Appleby Parva, or Little Appleby (Known locally as Over-Town), part of the parish of Appleby Magna

Appleby Magna

Appleby Magna is a village and civil parish in the district of North West Leicestershire, England.The civil parish, as well as Appleby Magna, includes the small Hamlet of Appleby Parva and the Villages of Norton-Juxta-Twycross, Snarestone and Swepstone...

 in Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, is a hamlet about a mile south of Appleby church at the crossroads of the highways from Ashby de la Zouch to Tamworth

Tamworth

Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...

 and from Atherstone

Atherstone

Atherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.-History:...

 to Burton upon Trent

Burton upon Trent

Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....

.

The village was also calculated to be the centre of population of Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 in 2000, according to research by Professor Danny Dorling

Danny Dorling

Daniel Dorling, frequently referred to as Danny Dorling, is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Sheffield. He is also a Professor at University of Canterbury and in the Department of Social Medicine of the University of Bristol.-Biography:...

.

History

Appleby Magna is recorded as a separate manor and being in the county of Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 in Domesday.

The late medieval settlement pattern has been largely obliterated by eighteenth-century alterations to the highway. Its most prominent historical site is the grammar school built in 1697 by Sir John Moore, lord mayor of London. It was designed and constructed by William Wilson

William Wilson (architect)

Sir William Wilson was an English architect, builder and sculptor.Born in 1641 in Leicester, he was the son of a baker. In his early life, it is believed that he served an apprenticeship with a statuary mason. It is also claimed that he studied under Sir Christopher Wren at Oxford University where...

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