Packington is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire. It is situated close to the A42 road and the town of Ashby de la Zouch. The population of Packington according to the 2001 UK census is 738.[1] Nearby villages include Normanton le Heath and Measham.
Packington has a public house called the 'Bull and Lion' (reputedly the only one in Britain), a post office / local shop, and another local shop. It is part of the National Forest and the Gillewhiskaw brook runs through the village.
The lordship of Packington was in the possession of the infamous Lord Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough during the Civil War. In 1644 the constables of the town paid a compulsory levy of £51 for the "Contribution" to Parliament, providing quartering for troops from Fairfax’s army from the Tamworth garrison. Three Packington inhabitants, Mr Harsnett, William Corbett and Jane Cresswell made claims for free quarter in June, 1646. Thomas Pestell sen., the incumbent, was a strong supporter of the king. He resigned the vicarage to his son around 1644 after being robbed and plundered several times. The younger Thomas Pestell was later ejected from his vicarage as a "great libertine", and fled to the royalist garrison at Ashby de la Zouch.[2]
In 1846, the manor of Packington was left by Sir Charles Abney Hastings, bart of Willesley Hall back to the Marquis of Hastings (Charles's father had been an illegitimate son).
The post office was closed in 2008 as part of Royal Mail's closure national programme to cut costs.
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