| Kibworth | |
St Wilfrid's Church |
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Kibworth
Kibworth shown within Leicestershire |
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| Population | 4,788 (2001 census) |
|---|---|
| - London | 101 miles |
| District | Harborough |
| Shire county | Leicestershire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEICESTER |
| Postcode district | LE8 |
| Dialling code | 0116 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Harborough |
| List of places: UK • England • Leicestershire | |
Kibworth /ˈkɪbwərθ/ is an area of the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes—the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp /ˈbiːtʃəm/ and Kibworth Harcourt /ˈhɑrkɔərt/. According to the 2001 census, Kibworth Beauchamp has a population of 3,798, and Kibworth Harcourt has a population of 990. The two villages are split by the A6. Kibworth is close to Foxton Locks, Market Harborough, and Leicester.
Kibworth has many shops and a post office, an award winning community newspaper (The Kibworth & District Chronicle),[1] and between 2002 and 2007 many new shops appeared, including a new branch of Co-op UK. There were also many new houses built on the edge of the village, with plans for 610 more to be built by 2012. The local Cricket club won the ECB National Club Cricket Championship in 2004. There are clubs for golf, bowls and football and also many dance schools in the village.
In 1270 Walter de Merton, the founder of Merton College, Oxford, bought a large part of the parish of Kibworth Harcourt from Saer de Harcourt, who had been forced to sell the estate following his support for the unsuccessful "barons' rebellion" led by Simon de Montfort. A large part of the parish has remained property of Merton College, Oxford to the present day. There is a stained glass window depicting Walter de Merton in the bell tower of the parish church, St Wilfrid's, and the warden and scholars of the college are joint patrons with the Bishop of Leicester.
On 23 July 1825 the ancient tower and spire of St Wilfrids collapsed.[2]
The Midland Main Line runs through the area. Kibworth railway station, which served both villages, closed in 1968.
In September 2010, Kibworth was the central feature of Michael Wood's Story of England, a documentary on both BBC Four and BBC Two presented by Michael Wood about the history of England framed through Kibworth.[3][4] A book of the same name has been published by Viking (Penguin Books).[5] The series has been likened to Who Do You Think You Are? for a whole community. Villagers (Kibworth Improvement Team - KiT) have created a new website[6] and were successful in obtaining a grant of £48,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a Kibworth Guide Booklet and online Archive to be produced during 2011 and 2012.