Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire - <>

Stoney Stanton is a large village in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England with a population of over 3,454 in 2001, increasing to 3,793 at the 2011 census. It constitutes a civil parish. The village lies some five miles east of Hinckley, just to the east of the M69. Nearby villages include Croft, and Sapcote. It is some ten miles from Leicester. As may be gathered from its name it is set on rocky outcrops of igneous rock, granodiorite, a fact which has had its influence on its history. Even in the eighteenth century, Parish records show that gravel and stone were being removed from Carey (or quarry) Hill in the centre of the village. That would later, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries be quarried for its valuable stone, along with Lanes Hill (now the water-sports & diving centre known as Stoney Cove), Clint Hill, and Hall's Court. Carey Hill and Hall's Court quarries were later filled in but Clint Hill remains, a relic of the village's industrial heritage, now filled with water and a haven for wild-life.The village is of ancient origin, being mentioned in the Domesday Survey of Leicestershire (1086) In Guthlaxton Wapentake…. Robert the Bursar holds in STANTONE 6 caracutes of land. Land for 7 villagers with 3 smallholders have 3 ploughs; 4 free man; meadow, 12 acres; woodland 3 furlongs long and 1 furlong wide. The value was and is 20sPrior to the growth of industry, the village was mainly dependent on farming. Several old farmhouses can still be identified in the heart of the village, the staple being sheep-farming, evidenced by records of local occupations, woolcombers and weavers, particularly producing the fine long Leicestershire wool used in producing worsted and tammy cloth. At the heart of the village, not far from the crossroads, stands the parish church of St.Michael, first recorded in 1149. More can be read about the church on its website. It is of ancient origin, with a typical Leicestershire spire atop its fourteenth-century tower. Only a few fragments of its very ancient past remain, it was largely restored in the nineteenth century, but on the north side, over the present vestry door can be seen a tympanum, removed from a Norman doorway when the present south aisle was added in the 1850s. This probably dates from 8th century and shows a bishop (it has been suggested that it may be a representation of St.Wifred), the lion of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, represented by a dove, overcoming the demons of paganism. This suggests that this may have been a pagan site in pre-Christian times. Against the east Window is the grave of John Bold, an eighteenth-century curate, a man of great sanctity who devoted his ministry to the good of local people. Inside the church, a most remarkable piece of furniture is the ancient parish chest, of great antiquity, constructed by the 'dug-out' method, possibly in the years following the conquest. The tower has eight bells, remarkable among bellringers for a peal of 12,896 changes of Cambridge Surprise Major, rung in 7 hours, 35 minutes on 28 April 1923.

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