The Moat
49 views · Published 31 December 2018 · 4:38 · Indexed 31 October 2026
Channel: Ian P · 2018 · Entertainment
The Moat There is no archaeological evidence, not any documents to show when the moat was dug. It is one of about 130 moats in Leicestershire dug between the late 13th century and the early 15th century. The small scale excavations of the moat island in the 1960's uncovered the remains of collapsed mud walls in a roughly rectangular plan, but there was no sign of a substantial building. Pottery fragments near the surface were dated to the 13th and 14th centuries. Some of the moats around manor houses were dug as protection against thieves and to show the importance of the owner. Others protected food sources like rabbit warrens, or orchards or were used as fishponds. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hamlet of Little Glenn There are records showing that there were 11 householders in the hamlet in 1327 and 14 in 1664. By the 18th Century there were three farms (including the Manor) and they were possibly providing some of the wool for the looms of the framework knitters in Wigston and other villages. The 1802 census recorded a population of 128 and this had risen to 160 by 1831. In the early 20th century only a few houses were left including the Manor House and Glen Ford Grange Farm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The post in the centre of the island is said to have been put up by Joseph Knight who occupied the manor house in the 1860's but nobody knows why it is there. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Manor Some documents in Latin in 1240 and 1279 refer to the area around here as the manor (a medieval estate) of Glen Parva. The 15th century manor house forms the front part of the present building which was extended in both the 19th and 20th centuries. It is recorded in 1220 that a small chapel stood nearby. A priest from Aylestone church would have come out and taken the services, probably on the site of what is now Glen Ford Grange. - all information taken from https://www.glenparvaparishcouncil.org.uk/moat-land-and-alisons-acre1.html
