Place:Billesdon, Leicestershire, England

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Billesdon is a village and civil parish in the Harborough District of Leicestershire, England, with a population of 745 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 901 at the 2011 census. It is now bypassed by the A47 road and is nine miles east of Leicester. Nearby places include Houghton on the Hill (the next village towards Leicester), and Skeffington (the next village east towards Uppingham), Tilton on the Hill, and Gaulby (one of its former chapelries, the other being Tugby). The Billesdon Brook flows through the village.

Billesdon was formerly the seat of Billesdon Rural District, which was merged into the Harborough district in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.

Domesday Book enumerated 25 people here in 1086. The number of households grew substantially between 1563 and 1670, from 38 to 134. In 1851 the village had 1,085 residents. Bricks and stockings were both once manufactured here. By the 20th century Billesdon had reverted to an agricultural village. The population had declined to 543 by 1931.

The fields were inclosed in 1764. Land tax records of the 18th and 19th centuries give the impression of a village of smaller landholders. There was a parish workhouse in the village by 1776. Billesdon became the centre of a new poor law union in 1835, and a new workhouse at the west of the village opened in 1846. The building became a military hospital in the First World War.

In addition to the parish church there were four chapels for non-conformist denominations.

Research Tips

• The map on the place-page for Billesdon Rural District illustrate the location of the various parishes.
• Billesdon Registration District, the local civil registration district, covered a wide surrounding area between the start of civil registration in 1837 and 1930.
• Victoria County History - Leicestershire - Vol 5, pp6-21 - Parish: Billesdon. (London, 1964) British History Online. University of London.
• From this Findmypast page you can browse the Leicestershire parishes which have parish register transcripts online.
• From this Ancestry page you can browse the Leicestershire parishes which have parish register transcripts online.
• For both of the above sites, a subscription is charged. Transcriptions of these records may also be available free of charge on the FamilySearch website.
• A further collection of online source references will be found on the county page for Leicestershire.