Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of
LeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England. It is 14.5 miles (23 km) to the northeast of
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, and 18 miles (29 km) southeast of
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. The town lies along the course of both the
River EyeThe River Eye is a river in north eastern Leicestershire which becomes the Wreake.The Eye rises at Bescaby about six miles north east of Melton Mowbray. It flows east towards Saltby, where it turns south and flows past Sproxton, Coston and Garthorpe. At Saxby it turns west and flows by Stapleford,...
and the
River WreakeThe River Wreake is a river in Leicestershire, England. It is a tributary of the River Soar. The river between Stapleford Park and Melton Mowbray is known as the River Eye and becomes the Wreake below Melton Mowbray....
and currently has a population of 25,554.
Promoted as the "Rural Capital of Food", Melton Mowbray is perhaps best known for its culinary specialities, being the home of the eponymous pork pie and one of the six homes of Stilton cheese.
Toponymy
The name
Melton comes from the early English word Medeltone – meaning 'Middletown surrounded by small hamlets' (and therefore has the same origin as places called
Milton and
Middleton).
MowbrayMowbray is an Anglo-Norman baronial house, derived from Montbrai in Normandy. From this village came Geoffrey de Montbrai who came to be Bishop of Coutances and accompanied Duke William of Normandy at the Conquest of England in 1066....
is a
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
family name – the name of early
Lords of the ManorThe Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
– namely
Robert de MowbrayRobert de Mowbray , a Norman, was Earl of Northumbria from 1086, until 1095, when he was deposed for rebelling against William Rufus, King of England. He was the son of Roger de Mowbray and nephew of Geoffrey de Montbray, bishop of Coutances...
.
Early history
In and around Melton, there are 28 scheduled ancient monuments, around 705 buildings listed as having special architectural or historical interest, 16 sites of special scientific interest, and several deserted village sites.
There is industrial archaeology including the
Grantham CanalThe Grantham Canal is a canal that runs for 33 miles from Grantham, falling through 18 locks to West Bridgford where it joins the River Trent. It was built primarily to allow for the transportation of coal to Grantham. It opened in 1797, and its profitability steadily increased until 1841...
and the remains of the
Melton Mowbray NavigationThe Melton Mowbray Navigation was formed when the River Wreake in Leicestershire, England, was made navigable upstream from its junction with the River Soar and the Leicester Navigation near Syston to Melton Mowbray, opening in 1797...
. Windmill sites, ironstone working and smelting archaeological evidence suggest that Melton borough was densely populated in Bronze and Iron Ages. Many small village communities existed and strategic points at
Burrough HillBurrough Hill is an Iron Age hillfort in Burrough on the Hill, south of Melton Mowbray in the English county of Leicestershire. Situated on a promontory about above sea level, the site commands views over the surrounding countryside for miles around. There has been human activity in the area...
and
BelvoirBelvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
were fortified. There is also evidence to suggest that the site of Melton Mowbray in the Wreake Valley was inhabited before Roman occupation (43A.D).
Roman times
In Roman times, due to the close proximity of the
Fosse WayThe Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
and other important Roman roads, military centres were set up at Leicester and Lincoln; and intermediate camps were also established, for example, Six Hills on the Fosse Way. Other Roman track ways in the locality passed north of Melton along the top of the vale of Belvoir scarp; they linked
Market HarboroughMarket Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
to Belvoir, and linked the Fosse Way to
Oakham-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...
and
StamfordStamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
.
Danelaw
Evidence of settlement throughout Saxon and
DanelawThe Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
period (8th/9th centuries) is reflected in many place names.
Along the Wreake Valley, the Danish suffix "by" is common, as is evident in Asfordby, Dalby, Frisby, Hoby, Rearsby and Gaddesby. In addition, a cemetery of 50–60 graves, of Pagan Saxon origin, was found in Melton Mowbray. Although most villages and their churches, had origins before the Norman Conquest of 1066, stone crosses at Asfordby and Sproxton churches and Anglo-Saxon cemeteries as found at Goadby Marwood, Sysonby and Stapleford, are certainly pre-Conquest.
Melton Mowbray itself had six recorded crosses the construction of which spanned several centuries: (i) Kettleby Cross, (close to the present Total filling station near the junction of Dalby Road to the Leicester Road), (ii) Sheep Cross, on what was Spital End, (now Nottingham Street/Park Road Junction, (iii) Corn Cross at the Swine Lane/Spittle End junction, (reconstructed and reinstated on the Nottingham St/High St junction in 1996 as a memorial to the
Royal Army Veterinary CorpsThe Royal Army Veterinary Corps is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. It is a small but technically competent corps forming part of the Army Medical Services...
), (iv) Butter Cross or High Cross, at the west end of Beast Market,(again reconstructed from partial remains of the original Saxon cross in 1986/7 in the Market Place), (v) Sage Cross, at the East end of the Beast Market close to Salt gate,(on Sherrard Street opposite Sage Cross Street), and (vi) Thorpe Cross at the end of Saltgate (near the junction of Thorps Road and Saxby Road). All the original crosses were removed or destroyed during the reformation and other periods of iconoclasm or simply to make room for traffic or other development.
Post conquest
The effects of the Norman conquest are recorded in the 1086
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. This document indicates that settlements at
Long ClawsonLong Clawson is a small village in Leicestershire, England.There is some debate about the origin of the village's name; one theory is that there were once two villages named Clawson and Claxton, which grew together and became Long Clawson...
and
BottesfordThis page is about the English village of Bottesford near Grantham. For the Bottesford near Scunthorpe, see Bottesford, LincolnshireBottesford is a village and civil parish within the Melton district of Leicestershire, England....
were of noteworthy size; and that Melton Mowbray was a thriving market town of some 200 inhabitants, with weekly markets, two water mills and two priests. The water mills, still in use up to the 18th century, are remembered by the present names of Beckmill Court and Mill Street.
Melton Mowbray has been a market town for over 1,000 years. Recorded as Leicestershire's only market in the 1086 Domesday Survey, it is the third oldest market in England. Tuesday has been market day ever since royal approval was given in 1324. The market was established with tolls before 1077.
Legacies from the Medieval period include consolidation of village and market town patterns; in Melton Mowbray, Bottesford, Wymondham, and Waltham-on-the-Wolds. The latter had a market in medieval times that continued until 1921, and an annual fair of horses and cattle. Many buildings in Melton Market Place, Nottingham Street, Church Lane, King Street and Sherrard Street have ancient foundations. Alterations to number 16 Church Street revealed a medieval circular stone wall subjected to considerable heat. This is probably the `Manor Oven' mentioned in 13th century documents. Surveys of 5 King Street show it to be part of an early medieval open-halled house. It may be part of the castle or fortified Manor of the Mowbrays, which existed in the 14th century.
King Richard and King John visited the town and may have stayed at an earlier castle. In 1549 following the Dissolution of the chantries, monasteries and religious guilds, church plate was sold and land purchased for the town. Resulting rents were used to maintain Melton School; first recorded in 1347 and one of the oldest educational establishments in Britain. Funds were also used to maintain roads, bridges and to repair the church clock.
Civil War
During the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Melton was a
Roundhead"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
garrison commanded by a Colonel Rossiter. Two battles were fought in the town: in November 1643, Royalists caught the garrison unaware and carried away prisoners and booty; in February 1645, Sir
Marmaduke LangdaleSir Marmaduke Langdale was a Royalist commander in the English Civil War.He married Lenox , daughter of Sir John Rodes of Barlborough, Derbyshire, and his third wife Catherine, daughter of Marmaduke Constable of Holderness on 12 September 1626, at St Michael-le-Belfry in York...
, commanding a Royalist force of 1,500 men, inflicted severe losses on the Roundheads. Around 300 men were said to have been killed. According to legend a hillside where the battle was thought to have been fought was ankle deep in blood, hence the name 'Ankle Hill'. However, this name is mentioned in documents pre-dating the Civil War. Furthermore, in the past, the names of Dalby Road and Ankle Hill have been switched around, thus confusing the true site of the battle.
Local notable families seem to have had divided loyalties, although the War ended with great rejoicings outside the "Limes" in Sherrard Street, home of Sir Henry Hudson. His father, Robert Hudson founded the "Maison Dieu" almshouses opposite the Church in 1640, which complement the stone built "Anne of Cleves House" opposite. This was built in 1384 and housed chantry priests until the Dissolution. It was then included in the estates of
Anne of ClevesAnne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
by
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, as a divorce settlement in the 16th century, although there is local debate about whether she ever stayed there or not. Anne of Cleves' house is now a public house which is owned by
Everards BreweryEverards is an independent British regional brewery founded in Leicester in 1849 by William Everard and Thomas Hull.It produces cask ales and owns over 160 tenanted pubs, mainly around the Leicestershire area and has won 'The Publican Pub Company of the Year Award' three times.The company is one...
, a Leicester-based brewery.
RAF Melton Mowbray
Between 1942 and 1964,
RAF Melton Mowbray was situated to the south of the village, towards
Great Dalbythumb|left|Great Dalby parish church of St. SwithunGreat Dalby is a small village 3 miles south of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.It has a population of between 300-400 and the parish church of St. Swithun was built during the 14th century....
. The
Class A airfieldClass A airfields were military installations originally built for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. Several were transferred to the U.S...
was originally intended for aircraft maintenance but was taken over by Transport Command. Many types of aircraft were flown from the airfiled, including Spitfire, Mosquito, Corsair, Vengeance, Hellcat, Dakota and Halifax aircraft, plus Horsa and Hadrian gliders.
Melton Mowbray served as a
ThorProject Emily was the deployment of American-built PGM-17 Thor Intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1963....
Strategic missile site between 1958 and 1963, when
254(SM) SquadronNo. 254 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was reformed in 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile squadrons associated with Project Emily. The squadron was equipped with three Thor Intermediate range ballistic missiles...
operated a flight of three missiles from the base.
The airfield now houses a small industrial estate and much of the original infrastructure has survived. The airfield regularly hosts large "bank holiday" markets.
Pork pies and Stilton cheese
Stilton cheese originated near Melton Mowbray, and is still made in the town today. Stilton cheese takes its name from the village of
StiltonStilton is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, and within the historic county boundary of Huntingdonshire.-Geography:Stilton lies south of the city of Peterborough. It lies on the old Great North Road, from London and was an important coaching stop in the days before motorised transport. It...
, 80 miles north of London, where it was marketed to travellers on the Great North Road, though no Stilton was ever made there.
Although supermarkets routinely carry
pork pieA pork pie is a traditional British meat pie. It consists of roughly chopped pork and pork jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry . It is normally eaten cold as a snack or as part of a meal.-Types:...
s with the label "Melton Mowbray", there is in fact a specific "hand-raising" process and recipe which marks a pie as a Melton Mowbray pork pie. In the centre of Melton, on Nottingham Street, there is
Dickinsons & MorrisSamworth Brothers are a Leicestershire-based food manufacturer, the owner of Cornish pasty maker Ginsters, and the largest maker of certified Melton Mowbray pork pies. It is listed at number four in The Times Top Track 250.-History:...
's "ye olde pork pie shoppe," where one can buy true Melton pork pies. However these pork pies are not made in the shop, as some think, they are now made in a factory outside of town. On 4 April 2008 the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
awarded the Melton Mowbray pork pie Protected Geographical Indication status, following a long-standing application made by the
Melton Mowbray Pork Pie AssociationThe Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association is a group of pork pie manufacturers in the Melton Mowbray area of England, UK. The association was set up in 1998 with the aim of helping to protect the Melton Mowbray pork pie recipe.-Product protection under the EU:...
. As a result of this ruling only pies made within a designated zone around Melton, and using uncured pork, are allowed to carry the Melton Mowbray name on their packaging.
"Painting the town red"
The Fox Hunting crowd also left their mark on the town in a different way, through their "high jinks".
The phrase
painting the town red is said to have originated in Melton back in 1837. Out celebrating a successful hunt, the
Marquess of WaterfordHenry de La Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford KP , styled Lord Henry Beresford before 1824 and Earl of Tyrone between 1824 and 1826, was an Irish peer....
and his hunting party found several tins of red paint which they daubed liberally on to the buildings of the High Street, some traces of which can still be seen on doors of older buildings in the town.
There is also a picture labelled "A Spree at Melton Mowbray." and subtitled "or doing the Thing in a Sporting-like manner". It is dated 1837, the same date as the Marquess' event. It appears to take place on what is now called Leicester Street and depicts men in hunting clothes climbing on Swan Porch (a building in the market place), fighting and a gentleman apparently being robbed. There is no mention of any red paint. Of course this sort of thing may have been common in Melton Mowbray at this time and there is no evidence that the picture depicts the same events. What is certain is that the physical evidence appears to support the town was painted red. However this does not necessarily mean that the phrase came from the event, and according to the
Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase originated in the United States in the late nineteenth century.
The Melton Mowbray event was recorded as happening in the early hours of 6 April 1837. It was later recorded in the London Examiner. Henry Alken's pictures A Spree at Melton Mowbray and Larking at the Grantham Tollgate are said to illustrate the event. The events were depicted in a play called
The Meltonians at The
Theatre Royal, Drury LaneThe Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
in 1838.
Transcript https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6k3mPatxKZ2ODFmODI0YjctMTJmOS00Njg5LWI1YmMtOTgzOTgzYzgzNmMz&hl=en_US
Melton cloth
Melton Mowbray is home to Melton cloth (first mentioned in 1823), which is the familiar tight-woven
woolWool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
len cloth which is heavily milled, and a
napPrimarily, nap is the raised surface on certain kinds of cloth, such as velvet. Nap can refer additionally to other surfaces that look like the surface of a napped cloth, such as the surface of a felt or beaver hat....
raised so as to form a short, dense, non-lustrous
pileIn textiles, pile is the raised surface or nap of a fabric, which is made of upright loops or strands of yarn. Examples of pile textiles are carpets, corduroy, velvet, plush, and Turkish towels.. The word is derived from Latin pilus for "hair"...
. Sailors'
pea coatA pea coat is an outer coat, generally of a navy-colored heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of American and European navies. Pea coats are characterized by broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden or metal buttons, and vertical or slash pockets...
s are traditionally made of Melton cloth, the universal workmans' donkey jackets of Britain and
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in North America, loggers' "cruising jackets" and
MackinawA mackinaw is a heavy dense water-repellent woolen cloth, such as Melton cloth. It was used to make a short coat of the same name, sometimes with a doubled shoulder. Mackinaw jackets were invented by Métis women in 1811, when John Askin, an early trader on the upper Great Lakes, asked them to...
s.
Governance
Melton shares a Member of Parliament (currently
Alan DuncanAlan James Carter Duncan is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, and a Minister of State in the Department for International Development....
from the
ConservativesThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
) with
RutlandRutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
, which together form the appropriately named "Rutland and Melton" parliamentary constituency.
Melton Mowbray Town Estate
Melton Mowbray is home to a rare example of early town government. The
Melton Mowbray Town Estate was founded at the time of the Reformation, in 1549, when two townsfolk sold gold sequestered from the church and bought land to be held in trust for all inhabitants. The Town Estate provided early forms of education, the first street lighting, and today owns and operates the town's parks and sportsgrounds, and the town's market.
The Town Estate is not a public body but a charitable trust run by 14 feoffees (trustees). Melton Town Estate has been criticised for a lack of openness and in 2009, was the subject of a BBC
Inside Out programme. The feoffees' decision not to participate in the programme, according to the
Charity CommissionThe Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
, "left the impression that they were not open about their business and did not feel accountable to the public for their actions".
Demography
Melton Mowbray had only 1766 inhabitants in 1801, but in 1831 they had increased to 3327, in 1841 to 3740, in 1851 to 4434, and in 1861 to 4436.
The
Melton Mowbray official web site's About page lists the current (2009) population of the town as 25,276, and that of Melton Borough as 46,861.
Economy
Prior to 1960, the Production Engineering Research Association of Great Britain (
PERA) came to the town on Nottingham Road and employed around four hundred people in supporting research and development in industry. It is also home to the
East Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service.
In 2000, the East Midlands Regional Assembly (
EMRA) was based in a building also on Nottingham Road.
PetfoodsPedigree Petfoods is a subsidiary of the american group Mars, Incorporated specializing in pet food, with factories in Great Britain at Melton Mowbray, Peterborough and Birstall, Leeds; and offices at Waltham-on-the-Wolds.-Manchester:...
came to the town in 1951 as Chappie Ltd, employing at its peak over two thousand people, it now employs around one thousand. It changed its name Petfoods in 1957, Pedigree Petfoods in 1972 and most recently Masterfoods in January 2002. At Melton, it makes four million items of petfood every day, which is less than it used to.
Masterfoods now have their UK headquarters close to Melton at Waltham-on-the-Wolds.
Entertainment and Facilities
Melton Carnegie MuseumThe Melton Carnegie Museum is a museum in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, which documents the history of the market town. It is managed by Leicestershire County Council and supported by Melton Borough Council and is Heritage Lottery Funded....
is based in Melton Mowbray. The museum has recently been refurbished and visitors can expect a "hands on", audio visual family orientated experience showing the history and importance of the town. Included are sounds from the ages, a history of the hunt, a preserved phone box, a buried (underfoot and perspex)Saxon and shrapnel from WWII.
Melton Mowbray is renowned for its music-making. The Melton Band (an orthodox British-style brass band) can trace its directors back to 1856; the colourful Melton Mowbray Tin Soldiers Marching Band was formed in 1936; and Happy Jazz – a dixieland jazz band – has been performing in the town since 1996.
There are several pubs in Melton some of which, like the Generous Britain (affectionately known as the Jenny B), continue to encourage new live music and the Noels Arms regularly have experienced local bands playing. There are several other pubs in Melton surviving the latest recession. One is one of the eldest establishments in the area, The Anne of Cleves, this ancient building on Burton Street close to St Mary's church has features dating from the early 14th century. Originally home to Chantry Monks the building was taken during the dissolution and given, by Henry VIII to Anne of Cleves as part of the divorce settlement.
The town boasts an unusual cinema, The Regal. Situated in King Street in the centre of the town, the cinema is an example of a family run picture house which remains in business despite the rise of the huge "Showcase" groups, providing up to date shows with a personal touch. The building itself is a remarkably preserved purpose built theatre complete with period interior design, sumptuous colours with its winding staircases and fancy plasterwork.
Concerts have been played in the carousel bandstand in Melton Mowbray Park since August 1909. There is still a series of concerts on summer Sundays.
Melton has its own radio station 103 The Eye which broadcasts to Melton Borough and the Vale of Belvoir, including part of Rushcliffe Borough, on 103 FM as well as worldwide on the internet via its website www.103theeye.co.uk When the station launched in 2005 it was the first in the UK to go on the air under the new tier of community radio licensed by the broadcasting regulator OFCOM. The station has since won a number of awards for its work. It is named after the River Eye.
The historic
Stapleford Miniature RailwayStapleford Miniature Railway is a historic steam locomotive-hauled gauge railway at Stapleford Park, Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England....
built in 1958 is a private steam hauled passenger railway at Stapleford Park around three miles to the east of Melton Mowbray. Famous for its fleet of steam locos and scenic location, it attracts thousands of visitors and tourists during occasional summer openings for charity. It is of the same 10/4" gauge as the Town Estates small railway that runs in an oval around play close park in Melton, albeit a lot longer.
Also half a mile to the north east of Melton is the theme park
"Twin Lakes"Twinlakes is a theme park located 0.5 miles north-east of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England which was opened in September 2003, eleven months after the site was purchased. The park is family friendly with a large proportion of its rides being for young children in comparison with other...
. A locally popular venue this park provides a whole host of family and children's attractions and rides.
Melton has a substantial swimming pool offering a range of activities for Meltonians. There is a well equipped gym on the premises. The library in Wilton Road is close to the town centre and adjacent is Melton Theatre, part of
Brooksby Melton CollegeBrooksby Melton College is a further education college based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. The college has three campuses: two in Melton Mowbray itself and a third about west of Melton in the village of Brooksby.-External links:*...
, on the junction with Asfordby Road. The theatre first opened in 1976, has recently been refurbished and continues to provide a wide variety of entertainment. In the past few years, it has produced remarkable ballet, opera, and dramatic plays of many types, and provided a venue for many top class bands and acts, pantomime and art displays. It has ample parking, is fully licensed and is a most pleasant place to visit.
There is a fire station, a police station, and a hospital, with St Mary's maternity centre, The War Memorial Hospital off Ankle Hill, originally Wyndham Lodge donated to the town in 1920 by Col Richard Dalgleish, has, in 2010, been sold to help fund St Mary's hospital.
Education
The secondary schools in Melton are
Long Field SchoolLong Field School is a comprehensive school in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire that takes children from year 7 to year 11. It was previously a High School as designated within the Leicestershire Plan...
and John Ferneley College, which take students aged 11 to 16, and the MV16 Centre (Melton Vale Post 16 Centre) for Sixth Formers. The town has several primary schools - Brownlow, Grove, St Francis, St Mary's, Sherard and Swallowdale - while the Birchwood Special School caters for young people of primary and secondary school age. Melton's largest school used to be the
King Edward VIIKing Edward VII School was an LEA maintained 11-19 comprehensive secondary school in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire in the United Kingdom which closed in 2011. The school is situated on a green field site on the edge of Melton Mowbray. Formerly, the school was a public grammar school...
which at one time had around 2,000 pupils aged between 11 and 19. It was founded as a Grammar School in 1910, became comprehensive in the late 1960s and closed recently after reaching its centenary.
Brooksby Melton CollegeBrooksby Melton College is a further education college based in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. The college has three campuses: two in Melton Mowbray itself and a third about west of Melton in the village of Brooksby.-External links:*...
which provides vocational, further and higher education in a wide range of subjects has a campus on Asfordby Road in Melton plus a smaller annexe on King Street. These facilities complement those on the college's Brooksby campus six miles out of the town.
Transport
Melton railway stationMelton Mowbray railway station serves the town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and operated by East Midlands Trains train operating company ....
is on the
lineThe Birmingham to Peterborough Line is a cross-country railway line in the United Kingdom, linking Birmingham to Peterborough, via Nuneaton and Leicester....
from
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Stansted Airport via
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
,
PeterboroughPeterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
and
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. Trains run hourly in either direction. The service is supplemented with additional trains in the peak on route to/from
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
,
NorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and
SleafordSleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...
. The station is managed by
East Midlands TrainsEast Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
although most services are operated by
CrossCountryCrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
. CrossCountry intend to enhance their service gradually to half-hourly on this route. Since early 2009
East Midlands TrainsEast Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
have offered a single daily journey from Melton Mowbray to
London St PancrasSt Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
and return. This is notable for being the first regular passenger service to cross the spectacular and historic Welland Viaduct since 1966. In 2010, the company introduced a single daily journey to
DerbyDerby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
and return.
Bus services are operated by
Arriva LeicesterArriva Leicester is a bus company operating in Leicester and Leicestershire. It is part of Arriva Midlands.-History:Arriva Leicester was formed in 1981, as Midland Red East with the breakup of the old Midland Red bus company, and then became known as Midland Fox in 1984.In September 1996 the...
,
Paul James CoachesPaul James Coaches was an English public transport company, based in Hugglescote, Leicestershire.-History:On 4 January 2007, Paul James Coaches was purchased by Veolia Transport.. On Monday 3 October 2011 the Melton Mowbray depot and services passed to Centrebus, Centrebus also acquired the depots...
and
CentrebusCentrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
, services call at Melton Mowbray, providing access to
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
,
NottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
,
Oakham-Oakham's horseshoes:Traditionally, members of royalty and peers of the realm who visited or passed through the town had to pay a forfeit in the form of a horseshoe...
and other regional centres as well as many of the surrounding villages.
Sport
Speedway racing was staged at the Greyhound Stadium in Melton Mowbray in 1949. The cinder track was laid before and lifted after each meeting. The events, staged on a Sunday, fell foul of the
Lord's Day Observance SocietyDay One Christian Ministries is a Christian organisation based in the United Kingdom that lobbies for no work on Sunday, the day that many Christians celebrate as the Sabbath, a day of rest — a position based on the fourth of the Ten Commandments.Originally founded in 1831 as the Lord's Day...
for a short time. The town is also home to one rugby club aptly named Melton Rugby club who compete in
Midlands 3 East (North)Midlands Division - Midlands 3 East is an English Rugby Union League. The league is the 8th tier of league competition in England.Midlands 3 East is made up of teams from around the East Midlands of England who play home and away matches throughout a winter season...
. The town has its own Sunday Football League in which some 15 teams compete every Sunday. Asfordby Hill is home to Holwell Sports who play in the Leicestershire Senior League premier division.
Arts/music
- Louise Doughty
Louise Doughty is an English novelist, playwright and journalist from a Romany background. Doughty is an alumna of the University of East Anglia's Creative Writing Course....
(born 1963) - novelist and broadcaster
- John Ferneley
John E. Ferneley , was an English painter who specialised in portraying sporting horses and hunting scenes...
(1782–1860) – artist
- Francis Grant
Sir Francis Grant, RA , was a Scottish portrait painter, who painted Queen Victoria and many distinguished British aristocratic and political figures of the day...
(1803-1878) - artist
- Alfie Jackson – singer and guitarist, The Holloways
The Holloways are a four-piece indie-rock band from North London.-Formation:David Jackson and Bryn Fowler established the beginnings of the band, finding Rob Skipper at a local live music venue. They would meet later to jam together, playing in future drummer Dave Danger's room...
- Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works...
(1895–1967) – conductor
Sports
- Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson is a footballer playing for Nottingham Forest. He plays primarily as a winger and can operate on either flank.He has been capped by England at Under-19 level.- Early career :...
(born 1988) – League footballer, Nottingham Forest
- Len Boyd
Leonard Arthur Miller "Len" Boyd was an English professional footballer who played 333 games in the Football League in the 1940s and 1950s. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Boyd signed for Second Division club Plymouth Argyle, where he spent two seasons playing as an...
(1923-2008) - League footballer
- Stuart Broad
Stuart Christopher John Broad is a cricketer who plays Test and One Day International cricket for England and is currently the captain of their Twenty20 team...
– test cricketer
- Paul Butlin
Paul Butlin is an English heavyweight boxer. He was born in Oakham, England and resides in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire....
(1976) - heavyweight boxer
- Craig Dalrymple
Craig Dalrymple is a former English soccer player and is currently the Interim Head Coach of Vancouver Whitecaps Residency.-Career:Craig Dalrymple was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England. Darylmple bagan his career was a Midfielder with Ipswich Towns academy...
(born 1976) - League footballer
- Craig Dolby
Craig Dolby is an English racing driver. He has raced in Formula Renault series around the world for most of his career, winning the Formula Renault 1.6 Belgium championship in 2006....
(born 1988) – racing driver
- Arthur Fitton
George Arthur Fitton was an English footballer and cricketer. His regular position was as a forward. He was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire...
(1902-1984) - League footballer
- Reuben Jones
Reuben Jones was an Olympic equestrian rider who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.-Equestrian career:Jones was part of the British team that travelled to Tokyo in 1964 to compete in team eventing...
(1932-1990) - Olympian equestrian sportsman
- Robert Turner King (1824-1884) - county cricketer
- Bob Lee
Bob Lee was an English footballer who played for Sunderland as a forward.-Club career:He began his career with Leicester City in 1971 and made 63 league appearances with 17 goals. While at Leicster he had a short loan spell with Doncaster Rovers from 1974 to 1975 making 14 appearances with four...
(born 1953) - League footballer
- Dixie McNeil
Dixie McNeil is a former English footballer and manager, who played as a striker.As a schoolboy, McNeil signed for his local club Leicester City F.C. after playing for local club Holwell Works. However he did not fit into the First Division side's plans and was released. He made his football...
(born 1947) - League footballer and manager
- Tim Munton
Timothy Alan Munton was an English cricketer. He played two Test matches for England in 1992, but struggled to make an impression and was never selected again...
(born 1965) - Test cricketer
- James Tebbs
James T. Tebbs was an English professional footballer who made 37 appearances in the Football League playing for Loughborough and Small Heath. He played as an outside left.Tebbs was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire...
(1874-post 1901) - League footballer
- Alison Williamson
Alison Jane Williamson is an athlete from Great Britain. She competes in archery.Williamson, who is a member of the Long Mynd Archers, has represented Great Britain at five Olympic Games, from 1992-2008....
(born 1971) – Olympic archer
- Eliot Zborowski
William Eliot Morris Zborowski, Count de Montsaulvain was a racing driver.-Biography:Born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, he was the son of Martin Zborowski and Emma Morris. In 1880 he married a wealthy American heiress, born Margaret Laura Astor Carey , a granddaughter of William Backhouse Astor,...
(1858-1903) - car racing driver
Stage/screen
- Charlie Bruce
Charlotte "Charlie" Bruce , is a British jazz dancer from Cropston, Leicestershire, who won the first series of So You Think You Can Dance . She trained in dance at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and both dance and musical theatre at Laine Theatre Arts, a performing arts college in...
(born 1990) - jazz dancer
- Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
(1941–1989) – comedian, Monty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
- William Furness
William Anthony Furness, 2nd Viscount Furness , was a British peer.Furness was born in Melton Mowbray, England, the only child of Marmaduke Furness, 1st Viscount Furness, and his second wife, Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness , an American socialite...
- theatre producer and peer
- Peter Meineck
Peter Meineck is the Artistic Director and founder of Aquila Theatre. Peter is also a clinical professor of Classics at New York University...
(born 1967) - founder director of Aquila TheatreThe Aquila Theatre was founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck and has been based in New York City since 1999. Aquila's mission is to bring the greatest theatrical works to the greatest number and presents a regular season of plays in New York and at international festivals. Education...
- Adrian Scarborough
Adrian Philip Scarborough is an English character actor and won an Olivier award for best actor in a supporting role in 2011.Scarborough was born in Melton Mowbray, and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, winning the Chesterton Award for Best Actor.In 1993, he was nominated for the Ian...
(born 1968) – actor, Gavin & StaceyGavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
and PsychovillePsychoville is an award-winning British dark comedy television serial written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French and Jason Tompkins in...
- Clive Standen
Clive Standen is an English actor best known for playing Sir Gawain in the Starz series Camelot as well as 'Archer', the brother of Robin Hood in the BBC TV series Robin Hood and Private Carl Harris in the British sci-fi show Doctor Who.-Acting:Standen's first experience of stunts, horse...
(born 1981) - actor
- Mark Wingett
Mark Wingett , is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of Jim Carver in the ITV1 police procedural The Bill.-Career:...
(born 1961) - actor, Jim Carver in The BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
Other
- Tom Brake
Thomas Anthony Brake, known as Tom Brake, British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington.-Early life:Tom Brake was born in Melton Mowbray, moving to France when he was eight...
(born 1962) – member of Parliament
- Richard Henry Burton
Richard Henry Burton VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
(1923-1993) - VCThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
winner in the Second World War
- John Gretton
John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton PC CBE , was a British businessman and Conservative politician. Gretton won two gold medals in the 1900 Olympic Games.-Biography:...
(1867-1947) - politician, businessman and Olympic sailor
- John Henley
John Henley , English clergyman, commonly known as 'Orator Henley', and one of the first entertainers and a precursor to the talk show hosts of today.The son of a vicar, John Henley was born in Melton Mowbray...
(1692–1756) - preacher
- William Levett
The Very Rev. Dr. William Levett was the Oxford-educated personal chaplain to Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, whom he accompanied into exile in France, then became the rector of two parishes, and subsequently Principal of Magdalen Hall, Oxford and the Dean of Bristol.Levett was born in...
(c. 1643-1694) - scholar and cleric
- Arthur Wakerley
Arthur Wakerley was a British architect. Born in Melton Mowbray, he was articled to James Bird. He was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and sometime President of the Leicester Society of Architects...
(1862-1932) - architect
See also
- Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association
The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association is a group of pork pie manufacturers in the Melton Mowbray area of England, UK. The association was set up in 1998 with the aim of helping to protect the Melton Mowbray pork pie recipe.-Product protection under the EU:...
- Melton Mowbray, Tasmania of Australia.
- Melton, Victoria
Melton is an outer-suburban city of Melbourne Victoria, Australia located 35 km east from Melbourne's central business district. It is the administrative centre for the Shire of Melton Local Government Area. At the 2006 Census, the Shire of Melton had a population of 35,490...
of Australia.
- Melton Mowbray Earthquake of 28 October 2001
External links