Welcome to the Parish of Appleby Magna
New for 2013: Appleby Field Names and their Meanings
Revised editions of Appleby In Focus Chapter 6 and Chapter 7: The Origins of Church and Manor
Recently published: A new edition of A Son of the Rectory
Also available: Appleby Parish Registers and Census Transcripts
Notes about researching family history
Our small village in rural Leicestershire has a rich history. We have evidence of occupation dating back to the Iron Age. Roman remains, a mediaeval dwelling still used as a family home, and a school based on an original design by Sir Christopher Wren are just some of our treasures. This site brings together information from a variety of sources, delving into the village's past, from the iron age to the 21st century. All the work represented here has been undertaken by volunteers. Please respect their rights and do not use this material without permission.
New for 2013
In Focus Chapter 7: The Origins of Church and Manor, Part 2: The second part of Richard Dunmore's investigation of Appleby manor at the time of the de Appleby family, with the addition of his translation of the inventory Sir Edmund de Appleby’s belongings from 1375.
In Focus Chapter 6: The Origins of Church and Manor, Part 1: Richard Dunmore has published an updated version of Chapter 6 of his Appleby In Focus series, including numbered references and a more detailed description and map of the parish's pre-enclosure drainage routes - the slades
Appleby Field Names and their Meanings: a new chapter of Appleby in Focus by Richard Dunmore
New for 2012
Memories of Appleby from the 1950's: Allan Condie writes about life in the village in the mid-20th century
Appleby in the News: A fascinating new section with clippings from the Leicester Chronicle and Tamworth Herald, dated between 1877 and 1950, put together by Chris Bee from the British Newspaper Archive
The Black Horse Inn: Len Phillips remembers the Inn in the 1940's when it was run by his aunt and uncle, Floss and Jack Jones
Rogation Day 1946: Anne Silins clarifies the date of pictures of Rogation Day, and remembers the event from her own childhood
The M42 comes to Appleby: not exactly new as this was a picture gallery created for a previous version of this web site which has just been re-published. It shows pictures taken by Richard Dunmore in 1986 when the Motorway was constructed up to the Appleby junction, showing the landscape before and during the work.
Highlights from previous years
Census Transcripts, 1841 to 1911 - Chris has transcribed the census records for these years and presents the data in downloadable pdf files
A Son of the Rectory - The second edition of the most well known and well loved book about Appleby Magna, written by Aubrey Moore and first published in 1982. This new edition features previously unpublished material and an additional chapter by Aubrey's son, Peter Moore. It is with Peter's kind permission that we are able to make this book available and we are very grateful for being allowed to publish the book on the village web site where it is available for everyone who cares about the village.
The Parish Registers - We are very excited to present a searchable version of the Church Registers (recording baptisms, weddings and burials) from St Michael & All Angel's Church, covering the years 1572 to 1906. This has been a major undertaking involving scanning each page of the 1934 transcript and converting it to text. The converted files have been saved in pdf format and can be used to look up family names quickly and easily.
The registers have been provided by the Parochial Church Council and we are very grateful for their permission to publish them here, and of course to Chris for doing all the work.
Added in 2011
- A 16th Century Scandal by Alan Roberts has been enhanced with some beautiful drawings by artist Frey Micklethwait
- Alterations to the Black Horse - an addition to our History Tour of the Village. Allan Condie writes about 20th Century changes to the Black Horse Inn
- In Focus 5: A Planned Village - Richard Dunmore has updated and added significantly to this chapter in the Appleby in Focus series
- Transport in Appleby - a revised version of Allan Condie's article on public transport in Appleby Magna
- Appleby Occupations in 1911 - a summary of the occupation codes on the 1911 census showing the work that Appleby residents did in the early part of the 20th century
- 1911 census - the last available census transcript has now been added giving a full set, at least until the 1921 census is released is 2021!
- 1841 census - the full 1841 transcript has been added (May 2011) to the collection which also includes censuses from 1851 to 1901
- Shopping in Appleby in the Early 1950's - Walter Ellis has written an article to supplement Allan Condie's memories of shopping in Appleby. Walter covers the years just before Allan's
- In Focus 4: Danes, Domesday and a Bequest - an updated and revised version of this chapter in Richard Dunmore's series, with new maps and image (April 2011)
Items Added 2010
- In Focus 3 - The Anglo-Saxon Settlement, by Richard Dunmore: updated and revised
- Duck Lake to Tucker's Holt - The memoirs of Eileen Margaret Lower née Chapman, 1920 to 2004, submitted by Michael Lower.
- 22 Botts Lane - a picture of the previous house that was knocked down in the early 1980s (scroll down the page a little)
- Bishop's Transcript of the Parish Records 1570 - an image of the handwritten transcript and a translation of the records, researched and interpreted by Richard Dunmore
- Shopping in Appleby: Memories of the 1950s from Allan Condie
- Appleby's Public Transport in the 20th Century, an interesting insight into the bus services of the past, contributed by Allan Condie, one of the Rowland family.
- Two poems written by Appleby people about the village, both evoking memories of the past in their different ways. The Changing Face, by Steve Burton, describes beautifully the changes he saw since his childhood. Appleby Magna is an older poem about the village's history and the heritage it left for its residents today.
- Filling the gap in the Parish Registers: the missing entries between 1725 – 1731 have been transcribed from the Bishop's Transcripts of the time
- The Roman Occupation: A revision of chapter 2 of Richard Dunmore's In Focus series, presenting evidence of Roman activity around the village, and the possible routes of Roman roads through the area
- New pictures of Eastgate House added to the Tour of the Village: Top Street, courtesy of Duncan Saunders
- Beginnings: A revised version of chapter 1 of Richard Dunmore's In Focus series, with an additional map showing sites of early human activity around Appleby Magna and Parva
Family History
We have a wealth of information to help people with their family history, including the digitised version of the parish registers and transcripts of the censuses from 1841 to 1911. You can use the Search facility to find a mention of a family name anywhere on the site.
We're sorry that we don't have the resources to respond to individual requests for family history, but we recommend posing questions on the Discussion Board.
If you are interested in the Appleby family name, we suggest you try www.applebydna.org.uk which is an international project, part of the Appleby One-Name Study, which aims to identify the origins of (and possible connections between) the various known Appleby/Applebee/Appelbe family trees.
A good place for further research is the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Record Office, and there is also a Leicestershire and Rutland Family History Society with a web site full of useful tips - see our Links page
Contributions
We welcome new contributions to the site. Please contact us on website @ applebymagna.org.uk
Search the Appleby History Site
Results will be listed in a new window. Please note that if the search result is from the Parish Registers (a pdf file) you will have to search again within the pdf file to find the actual text.