Kegworth
Encyclopedia
Kegworth is a large village (population of approximately 3,500) and civil parish in Leicestershire
, England
.
Lying on the River Soar
, it is situated on the A6
near junction 24 of the M1 motorway
and is also close to East Midlands Airport. An air-crash incident in 1989 was just short of the airport's runway at the eastern side of the airport. Although this was outside the village, it has subsequently been referred to as the Kegworth air disaster
.
Nearby places include Long Eaton
, Castle Donington
, Sutton Bonington
, Hathern
and Loughborough
. The post town
is Derby
.
A date cannot be put on the foundations of the first settlement, although Anglo-Saxon
burials have been found in Kingston-on-Soar and at Hathern
, a pin from the 7th century was also found near the hermitage
which may indicate the date and location of the earliest settlers. The name of Kegworth comes from two languages, Old English and Danish
, so it must date from some time between 874 and 1086. It means 'worth' or 'enclosure' of a man named Kaggi, the Danish name for redbeard.
However, some sources claim it may mean locked enclosure, from caega "key", an Old English word.
It was recorded in the Domesday Book
as being held by Earl Harold Godwin
, who became the last of the Saxon kings. After Harold's defeat at the Battle of Hastings
in 1066 the Earl Hugh of Chester
was given the land by William the Conqueror. It was know in those days as Cachworde, Caggworth and Cogga.
After the royalists defeated Simon de Montfort
in 1265, estates gained by the Earl of Gloucester
included land in Kegworth. The privilege to hold a weekly market was granted in 1290.
During the Middle Ages
the parish was responsible for maintaining the condition of the roads. To try to improve the rough roads in the village, an Act of Parliament
was passed in 1555 ordering every man in the parish to work for four (later six) days a year on the roads; each farmer had to provide horses and carts according to his land holding. This continued until the early 18th century when, with the increase in traffic, it became necessary to change this to paid labour.
Although farming was a large factor in Kegworth life and still remains on the fringes, industry started in the late 18th century/early 19th century with the introduction of stocking
ers shops. Some still exist (e g behind the Britannia) and can be recognised by the long rows of windows on the first floor. As the industry grew, small courtyard
s of cottages were built in the old farm yards. Women and children also worked when they could, and the hosiery
and lace
trade were ranked as two of the most important industries in the village from 1841 onwards. The Kegworth hand frame stockingers were highly skilled in the art of making silk
stockings and they received many orders from royalty and people of high rank. Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales
, the Danish Royal Family
and the King of Spain were all customers of the stockingers of Kegworth.
Meeting House Yard lay behind the present 'Friends' Cottage', and included a Quaker graveyard. The last trace of these 'yards' was demolished when the entrance to Australia Yard was removed to make way for the library in High Street.
A depression in the 1890s coincided with the introduction of the internal combustion engine
, a motorbike factory was started which developed into the present Slack and Parrs.
Domestic service was also important. In 1851 as many as 121 people were described as servants, housekeepers or charwomen. In 1899 their work was arduous with long hours, and the restricted personal freedom and the lack of privacy was poor by the standards of today but at the time they counted themselves lucky to be fed, clothed and housed.
Industrialisation was the beginning of the end of this era in Kegworth’s history, but there were still socks and stockings being made in the village as late as the 1940s.
Despite the growth in trade and manufacturing, there was only a very slight increase in population during the 19th century. The number of inhabitants rose from 1,416 people in 1801 to 2,078 a century later, but with actual decline in some decades, today there are approximately 3,500 people living in the village with 1,500 houses.
Kegworth has always prospered from its advantages of trade and routes. Originally these were farming, road and river, later textiles, railway and canal, and now light industry, motorway and airport. It has been lucky in having relative prosperity and slow but steady growth which has given it the character of a friendly, active community.
Kegworth was part of the Rural District of Castle Donington
until 1974 when it became part of the District of North West Leicestershire
, whose administrative centre is located at Coalville
.
.
The next oldest building visible is the Cruck Cottage forming the street front of the Cottage Restaurant. This is from the 15th century, but the stucco covering conceals its age. Many other buildings similarly hide their oldest parts under stucco or modern fronts as at the top of Packington
Hill, where early 18th century timber frames show at the rear.
Many buildings in High Street and London Road date from the 18th century when the main London
to Manchester
road went up High Street and down Packington Hill. Some were town houses, others farmhouses with yards. Most of the latter have had their yards subsequently built on. The barn of number 55 High Street was demolished in 1979 to make room for another house, but the farmyard of number 48 remains, although the farmhouse was rebuilt in Victorian times
.
The internal road system of the village gradually developed as time went on as it became necessary to obtain access to neighbouring villages.
The Romans
used a ford across the River Trent
nearby and a Romano-British
farm lies at the end of Long Lane. A Saxon cemetery was found two hundred years ago and the bumps and hollows between the A6 and the River Soar
may be the remains of a Saxon village.
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Lying on the River Soar
River Soar
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
, it is situated on the A6
A6 road
The A6 is one of the main historic north south roads in England. It currently runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria, although it formerly started at a junction with the A1 at Barnet....
near junction 24 of the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
and is also close to East Midlands Airport. An air-crash incident in 1989 was just short of the airport's runway at the eastern side of the airport. Although this was outside the village, it has subsequently been referred to as the Kegworth air disaster
Kegworth air disaster
The Kegworth Air Disaster occurred on 8 January 1989, when British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737–400, crashed onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, in England. The aircraft was attempting to conduct an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport...
.
Nearby places include Long Eaton
Long Eaton
Long Eaton is a town in Derbyshire, England. It lies just north of the River Trent about southwest of Nottingham and is part of the Nottingham Urban Area...
, Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
, Sutton Bonington
Sutton Bonington
Sutton Bonington is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has a site just to the north of the village: Sutton Bonington Campus....
, Hathern
Hathern
Hathern is a large village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The village itself is located in the north of the district, and is just north of Loughborough. It is served by the A6. The parish has a population of about 1,800. Nearby places are Dishley, Long...
and Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
. The post town
Post town
A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system. Including the correct post town in the address increases the chances of a letter or parcel being delivered on time. Post towns are usually based upon the location of...
is Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
.
History
The site of Kegworth was situated well within the territory of the Caritani, one of the most powerful Ancient British tribes.A date cannot be put on the foundations of the first settlement, although Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
burials have been found in Kingston-on-Soar and at Hathern
Hathern
Hathern is a large village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The village itself is located in the north of the district, and is just north of Loughborough. It is served by the A6. The parish has a population of about 1,800. Nearby places are Dishley, Long...
, a pin from the 7th century was also found near the hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
which may indicate the date and location of the earliest settlers. The name of Kegworth comes from two languages, Old English and Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, so it must date from some time between 874 and 1086. It means 'worth' or 'enclosure' of a man named Kaggi, the Danish name for redbeard.
However, some sources claim it may mean locked enclosure, from caega "key", an Old English word.
It was recorded in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as being held by Earl Harold Godwin
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
, who became the last of the Saxon kings. After Harold's defeat at the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
in 1066 the Earl Hugh of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
was given the land by William the Conqueror. It was know in those days as Cachworde, Caggworth and Cogga.
After the royalists defeated Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
in 1265, estates gained by the Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
included land in Kegworth. The privilege to hold a weekly market was granted in 1290.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the parish was responsible for maintaining the condition of the roads. To try to improve the rough roads in the village, an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was passed in 1555 ordering every man in the parish to work for four (later six) days a year on the roads; each farmer had to provide horses and carts according to his land holding. This continued until the early 18th century when, with the increase in traffic, it became necessary to change this to paid labour.
Although farming was a large factor in Kegworth life and still remains on the fringes, industry started in the late 18th century/early 19th century with the introduction of stocking
Stocking
A stocking, , is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment covering the foot and lower part of the leg. Stockings vary in color, design and transparency...
ers shops. Some still exist (e g behind the Britannia) and can be recognised by the long rows of windows on the first floor. As the industry grew, small courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s of cottages were built in the old farm yards. Women and children also worked when they could, and the hosiery
Hosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as hose...
and lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
trade were ranked as two of the most important industries in the village from 1841 onwards. The Kegworth hand frame stockingers were highly skilled in the art of making silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
stockings and they received many orders from royalty and people of high rank. Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, the Danish Royal Family
Danish Royal Family
The Danish Royal Family includes the Queen of Denmark and her family. All members except the Queen hold the title of Prince/Princess of Denmark with the style of His/Her Royal Highness or His/Her Highness. The Queen is styled Her Majesty. The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of...
and the King of Spain were all customers of the stockingers of Kegworth.
Meeting House Yard lay behind the present 'Friends' Cottage', and included a Quaker graveyard. The last trace of these 'yards' was demolished when the entrance to Australia Yard was removed to make way for the library in High Street.
A depression in the 1890s coincided with the introduction of the internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
, a motorbike factory was started which developed into the present Slack and Parrs.
Domestic service was also important. In 1851 as many as 121 people were described as servants, housekeepers or charwomen. In 1899 their work was arduous with long hours, and the restricted personal freedom and the lack of privacy was poor by the standards of today but at the time they counted themselves lucky to be fed, clothed and housed.
Industrialisation was the beginning of the end of this era in Kegworth’s history, but there were still socks and stockings being made in the village as late as the 1940s.
Despite the growth in trade and manufacturing, there was only a very slight increase in population during the 19th century. The number of inhabitants rose from 1,416 people in 1801 to 2,078 a century later, but with actual decline in some decades, today there are approximately 3,500 people living in the village with 1,500 houses.
Kegworth has always prospered from its advantages of trade and routes. Originally these were farming, road and river, later textiles, railway and canal, and now light industry, motorway and airport. It has been lucky in having relative prosperity and slow but steady growth which has given it the character of a friendly, active community.
Kegworth was part of the Rural District of Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
until 1974 when it became part of the District of North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville.The district contains East Midlands Airport, which operates flights to the rest of Britain and to various places in Europe...
, whose administrative centre is located at Coalville
Coalville
Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
.
Structures
The earliest surviving building is the church. The tower base dates from 1250 and the rest was built in 1370 when the two manors of Kegworth were united under a single Lord of the ManorLord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
.
The next oldest building visible is the Cruck Cottage forming the street front of the Cottage Restaurant. This is from the 15th century, but the stucco covering conceals its age. Many other buildings similarly hide their oldest parts under stucco or modern fronts as at the top of Packington
Packington
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...
Hill, where early 18th century timber frames show at the rear.
Many buildings in High Street and London Road date from the 18th century when the main London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
road went up High Street and down Packington Hill. Some were town houses, others farmhouses with yards. Most of the latter have had their yards subsequently built on. The barn of number 55 High Street was demolished in 1979 to make room for another house, but the farmyard of number 48 remains, although the farmhouse was rebuilt in Victorian times
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
.
The internal road system of the village gradually developed as time went on as it became necessary to obtain access to neighbouring villages.
The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
used a ford across the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
nearby and a Romano-British
Romano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
farm lies at the end of Long Lane. A Saxon cemetery was found two hundred years ago and the bumps and hollows between the A6 and the River Soar
River Soar
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
may be the remains of a Saxon village.