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Bosworth (Market) in Leicester County England History and GeographyBOSWORTH (MARKET), a parish in the hundred of SPARKENHOE, county of LEICESTER, comprising the town of Market-Bosworth, the chapelries of Barleston, Carlton, Shcnton, and Sutton-Cheney, the township of Barton in the Beans, and part of the township of Osbaston, and containing 2677 inhabitants, of which number, 1117 are in the town of Market-Bosworth, 11½ miles (S.W.) from Leicester, and 107 (N.W.) from London. This place, in Domesday-book called Bosworde, takes the prefix to its name from a market granted to the inhabitants in the reign of Edward I. The neighbourhood is celebrated as the scene of a decisive battle which took place on the 22nd of August, 1485, between Richard III. and the Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII.: this battle, the last of those sanguinary conflicts between the houses of York and Lancaster, which had for so many years disturbed the internal tranquillity of the kingdom, and deluged its plains with blood, was fought on a large moor, three miles from the town, formerly called Redmore, but since that event better known as Bosworth Field. It is at present enclosed, and the particular spot, called Richard's Well, is distinguished by a monument crected by subscription, through the exertions of the late Dr. Parr, who visited the site in 1813, and wrote an appropriate inscription for it in Latin: numerous swords, shields, spurs, and other military relics, have been dug up at different times in the neighbourhood. The town, which is pleasantly situated on an eminence, contains some respectable houses, and is well supplied with water. The manufacture of worsted stockings is carried on here and in the adjacent villages, to a considerable extent; and some impulse has been given to trade by the Ashby canal, which, passing within a mile of the town, affords a medium for supplying it with coal and other articles of consumption. The market is on Wednesday: the fairs are, May 8th for horses, horned cattle and sheep, and July 10th, which is called the Cherry Fair. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Leicester, and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books at £55. 18. 4., and in the patronage of the King. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a spacious ancient structure, with a beautiful spire; within are many interesting monuments, among the finest of which is one to certain members of the Dixie family. There are places of worship for Baptists and Independents. The free grammar school, open to all boys whose parents reside within the parish, was founded in 1593, and endowed with land, by Sir Wolstan Dixie, Knt., who also endowed two fellowships of £30, and four scholarships of £10 pcr annum each, in Emanuel College, Cambridge. In consequence of its affairs being in Chancery, the school has been discontinued for the last twenty-five years, during which period, its funds have accumulated to the amount of £15,000: of which sum it is in contemplation to appropriate a part to the foundation of additional scholarships. The premises, including commodious residences for the masters, have been handsomely rebuilt in the later style of English architecture, at an expense of £5000: the management is vested in ten governors, including the rector and churchwardens of the parish: the total income arising from the endowment is £700 per annum. The Rev. Anthony Blackwall, an eminent critic and classical scholar, was master, and the great Dr. Johnson, and Thomas Simpson, the eminent mathematician, were ushers in this school; the latter, who was a native of the town, became Professor of Mathematics at Woolwich, and died here in 1761. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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