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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.
Contents
- Map of Kibworth Leicester UK
- Facilities
- History
- Michael Woods Story of England
- Notable residents
- References
Map of Kibworth, Leicester, UK
Facilities
Kibworth has a number of shops, a community newspaper (The Kibworth & District Chronicle), and since 2002 new shops, including a branch of Co-op UK. New housing continues to be built on the edge of the village, causing periodic controversy.
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.
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. The Midland Main Line runs through the area, but Kibworth railway station, which served both villages, closed in 1968.
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.
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, BBC Two and repeated on UKTV's Yesterday, presented by Michael Wood about the history of England framed through Kibworth.
A book of the same name was published by Viking (Penguin Books). 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 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: