Burbage, Leicestershire

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Coordinates: 52°31′40″N 1°20′54″W / 52.5277°N 1.3483°W / 52.5277; -1.3483
Burbage

Burbage War Memorial
Burbage

 Burbage shown within Leicestershire
Population 14,324 (2001)
OS grid reference SP443923
District Hinckley and Bosworth
Shire county Leicestershire
Region East Midlands
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town HINCKLEY
Postcode district LE10
Dialling code 01455
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK Parliament Bosworth
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire
A 1961 1 inch = 1 mile series map. It covers the Hinkley-Nuneaton-Atherstone--Wovley region. Harts Hill quarry is attached to a railway and in full swing. The coal mines near Griff Lodge Farm and Ansely Hall are in in early decline. The mines are now shut and the quarry is (as far as I know) a rubbish-tip. Note the even by then removed railway by Higham Grange and Higham on the Hill.

Burbage is a civil parish in Leicestershire, England.[1] According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 the parish had a population of 14,324.

History

Leofric, Earl of Mercia, gave the village of Burbage to Coventry Abbey in 1043. At that time it was valued at two shillings. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, its value had risen to £4. There were 1¼ hides of land (around 150 acres (0.61 km2)) with 2 ploughs. Twenty villagers held two smallholdings, with two slaves and eight ploughs. Burbage also had a meadow, measuring a furlong in length and width (about 40,500 square metres). The village also owned woodland half a league by four furlongs (2.2 square kilometres).

In 1564 the diocesan returns show a population of 57 families within Burbage and 6 at Sketchley. Burbage, for many centuries a small farming community, remained very thinly populated. In the census of 1801 there were 1098 inhabitants. It was not until the twentieth century that the population exceeded 2000.

During the English Civil War the village's proximity to Hinckley drew it to the attention of raiding parties from the local parliamentary garrisons in north Warwickshire. A list of claims submitted by the constables of Burbage and Sketchley to the Warwickshire county committee, in June, 1646, reveals that Captain Flower’s troop from the Coventry garrison took twenty strikes of provinder valued at £1, sent off to Stoney Stanton, and availed themselves of free quarter worth £18.10. Captain Willington's cornet from the Tamworth garrison took a mare, saddle and bridle from John Watkin, while Captain Willington's soldiers took a horse worth £5 from Thomas Bodington.(SP28/161)

Burbage was also the birthplace, in 1608, of John Cooke. Cooke went on to become Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth of England and lead the prosecution of King Charles I for High Treason, resulting in Charles' execution and, ultimately, his own.

By 1953, the population had risen to 3,983, and by 1958 there were more than 5,000 on the electoral roll; this rapid growth was largely due to the expansion of Sketchley Hill housing estates. In 2001 the population of burbage was 14,324.

Burbage Today

Today Burbage is effectively a suburb of the larger urban area of Hinckley and is part of Hinckley and Bosworth borough. It is considered by some to be a commuter location for large parts of Leicestershire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. This is probably due to the fact it is less than a mile from the M69 (which links that M6 to the M1) and the A5. The village has its own small library run by the county council, two infant schools, the 1st Britannia Scout Group (which includes Beaver Scout, Cub Scout, Scout and Explorer Scout sections) on Britannia Fields, two junior schools and a secondary school. There is a farmers market every first Saturday of the month running 9:00 am to 2:30 pm.

Just a mile away from the village is Burbage Common and Woods. This is a country park ran by the borough council. Its history as a grazing area dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086. It is now a 200-acre (0.81 km2) park popular with, amongst others, birdwatchers, walkers and horseriders. It is free to enter and is open dawn to dusk every year with its own dedicated park ranger. The nearest railway station to the village is Hinckley which is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Burbage centre. [2]

A yearly summer street carnival and fete is organised by the Burbage carnival committee, whose purpose is to raise funds to donate to local good causes. This has been a very popular community event and has caused in over 1/2 million pounds for good causes. The carnival committee also runs the Burbage bonfire and fireworks display held on Britannia fields - all to support local charities.

References

  1. ↑ OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) :ISBN 0 319 46404 0
  2. ↑ "Local Nature Reserves". Natural England. Retrieved 4 February 2011. 

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