GLOOSTON
Glooston lies eleven miles south-east of Leicester and six miles north of Market Harborough. The
parish, 973 a. in area, is over 2 miles long from Keythorpe Lodge in the north to Langton Caudle in
the south but is quite narrow from east to west, lying
between two similarly long and narrow parishes,
Stonton Wyville and Cranoe. The land is chiefly
pasture, but a few mixed arable crops are grown on
the heavy clay soil. Glooston Wood, which is about
25 a. in area, lies in the north part of the parish
where the land rises steeply towards Cranoe Lodge.
A stream which rises just beyond the northern
boundary of the parish runs southwards through the
village and then south-westwards to Stonton Wyville. Crossburrow Hill, which is over 400 ft. high,
is the principal feature of the southern part of the
parish and belongs to the escarpment running eastwards to Cranoe.
The houses of Glooston village are grouped
round a cross-roads in the centre of the parish. The
road from west to east follows the line of the Gartree
road. To the west of the village it is a rough trackway to Shangton and to the east it forms the
metalled road to Cranoe. South of the cross-roads
a road leads to Stonton Wyville and Tur Langton.
Its continuation northwards is a gated road to
Goadby which runs by Glooston Lodge, an 18thcentury brick building and the only isolated farmhouse in the parish. A brick house on the east side
of the Stonton road probably dates from the late
17th century. It has an altered roof, but retains
several stone-mullioned windows, a stone plinth,
and a moulded string course. To the west of the
cross-roads a short street leads uphill towards
Glooston church and terminates in a small green.
Beyond it the Gartree road becomes the trackway
known as Andrews Lane. On the north side of the
street is a continuous terrace of early-19th-century
stone cottage, the building of which may be
associated with the sharp rise in population between
1801 and 1831 (see below). West of this is an 18thcentury brick farm-house with stone quoins. On the
opposite side of the street a small and much altered
cottage was probably originally timer-framed. One
bay has been faced with stone and the other rebuilt
in brick. Internally it retains central back-to-back
open fire-places, one incorporating a baking oven.
Next door is the Bluebell Inn, rebuilt c. 1930. It
replaced a fully timber-framed building with a
thatched roof, the panels between the framing being
filled with mud walling and brickwork. (fn. 1) Glooston
Rectory, standing east of the churchyard, is an
altered house the core of which is built of stone and
may date from the 17th century. The village hall,
which faces the green, was built soon after the
Second World War under the auspices of the Rural
Community Council and is used also by the inhabitants of Stonton Wyville and Cranoe. The site
was formerly occupied by a low thatched cottage,
partly timber-framed, which was demolished c.
1938. (fn. 2)
The recorded population in 1086 was 8. (fn. 3) There
were 37 taxpayers in 1381. (fn. 4) There were 9 households
in 1563 and 23 in 1670. In 1603 there were 64 communicants, and in 1676 62. (fn. 5) There were about 25
families in the early 18th century. (fn. 6) In 1801 the
population was 129. There was an increase to 177
in 1831, but thereafter a steady decline, and the
population in 1951 was 64. (fn. 7)
There is an overgrown moated site on the north
side of the Gartree road just before the trackway
enters the village from the west. In 1946 some
diggings were made on the site of a Roman villa
which stood on the eastern banks of the stream to the
north-east of the cross-roads. (fn. 8)
MANOR.
In 1086 GLOOSTON was held by Hugh
de Grentemesnil from the Countess Judith. (fn. 9) About
1130 it was held by Richard Basset from the Earl of
Leicester who inherited many of the countess's
Leicestershire holdings, (fn. 10) and the overlordship
descended through the earls of Leicester and Lancaster and the dukes of Lancaster to the Duchy of
Lancaster. (fn. 11) For a short time in the 15th century the
overlord was stated to be St. Mary's Abbey,
Leicester, but this seems incorrect. (fn. 12) A 15th-century rental of Glooston records the payment of 20d.
as quit-rent to the Duchy. (fn. 13) In 1637 all the freehold
land was said to be held from the Duchy. (fn. 14) The
Basset family of Drayton continued as mesne
tenants until at least the middle of the 14th century. (fn. 15)
In the 13th century Glooston was held of the
Bassets by members of the Harington family, one
of whom may have been the William de Harington
who was a knight or freeman of the honor of
Leicester in 1209–10. (fn. 16) Richard de Harington, who
in 1249 held 3/8 knight's fee in Glooston, was granted
free warren in his demesne there in 1257, (fn. 17) and the
family held the manor until the beginning of the
15th century. At Robert Harington's death, some
time between 1412 and 1422, the manor passed to
his daughter Margaret, wife of Richard Brauncepath. (fn. 18) Their three sons, William, John, and Thomas,
all inherited in turn, and, after Thomas's death in
1454, (fn. 19) his widow Elizabeth held the manor for her
life. She married secondly William Isham, by whom
she had a son Thomas. Various disputes arose over
the manor during her life and after her death,
caused by the claims of the several feoffees of
Thomas Brauncepath and of certain relatives. In
1474 the claimants were John Howell, son of
Thomas Brauncepath's sister Joan, who had been
adjudged to be her brother's heir, (fn. 20) and John Coley
or Colly, a distant cousin, descended from Joan,
aunt of the last Robert Harington. Howell's claim
seems to have been dismissed with those of the
various feoffees, represented by the families of
Ashby and Fairfax, for in 1480 William Fairfax, in
whom these claims were vested, granted the manor
to Colly, (fn. 21) whose descendants held it until 1632. In
1587 Anthony Colly put the manor in trust to pay
an annuity of £100 for 60 years to Randall Manning, a London skinner. (fn. 22) By 1592 the payment had
fallen into arrears, and Manning became technically
possessed of the manor for the rest of the 60 years. (fn. 23)
By 1614 Colly was able to redeem it for £1,500. (fn. 24)
In 1632 he sold it for £4,500 to Thomas, Lord Brudenell, who already owned the neighbouring manors
of Cranoe and Stonton Wyville. (fn. 25) It has since descended in the Brudenell family. The owner in 1956
was Mr. George Brudenell of Deene (Northants.). (fn. 26)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086 Hugh de Grentemesnil's holding in Glooston consisted of 3
carucates of land. He had one plough in demesne,
and 6 villeins and 2 bordars had two. There were
4 a. of meadow, and woodland 1 furlong by 3
furlongs in area. The value of the estate had risen
from 3s. to 30s. (fn. 27) In the early 13th century Henry de
Harington procured a royal licence to assart 6 a. of
waste. (fn. 28) The manor was still assessed as 3 carucates
in 1279, when John de Harington held 1½ carucate
in demesne, and 1½ in villeinage. (fn. 29) The village and
its population remained small. Among the 37 taxpayers in 1381 were Robert Harington and his
wife Agnes, and only 9 tenants at will, one free
tenant, and 3 labourers. (fn. 30) An undated rental of
the 15th century mentions 12 tenants, and states
that the manor was let for 24s. yearly. Underwood
brought in 27s. and the total rents were then
£29 15s. 8d. (fn. 31)
About half the parish was inclosed and laid down
to pasture by the early 17th century. John Colly was
said to have destroyed a farm-house in 1511 and
converted its 20 a. It is not clear from the original
presentment against him whether he had converted
them to pasture or not, but by 1528 when his son
Anthony was charged with inclosing, a jury declared
that the messuage concerned was in good repair and
its 20 a. re-converted from pasture to tillage. John
Colly was also said to have inclosed for pasture in
1511 2 carucates of arable and put down 2 ploughs,
so that 12 people were deprived of their livelihood. (fn. 32)
In 1527 a presentment was made to the manorial
court at Cranoe to the effect that Edward Cowesby
and Isabel his wife, John Colly's widow, would not
allow the tenants to have their common in 2 closes
in Glooston fields, on either side of the land called
Leicester Lane. The court ordered that each tenant
should be allowed to have 70 sheep in the fields. (fn. 33)
In 1535 the Brudenells were drawing £338 13s. 4d.
in rents from Glooston. (fn. 34)
In 1637 the Brudenells owned 838 a. in Glooston.
The manor-house was let to an Anthony Lightfoot
with 502 a. of demesne. There were 6 free tenants,
who held 284 a. of land, including a member of the
Halford family of Welham with 245 a. The others
all owned small pieces of land. An area of 79 a. was
leased in small parcels: one of 65 a., two of 2 a., and
the rest of under an acre. The common balks accounted for 7 a. Total rents were £340 2s. 4d. By
this date the whole of the parish to the north of
the road running through the village from Cranoe
to the Gartree road was inclosed. In the far north of
the parish were the Out Walks. Two small closes
were cut out of the open-field area to the south of
the village, and there was a considerable area of
homestead closes round the village itself. (fn. 35) The open
fields were known then, as in later times, as Little
Field, Burrough or Crosborough Field, and Willowsike Field. (fn. 36)
In 1659 regulations were made about the administration of the pasture. Inhabitants of Glooston were
to have first refusal of any sheep common that might
be to let. No one was to plough up his land further
than the mere stone set down by the jury. The
inclosed land in the north of both Glooston and
Cranoe was clearly used for sheep runs, and there
was to be a division of this between the two
parishes from May Day to Lammas, with tellers
to see that the stints were kept. (fn. 37) Like those of the
other Brudenell manors in this area the inhabitants
of Glooston owed suit of court at Slawston and
appointed constables to represent them there. (fn. 38)
Glooston was finally inclosed under an award of
1828, with the remaining part of Cranoe. The inclosure commissioners estimated that nearly 470a. of
open field remained, or rather less than half the
total area of the parish, although only 179 a. had
been returned as arable in 1801. (fn. 39) There were still
three fields. Of the 469 a. allotted in 1828, just over
56 a. went to the Earl of Cardigan as lord of the
manor, who already held the whole of the old inclosure. The only other holding of any size was
that of the Revd. J. H. Dent of Hallaton, who was
allotted 236 a. His family had held an estate in
Glooston since the 18th century. (fn. 40) Of the rest,
small allotments were made to 2 freeholders, and
182 a. were given to the Rector of Glooston in lieu
of tithes and glebe. The Rector of Stonton Wyville
had a small holding of just over 2 roods. (fn. 41)
There was a windmill in Glooston by the 15th
century, when it was let for 40s. a year. (fn. 42) It was still
there in 1637, when it is shown on the estate map
of that year in the extreme south of the parish. (fn. 43)
Nothing more is known of it.
PARISH ADMINISTRATION.
Glooston apparently had no workhouse, but in 1776 £30 18s. 8d.
was expended on rents for poor parishioners. The
poor rate in that year yielded over £52. (fn. 44) In 1802–3
the parish relieved 9 adults and 23 children. (fn. 45) In
1836 Glooston was placed in Market Harborough
Union. (fn. 46) Some parish property had been held
before the new Poor Law Act, and in 1835 a tenement and yard were made over to the churchwardens
in trust for the inhabitants. (fn. 47) In 1869 it was agreed
that the rent of the parish house should be paid to
the overseers. (fn. 48)
CHURCH.
The earliest mention of Glooston
church is about 1220, but it was probably founded
in the 12th century. It may, like Cranoe, have been
a chapelry of Welham, where burials still took place
about 1220, although in other respects Glooston was
independent. (fn. 49) The living is a rectory. In 1930 the
benefice and the parish were united with those of
Stonton Wyville. (fn. 50) In 1956 Stonton Wyville and
Glooston were joined to the united parishes of
Slawston and Cranoe under the name of Stonton
Wyville. (fn. 51) In 1958 the incumbent was living in
Glooston Rectory. In 1220 the patron was Hugh de
Harington, and the advowson has descended with
the manor since that date. In 1958 the patron was
Mr. George Brudenell of Deene (Northants.). (fn. 52)
The living was valued at 2 marks in 1254 (fn. 53) and at
£5 in 1291. (fn. 54) In 1428 it was worth 7½ marks. (fn. 55) In
1535 the net value was £8. (fn. 56) In 1650 the rector was
described as 'insufficient and scandalous'. (fn. 57) The
same might probably have been said of Edmund
Tilley, the incumbent in 1576, who was then over
80 years of age, and of whom it was said 'he understandeth nothing'. (fn. 58) By 1831 the living, valued at
£30 in 1650, was worth £186. (fn. 59)
The glebe in 1634 included pasture for 80 sheep. (fn. 60)
By 1637 it included the parsonage close of 2 a. and
28 a. in the fields. (fn. 61) At the inclosure in 1828 36 a.
were allotted in lieu of glebe and 146 a. in lieu of
tithes from both old and new inclosures. (fn. 62)
The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
stands at the south-west corner of the village. It
consists of aisle-less nave, chancel, south porch, and
double bell-cote above the west gable. It dates
largely from a rebuilding of 1866–7 but retains
several medieval features. The earlier church was
probably built on the same plan as the present one;
an engraving of c. 1798 (fn. 63) shows that the nave,
apparently of the 15th or early 16th century, had
a low-pitched roof surrounded by a parapet and a
double bell-cote above a buttressed west end. The
south porch had a two-light window and a severe
crack is shown in the south wall. The chancel
windows were square-headed and possibly of postReformation date. At a visitation in 1518 the nave
windows had been described as defective. (fn. 64) A
hundred years later the pews were said to be too
high, obscuring the view of the altar, and the roof
leaked. (fn. 65) The chancel screen needed repainting in
1639 and Lord Brudenell's pew was still too high. (fn. 66)
In the late 18th century rubbish had accumulated
inside the church, and earth against the outside
walls was causing dampness. (fn. 67) By 1842 the porch
was in need of repair and some of the seats in the
nave needed to be renewed. (fn. 68)
The church was almost entirely rebuilt by the
architect Joseph Goddard of Leicester in 1866–7. (fn. 69)
The nave was given a roof of steep pitch and the
design of the bell-cote was altered. Some of the 15thcentury window-tracery appears to have been reused but the chancel windows and the two lancets at
the west end are entirely new. A piscina, probably
of the late 13th century, with a finely-moulded
trefoil head and a carved basin has been preserved
in the chancel. Before the rebuilding the canopy of a
stone seat and part of another seat were in position
beside the piscina and there was a third seat some
distance away. (fn. 70) The present sedilia are modern. A
mutilated piscina, probably also of the 13th century,
appears to be in its original position in the north
wall of the nave. The plain octagonal font may
date from the 14th century. The chancel contains
a memorial tablet to John Davies, rector (d. 1847),
and his son Rice Davies (d. 1888). Glass in the
east window by Heaton, Butler, & Bayne (1866) (fn. 71)
is in memory of John Davies. In the former church
there were memorial inscriptions to members of the
Owsley family, four of whom were rectors between
1660 and 1743. (fn. 72)
There are two bells, one of which it is considered
unsafe to hang: (i) 1730; (ii) 1686 recast by John
Taylor of Loughborough in 1866. (fn. 73) The plate includes a silver cup of 1601, with a later cover bearing
the inscription 'The parish koope of Glooston 1609'. (fn. 74)
The registers date from 1564 and are complete.
NONCONFORMITY.
In 1722 Samuel Porter's
house was licensed as a meeting-place. (fn. 75) In 1825
William Deacon's house, at the east end of the
village, was licensed. (fn. 76) Nothing further is known of
nonconformity in Glooston.
SCHOOLS.
There was a Sunday school with an
average attendance of 50 children by 1833. It was
supported by subscriptions. In 1833 there was also
an infants' school with an attendance of 5 or 10. (fn. 77)
Glooston children attended the National school at
Cranoe after it was built in 1843. (fn. 78)
CHARITIES.
The Revd. William Owsley by will
proved 1734 (fn. 79) bequeathed £20 to be invested to
endow a bread dole for the poor of Glooston. In
1837 the yearly income of the charity was 13s. 4d., (fn. 80)
and in 1934 10s., which was distributed in cash.
About 1867 Glooston received £100 from a bequest
for the poor, made by the Revd. J. H. Dent, from
which Hallaton and Blaston also benefited. From
1907 this gift was represented by £89 10s. stock,
which yielded £2 4s. 8d. in 1953. (fn. 81)