In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Breedon on the Hill like this:
BREEDON-ON-THE-HILL, a village and a township in the district of Shardlow, and county of Leicester, and a parish in the districts of Shardlow and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and counties of Leicester and Derby. The village stands at the base of a high limestone rock, near the verge of the county, 4 miles N of Swannington r. ...
station, and 5 NE by N of Ashby-de-la-Zouch; and has a post office, of the name of Breedon, under Ashby-de-la-Zouch. A small monastery of black canons, subject to the priory of St. Oswald in Yorkshire, was founded here in 1144 by Ferrers, Earl of Nottingham; and given, at the dissolution, to the Shirleys. -The township includes also the hamlets of Wilson and Tonge. Acres, 3,010. Real property, £3,499. Pop., 893. Houses, 222.—The parish contains also the townships of Staunton-Harrold and Worthington, and the liberty of Newbold. Acres, 6,410. Real property, £11,797. Pop., 2,417. Houses, 542. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to the Earl of Stamford. Limestone is worked. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £205. Patron, the Earl of Stamford. The church surmounts the limestone rock at the village; contains tombs of the Shirleys; and is good. The p. curacy of Worthington is a separate benefice. There are two Wesleyan chapels, an endowed school with £41 a year, and a vicarage augmentation charity £244.
Breedon on the Hill through time
Breedon on the Hill is now part of North West Leicestershire district. Click here for graphs and data of how North West Leicestershire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Breedon on the Hill itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Breedon on the Hill in North West Leicestershire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10646
Date accessed: 26th April 2024
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