User:The Equalizer/Bitteswell with Bittesby

Bitteswell with Bittesby is a civil parish within the Harborough district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It had a population of 531 residents in 2021. The parish is 80 mi north west of London, 10 mi south west of the county city of Leicester, and 1+1/3 mi north west of the nearest market town of Lutterworth. Resting on the edge of the county border, it shares a boundary with the parishes of Ashby Parva, Gilmorton, Lutterworth and Ullesthorpe in Leicestershire, as well as Wibtoft and Willey in Warwickshire.

Placement and size
Bitteswell with Bittesby parish is surrounded by the following local locations:


 * Ashby Parva and Ullesthorpe to the north
 * Lutterworth to the south
 * Gilmorton to the east
 * Wibtoft and Willey in Staffordshire to the west.

It is 4.10 sqmi in area, 3+1/2 mi in length and 2+1/4 mi in width, within the south western portion of the Harborough district, and of the county. The parish is roughly bounded by land features such as countryside with Ashby Parva and Ullesthorpe villages to the north, the A5 road to the west, the M1 motorway to the east, with the A4303 road, Lutterworth town and an unnamed stream to the south.

Settlements and routes
There are two settlements within the parish:


 * Bitteswell, the largest settlement, is roughly to the east of the area.


 * Bittesby is a hamlet to the west, 1+1/2 mi west of Bitteswell

Outside of these, the parish has substantial agricultural and rural areas to the west and east. There are two key routes through the parish:


 * The A5 road between London and Wales forms the western perimeter of the parish on a diagonal alignment;
 * The A426 road spurs off the A5 south of the parish, and passes Lutterworth and east of Bitteswell, then briefly passes through the parish boundary to the north east.

Landscape and hydrography
It is primarily farming and pasture land throughout the parish outside the populated and industrial areas. The region is relatively level with some gradients, and few tree-rich areas, there are some patches surrounding factories and north of Bitteswell village. There is an unnamed stream forming the south eastern boundary of the parish between Bitteswell and Lutterworth. A number of springs and pools are dotted throughout the parish. The region is within the nationally defined Leicestershire Vales and the Lutterworth Lowlands landscape character area.

Geology
Much of the parish comprises bedrock made up of mudstones of the Penarth group, which is sedimentary rock formed between 209.5 and 201.3 million years ago during the Triassic period. East of Bitteswell consists of the Blue Lias Formation which is a mix of mudstone and limestone, interbedded, formed between 209.5 and 190.8 million years ago during the Triassic and Jurassic periods. West of the parish has pockets of mudstone from the Mercia Group, which is sedimentary bedrock formed between 252.2 and 201.3 million years ago during the Triassic period. There are small areas of gravel throughout. There are small superficial gravel deposits in the west and north, of the Wolston, Dunsmore and Oadby classes.

Land elevation
The parish varies relatively little in height, with the lowest points in the far west, south and surrounding Bitteswell village at 114-118 m. The industrial area is in the range 118-133 m and it was historically used as an airbase due to this topography. The highest areas are to the far north above Bitteswell, at 140 m, alongside the A426 road.

Toponymy
Bitteswell was Betmeswel at the time of the Domesday survey and meant 'the stream in the broad valley'. Bittesby was Bichesbie at the same period and stood for 'the farmstead or village at the stumpy hill'. The two were merged in 2014.

Parish and environment
Prehistoric findings in the region have been minimal, including pieces of flint and sherds from the Iron Age. Roman and medieval pottery during excavations are more substantial, finds at local farms include Roman brick gullies and ditches, considering it is close to the A5 route which was originally a Roman road, Watling Street. By the 8th century the Saxon kingdom of Mercia had oversight of the wider area and the parish then was part of the Guthlaxton hundred. At the time of the Norman conquest, both villages were reported upon and had different Saxon owners but 20 years later when being evidenced in the Domesday Book, these had been ceded to the new Norman masters, Bittesby held by King William directly as part of his wider holdings, with Bitteswell split between Geoffrey of la Guerche and Aubrey de Coucy as tenant-in-chiefs.

Bittesby
Bittesby was at the time reported as having 10 villagers (villein s) and 4 smallholders (bordar s). The village was passed to the family of Verdon although Nicholas de Verdon in 1216 after being involved with rebellious barons had all his lands in this county seized by King John and granted to another favoured noble, however after the kings death and a plea with his son Henry III had the lands restored. In 1257 John Verdon was granted a king's charter of free warren for all his demesne lands, including Bittlesby. By 1279, 23 villein tenants each holding a virgate of land and 2 free tenants were noted in local taxation records. By the 14th century the village ownership came through the de Holland, Verdun and Furnivall families. In 1377 records showed 21 inhabitants. Through additional marriages it passed to John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

A later heir, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury started to clear the village of the inhabitants in 1494, by this time there were 60 inhabitants. Reasons given later during a public enquiry to the Exchequer explained there was only 150 acres of arable land remaining at Bittesby in 1488 and a decision made to largely enclose the land and convert it to pasture on which sheep were grazed, with suggestions that the population was in decline during the 15th century. In 1494 the landowner enclosed the remaining land, bringing the estate under one pasture-farm run by a tenant farmer. Evidence remains of the site to the present day, with earthworks comprising hollow ways and house platforms, along with faced stonework indicating the site of a chapel known to have used by locals.

The area continued to be used over the next few centuries primarily for pastoral farming, but evidence remains of some arable crops being planted, probably for the remaining workers tending to the flocks and possibly for the tenant farmer. A residual population continued to exist in the vicinity of up to 30-40 people into the 20th century, especially after a couple of houses was built in the 17th century, one of which was thought to be Bittesby House and expanded over time. During this time other landowners include Earl of Arundel, Peregrine Widdrington (brother of William Widdrington, 4th Baron Widdrington), and the Towneley s. The Leicester to Rugby section of the Midland Counties Railway was opened in 1840, it was built through the Bittesby estate and the site of the depopulated village.

The Bond family were tenant farmers at Bittesby House in the 1800s, and Charles John Bond was born at Bittesby House in 1856, began a career in farming but changed occupations and went on to become a distinguished doctor and surgeon. Until 1866, Claybooke was an ancient parish including Bittesby, which became a standalone civil parish from that time. Bittesby Lodge was an outhouse associated to the main House and was thought to have been built in the later 19th century, close to the present A5 road. Bittesby Cottages were also built around this period, to the east. A waste processing facility was built in the 20th century to the east, with little other development locally until RAF Bitteswell being built in the 1940s.

https://harborough.oc2.uk/document/51/2903

Bitteswell
Being close to the Roman roads of Watling Street, Fosse Way and fort at nearby High Cross where these roads formed a crossroads, within the parish, particularly at West End Farm in 2019 were findings of several Roman ditches and gullies and other artefacts such as 4th-century Roman pottery, animal bones and Roman brick. Since Doomsday and unlike its depopulated sister village. It has remained as a continuously occupied settlement since that period. St Mary's the Anglican church was built in the 12th Century church, its first vicar was Jordan in 1220 and subsequent vicars are recorded within the church until 1989. A transept in the north was added to the church in 1852 and further alterations were made in 1881-2.

By 1630, the parish of Bitteswell recorded 38 families. Dunlis House, at the western end of the village greens, is a half-timbered residence of which parts date from 1540, and although the majority of the property was built in the 17th-century it was extended in the early 19th-century. The Lutterworth to Ullesthorpe road along Watling Street became a turnpike by 1760, begun by George III and having extensive grazing grounds and spring s the village offered an opportunity for travellers to manage their horses. Tollgate Cottage to the east and Turnpike Lodge at the western end of the village greens both date from this period. The Inclosure Act became law in 1773, with the open and common fields of Bitteswell being enclosed in 1787 which ended the open field farming system, the former medieval ridge and furrow earthworks only to be found mostly in fields behind Valley Lane.

In 1801 a survey showed the population of Bitteswell had increased to 69 families in 68 properties, with a total population of 398 (192 males, 206 females). In the next 10 years this count rose to 88 dwellings with 94 families. Agriculture was still a dominant occupation with 61 of the 94 families in 1811 were chiefly employed in the field. This growth was reflected with a number of late 18th-early 19th century farmhouses being built such as West End Farm, Green Farm on The Green and Valley Farm on Valley Lane.

Reverend James Powell became vicar of St Mary's Church in 1789, and served until his death in 1844. He was married to the daughter of the tea merchant Richard Twinning. The Powells and family were locally influential, with several structures such as the almshouse s of Powell Row built by the village greens in 1847 and the lychgate to St Mary's Church erected by Richard Twinning in 1888 in memory of the Reverend. A cemetery which is an extension of the churchyard of St Mary's Church was built on land which was a gift from Richard Twinning and was consecrated in 1902.

7.10 The 1800s was a period of change for Bitteswell. Pigot's Directory of 1822 lists a boarding school for boys in Bitteswell. The advert for which mentioned daily coaches to London. However, the frequency of stage coaches passing through Bitteswell declined with the construction of the Midland Railway in Ullesthorpe in 1840. Before his death Reverend Powell founded The Boys Free School which opened in 1844 and was funded by the late vicar and his sister. This was replaced by a mixed Public Elementary School in 1871 and the Old School House became a private residence. In 1838 Bitteswell Hall was built approximately a mile from the village. This was a mansion set in extensive landscaped parklands with an ornamental lake and fox covert as well as its own farms and kitchen garden. The construction of such a large estate may have accounted for the population increasing to 495 in 1841. Two other large houses with wooded gardens had been built within the village in the first half of the nineteenth century – the Manor House on Lutterworth Road (re-built in 1938 in a French-villa style) and Bitteswell House on Valley Lane. With the building of The Lodge and two cottages (now Russett Cottage) on The Nook and the location of the Almshouses in the centre of the village green, the street plan and significant heritage assets of the conservation area can be identified in the Bitteswell map of 1887 (below). The open spacious nature of the conservation area and the relationship to the open countryside surrounding it is also evident.

https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/bitteswell/

https://lutterworth.magnapark.co.uk/site-information/history-heritage/

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LEI/Bitteswell

https://www.lutterworthhistory.org.uk/bitteswell-aerodrome-detail/viewdocument/515

https://www.leicestershirechurches.co.uk/bitteswell-church-st-mary/

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1012563?section=official-list-entry

The area is rich in historical remains, prehistoric examples including caves with occupational evidence dating from 500000BC such as at Etches near Dowel farm and from 40000BC at Fox Hole. There are several Middle or Late Neolithic period (4000 BC to 2351 BC) and Bronze Age (2350 BC to 701 BC) finds such as a stone axe within High Needham farm, a flint axe at Parsley Hay a bronze axe from Chrome Hill, and an arrowhead with several being placed in Buxton Museum. There are some barrows and cairns throughout the area typically dating from the Bronze Era, such as at Hindlow, close to High Edge, and at Glutton Hill, although a number of others have since been destroyed by later mining and quarrying. An iron knife was found in one of the excavated mounds, with a second burial dated approximately between the 1st to 7th century AD. Later evidence during the Roman Britain occupation period (43 AD to 409 AD) include a possible settlement in Dowel Dale, and a road from Derby to Buxton which ran in the east of the parish by Parsley Hay, which was close to and parallel to the present day A515 road.

The Middle Quarter area was a part of the wider Hartington parish and manor, which was reported in 1066 at the time of the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror as under the ownership of Godwin of Tissington and Ligulf. Another place, Soham or Salham had also been recorded in Domesday, and was thought to have been in the vicinity of Earl Sterndale. Both were described as 'waste' with no value. By the time of the survey both manors had been granted to Henry de Ferrers as part of the wider Derbyshire holdings under the Honour of Duffield. There were subsequent improvements by the Ferrers to the manors such that in 1204 a market and fair had been allowed to take place at Hartington, being one of the first in Derbyshire. Also, there was growth throughout the outlying area; in 1244 on public record was details of the surrounding hamlets that had since sprung up, in what would become the Middle Quarter were listed Stenredile (Earl Sterndale), Crudecote (Crowdecote), Salvin (Salham), Nedham (High Needham), and Hordlawe (Hurdlow). Others mentioned at the same time included nearby Buckstanes (Buxton).

The same records also outlined an area around the 'forest of Hertingdone and Crudecotes up to the water of Goyt' which was not a true forested area, but a hunting area used by the earls called the Frith, and adjacent to the royal Forest of High Peak. The manor and settlements were held by descendants until 1266 when Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby rebelled against Henry III and, after a defeat at the Battle of Chesterfield, lost his lands and titles. The ownership was granted to Edmund Crouchback, royal prince and Earl of Lancaster. In 1399 the manor was merged back into wider Crown holdings. In 1603 it was given to Sir George Hume but on his death in 1611 the holdings reverted to James I, who requested in 1614 a survey of the manor and the landholdings by William Heyward, including Earl Sterndale. In 1617 Hartington was again granted away, this time to George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. In 1663, William Cavendish, Earl of Devonshire bought the manor which was held by his descendants until the 20th century.

The Hartington parish was a sprawling area covering some 24,000 acres and one of the largest in the country, spanning some 16 mi in length, and up to 5 mi in width. It was split into township s by the 16th century for easier administration, or with the establishment of St Michaels chapel in around the 14th century. It was described by the Parliamentary Survey of Livings, undertaken in 1650, reporting on Hartington and particularly the Middle Quarter: “It is a parish and vicarage of large extent, usually divided into four quarters. The two neather quarters are thought fitt to be continued to ye parish churche. The whole vicarage is worth £19 10s., whereof £10 aryseth out of the gleabe and the two neather quarters. Earl Sterndall is a chapel of ease in the parish of Hartington, a member of the middle quarter, which is thought fitt to be made a parish church, and these hamletts of middle quarter, Harlee, Glutton, Doewall, Crowdicoate, Wheeldontrees, Needham Graunge, Hurdlow, Cronkston, and Sterndale, £2.” It is thought that Hurdlow and Needham were more substantial settlements which shrunk in later medieval times and the areas repurposed for farming. A formal civil parish was created for the middle quarter in 1873.

There is a reputed story that Bonnie Prince Charlie's men came across cattle owned by Cronkstone Grange hidden in a dale, killing them and having a great feast contributing in the process to the name Glutton to the grange, the placename predates those events, being Glotonhous in the 15th century. Abbot's Grove is to the south of Earl Sterndale, it was built atop an earlier residence used by abbots when they were visiting monastery granges, During the 1850s, it was also the location of the local tannery. Nat Gould, the prolific Victorian writer, was descended from the Wheeldon families who in the 16th-17th centuries resided at Cronkstone Grange, and Gould families who lived in Crowdecote and for some centuries at Pilsbury Grange in neighbouring Hartington Town Quarter. A school was built in the grounds of the St Michael's chapel in 1850, while the Wesleyan church was also built in the same year.

During the middle 1800s, the parish was involved in legal dispute, which set a judgement used in future law cases regarding issue estoppel, where the facts decided by an issue during a case cannot be litigated a second time between the same parties. It involved a Levershulme family, the Goulds. In February 1848 a parent, Esther Gould had been moved to a Lancashire asylum, and in October 1849 there was an attempt to formally resettle her two children to Hartington Middle Quarter, where their father and her husband resided. The overseers, Bakewell poor law union notified Chorlton Poor Law Union that the father was actually a resident of Hartington Town Quarter due to it being his place of birth, which was under Ashbourne poor law union and so should have liaised with that authority, however the children were allowed to remain in Middle Quarter. In March 1854 while attempting to recover maintenance expenses for Gould, Chorlton appealed to the courts to determine Gould's last residence, which ascertained the last legal settlement of Gould was in Hartington Middle Quarter due to the location of her family, and thereby ordering Bakewell union to cover costs. Hartington Middle Quarter parish appealed against this order citing the earlier decision, which meant that Chorlton Poor Union was barred from disputing the order.

To serve as a memory to those from the parish who served in the Word War I conflict but did not return, a village hall was built using local contributions at Pomeroy in 1921. It was used for various local functions, celebrations and held regular Sunday School sessions regularly until the 1980's. It then fell into disuse, instead becoming a storage location for kit used by a local drama society. A trio of pillbox defences were built during World War II in the High Edge and surrounding area, with two of those within the parish, and installed close to or atop cairns which were affected by their construction. A German raid on an ammunition dump in Harpur Hill near Buxton in January 1941 was conducted over a wider area, with the bombs falling into the north of the parish and Earl Sterndale area. Although much fell into open countryside, some of those struck barns and outbuildings. The St Michaels' church at Earl Sterndale was also hit, but the registers and communion plate were saved before it burnt down completely, giving it the unenviable distinction of being the only church in Derbyshire destroyed during World War II. It was rebuilt in 1952. Earl Sterndale suffered badly in the aftermath of the 1947 winter, becoming cut off from the wider country for seven weeks by the snow drifts. Wheeldon Trees Farm was one of Derbyshire's most expensive properties sold in 2021, at a price of over £1.5 million.

Industry
Although it's unknown how the Hartington and Soham manors were used from an agricultural perspective during prehistoric times to after the Romans, by the time of Domesday were considered to be little more than waste. There were enhancements by the Ferrers to the manors except for the hunting area in the north, but also due to Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby being a great benefactor, founding Merevale Abbey, Warwickshire in 1148 for the Cistercian monks, and endowing it with land grants from his estates in Hartington, where there was much unused land. In the Middle Quarter, Merevale was given land at Cronkston and Pilsbury for the establishment of grange s, while at Cotefield another was established by Combermere Abbey in Cheshire. These helped establishing villages such as Earl Sterndale which was only first recorded in 1244, so that labour to tend to the land was nearby and readily available.

Open field methods of farming was more commonplace around Hartington and Earl Sterndale, where arable land was rented out in strips to villein s, who in turn paid rent, fines for breaches in field maintenance, and rendered certain labour services to the lord of the manor. Some arable land was held in demesne, being farmed directly by servants of the lord. Demesne farming included the rearing of sheep, mainly for wool, but over time pastoral farming was more productive than arable. The Cistercians were particularly adept at taking advantage of the trade in selling wool once it became more in demand from the continent in the 13th century, exporting it via ports such as Huil in East Riding of Yorkshire. Later risks in supply, and labour shortages from the Black Death caused the monks to begin leasing their lands to tenants, which continued until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century.

Lead mining was known in the wider area since at least Roman Britain times, with later records of a grant from William de Ferrers in 1171 to lands surrounding Cotefield Grange, along with a lead mine which was described as old even in that charter. A resurgence of activities took place in the 17th century throughout Hartington parish, much of the output was in the Upper Quarter area near Buxton, but the Middle Quarter also had some mining on a smaller scale, with pits in the Frith, Upper Edge, Chrome Hill, Earl Sterndale, High Needham, Crowdecote, Wheeldon Trees, Cronkstone and Parsley Hay, and of which was mainly worked out by the 19th century. Limestone is abundant, particularly in the High Edge area, and was extensively mined for building as well being converted into lime.

Corn milling was recorded locally; it was first mentioned in Duchy of Lancaster accounts of 1434-1435 when a mill on the River Dove at Crowdecote was granted to John Pole on a ten year lease. The mill was leased by ancestors of Nat Gould in the 17th century, and remained in use beyond enclosure activities of 1800, but had become disused by the early 20th century. The site was partly in use beyond the mill's demise, with the mill race being used as a sheepwash. North and west of the location of the drying oven has for many years been used as a refuse site and has also subject to mechanised ground tilling during the 20th and 21th centuries. Areas of excavation were undertaken, with unknown structural remains being identified along with a corn drying kiln. A stone-flagged floor of limestone from an unknown date, possibly remains of a yard, was found. Dry stone walls, possibly relating to the aforementioned sheepwash, were also discovered.

With the widespread rearing of cattle, in the 1870s a creamery was opened in Glutton to process the output of this produce. The factory was close to Glutton Bridge, southwest of Hitter Hill. It became well known for its dairy products, particularly Wensleydale cheese for Express Dairies. The facility closed in the 1960s. Local occupations recorded in early 19th century censuses included a tannery at Abbot's Grove in Earl Sterndale, also there was a bakery and baker's shop, and post office and up to four public houses, with travelling salesmen providing a number of products such as tools and hardware, clothing and butchery. There was also a blacksmith in Earl Sterndale and Crowdecote.

Former railways and stations
The Cromford and High Peak Railway was built through the area, reaching Hurdlow in 1830. Two stations were opened for handling goods, Parsley Hay and Hurdlow both in 1833, and eventually catering to passengers from 1856. The Ashbourne Line was joined to this, just south of Parsley Hay in 1899. Traffic – almost exclusively from local quarries, with a handful of day trip excursions – was slowly decreasing during the Beeching era, and the first section of the line was closed in 1963. The rest of the line was fully closed in spring 1967 with the portion of the line within the parish converted into the High Peak Trail, and the station locations becoming stop-off points for the walking route.

Population
There are 531 residents recorded within the parish for the 2021 census. Bitteswell alone reported 554 of the 2011 census. The population majority is mainly middle aged and older, with the 18-64 years age bracket taking up 54%. Infants to teenage years are another sizeable grouping of around 24%, with elderly residents (65 years and older) making up a smaller number (21%) of the parish population.

Labour market
A substantial number of 16 years old locals and above are in some way performing regular work, with 68% classed as economically active. 32% are economically inactive, and 14% are reported as retired. A majority of residents' occupations are in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles, manufacturing, transport, storage and human health and social work activities.

Housing
Almost 200 residences exist throughout the parish, primarily at Bitteswell, the largest settlement. The majority of housing stock is of the fully detached type, with other substantial formats including semi detached or terraced. The vast majority of these (>150) are owner occupied, with other tenure including social and private rentals.

Mobility
The majority of households (>90%) report having the use of a car or van, which is expected with a relatively isolated area with few amenities.

Local bodies
Bitteswell with Bittesby parish is managed at the first level of public administration through a parish council.

At district level, the wider area is overseen by Harborough district council. Leicestershire County Council provides the highest level strategic services locally.

Amenties
Bed and breakfast facilities exist throughout the parish at various farms, outbuildings and public houses, catering particularly to tourists visiting the national park.

There are camping sites at Crowdecote and Pomeroy, which also has a caravan site.

Public houses exist at Crowdecote, Earl Sterndale and Sparklow. There is a site at Pomeroy, but it is within the portion of the settlement that is in the parish of Chelmorton.

Car parks accessible by the public are at Parsley Hay and Hurdlow.

The parish has few facilities otherwise; shopping for some basic everyday items generally requires travelling to Longnor, Hartington or Buxton.

Recreation
The medium distance Peak District walking route Tissington Trail follows the now unused Ashbourne railway line, which routes from north to south within the parish.

Route 68 of the National Cycle Network (NCN) overlays this trail and continues via Earl Sterndale to Buxton and beyond.

NCN Route 54 meets the trail in the very south of the parish, overlain by the High Peak Trail which ends just outside the parish by Dowlow.

NCN Route 548 comes from Hartington and meets the High Peak Trail.

The National Park Authority operates cycle hire facilities at Parsley Hay.

The Pennine Bridleway also overlays the High Peak trail.

Aldery Cliff, south of Earl Sterndale, offers abseiling opportunities.

There is a cricket field in the parish.

Events
A flower festival is hosted by St Michaels church annually in August.

Coffee mornings and afternoon teas also take place locally.

Education
There is a school at Earl Sterndale village adjacent to the church, Earl Sterndale CofE Primary.

Listed buildings
There are 14 locations of architectural merit throughout the parish with statutory listed status at Grade II, including the 19th century built Church of St Michael.

National park
The parish is wholly contained within the Peak District national park.

War memorials
A monument is at Earl Sterndale church graveyard, commemorating locals who served in both World War I and WWII conflicts.

There is a village hall built at Pomeroy village in 1921 commemorating locals who served in but did not return from the World War I conflict.

Religious sites
St Michael and All Angels in Earl Sterndale is an Anglican place of worship which dates from the 14th century, and rebuilt in the mid 19th century. There is also a Methodist church in Earl Sterndale.