 150. It is a countryside village, north of Birstall
, and west of Watermead Country Park
and the River Soar
. The A46 road
runs directly past the village. Wanlip won the 2008 Leicester and Rutland Best Village Competition for villages with a population under 500.
To the south of Wanlip is Wanlip Meadows, a Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
nature reserve. To the north is a Severn Trent
sewage treatment
plant, serving a population of more than half a million. Longslade Community College
lies to the south at the edge of Birstall. To the east lies the 14 hectare Reedbed Local Nature Reserve
, part of the Watermead Country Park
.
Wanlip is to be the site of a 132 metre-high wind turbine
by the end of 2012.
Folk rhyme about a giant called Bell who boasted that he could reach Leicester in three leaps,
mentioning Wanlip as Onelep, a pun on "One Leap".
One of the earliest mentions of Wanlip is in the Domesday book
, where it is listed as Anelepe, among the lands given to Earl Aubrey
by the King
. The land described includes a mill. The Earl's son Aubrey de Vere II
went on to become Lord Chancellor.
William Wilberforce
, the 19th century MP and leading abolitionist
, lived for some years at Wanlip Hall. The grave of a young Abyssinian
named Rasselas Morjan lies in the churchyard of Our Lady and St. Nicholas; he died "at Wanlip Hall, August 25th, 1839, in the 19th year of his age, rescued from a state of slavery".
There are four listed buildings in Wanlip: a brick ice house, the church of Our Lady and St. Nicholas, Manor Farm and Hall Farm.
An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered during the building of Longslade School in 1958, and an Iron Age settlement was unearthed just to the north of Wanlip.
The Baronetcy
at Wanlip has been held by the Palmer family since 1791. Charles Palmer-Tomkinson
, father of socialite
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
, is a major landowner in Wanlip and Birstall, responsible for the Hallam Fields development in next-door Birstall.
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 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:...
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...
, with 68 properties and a population of about 150. It is a countryside village, north of Birstall
Birstall, Leicestershire
Birstall is a large village and civil parish within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is three miles north of the Leicester city centre and is part of the wider Leicester Urban Area....
, and west of Watermead Country Park
Watermead Country Park
The Watermead Country Park is a network of artificial lakes in the valley of the River Soar and the old Grand Union Canal, to the north of Leicester, in the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire. It runs north to south along the path of the watercourses, with Birstall to the west and Thurmaston...
and the River Soar
River Soar
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
. The A46 road
A46 road
The A46 is an A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development...
runs directly past the village. Wanlip won the 2008 Leicester and Rutland Best Village Competition for villages with a population under 500.
To the south of Wanlip is Wanlip Meadows, a Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland, England. Founded in 1956, the trust now has 9,000 members helping care for over 30 nature reserves covering more than across the region...
nature reserve. To the north is a Severn Trent
Severn Trent
Severn Trent plc is a British public utility. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.Severn Trent is a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the UK, US and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East.The main...
sewage treatment
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
plant, serving a population of more than half a million. Longslade Community College
Longslade Community College
Longslade Community College is a comprehensive school and Specialist Technology College in Birstall, a suburban village directly outside of Leicester city.-Admissions:...
lies to the south at the edge of Birstall. To the east lies the 14 hectare Reedbed Local Nature Reserve
Local Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
, part of the Watermead Country Park
Watermead Country Park
The Watermead Country Park is a network of artificial lakes in the valley of the River Soar and the old Grand Union Canal, to the north of Leicester, in the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire. It runs north to south along the path of the watercourses, with Birstall to the west and Thurmaston...
.
Wanlip is to be the site of a 132 metre-high wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
by the end of 2012.
History
One of the earliest mentions of Wanlip is 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...
, where it is listed as Anelepe, among the lands given to Earl Aubrey
Aubrey de Vere I
Aubrey de Vere was a tenant-in-chief of William the Conqueror in 1086 and also vassal to Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances and to Count Alan, lord of Richmond. A much later source named his father as Alphonsus...
by the King
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
. The land described includes a mill. The Earl's son Aubrey de Vere II
Aubrey de Vere II
Aubrey de Vere II — also known as "Alberic[us] de Ver" — was the second of that name in England after the Norman Conquest, being the eldest surviving son of Alberic or Aubrey de Vere who had followed William the Conqueror to England in or after 1066.Their lineage is probably Norman, possibly...
went on to become Lord Chancellor.
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, the 19th century MP and leading abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, lived for some years at Wanlip Hall. The grave of a young Abyssinian
People of Ethiopia
Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members....
named Rasselas Morjan lies in the churchyard of Our Lady and St. Nicholas; he died "at Wanlip Hall, August 25th, 1839, in the 19th year of his age, rescued from a state of slavery".
There are four listed buildings in Wanlip: a brick ice house, the church of Our Lady and St. Nicholas, Manor Farm and Hall Farm.
An Anglo-Saxon cemetery was discovered during the building of Longslade School in 1958, and an Iron Age settlement was unearthed just to the north of Wanlip.
Palmer family
Palmer Baronets
There have been seven Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Palmer, two in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and three in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
at Wanlip has been held by the Palmer family since 1791. Charles Palmer-Tomkinson
Charles Palmer-Tomkinson
Charles Anthony Palmer-Tomkinson is an English landowner, a former English skier, and a close friend of Prince Charles.-Olympian:...
, father of socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson also known as T P-T, is an English socialite, "it girl", television presenter, columnist and model...
, is a major landowner in Wanlip and Birstall, responsible for the Hallam Fields development in next-door Birstall.