Thorpe Arnold is a farming village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold in the district of Melton, which is approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northeast of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire,[2] England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 128.[3] On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and to form Waltham.[4]

Thorpe Arnold
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Thorpe Arnold
Thorpe Arnold is located in Leicestershire
Thorpe Arnold
Thorpe Arnold
Location within Leicestershire
Population123 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSK770200
• London105 mi (169 km)
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMelton Mowbray
Postcode districtLE14
Dialling code01664
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
WebsiteWaltham on the Wolds & Thorpe Arnold Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire
52°46′22″N 0°51′32″W / 52.7728158°N 0.8589845°W / 52.7728158; -0.8589845

Geography edit

Thorpe Arnold is situated on the top of a hill to the north-east of the town of Melton Mowbray. It has 35 occupied dwellings (2021). Nearby major cities include Leicester 15 miles (24 km), Nottingham 17.5 miles (28.2 km), and Peterborough 28.5 miles (45.9 km).

In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Thorpe Arnold as follows:

"THORPE-ARNOLD, a parish in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester; 1¾ mile NE of Melton-Mowbray r. station. Post town, Melton-Mowbray. Acres, 1,742. Real property, £2,811. Pop., 124. Houses, 25. The manor belongs to the Duke of Rutland. The living is a vicarage, united with Brentingby, in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £400. Patron, the Duke of Rutland. The church is old."[5]

History edit

Mentioned in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086, Thorpe (Torp) was a settlement in the Hundred of Framland, Leicestershire. It had an estimate population of 48 households in 1086.[6] The Tenant-in-chief, was held by Hugh de Grandmesnil, Sheriff of Leicestershire and Governor of Hampshire, who was richly rewarded by William the Conqueror for his part in the Norman Conquest of England.[7]

 
Arms of de Bois: Argent, two bars and a canton gules, as depicted by Matthew Paris and in the de Bois Hours

From the 12th century, Thorp is known as Thorp Arnold, having taken the first name of its new owner, Arnold (or Ernauld, Latinised to Hernaldus) de Bois (French: "from the wood/forest") (Latinised to de Bosco ("from the wood/forest")), a vassal of the Earl of Leicester. His successors also used the first name Arnold.[8] The death of Hernaldus de Bosco (Arnold de Bois) in 1255, a Warden of the Forest, is recorded by Matthew Paris in his Historia Anglorum (1250-1259), folio 170 verso.[9] His arms were Argent, two bars and a canton gules.

Arnold I de Bois and his son Arnold II de Bois took an active part in the political life of England and Normandy. Arnold II supported Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester and was rewarded by the earl with a grant of numerous manors in Leicestershire (including Thorpe Arnold, Brentingby, Evington, Humberstone and Elmesthorpe) and in Warwickshire (Clifton-on-Dunsmoor and Shrewley).[10] The "de Bois" Book of Hours made at Oxford in 1325/30 for Hawise de Bois survives in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York (MS-M700).[11]

In the 17th century, Thorp Arnold was owned by sir Martin Lister, English politician, whose stepdaughter Frances Thornhurst became the mother of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.[12]

John Towne (1711?–1791) was vicar of Thorpe Arnold before becoming the Archdeacon of Stow 5 September 1765 – 15 March 1791.

Sport edit

Thorpe Arnold Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club that has been based at the ground east of the village on Waltham Road since 1922.[13] The foundation of the club is unknown, but the earliest known photograph of the club dates back to 1902. In 1931, the club entered the Melton & District League, and in 1947, Thorpe Arnold Cricket Club formed its very first junior team.

 
Thorpe Arnold Cricket club in 1902

Thorpe Arnold CC have 2 senior XI teams that compete on Saturdays in the Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League,[14] a Midweek senior XI team in the Burrough and District Evening League,[15] a Sunday XI team that play friendly matches in and around the local district, and a long established junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Leicestershire Youth League.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ "Waltham on the Wolds & Thorpe Arnold parish postcodes". doogal.co.uk. doogal.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 129 "Nottingham and Loughborough (Melton Mowbray)" (Map). Ordnance Survey. 24 February 2016. ISBN 978-03192-2729-9.
  3. ^ "Population statistics Thorpe Arnold AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Relationships and changes Thorpe Arnold AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  5. ^ Marius, John. "Thorpe Arnold". Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales.
  6. ^ "Thorpe [Arnold]". opendomesday.org. Open Domesday. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  7. ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration. London: Penguin. 2003. pp. 652–6. ISBN 0-14-143994-7.
  8. ^ "Baronial house of Arnold de Bosco".
  9. ^ "Heraldry from the 1250-1259 Historia Anglorum by Matthew Paris". vikinganswerlady.com. Matthew Paris. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  10. ^ Smith, Kathryn Ann (2003). Art, Identity and Devotion in Fourteenth-century England: Three Women and Their Books of Hours. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9-78080208-691-4.
  11. ^ "Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts". ica.themorgan.org. The Morgan Library Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  12. ^ Parkinson, Thomas (1882). Lays and Leaves of the Forest. R Akrill. p. 180.
  13. ^ "Thorpe Arnold CC". thorpearnold.play-cricket.com. Thorpe Arnold Cricket Club. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League". ncl.play-cricket.com. Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Burrough and District Evening League". burrougheveninglge.play-cricket.com. Burrough and District Evening League. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Leicestershire Youth League". leicsyouthlge.play-cricket.com. Leicestershire Youth League. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

External links edit

  Media related to Thorpe Arnold at Wikimedia Commons