Product Code Database
Newtown Linford is a linear village in Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,000 at the 2001 census, including Ulverscroft, increasing to 1,103 at the 2011 census, and 1,136 at the 2021 census.
The village lies in a valley in the Charnwood Forest area, and has four access roads. The first is from Anstey, then there are roads which lead to the A50 at Groby and at Markfield (the former passing Groby Pool). Another road that leads north towards Ulverscroft, or Loughborough, Woodhouse, Woodhouse Eaves, Swithland etc.
The village is famous for Bradgate Park, a large country park which was home to Lady Jane Grey, Queen for nine days. Bradgate Park is a popular destination for days out in Leicestershire, home to several herds of deer, and children are often seen paddling in the shallow river Lin, which runs through it. There are a few shops (mainly aimed at the who come to Bradgate Park) but the garden centre which used to dominate the centre of the village closed in 2004 and has been built on for housing. All of the properties in the village belonged to the Grey Estate until 1925 when it was sold off. The Leicestershire & Rutland Village Book, Countryside Books, , p. 127-8 Much of the village was designated a conservation area in 1972, and there are 32 listed buildings in the village which include the old style red telephone box.
Bradgate Park attracts walkers and cyclists, and in the summer the village is often full of day-trippers from all around Leicestershire. There are three cafes, the Jade Tea Rooms, the Old Post Office Tea Rooms, and the Bradgate Coffee Company, formerly the Marion Cafe which was named after Marion Richardson; a listed property. The latter is now run by the Bradgate Park Trust. The Post Office itself was closed in 2008 but remains a cafe. There is also a cafe in the Deer Barn in the centre of Bradgate Park.
The River Lin runs through the village, before flowing through Bradgate Park and joining the reservoir at Cropston.
Newtown Linford boasts a large number of old cottages with a lot of character - especially between Groby Lane and Markfield Lane. At the end of Groby Lane is the village cricket pitch. All Saints Church (built c.1400) is next to the cricket pitch, but the village cemetery lies at the top of the hill on Groby Lane. The churchyard includes a gravestone inscribed with the letters of the alphabet and numerals, said to have been a practice stone purchased by a miserly man to save on the cost of getting a stone inscribed.Dare, Paul (1925) Charnwood Forest and its Environs, Edgar Backus, p. 42
The village's cricket club plays in the Premier Division of the Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket League, the Second Team plays in Division Two and the Third XI in Division Seven West. They are ECB Clubmark accredited.
They also operate a Sunday team, a Thursday League evening side and Under 10s, 13s, 15s & 17s. Players of all abilities are welcome.
In 2015 the Club were the winners of the Yorkshire Tea Cricket Tea Challenge and as part of their prize hosted a PCA Masters XI in front of almost 1,000 spectators at their Main Street ground.
Newtown Linford is also home to one of Britain's surviving . This box is a listed building and is still used by the local Police beat team today.
|
|
