Burbage, Leicestershire

Burbage is a parish in Leicestershire in the United Kingdom. It is also a southern suburb on the town of Hinckley. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001 the parish had a population of 14,324.

History

Leofric, Earl of Mercia, gave the village of Burbage to Coventry Abbey in 1043. At that time it was valued at two shillings. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, its value had risen to £4. There were 1¼ hides of land (around convert|150|acre|km2) with 2 ploughs. Twenty villagers held two smallholdings, with two slaves and eight ploughs. Burbage also had a meadow, measuring a furlong in length and width (about 40,500 square metres). The village also owned woodland half a league by four furlongs (2.2 square kilometres).

In 1564 the diocesan returns show a population of 57 families within Burbage and 6 at Sketchley.Burbage, for many centuries a small farming community, remained very thinly populated. In the census of 1801 there were 1098 inhabitants. It was not until the twentieth century that the population exceeded 2000.

During the English Civil War the town's proximity to Hinckley drew it to the attention of raiding parties from the local parliamentary garrisons in north Warwickshire. A list of claims submitted by the constables of Burbage and Sketchley to the Warwickshire county committee, in June, 1646, reveals that Captain Flower’s troop from the Coventry garrison took twenty strikes of provinder valued at £1, sent off to Stoney Stanton, and availed themselves of free quarter worth £18.10. Captain Willington's cornet from the Tamworth garrison took a mare, saddle and bridle from John Watkin, while Captain Willington's soldiers took a horse worth £5 from Thomas Bodington.(SP28/161)

By 1953, the population had risen to 3,983, and by 1958 there were more than 5,000 on the electoral roll; this rapid growth was largely due to the expansion of Sketchley Hill housing estates.

Burbage Today

Today Burbage is effectively a suburb of the larger urban area of Hinckley and is part of Hinckley and Bosworth borough. It is considered by some to be a commuter town for large parts of Leicestershire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. This is probably due to the fact it is less than a mile from the M69 (which links that M6 to the M1) and the A5. The suburb has its own small library ran by the county council, one infant school, two Scout Groups including 1st Britannia Scout Group (which includes Beaver Scout, Cub Scout, Scout and Explorer Scout sections) on Britannia Fields, two junior schools and a secondary school. There is a farmers market every first Saturday of the month running 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. Also they have a football team called Hinckley United (also known locally as the knitters).

Just a mile away from the suburb is Burbage Common and Woods. This is a country park ran by the borough council. Its history as a grazing area dates back to at least the Domesday Book of 1086. It is now a convert|200|acre|km2|sing=on park popular with, amongst others, birdwatchers, walkers and horseriders. It is free to enter and is open dawn to dusk every year with its own dedicated park ranger. The nearest railway station to the suburb is Hinckley which is about convert|1.5|mi|km from Burbage centre.

External links

*gbmapping|SP445925
* [http://1stbritanniascoutgroup.org/hinckleyhistory An article about the history of Burbage/Hinckley area ]
* [http://www.burbagemethodist.org.uk Burbage Methodist Church - Windsor Street, Burbage]
* [http://1stbritanniascoutgroup.org/aroundburbage An interactive map showing pictures around Burbage ]
* [http://www.burbageheritage.org/ Burbage Heritage and History group]
* [http://www.1stbritanniascoutgroup.org Burbage Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers]
* [http://www.hinckleyandbosworthonline.org.uk/pp/business/bronze.asp?id=27904 Some info on Burbage Common from the borough council website]