VCH Shorts
October 27, 2017
Buckminster and Sewstern, in north-east Leicestershire, are
two small villages within a single parish, and although both were established
before 1086, they have developed different characters.
Buckminster was purely an agricultural village until the
1790s, when Sir William Manners enlarged a small park, built a mansion and
began to create an estate village. Many of the houses are of red brick, and
were built for estate employees by the 9th earl of Dysart between 1878 and
1935, as part of a programme of village improvements. All the land, residential
and commercial properties in Buckminster were held in 2017 by the Tollemache
family, descendants of Sir William and Lord Dysart.
In contrast, Sewstern’s houses are individual in...
June 1, 2018
The familiar image of Cheltenham, a large and prosperous
former spa town, world-famous on account of its Georgian and Regency
architecture, its festivals and educational establishments, masks an earlier
history. While numerous descriptions of the town have been published over the
years, most say little about the many centuries of its existence before the
1740s, when it began to develop as a fashionable resort. This is the fullest
account ever attempted to chronicle those centuries, from the late Saxon period
until the 18th century. In this period, Cheltenham developed into a successful
small town, ranged along a single main street, with the market and trades
serving not only its own needs but also those of the surrounding...
June 1, 2018
The familiar image of Cheltenham, a large and prosperous
former spa town, world-famous on account of its Georgian and Regency
architecture, its festivals and educational establishments, masks an earlier
history. While numerous descriptions of the town have been published over the
years, most say little about the many centuries of its existence before the
1740s, when it began to develop as a fashionable resort. This is the fullest
account ever attempted to chronicle those centuries, from the late Saxon period
until the 18th century. In this period, Cheltenham developed into a successful
small town, ranged along a single main street, with the market and trades
serving not only its own needs but also those of the surrounding...
October 24, 2016
Bosbury is the second parish history to be produced by the Trust for the Victoria County History of Herefordshire, following the history of Eastnor published in 2013. Like Eastnor, Bosbury is an agricultural parish, near the market town of Ledbury. It covers a relatively large area below the western slopes of the Malvern Hills. In the Middle Ages Bosbury was the site of one of the favourite residences of the bishops of Hereford; in the western part of the parish, called Upleadon, was an estate belonging first to the Knights Templar and then to the Hospitallers. From the 16th century onwards both estates passed into the hands of tenants, leaving the parish without a major resident landowner until John Stedman and Edward Higgins successively...
October 24, 2016
Bosbury is the second parish history to be produced by the Trust for the Victoria County History of Herefordshire, following the history of Eastnor published in 2013. Like Eastnor, Bosbury is an agricultural parish, near the market town of Ledbury. It covers a relatively large area below the western slopes of the Malvern Hills. In the Middle Ages Bosbury was the site of one of the favourite residences of the bishops of Hereford; in the western part of the parish, called Upleadon, was an estate belonging first to the Knights Templar and then to the Hospitallers. From the 16th century onwards both estates passed into the hands of tenants, leaving the parish without a major resident landowner until John Stedman and Edward Higgins successively...
