THE GREATER WIGSTON
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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AUGUST 2021: AFTERNOON CONDUCTED TOUR OF HOBY VILLAGE
It was a cool, blustery but dry afternoon when just under thirty members and friends met at All Saints Church in Hoby in the Wreake Valley for a conducted tour of the village to be followed by tea and cakes in a private garden. The weather was a slight improvement on the traditional Society summer visit conditions but it was absolutely brilliant for us to be together again after the 18 months of Covid restrictions on meetings. The event was led by members of Hoby and District Local History Society incorporating the villages of Rotherby, Ragdale and Brooksby.
We gathered in the church itself for an introductory talk when we learned of the work that the Society had undertaken to celebrate the centenary of WWI which culminated in the production of an illustrated leaflet, which we were each given, identifying the location of the homes around the village of those who did not return from the war. We were then split into two groups for the tour which, despite the comparatively peaceful village surroundings, benefited from the portable loudspeaker systems used by the guides. Hoby is not on the main road but it was surprising how much traffic used the main street including speeding cyclists and big agricultural machinery not to mention contract gardeners.
Nearly 80 men from the village went to war and sadly 12 did not return. One of the most poignant parts of the project was to ring a half muffled peal on the church bells on the anniversary of each man’s death. Quite an achievement and it must have had a massive effect on villagers and local farmworkers 100 years after the event. There are 5 bells in the tower with the latest renovation work taking place in 2006 supported by the Heritage Lottery and village fund raising. Many other works have been carried out in the church including the recent addition of a kitchen and toilet (very useful for some members on the day).
The 90 minute tour led us along the back lanes of Hoby where we saw some amazing architecture covering all periods from Medieval to Queen Anne and Georgian to Victorian, modernised and modern. There were many farms in the village which still exist as major domestic dwellings even if the farmyards themselves are not operative. There is a pub, The Blue Bell, and a former pub, the Rutland Arms, a former Victorian school at which one of our guides spent his formative years, a chapel, still used as such and a former smithy. Sadly the shop and post office no longer exist and so the village is officially ‘unsustainable’ because it has no shop or bus service. The fact that it is a short walk from a passenger railway line with a closed station (at Brooksby) does not count!!
The walk ended in a lovely well-kept garden with views down to the river where we were served scones and tea and of course had a good chat. Thanks were offered to the members of the host Society for organising the afternoon.
It was a cool, blustery but dry afternoon when just under thirty members and friends met at All Saints Church in Hoby in the Wreake Valley for a conducted tour of the village to be followed by tea and cakes in a private garden. The weather was a slight improvement on the traditional Society summer visit conditions but it was absolutely brilliant for us to be together again after the 18 months of Covid restrictions on meetings. The event was led by members of Hoby and District Local History Society incorporating the villages of Rotherby, Ragdale and Brooksby.
We gathered in the church itself for an introductory talk when we learned of the work that the Society had undertaken to celebrate the centenary of WWI which culminated in the production of an illustrated leaflet, which we were each given, identifying the location of the homes around the village of those who did not return from the war. We were then split into two groups for the tour which, despite the comparatively peaceful village surroundings, benefited from the portable loudspeaker systems used by the guides. Hoby is not on the main road but it was surprising how much traffic used the main street including speeding cyclists and big agricultural machinery not to mention contract gardeners.
Nearly 80 men from the village went to war and sadly 12 did not return. One of the most poignant parts of the project was to ring a half muffled peal on the church bells on the anniversary of each man’s death. Quite an achievement and it must have had a massive effect on villagers and local farmworkers 100 years after the event. There are 5 bells in the tower with the latest renovation work taking place in 2006 supported by the Heritage Lottery and village fund raising. Many other works have been carried out in the church including the recent addition of a kitchen and toilet (very useful for some members on the day).
The 90 minute tour led us along the back lanes of Hoby where we saw some amazing architecture covering all periods from Medieval to Queen Anne and Georgian to Victorian, modernised and modern. There were many farms in the village which still exist as major domestic dwellings even if the farmyards themselves are not operative. There is a pub, The Blue Bell, and a former pub, the Rutland Arms, a former Victorian school at which one of our guides spent his formative years, a chapel, still used as such and a former smithy. Sadly the shop and post office no longer exist and so the village is officially ‘unsustainable’ because it has no shop or bus service. The fact that it is a short walk from a passenger railway line with a closed station (at Brooksby) does not count!!
The walk ended in a lovely well-kept garden with views down to the river where we were served scones and tea and of course had a good chat. Thanks were offered to the members of the host Society for organising the afternoon.
Report by Colin Towell
CONDUCTED TOUR OF HOBY VILLAGE
