Kibworth

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 /ˈhɑːrkɔərt/. According to the 2011 census, Kibworth Beauchamp had a population of 5,433 and Kibworth Harcourt of 990. The two villages are split by the A6. Kibworth is close to Foxton Locks, Market Harborough, and Leicester.

Facilities

Kibworth has a number of shops, a community newspaper (The Kibworth & District Chronicle),^[1] and since 2002 new shops, including a branch of Co-op UK.^[2] New housing continues to be built on the edge of the village, causing periodic controversy.^[3]

The village snooker team, Kibworth Snooker based at the village Working Men's Club, won the Market Harborough snooker league in 2011 and 2012, also enjoying cup successes in both these years. However recent seasons have not been as fruitful. The local cricket club won the ECB National Club Cricket Championship in 2004. In the village there are also clubs for golf, bowls and football, and dance schools. The Bookshop, opened in the High Street in 2009, won a regional award of Independent Bookseller of The Year in 2012.^[4]

The X7 Stagecoach and X3 Arriva bus services to Leicester and Market Harborough run regularly through the village. The X3 bus also serves Kibworth Meadows estate.^[5][6] The Midland Main Line runs through the area, but Kibworth railway station, which served both villages, closed in 1968.^[7]

History

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.

Kibworth Harcourt was the birthplace of the writer/reformer Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743–1825) and her brother John Aikin. Their father, John Aikin (1713–1780), kept a dissenting academy there and served as minister of a nearby Presbyterian chapel. The family moved in 1757 to Warrington.

On 23 July 1825 the ancient tower and spire of St Wilfrids collapsed.^[8]

Michael Wood's Story of England

In September 2010, Kibworth was the central feature of Michael Wood's Story of England, a documentary aired on both BBC Four and BBC Two, presented by Michael Wood about the history of England framed through Kibworth.^[9][10]

A book of the same name was published by Viking (Penguin Books).^[11] The series was likened to Who Do You Think You Are? for a whole community. Villagers (Kibworth Improvement Team - KiT) have created a new website^[12] and successfully requested a grant of £48,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to continue the legacy of the TV series by creating a Kibworth Guide Booklet (heritage trails for Kibworth Harcourt, Kibworth Beauchamp and Smeeton Westerby), several interpretation panels around the three villages, ongoing study materials for the three tiers of local schools and an online Archive (Virtual Museum) to be produced during 2011 and 2012.

Notable residents

In birth order:

• John Aikin (1713–1780), a Unitarian preacher, schoolteacher, and father of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, lived and taught in Kibworth in 1730–58.^[13]
• Anna Laetitia Barbauld (née Aikin, 1743–1823), a poet, essayist, innovative children's author, and daughter of John Aikin, was born in Kibworth Harcourt.^[14]
• John Aikin (1747–1822), physician, biographer, and brother of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, was born in Kibworth Harcourt.^[15]
• James Beresford (1764–1840), Anglican cleric and humorous writer, was rector of Kibworth from 1812 until his death in 1840.^[16]
• Colonel John Worthy Chaplin (1840–1920), awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1860 during the Second China War, was buried in Kibworth New Cemetery.^[17]
• Edmund Knox (1847–1937), Anglican bishop, Evangelical writer, and father of Ronald Knox, was rector of Kibworth from 1884 to 1891.^[18]
• Samuel Perkins Pick (1858–1919), architect, was educated at Kibworth Grammar School.^[19]
• T. E. R. Phillips (1868–1942), Anglican cleric and astronomer specializing in planets, was born in Kibworth.^[20]
• Wilfred Knox (1886–1950), Anglican theologian and brother of Ronald Knox, was born in Kibworth.^[21]
• Ronald Knox (1888–1957), Roman Catholic monsignor and religious writer, was born in Kibworth.^[22]
• Sir Nicholas Harold Lloyd Ridley (1906–2001), inventor of the Intraocular lens, was born in Kibworth.^[23]

References

1. Sheridan Gilley, "Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott (1888–1957)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
2. Co-op Retrieved 4 December 2015.
3. Harborough Mail Retrieved 4 December 2015.
4. Bookshop site Retrieved 4 December 2015.
5. Arriva Retrieved 4 December 2015.
6. Stagecoach Retrieved 4 December 2015
7. Butt, R.V.J., The Directory of Railway Stations (Yeovil: Patrick Stephens, 1995).
8. Extract from The Gentleman,s Magazine, August 1825: Kibworth Rectory - 27 July 1825 at stwilfs.freeserve.co.uk
9. BBC coverage of Michael Wood's Story of England
10. Coverage of Michael Wood's Story of England at thisisleicestershire.co.uk
11. Michael Wood, The Story of England, Viking Penguin, 2010 (ISBN 978-0-670-91903-1).
12. Official website for the village of Kibworth
13. Diana K. Jones, "Aikin, John (1713–1780)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
14. William McCarthy, "Barbauld , Anna Letitia (1743–1825)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
15. Marilyn L. Brooks, "Aikin, John (1747–1822)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
16. [Anon.], "Beresford, James (1764–1840)", rev. H. C. G. Matthew, ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
17. Award Retrieved 11 April 2016.
18. Stephen Gregory, "Knox, Edmund Arbuthnott (1847–1937)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
19. "1905. Samuel Perkins Pick FRIBA 1905-06". Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society. LLPS. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
20. Obituary. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
21. Natalie K. Watson, "Knox, Wilfred Lawrence (1886–1950)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
22. Sheridan Gilley, "Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott (1888–1957)", ODNB, Oxford University Press, 2004 Retrieved 8 September 2014, pay-walled.
23. "Harold Ridley". www.oxforddnb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-28.

External links

Media related to Kibworth at Wikimedia Commons

• Kibworth Parish Walks
• A History of Kibworth
• Harcourt and Beauchamp: the tale of two villages
• Kibworth Cricket Club
• St. Wilfrid's (Anglican) Church
• Kibworth Beauchamp Grammar School
• Kibworth at genuki.org
• PBS Michael Wood's Story of England