England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Shepshed St Botolph

The Parish

The parish of Shepshed (often rendered Sheepshed or Sheapshed) lies in northwestern Leicestershire not too far from either the border with Derbyshire and also with that for Nottinghamshire. Shepshed is located roughly 4 miles west of the industrial town of Loughborough and sits roughly a mile north of the A512 road which connects Loughborough with Ashby de la Zouch. Shepshed is a very large village, almost a town, which grew prosperous as a result of the local hosiery industry that formed the backbone of the local economy. Whilst some 500 households were employed in this manufacture, the wider parish enjoyed a mixed farming regime and extensive quarrying for the local granite for building-stone. Modern developments have come to the parish and earlier ones have also left, the Charnwood Forest Railway once brought coal to power the increasingly mechanised hosiery industry but is nowadays closed and partially dismantled whilst the modern M1 motorway cuts through the area immediately east of Shepshed. The local motorway junction boosting growth once more with improved motoring access. Shepshed is drained northeastwards by the Grace Dieu Brook which soon joins the River Soar and thence the Trent on its long journey to the North Sea which is reached through the Humber Estuary. Shepshed sits on a sloping site, the northern reaches lie at 50 metres whilst the southern tip, on the A512 reach 100 metres above the sea, land continues to rise southwards to the prominent lump of Ives Head which tops out at 201 metres. Shepshed parish was one of the larger within its county, covering almost 5,200 acres it would have supported a population rising to just below 3,900 parishioners by the end of this transcript period. In Domesday times Shepshed was already a significant settlement, one of the largest 20% recorded within that tome it was held directly by King William and its assets were an impressive 38 ploughs, extensive meadows and woodland and there was also a mill.

The Church

St Botolph's church sits towards the northern end of Shepshed accessed off Loughborough Road along Church Gate. The church dates back to the early 13th century and the early English Gothic styles which is admirably shown by the lancets windows of the western tower and also within the chancel. The aisles were added in the early 14th century in a Decorated style whilst the arcades were rebuilt in the latter half of that century and in the Perpendicular style. The growing population of Shepshed in the 19th century made the church cramped and as money was in short supply a simple solution was found by creating galleries within the nave, nowadays partially removed. Restoration of St Botolph came late and in the 1930 when the large southern transept was added as well as a general renewal made. The Black Swan Inn stands at the junction of Church Gate where the latter leads up a short climb to a large car park, facilitating an extended visit. The churchyard is banked high above the road level with a rising pathway to enter, sadly the church is closely hemmed by many trees making for a tricky challenge for the photographer to adequately capture.