England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Kibworth Beauchamp St Wilfrid

The Parish

The parish of Kibworth Beauchamp lies in southern Leicestershire roughly 5 1/2 miles northwest of the market town of Market Harborough. Kibworth Beauchamp stands on and south of the A6 road which links Market Harborough with Leicester. The wider parish included the chapelry of Kibworth Harcourt, which was not licensed for marriages during the project period. The parish has 3 main settlements to its, Kibworth Beauchamp, being the largest stands mainly to the south of the railway line that passes through the village and is largely a staggered crossroads village with most properties lying along the main west ot east running lane and that headed northwards to the parish church. Kibworth Harcourt stands on the A6 as a roadside settlement, today there is no gap between the two. The smallest part of the settlement is Smeaton Westerby sittng a half mile south of Kibworth Beauchamp and close to the course of the Grand Union Canal. Kibworth Beauchamp is a decayed market town, its charter was granted in 1246 by King Henry III but has lapsed due to competition from nearby Market Harborough. For most of its existence the parish has relied on farming for its income, a mixture of both arable and livestock rearing in place. During the 17th & 18th centuries the East Midlands characteristic industry of framework knitting became dominant especially in Kibworth Beauchamp only to be made obsolete by the industrialisation of northern mill towns. Today Kibworth Beauchamp remains a substantial settlement with services and light industry dominant and supported by farming. Modern developments have both been already mentioned with the Grand Union Canal arriving first and followed by the railway line which does not currently grant Kibworth Beauchamp a station. Kibworth Beauchamp is drained eastwards by the Langton Brook which joins the Welland to the northeast of Market Harborough, the Welland has a lengthy journey to reach the North Sea arriving through Fenland and The Wash. Kibworth Beauchamp is sited at between 100 (at Smeaton Westerby) to 130 (northernmost reaches of Kibworth Harcourt) metres above the sea  land rolls gently to local high spots of between 150 & 160 metres. Kibworth Beauchamp was an extensive parish covering just over 4,000 acres and supporting a population of close to 1,750 parishioners. All three of the principal settlements were recorded in Domesday Book and the size order was almost reversed from the present day, Smeaton Westerby declared an impressive 37 ploughs, meadows & woodland and a mill, Kibworth Harcourt weigh in with a further 8 ploughs and a small meadow whilst Kibworth Beauchamp had just 7 ploughs and yet more meadows.

The Church

St Wilfrid's church sits on the eastern side of Church Road, which links the two Kibworths, and is nearer to Kibworth Harcourt than Kibworth Beauchamp. This is a church which had been built in a single build during the later part of the early 14th century and entirely in the Decorated style of that era. However, the once impressive tower & spire which stood almost 160 feet in height collapsed on 23rd July 1825. The remainder of the church, both nave and chancel are almost totally built in the Decorated style. There are minor exceptions, the priests' doorway appears to be slightly earlier from the 13th century whilst the clerestory was undoubted added during the Perpendicular era. The rebuilding of today's tower took 5 years from 1832 to 1836, there is no spire today, and is built in ashlar from limestone in contrast with the ironstone of the main body, the architectural style is at least typical of eastern Leicestershire. A lengthy Victorian restoration ran from 1860 to 1864 during which time the east window was created as well as the chancel arch. Visiting the church is made relaxing by the provision of a substantial and well-signed car park directly opposite. The church sits within a substantial churchyard which does have a few well-pollarded individual trees to avoid but otherwise presents few issues for the photographer.