Withcote is a small parish

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...

 comprising a number of scattered dwellings in 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....

 , a local government district

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 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...

.

Buildings

Withcote Hall (pictured left) is on English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

's Heritage at risk register.

The Tudor chapel

Withcote Chapel

Withcote Chapel is a redundant Anglican church in the parish of Withcote, Leicestershire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Clifton-Taylor includes the church in his list of 'best'...

, (pictured left) adjoins the Hall and is protected by the Churches Conservation Trust

Churches Conservation Trust

The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...

 and contains some stained glass attributed to Galeon Hone; a glazier to 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...

.

Sauvey Castle

Sauvey Castle

Sauvey Castle is an early medieval ringwork and bailey castle and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in the civil parish or Withcote, Leicestershire . The castle was built sometime between 1135–1154....

, an early medieval ringwork

Ringwork

A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles minus the motte...

 and bailey

Motte-and-bailey

A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...

 castle and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

, is also in this parish.

Close by is Launde Abbey

Launde Abbey

Launde Abbey is located in Leicestershire, 14 miles east of the city of Leicester and six miles south west of Oakham. The building is presently used as a conference and retreat centre, by the Church of England Dioceses of Leicester and Peterborough....

 which contains the Tudor monument to Gregory Cromwell, son of Thomas, who dissolved the monastery and built himself a mansion there.

Notable residents

• Henry Smith
  Henry Smith (regicide)
  Henry Smith was an English Member of Parliament and one of the regicides of King Charles I.He was born in Withcote, Leicestershire in 1620; son of Henry Smith born in 1589 and Frideswide Wright. He studied at Oxford University and Lincoln's Inn. He married miss Holland.In 1640 he was elected...
  
   (1620-1668) was born here, an English
  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...
  
   Member of Parliament
  Member of Parliament
  A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
  
   and one of the regicide
  Regicide
  The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
  
  s of King Charles I
  Charles I of England
  Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
  
  .