Conservation Success Story

A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY ! Manse willstay ... Future homes ? The Manse has of Transport been have savedy In responded to a dqramatic the wishes reversal of the of policy,the Department people of Kibworth and have abandoned plans for demolition _and road improvement (reported in the July Chronicle). The been Conservation surprised by Society are the speed jubilant; with which even the the issue most has optimistic members been resolyed have The Manse has been under threat since 1966 when it was part purchased by the D.0.7. Matters came to a head earlier this year when they notified Harborough District Council of their intention to demolish the building. The threat to the survival of this building into its third century caught the imagination of Kibworthians who have seen too many old and historic buildings clea-red away. Many village residents joined long-time campaigners,1ike Roger Tassell (who organised a 250 signature petition in 1978) in the formation of the Kibworth Harcourt Conservation Society in June. 80 individuals wrote letters of objection and the Society lobbied the Parish Council,the District Council,the County Council,and our M.P.,John Farr,all of whom vigourous13y opposed the D.0.7.application and deserve our thanks . The Trustees of the Methodist Chapel have now entered into negotiations for the repurchase of the building. The hope is that it may ultimately be sold, together with adjoining 1and,for private conversion into one or two attractive residential dwellings, It is reassuring to know that there can stil1 be a response at national level _to _local issues if people care enough about HARCOURT CONSERVATION S0C IETY SADDING6TON & SMEETON

MHts a smal world

The cuttivation and training of Bonsai trees has been the hobby of Ted

Nest for some 20 years The art of growing miniature trees in tFaySs Or containers goes back many centuries in Japan and on1y spread to the Western world about the beginning of the 20th century

It is an attempt to emulate nature in miniature and the smallness of the trees enables one to appreciate every part of require no more attention than many people give to their house plants and their shapes and forms are without

Bonsai trees can be purchased from garden centres ,although Ted has reproduced many of his collection himself from seeds and cuttings They include pine,beech ,birch ,0ak , maple and pomegranate . They are approximately 15 high and can take up to 100 years to grow to their maximum of

Set in the foreground of his beautiful garden in Mil1 Lane,Smeeton Nesterby

Ted cares for them diligent1y As 0ne of his books on the subject Says , ach bonsai tree is unique in itself; there is no other tree quite 1ike it Every moment of its 1ife , season by season,can be shared Its crisis,when under attack by hoards of voracious insects ,and its moment s of glory when it radiates health. by Alan Gray l H H

APPRCOVYED CUNTFRAC ICOR Comings and 6oings On the Buses Saddington now has public transport forthe first time in approximately sevenyearS58 .County Travel Service startedrunning eight buses on 0ctober 4,on a a six day to month Saddington trial basis. This service 1inks Leicester , Witgston,Arnesby,Shearsby and Saddington though it got off to a Slow start,there are now more people using these buses and County Travel hope to be able to extend this seryvice Going to see Gigi The Smeeton Ladies Fellowship met on 8 November and raised 528 at the Nhist Drive, This was wel1 attended . 0n 12 November there was a Christmas Miscellany evening,when Beryl1 Tory showed the Ladies Fellowship how to make cfackers and artificial flowers . An outing to the Haymarket Theatre s planned for 3 January to see Gigi Cost is 54 including transport . Some tickets are still1 available. Phone Kibworth 2997 or 2597 for further detalls . Good Buys C the Fayre The Annual Fayre of Christ Church , Smeeton Nesterby was organised by the Parochial church council assisted by the-Ladies Fellowship. The 01d School Hall was fil1led with a variety of stalls,garden produce ,white elephant,cakes,bottles,fancy stall and one fun by the Youth Club. The main draw made 5108 and first Prize of 3 cwt coal was won by Mrs And Goodbye toafriend.... The villages o Saddington and Smeeton Nesterby say goodbye to the Rev Alfred Cooper Smith this month. He has been an honorary curate to the two parishes for three years and has been in sole chsrge since the unfortunate death eof Reverand Robert Gibbons earlier this year. Alfred has mowed in Ketirement to Uppingham with his mife Evelyn. 0rdained 1ate in 1ife after a in the insurance industry,he tells us he wil11 miss his friends in Saddington,Smeeton and Kibworth and says I ve enjoyed every mement of it ~ people have been so wery . An official announcement wil1 be made by the Bishop of Leicester before the end of the month on who is going to C take over as Priest in Charge .Ne A total of 5382 was raised for church hope to bring you full details in funds . next Issue . Jim B Sheila welcome you to J. MILLER The Queets Hlead Saddington J

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PIease send your 1etters to the HEQitor,I Rectory rane 0r to the LXbrary Chronicle Box Dear Editor , Unfortunately,my past experience of the Rec was confirmed yet again thi s Summer: broken bottles, empty beef cans,and dog dirt,in abundance . The equipment was vandalised and in my View,even in repaired condition potentiallty highl1y dangerous ,as it is mounted on solid concrete . Why must the concrete show 1 - 2 above the grass,instead of being buried under a thick layer of sand,as on the continent ? May I beg the 1itter Louts to please take their empties home and dog owners to keep their pets on leads . After all,dogs already foul every single pavement ,jetty,people s front gardens and door steps, all1 fields around the schools and the Kest o the countryside, Let us please have just one small area that is safe and tlean for our children. Heike Bowers,49 Springfield Crescent , Kibworth Beauchamp . Mr E.NW.A, Croxford has been re-~-elected Chairman of the Kibworth Community Centre Management Committee. This 1s his third term of office and he indicated at the Committee s Annual General Meeting that he would stand down in another year to allow a fresh pefSon to bring fresh ideas to help maintain the Centre s successes Other officers were Ke~-elected, Mr s C Sutherltand as Vice-Chairman , Ms BE,S Powell Secretary and Mrs N,Hay Treasuref Mr Martin FLetcher was ele~ cted Chairman of the Social Committee. The threat of closure of al1 centres in the county during the Spring Term 1982 was discussed at length Like those at other centres the Management Committee _are considering wayS of opposing the closure which would _have such a dqrastic effect on the social 1ife of the Kibworth area

The first Craft Market organised by the Kibworth Community Centre was an outstanding success A steady flow of visitors throughout the morning and afternoon brought the total attend~ance to over 800.

The 46 stalls displayed a vafied array of goods made by craftsmen and Woment

Dear Editor , I think it is a good idea to use Kibworth Carnival profits to make both Kibworth Harcourt and Beauchamp more attractive to 1ive in The thing I believe is most important is to clean and restore the Nar Memorial which is important to both Harcourt and Beauchamp with names of the local men who gave their 1ives in both wars A Lee,5 The City Dear Editor 0n behalf of the children of Kibworth Primary would 1ike to echo the plea made l1ast month by the Kibworth Mixed Hockey CLlub to dog owners concerning the fouling by dogs of the Playing fields. This is not a new pfo~ blem to us but it does seem to be increasing of 1ate The area occupied by the socceerf pitches immediately to the west of the school is Leased and maintained for our exclusive use as a Playing field and is in daily use as such,May I appeal to dog owners not to exercise dogs on this area as the fouling we are experiencing is not on1y unpleasant but must be presenting a considerable health hazard to the ch dren Bryan Tunnic1iffe, Headmaster Kibworth C.E Primary School. KibworthCommunity Centre using8 Wood , stones, cltay,wool,fabrics,metal , Cane, leather ,paper and ink and paint5 Kibworth Society Exquisite slides,taken through unpolLuted air,by the 1ight of the mid night sun,i1lustrated Mr Tim Appleton s talk on an expedition Lo Spitzbergen at Ethe Society s October meeting There was once again,a large attendance KIBWORTH COMMUNITY CENTRE New School Hall Smeeton Road, Wednesday December 3rd 7-30pm, MARSHALL ARTS DEMONSTRATION by Fleckney Shotkan Karate Club To be followed by enrolment into a new club to be formed in the Community Centre Display of Karate clothing by Sports and Toys ,Market Harborough. 0rders may be placed . e 0ne of Kibworth s busiest and most prominent personalities is Sheila Leslie-Miller who has 1ived with her mother in Cross Bank House in the High Street for the past 14 years .The tragic death of her RAF pilot husband in 1966 had left her alone to bring up four young children and make a new 1ife for herse1f Sheila was born in Leicester,wWent to the Wyggeston School and then in 1951 to a teacher training college Af ter her marriage she spent some years following her husband s unit to Various localities,including Singapore , and eventually to RAF Lindholme in Yorkshire; and when _Kibworth became her home she settled quick1y into the 1ife of the community 0ne of herf first activities was to play a leading part in the fevivyal of the Tennis Club in Kibworth and the restoration of the existing courts She has been on the Parish Council for the past eight years,is a member of the Womens Institute and a Trustee of the School House . She is a member _of the Kibworth Golf Club and this year achieved a great ambition by taking part in the Ladies 0pen Championship at Nentworth. 0ne of Sheila s interests is gardening and her house and garden take up much of the time left from her position as part-~time domestic science teacher at the Robert Smyth School at Harborough , C

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The old stable clocktower at the end of Gumley village street stands silent witness to the former glory of

Gumley Hall

Sometimes,passing by after a ple asant evening at the Bell1,I glance up the moonlit avenue of trees to the site of the old Hall and wonder what 1ife was like there,over 200 years ago,when the foundations for the house were laid on the orders of Joseph Cradock.

He was the son of a prominent Leicester hosier and dqraper,and inherited a considerable fortune,including an estate at Gumley on the death of his father . Young Joseph resolved to build a grand country house at Gumley and in 1764 the lovely woods near the Church of

St Helen s echoed to the mason s hammer.

It is probable that houses of the o1d village were demolished about that time and the road into Gumley diverted to its present route to prevent the common People passing by the front door of the new Hall. The grounds were 1aid out after the style of the Parc de St Cloud and in the summer months they became a fashionable resort for the gentry of Leicester ,particularl1y when a chalybeate spfing was found in 1789, and the Hall became known for its spa WateIS Gumley Theatricals

Shortl1y after the Hall was completed , Mr Cradock added a small theatre in which he and his associates indulged their talent fer acting.David Garrick of London Theatre fame,was a frequent guest,while another friend of the fami1y was Dr 01iver Goldsmith,the author.

In 1785 Joseph Cradock was public1y thanked for providing .ornamental trees and sending his gardener to assist in planting the. New Nalk in Leicester , which was 1aid out in that yeaf It was said of Mr Cradock that he was respected by people of all1 parties for his worth and idolized by the poor for his benevolence . In 1765 he gave a Silver cup and paten,two flagons and a dish to the Chureh of St Helens ,Gumley . Unfortunately,he was no businessman and expenditure exceeded income. He found it .necessary to sel1 hits 1ibrary which the historian Throsby described in 1788 as wery choice. , . .with Some curious antiquities and a fine collection of charts, prints ,etc . At the age of 82,he was forced to hand over the Hall to his heir,Sir Edmund Cradock-~Hartopp,after which it was let to Lt Colt., Dottin Maycock and Viscount Ingestre (later the Ear1 of | Shrewsbury ) . After many structural alterations , Ln 1869 a new owner,Captain Nhitmore , came into residence. He added a stone portico running the whole length of the ground floor of the central blocK, the red brick stables and clock tower . He also demolished the o1d Rectory which stood against the Hall and built a new one,which is now the residence of Lt Col,. Murray-Smith,North of the Church In August 1868 -Captain Nhitmore wrote to the newly formed Kibworth _Gas GCompany asking them to install gas in Gumley Hall ,but the Directors Iep1ied that this would on1y be done if Captain Nhitmore paid for piping to be laid from Smeeton,which he refused to do Consequentl1y,he set up his own small gasworks ,the main building of which has now been converted into a dwelling called The 01d Engine Gas was howevef Supplied onl1y to Gum ley Hall and not to the villagers When Captain Nhitmore moved to EsSexX , he let.the -Hall to Mr Thomas Keay 1in M.P.for South Leicestershire, Mr James Coats of J & P, Coats Ltd. , and from 1893 to Mrs Emma Belvi11e . In 1897 Gumley Hall _was bought by Mr George Murray-Smith,publisher and Chairman,for some years until his death in 1919,of the Midland Railway Company. The present owner of Gumley Estate is Lt Col. GC. Anthony MurraySmith,1ike all previous owners a keen | supporter of the Hunt and present13y | Joint Master of the Fernie . The beginni Below Stairs A former kitchen maid,Mrs Harper of Hil1lcrest Avenue,Kibworth Beauchamp , has many memories of her eight years in the service of his parents before and during the 1914 Great Nar Miss Hind,as she was in those the front lawn of the Hall1 being ploughed up to plant potatoes in 19143 standing by St Helen s Church when a Zepplin flew over; Ethe great Snowstorm of March 1916.:and how young Maste Tony loved to be allowed to turn the handle of the coffee grinder when hi s nanny brought him into the kKitchen .

A meet of the Fernie Hunt at Gumley Hal1 abag DoTapproved KIBWORTH SCHOOL OF MOTORING Pupils called for in Kibworth,Smeeton, Saddington,Carlton Burton Overy. cKibw6r SaddIery Pet 6upp1ics We have a good .selectio 2 28 of tropical fish. Closed Mondays