Cold Overton

Cold Overton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Knossington and Cold Overton, in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England. It is close to the border with Rutland, and approximately 3 miles (5 km) west from the market and county town of Oakham, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of the A606 road. In 1931 the parish had a population of 133.[1]

Cold Overton
St John the Baptist Church
Cold Overton is located in Leicestershire
Cold Overton
Cold Overton
Location within Leicestershire
OS grid referenceSK809100
 London85 mi (137 km) S
Civil parish
  • Knossington and Cold Overton
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townOAKHAM
Postcode districtLE15
Dialling code01664
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

History

The village's name means 'farm/settlement on a ridge'. 'Cold' was added because of the village's exposed position.[2]

Cold Overton is listed in the Domesday Book as in the Framland Hundred of Leicestershire, with 12 ploughlands, 17 households, 4 freemen, 8 villagers, 4 smallholders, and a priest. The settlement contained a meadow and woodland, both of 30 acres (0.1 km2). Lordship in 1066 was held by Ulf Fenman, transferred to Fulco in 1086, with Drogo de la Beuvrière as Tenant-in-chief.[3]

In 1870 Cold Overton was a parish in the district of Oakham. The Syston and Peterborough Railway ran close by. The area of the parish was 1,657 acres (6.7 km2) in which were 19 houses and a population of 97.[4]

In 1826 was founded an “Asylum for Female Orphans” which maintained and educated 20 girls. This orphanage had been discontinued by 1877, and in its place was established a free school for local boys and girls. Occupations in 1877 included eight graziers, four of whom were farmers, a further farmer and a market gardener. Also listed was a schoolmistress, the parish rector, and Frewen family occupants of Cold Overton Hall.[5]

On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Knossington.[6]

St John the Baptist Church

The Grade I listed village church is dedicated to John the Baptist. Originating in the 13th century, there were additions during the following two centuries and a restoration in 1889[7][8] Inside the Church the north and south arcades have notable Early English carved capitals, showing people, animals and motifs from nature.[9] There are medieval paintings on the south and east walls; the images include St Catherine holding a wheel, the Assumption of the Virgin, the Nativity, the Funeral of the Virgin, complete with pall-bearers, and St John the Baptist.[10]

Cold Overton Hall

Cold Overton Hall

At the centre of the village is the Grade I listed Cold Overton Hall, a country house of c. 1664 with early 19th-century additions.[11]

References

  1. "Population statistics Cold Overton AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  2. "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. "Cold Overton", Open Domesday. Retrieved 2 December 2014
  4. Wilson, John Marius. Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–72)
  5. White, William (1877); History Gazetteer and Directory of the counties of Leicester and Rutland, pp. 191, 192
  6. "Relationships and changes Cold Overton AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  7. "St John the Baptist, Cold Overton" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Church of England, Retrieved 2 December 2014
  8. Historic England. "Church of St John the Baptist (1075150)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  9. Cantor, Leonard (2000). The Historic Parish Churches of Leicestershire and Rutland. Kairos Press. p. 16. ISBN 9781871344257.
  10. Rosewell, Roger (2008). Medieval Wall Paintings. The Boydell Press. p. 264. ISBN 9781843833680.
  11. Historic England. "Cold Overton Hall and Adjoining Garden Walls, Main Street (1075147)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
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