Galby and Frisby

A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5, Gartree Hundred. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1964.

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Citation:

J M Lee, R A McKinley, 'Galby and Frisby', in A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5, Gartree Hundred( London, 1964), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol5/pp96-102 [accessed 28 November 2024].

J M Lee, R A McKinley, 'Galby and Frisby', in A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5, Gartree Hundred( London, 1964), British History Online, accessed November 28, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol5/pp96-102.

J M Lee, R A McKinley. "Galby and Frisby". A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5, Gartree Hundred. (London, 1964), , British History Online. Web. 28 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol5/pp96-102.

In this section

GALBY AND FRISBY

Galby and Frisby are two separate civil parishes lying seven miles east-south-east of Leicester. Frisby (also known as Frisby by Galby) was formerly a chapelry in the ancient parish of Galby; it had a separate village, and, in the Middle Ages, its own chapel. The total area of the ancient parish, 1,903 a., is divided almost exactly into halves, 960 a. in Galby civil parish and 963 a. in Frisby. Part of the north-east boundary, between Galby civil parish and Houghton on the Hill, follows the River Sence; the boundary on the north, between Frisby civil parish and Billesdon, is marked partly by the Billesdon brook; and for a short way the eastern boundary follows the road from Market Harborough to Melton Mowbray. The soil is chiefly clay and loam, and the land largely used for pasture. The south-eastern part of the parish comprises the head of a valley in which a small stream flows south-westwards to join the River Sence at Great Glen. On the north-west side of the valley the ground rises to 600 ft. and falls again towards the valley of the Sence. Near the centre of the parish and at its highest point the gated road from Galby to Billesdon is crossed at right angles by a track, now largely disused, leading from Houghton on the Hill in the north-west towards the Market Harborough to Melton Mowbray road.

Frisby village, the extent of which can be traced by mounds and depressions in the fields, lay mostly south-east of this road junction. (fn. 1) The only remaining buildings are now three cottages and Frisby House Farm. The brick farm-house dates from the earlier 19th century but on the opposite side of the lane the lower part of an ironstone house is incorporated in the outbuildings. This retains several stone-mullioned windows and is probably of 16th-century origin. (fn. 2) In the valley to the south-east lies the former Frisby Lodge Farm. The house, dating from c. 1800, has been empty and derelict since the Second World War. The track leading past it has gone out of use. In 1932 two cottages were built on the main road and one of these is now occupied as the farm-house. (fn. 3) The only other house in the parish is a farm-house, in the extreme north, approached from the Leicester- Uppingham road.

The village of Galby (or Gaulby) (fn. 4) stands on high ground on the south-west side of the ancient parish. On a stream running north of the village there is a succession of three fish-ponds, with the remains of two others. In Bath Spinney to the south of the village there is a large spring which, by means of a water-ram, supplies water to part of Galby and King's Norton. (fn. 5)

The village is small, consisting mainly of four farms and a few cottages. (fn. 6) They are built round a triangle of land bounded on its north side by the road from Stretton and King's Norton. East of the village a lane branches northwards to Houghton on the Hill. The churchyard occupies the northern part of the triangle and at its opposite corner stands the former village school, closed in 1949 and standing derelict in 1958. From this point a road leads southeastwards to Illston. The buildings are almost entirely of red brick and most of them date from the 19th and 20th centuries. Details of the living accommodation provided by earlier houses in Galby have been compiled from inventories dating from between 1531 and 1675. (fn. 7) The only house which survives in part from this period appears to be the farm-house standing east of the church, now known as The Limes. This was originally a T-shaped building of the late 16th or early 17th century. The lower walls are of ironstone and it is probable that the upper story was originally timber-framed. A low ceiling beam from the early house is in position near the junction between the front range and the projecting back wing. Nearby are two panelled doors and a panelled partition of c. 1600. Early roof timbers have been re-used in an added scullery at the north end of the front range. The back wing has been rebuilt in 18th-century brickwork and the front range has been remodelled, raised in brick, and re-roofed. Some of these alterations may have been carried out in 1720, a date which is scratched on the jamb of the present front doorway.

On the north side of the road to Billesdon and immediately opposite the church stands the former Rectory, now known as Greyladies. The medieval parsonage is known to have occupied a site on the south side of the road. (fn. 8) Greyladies is an irregularlyshaped house of grey-washed brick, the central block representing a compact early-18th-century house with a symmetrical front. The west wing, which has large angle buttresses, dates from c. 1830 (fn. 9) when the whole house was remodelled in the Tudor style and given prominent diagonally-set chimneys. The central block contains early-18th-century panelling, apparently in situ. Panelling of the previous century, which has been reset, may have belonged to an earlier house on the site or have been brought from elsewhere. The present Georgian front doorway is a modern insertion. (fn. 10) The Rectory now occupied by the incumbent of the combined living of Galby with King's Norton was built on the road to King's Norton in 1932. (fn. 11)

The Manor House, now a farm-house occupied by two families, stands south-west of the church. It was originally a large mid-18th-century brick house with a good staircase and several panelled rooms of the period. A large private residence at the southwest corner of the village was designed in 1938 by Raymond McGrath. (fn. 12) It has a single-pitch roof and an upper story faced with elm boarding. The bricks of the lower story are said to have come from the demolished mansion of Beaudesert (Staffs.). (fn. 13) Two pairs of Council houses, one of Swedish timber, were built in the village between 1947 and 1950. (fn. 14)

MANOR.

In 1086 the greater part of Galby was held from Hugh de Grentesmesnil by the son of Robert Burdet. (fn. 15) This estate was assessed as 13¼ carucates and almost certainly included most of Frisby township. (fn. 16) The overlordship descended to the earls of Leicester, (fn. 17) later becoming part of the honor of Winchester. After the death of Roger de Quency, Earl of Winchester, in 1264, Galby fell to the share of his daughter Elizabeth, who married Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan. (fn. 18) In 1308 it passed to the Beaumonts, and in 1413 Henry Beaumont, Lord Beaumont, died seised of one knight's fee in Galby and Frisby held of him by John Burdet. (fn. 19)

In the 13th century Galby was held of the Burdets by members of the Marmion family. In 1217 William Marmion gave Galby to Ralph Ridel, apparently on Ralph's marriage to William's daughter, (fn. 20) for in 1279 Maud, widow of Ralph Ridel, was suing Mauncer, son of William Marmion, for dower in Galby. (fn. 21) In that year Mauncer Marmion held 4½ carucates in Galby of Robert Burdet, who held of the honor of Winchester, as ½ knight's fee. (fn. 22) In 1291 it was said, in a dispute over the wardship of Mauncer's son William, that Mauncer had held 13 virgates in Galby of Oliver Daubeney; (fn. 23) but there is no other reference to this overlordship and in the 14th century the Marmions continued to hold the manor of GALBY of the Burdets. (fn. 24) In 1520 William Marmion died, and his daughter Katherine married John Hazlewood of Maidwell (Northants.) (fn. 25) who in 1533 sued Katherine's uncle, Edward Marmion, for the recovery of the property. (fn. 26) The manor remained in the Hazlewood family until 1610 when it was sold to William Whalley, lord of King's Norton manor. (fn. 27) Both King's Norton and Galby descended to William Fortrey, uncle by marriage of Bernard Whalley, on the latter's death in 1752. (fn. 28) Fortrey's estates passed to Henry Greene of Rolleston, who sold most of his land in Galby to Peers Anthony Keck of Stoughton Grange in 1791-2. (fn. 29) The Powys-Keck estates were in 1919 bought by the Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd. which thus became the principal landowner in Galby. (fn. 30) By 1928, however, the society's estate in Galby had been much reduced by the sale of 225 a. to W. Keay and of other land to Wyggeston's Hospital, Leicester. (fn. 31)

LESSER ESTATES.

In 1086 Frisby, assessed at 2 carucates, was held by Hugh de Grentemesnil and of him by Fulc. (fn. 32) The later history of this estate cannot be traced, unless it is to be associated with the 1½ carucate in Galby held in chief by Richard de Harcourt in 1279. (fn. 33) In that year 6 carucates in Frisby, presumably included under Galby in 1086, were held of Robert Burdet by 10 free tenants, but of the 6 carucates only one was certainly held in demesne. Robert held of the honor of Winchester, (fn. 34) and the last known record of this overlordship is in 1427 when the widow of Henry Beaumont, Lord Beaumont, died seised of Frisby. (fn. 35)

There were several monastic estates in Galby and Frisby. The largest was that of Trentham Priory (Staffs.) which at an unknown date in the late 12th or early 13th century was granted lands in Frisby by William, chaplain of Quenby, who had received them from William de Waure, subject to a rent of 2s. payable to Ralph of Frisby; Ralph subsequently granted this rent to the priory. (fn. 36) In 1255 the priory granted the estate to St. John's Hospital, Leicester, (fn. 37) which in 1279 held 2 carucates in Frisby, one of them in demesne. (fn. 38) In 1384 the hospital granted its lands in Frisby to William Hotoft of Knighton, (fn. 39) but evidently recovered them later for in 1542 the hospital's lands in Frisby were granted to Richard Andrews and Leonard Chamberlain. (fn. 40) In 1625 John Heyrick died seised of a messuage and a virgate in Frisby, still known as 'Trentham Land', which was held in socage and valued at 10s. a year. (fn. 41)

Owston Abbey held lands in Galby from the 13th century, probably as the gift of Robert Burdet. (fn. 42) The house received other grants of land, (fn. 43) and at the Dissolution their rents included at least 22s. 4d. in Galby. (fn. 44) Part or all of the abbey's land was granted in 1549 to John Hazlewood. (fn. 45) The Newarke College, Leicester, held small pieces of property in Galby, of which, in 1550, 4 messuages were granted to Francis, Earl of Huntingdon, and Thomas Hazlewood of Allexton, and 2 to Robert Catlyn and William Thomas. (fn. 46) Leicester Abbey held a small estate in Frisby granted by William de Waure in the 13th century. (fn. 47) In 1331 Philip Danet was licensed to give to St. Leonard's Hospital, Leicester, part of the land which he held in Frisby of Henry Beaumont, Lord Beaumont, (fn. 48) but it is not known whether the grant was ever made.

In the 16th century part of Frisby was united with Galby in the ownership of the Hazlewood family. (fn. 49) The Hazlewoods retained property in Frisby after the sale of Galby manor in 1610, (fn. 50) but in 1620 they sold their Frisby estate to Sir Thomas Burton of Stockerston, who bought another estate in Frisby in the same year and a third 10 years later. (fn. 51) On Sir Thomas's son's death in 1659 his estate passed to his widow Elizabeth, who subsequently married Sir William Halford of Welham. In 1692 Frisby was sold to Rowland St. John, a London merchant. (fn. 52) Thereafter the descent of the property is lost. In 1830 there were three principal landowners in Frisby-the Duke of St. Albans, George Legh Keck, and John Pares. (fn. 53) By 1846 most of the land had been sold to Thomas Stokes, of New Park, Leicester, whose executors held it in 1877. (fn. 54) By 1908 Frisby had become part of the Powys-Keck estates, (fn. 55) and was in 1919 acquired by the Cooperative Wholesale Society Ltd. (fn. 56)

ECONOMIC HISTORY.

Galby was probably settled by Scandinavian invaders in the 9th century, at a date when the settlement at Frisby was already in existence. (fn. 57) The large number of socmen at Galby in 1086 is additional evidence of its Scandinavian origin. (fn. 58) Galby and Frisby together were assessed at 15¼ carucates, with land for 11 ploughs. The estate held by Robert Burdet's son (entered in Domesday as Galby) (fn. 59) had land for 10 ploughs; there was a demesne with one plough, 5 serfs, and 2 bondwomen, and in addition 14 villeins, 2 bordars, and 11 socmen had 7 ploughs, a Frenchman had one plough, and 2 knights had 1½ plough. There was a mill and 30 a. of meadow, the whole estate being valued at £3. Fulc's estate (entered in Domesday as Frisby) had land for one plough; there was a demesne with one plough and a serf, and a socman, 2 villeins, and 3 bordars had another plough. There were 5 a. of meadow, and the whole estate had increased in value from 10s. to 20s. since the Conquest. (fn. 60)

The relatively high population of Galby in 1086 (about 30 households) was maintained until the end of the 14th century. Although no free tenants are recorded in the list of poll-tax payers in 1381, there were then about 33 households in Galby: the taxpayers included 15 tenants at will, 3 neifs and their wives, and 2 tailors and 2 carpenters. (fn. 61) There was apparently a fall in numbers in the 15th century, for in 1563 there were only 14 households in Galby. In 1670 there were 23 households, of which 7 were exempt from hearth tax. In the early 19th century the population was roughly constant at just under 100; by 1901 it had fallen to 52, but it rose again to 90 in 1951. (fn. 62)

In Frisby 39 persons were enumerated for the poll tax of 1381, including 14 tenants at will and their wives and 2 free tenants and their wives; the remaining 7 persons enumerated were described as servants. (fn. 63) As at Galby, the population of Frisby was approximately halved between 1381 and 1563, when there were only 8 households (fn. 64) and by which time the chapel had apparently fallen out of use. (fn. 65) Again as at Galby, the population of Frisby increased in the next hundred years: by 1670 Frisby had 15 households, of which 5 were exempt from hearth tax. At Frisby, however, the population had fallen by 1801 to 23, and for the next 150 years fluctuated between 12 and 27. (fn. 66)

It is not clear whether Galby and Frisby had one set of open fields or two. Holdings in Galby field, which contained furlongs called Wellhill and Westwell, and in Carrygate (in Galby) were mentioned in the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 67) In Frisby East Field and South Field were mentioned in 1638. (fn. 68) Inclosure took place in the first half of the 17th century. Nichols says that most of Galby was inclosed in 1614. (fn. 69) In 1630 John Dand died having settled on trustees 90 a. of arable land and 12 a. of arable, meadow, and pasture in Galby which had been allotted to him on inclosure. (fn. 70) In 1630 also Sir Thomas Burton, who owned most of Frisby, had 150 a. there which had been recently inclosed. (fn. 71) In 1631 he petitioned the Privy Council not to proceed against him, on the grounds that Frisby had never been a populous village and that he had let the inclosed land, as it had been let before, with the houses. (fn. 72) In the same year William Bent of Billesdon contrived to evade being questioned about inclosures made by him at Frisby. (fn. 73) Parts of both Galby and Frisby, however, remained uninclosed in 1638. (fn. 74) Further inclosure took place in Galby in 1642 and 1649, (fn. 75) and it seems likely that the whole of Frisby had been inclosed by the time of Sir Thomas Burton's death in 1655. (fn. 76)

After inclosure the land was used largely for stock-rearing. At Galby in 1846 there were 6 men each described as farmer and grazier, and 4 in 1863. At both dates there were only 2 farmers at Frisby. (fn. 77) At Galby in 1928 there were 3 farmers each farming over 150 a. and one grazier, while at Frisby there were 2 farmers, one with over 150 a., and 2 graziers. (fn. 78)

None of the lords of the manor lived in Galby. Thomas Stokes resided occasionally at Frisby House (later Frisby House Farm) in the mid-19th century. (fn. 79) A family with considerable property in Galby and a long-established connexion with the parish was that of the Dans or Dands, the last of whom died in 1717. (fn. 80) There had certainly been Dands since the end of the 13th century at Frisby, and a branch of the family at Galby a few years later. The family was more important at Frisby until it acquired freehold land at Galby in the 16th century, and sold the Frisby lands in 1630. The last Dand was armigerous. He had 5 daughters but no son, and the family which was then over 400 years old came to an end. Another long-established family was that of the Birds. John Bird was a prosperous farmer in the 16th century; in 1851 John and Alfred Bird were agricultural labourers, and Mary Bird a pauper. (fn. 81)

MILL.

There was a mill at Galby valued at 2s. in 1086, (fn. 82) and in the late 13th century Mauncer Marmion held one there under Robert Burdet. (fn. 83) In 1429 Margaret Marmion let a piece of land called Milne Holme to Roger Bache, a miller from Scraptoft, with the watercourse there for 14 years. Roger was to build a new watermill and repair it at his own cost. (fn. 84) The watermill seems to have disappeared by the 16th century, when only a windmill is mentioned in documents relating to the manor. (fn. 85) The windmill site is most probably the mound in Mill Field to the east of the village and north of the Galby-Frisby road.

PARISH ADMINISTRATION.

Galby and Frisby were separate units for poor-law purposes in the 18th century, each raising its own rate and relieving its own poor. Neither had a workhouse. In Galby in 1802-3, 7 adults were relieved regularly and 12 occasionally, while in Frisby, out of a total population of 23, 5 adults were relieved regularly and 6 occasionally. (fn. 86) In 1836 both Galby and Frisby were placed in Billesdon Union. (fn. 87) There are surviving accounts of the churchwardens from 1815 to 1933 and of the overseers and constables from 1806 to 1837. (fn. 88)

CHURCHES.

Galby church was granted to the hospital of Burton Lazars by William Burdet before 1184. (fn. 89) During the Middle Ages there was a chapel at Frisby attached to this church. (fn. 90) In 1340 Owston Abbey was paying 46s. 8d. yearly to the Rector of Galby after its appropriation of King's Norton church, which was presumably attached in some way to Galby before that date. (fn. 91) A temporary vicarage at Galby was created in 1236-7, apparently owing to the absence of the then rector, Roger Blund, who was a member of Bishop Grosseteste's familia. (fn. 92) He instituted Hugh de Blaby as vicar. (fn. 93) In 1929 the benefice was united with King's Norton. (fn. 94)

Burton Lazars Hospital presented to Galby rectory throughout the Middle Ages. The church was confirmed to the hospital in 1200 and 1328. (fn. 95) The descent of the advowson immediately after the Dissolution is obscure. In 1549 it was held by John Talbot. (fn. 96) By 1576 it had passed to Brian Care, (fn. 97) and in 1603 was held by the rector, Thomas Tookie. (fn. 98) In 1640 Thomas and Henry Tookie transferred the advowson to William Whalley, lord of the manor. (fn. 99) From 1661 until the manor passed to William Fortrey in 1752 presentations were made by various persons; Fortrey presented in 1748 and Henry Greene in 1789. (fn. 100) The advowson passed with the manor to the Keck family, and in 1957 was the property of the Church Society Trustees. (fn. 101)

The rectory was valued at 10 marks in 1219, 12 in 1254, and 24 in 1291. (fn. 102) In 1535 it was valued at £22 gross, but deductions, including a payment of 66s. 8d. to Burton Lazars, reduced the net value to just over £18 a year. (fn. 103) In 1603 the value was still £18 2s. 6d. (fn. 104) In 1650 the value was £80, (fn. 105) and in 1831 £300. (fn. 106) In 1544 a grant of the property of Burton Lazars Hospital to Sir John Dudley, Viscount Lisle, included rents from Galby rectory and lands in the parish. (fn. 107)

The tithes were regulated by a Chancery decree of 1687 which exonerated 79 a. from the payment of tithes for a regular money payment of £4 18s. 8d. In 1679 it was stated that the rector had 28 a. of land in 2 closes called Picks Closes in lieu of the tithes from 500 a., (fn. 109) and he also had a hen from every household in Galby and Frisby at Christmas. These were known in 1724 as 'smoke hens'. (fn. 110) In a suit about tithes in 1727 it was said that at the inclosure of Galby in 1649 the rector had been given Picks Closes in lieu of the tithes from the lands of the lord of the manor, William Whalley, and a payment of £15 12s. 8d. in lieu of the tithes from some of the rest of the parish. In 1699 lands were settled upon the rectory instead of this payment, and it was about the rector's title to these lands that the suit of 1727 was brought. (fn. 111) The settlement was undone. In 1737 Bernard Whalley was paying tithes from the lands for which the £15 and then the lands had been successively substituted. (fn. 112) The remaining tithes were commuted in 1849, when it was stated that the rector held 28 a. in lieu of certain tithes and received £4 18s. 8d. a year for the tithes of 79 a. The tithe award stated that 257 a. of land still owed tithes, of which Henry Greene owned 4 a. and the Keck family 253 a. These tithes were commuted for a payment of £121 19s. 5d. (fn. 113) The tithable part of the parish lay to the south of the village.

Besides the land allotted in lieu of tithe, the rectors of Galby had considerable glebe in Galby and King's Norton. This land had been attached to the church from an early date. In 1220-1 a jury stated that a mill and a virgate of land in Norton, ½ virgate in Galby, and a virgate in Frisby were all held in free alms by the Rector of Galby. (fn. 114) In 1260 the rector sued the Master of St. John's Hospital, Leicester, for destroying a house at Frisby, which he said was in the tenure of his church. (fn. 115) In 1679 the rectory estate consisted of 12 a. in the Home Close, 130 a. in King's Norton, and land in lieu of tithes in Frisby. (fn. 116) In 1877 there were 144 a. of glebe in Frisby and Galby and 31 a. in Norton. (fn. 117) About 1940 there were 185 a., 112 a. of which were in Frisby. (fn. 118)

When Hugh de Blaby was instituted to the temporary vicarage in 1287 he was to have all the altarage of the church and of Frisby chapel, with the tithes of the mills, a house near the church, and 4 strips in the open-field land near the house. He was to pay 2 marks a year to the rector. (fn. 119)

The church of ST. PETER stands on the north side of the village and consists of nave, chancel, south porch, and west tower. It was largely rebuilt in 1741 and its most striking feature is the tall classical tower, surmounted by pinnacles which incorporate both Gothic and Chinese details. Throsby, writing in 1790, commented on the rich appearance of the tower when seen from a distance, but added that at a near view 'it seems overcharged with whimsical decorations'. (fn. 120)

The 12th-century church, which may have been built by William Burdet, has completely disappeared. The only part of the later building to survive the alterations of 1741 is the chancel, and this appears to date from the very end of the Gothic period. In 1517 it was stated that the south side of the church was in ruins, (fn. 121) so that considerable rebuilding may have taken place in the 16th century. The wide fivelight east window has a segmental-pointed head and there are somewhat similar windows in the north and south walls, one of the latter being walled up. The north door was evidently altered in the 18th century. In 1741 the lord of the manor, William Fortrey, rebuilt the church. The chancel, which is not now axial with the nave, remained in position, apparently because of some disagreement between Fortrey and the rector. (fn. 122) The architect employed for the rebuilding was a Mr. Wing, father of the architect of King's Norton church. (fn. 123) The nave is late Gothic in style and of a remarkable correctness for the period. It is of three bays, divided by buttresses, and has tall transomed windows of Perpendicular type, apparently inspired by the existing windows in the chancel. The plain south porch has a roundheaded entrance. The tower is of three stages, having circular windows to the ringing chamber and roundheaded openings elsewhere. A band of guilloche ornament below the belfry stage carries the date 1741 on the south side. The keystones of the belfry windows are taken up to meet the main cornice, above which is a panelled parapet. All this detail is purely classical but the Gothic influence appears again in the heavy angle pinnacles, whose curiouslyshaped crockets give them the effect of small pagodas. Between the pinnacles are intermediate obelisks. The 18th-century walls are of ironstone and limestone ashlar with limestone dressings. The coursed rubble masonry of the chancel appears to have been covered with plaster at the same period.

The church was said to be in need of repair in 1776 when it lacked a font cover, royal arms, Creed and Commandment boards, a table of prohibited degrees, and a list of benefactions. (fn. 124) A pulpit of 1643 survived until the end of the 18th century. (fn. 125) The font may date from 1741 but the box pews and the two-decker pulpit, still in existence in 1959, were probably of the early 19th century. The church was re-roofed shortly before 1832. (fn. 126) The chancel floor was re-tiled in 1901 (fn. 127) and there was a partial restoration of the building in 1903. (fn. 128) In 1940 the small organ was moved from the west end of the nave to the north side of the chancel. (fn. 129)

A partly obliterated floor slab in the chancel probably commemorates Martha Tookie (d. 1613). (fn. 130) Three slabs at the west end of the nave are inscribed to John Dand (d. 1717), to his widow, and to Robert and Elizabeth Foster, his son-in-law and daughter. There are mural tablets to Petronella (Brecknock), wife of Zachary Wragge, rector (d. 1728), and to Richard Walker, Rector of Galby and Vicar of King's Norton (d. 1826). Glass in the east window commemorates the Revd. T. C. Ord, Rector of Galby and Vicar of King's Norton and Little Stretton, 1828-44. There are six bells, cast by Thomas Eayre of Kettering in 1741-6 and presented by Fortrey. (fn. 131) The plate includes a silver flagon of 1701 given by 'Isabel Goosey, virgin', and a silver cup of 1717. (fn. 132) The registers date from 1738 and are complete. (fn. 133)

The chapel at Frisby is first mentioned about 1220, when it was attached to Galby church and was served three days in the week from Galby. (fn. 134) It is not known when the chapel was founded. The tithes of twothirds of the lordship of William Burdet belonged to St. Evroul Abbey (Orne) by 1220, (fn. 135) and may have been granted by Hugh de Grentemesnil, although they cannot be identified in any known charter. They passed to Sheen Priory in 1414, and to the Crown at the Dissolution. In 1553 these tithes were granted to James Greenwood and Dunstan Clarke of Market Harborough. (fn. 136) In 1679 the Rector of Galby stated that he held, in lieu of his Frisby tithes, land called Great and Little Lowsden and 2 other closes. (fn. 137)

The chapel was dedicated to ST. JAMES, and stood on what is now a grassy mound south of Frisby House Farm and on the east side of the lane which runs south from the Galby-Billesdon road. This mound was known as Chapel Mount, and some rooftimbers have been recovered from it. The chapel is last known to have been in use in 1533, when William Ward of Frisby made a bequest to it. The building was still in existence in 1591, but had completely disappeared by the beginning of the 18th century. (fn. 138)

NONCONFORMITY.

In 1813 the houses of William Brian and William Stacy were licensed as meeting-places for nonconformists. (fn. 139) Another house was licensed in 1822. (fn. 140)

SCHOOL.

Galby had no day school at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1826 a Sunday school was opened, and in 1833 it was educating 21 boys and 11 girls. (fn. 141) The National school was built in 1875 to serve Galby, Frisby, and Little Stretton. (fn. 142) In 1910 there was an average attendance of 10, (fn. 143) and 21 in 1933. (fn. 144) In 1943 the school was created a junior school, senior pupils attending the school at Church Langton. (fn. 145) The school was closed in April 1950 when there were 9 children in attendance. Children from Galby and Frisby thereafter went to Billesdon school, or to Church Langton Junior. (fn. 146)

CHARITIES.

None known.

Footnotes

  • 1. See plate facing p. 96.
  • 2. For its possible ownership see W. G. Hoskins, 'Short History of Galby and Frisby', T.L.A.S. xxii. 204.
  • 3. Ex inf. the farmer, tenant of the C.W.S. Ltd., 1959.
  • 4. The form most frequently used in recent times is 'Gaulby'-the form used on 17th-cent. maps, and in accordance with local pronunciation. Sign-posts have been altered to 'Gaulby' but the Ordnance Survey retains 'Galby'.
  • 5. Ex inf. the late Mr. William Keay, formerly of Greyladies, who supplied some notes on Galby.
  • 6. For its population, see p. 99.
  • 7. T.L.A.S. xxii. 200-10.
  • 8. Ibid. 198-200.
  • 9. Leic. City Mun. Room, 245'50/3.
  • 10. For a view of the Rectory c. 1860, see T.L.A.S. xxii, plate facing p. 200.
  • 11. Terrier at Rectory.
  • 12. Pevsner, Leics. 106.
  • 13. Ibid.
  • 14. Local inf.
  • 15. V.C.H. Leics. i. 317.
  • 16. T.L.A.S. xxii. 177.
  • 17. Pipe R. 1191 & 92 (P.R.S. N.S. ii), 128. See p. 103.
  • 18. Hist. MSS. Com. Hastings, I, 328.
  • 19. Nichols, Leics. ii. 568, which prints 1419 in error; some property in Galby was still held of the honor of Winchester in 1576: Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 277.
  • 20. Nichols, Leics. ii. 567.
  • 21. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 271.
  • 22. Nichols, Leics. i, p. cxx.
  • 23. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 271.
  • 24. Ibid, 273; Nichols, Leics. ii. 568.
  • 25. Nichols, Leics. ii. 568.
  • 26. Sta. Cha. 2/25/327, 329; Req. 2/6/212.
  • 27. MS. note by G. Farnham in Leic. Univ. Libr. copy of Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 276-7.
  • 28. Nichols, Leics. ii. 737.
  • 29. L.R.O. Galby Land Tax Assessments, 1791-2.
  • 30. See p. 328.
  • 31. Ex inf. Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd., Manchester.
  • 32. V.C.H. Leics. i. 317.
  • 33. Nichols, Leics. i, p. cxx.
  • 34. Ibid. p. cxx; ii. 573 (there are contradictions between the two passages).
  • 35. Ibid. ii. 573.
  • 36. Cat. Anct. D. i, A 1444; ii, B 3792, B 3838, B 3843.
  • 37. Ibid. ii, B 3823.
  • 38. Nichols, Leics. ii. 573.
  • 39. Cat. Anct. D. ii, B 3845.
  • 40. L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvii, p. 259.
  • 41. C 142/419/71; Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 278.
  • 42. Nichols, Leics. ii. 567.
  • 43. e.g. Cal. Pat. 1391-6, 13.
  • 44. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv. 158.
  • 45. Cal. Pat. 1548-9, 353.
  • 46. Ibid. 1549-51, 123, 127.
  • 47. Nichols, Leics. ii. 573.
  • 48. Cal. Pat. 1330-4, 156.
  • 49. C 142/247/11.
  • 50. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 277.
  • 51. Ibid. 278.
  • 52. G.E.C. Baronetage, i. 204; Leics. and Rut. N. & Q. ii. 159-61.
  • 53. Curtis, Topog. Hist. Leics. 60.
  • 54. White, Dir. Leics. (1846), 500; (1877), 215. Stokes's estate was described as Frisby manor.
  • 55. Kelly's Dir. Leics. (1908), 83.
  • 56. See p. 328.
  • 57. Both names are Scandinavian; Frisby, alluding to Frisians, suggests a settlement existing when the name was adopted: Ekwall, Oxf. Dict. of Eng. Place-Names.
  • 58. Cf. T.L.A.S. xxii. 176-7.
  • 59. Most of Frisby seems to have been entered in Domesday under Galby: see p. 97.
  • 60. V.C.H. Leics. i. 371.
  • 61. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 274.
  • 62. V.C.H. Leics. iii. 166, 170, 187.
  • 63. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 273-4.
  • 64. V.C.H. Leics. iii. 166.
  • 65. See p. 101.
  • 66. V.C.H. Leics. iii. 170, 187.
  • 67. Nichols, Leics. ii. 567-8.
  • 68. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.41/2/245a.
  • 69. Nichols, Leics. ii. 569.
  • 70. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 278.
  • 71. Trans. R.H.S. N.S. xix. 131n.
  • 72. Cal. S.P. Dom. 1629-31, 562.
  • 73. Ibid. 1631-3, 55.
  • 74. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.41/2/245a.
  • 75. Nichols, Leics. ii. 569, 571.
  • 76. L.R.O. docs. formerly Leic. City Mun. Room, 5 D.32/3; 9 D.33/4.
  • 77. White, Dir. Leics. (1846), 500; (1863), 560.
  • 78. Kelly's Dir. Leics. (1928), 89.
  • 79. White, Dir. Leics. (1846), 500.
  • 80. T.L.A.S. xxii. 184, 188, 197-8, Nichols, Leics. ii. 572.
  • 81. T.L.A.S. xxii. 185-6.
  • 82. V.C.H. Leics. i. 317.
  • 83. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 271.
  • 84. B.M. Add. Ch. 21262.
  • 85. e.g. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 277; on the possible site of the watermill, see T.L.A.S. xxii. 178.
  • 86. Poor Law Abstract, 1803, 254.
  • 87. White, Dir. Leics. (1846), 468.
  • 88. Par. recs.
  • 89. V.C.H. Leics. ii. 36.
  • 90. See p. 101.
  • 91. Assoc. Archit. Soc. Rep. & Papers, xxi. 309.
  • 92. Robert Grosseteste, ed. D. A. Collins, 221-2.
  • 93. Rot. R. Grosseteste, ed. F. N. Davis, 393, 400.
  • 94. Lond. Gaz. 1929, p. 5554.
  • 95. C 53/68 m. 32; Cal. Chart. R. 1327-41, 77.
  • 96. Assoc. Archit. Soc. Rep. & Papers, xxv. 487.
  • 97. State of the Church in the reigns of Eliz. and Jas. I, ed. C. W. Foster, i. 42.
  • 98. Ibid. 291.
  • 99. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 279.
  • 100. Nichols, Leics. ii. 572.
  • 101. See White, Dir. Leics. (1846), 499; Leic. Dioc. Cal. (1957), 84.
  • 102. Val. of Norw. ed. W. E. Lunt, 533.
  • 103. Valor Eccl. (Re. Com.), iv. 162.
  • 104. State of the Church, ed. Foster, i. 291.
  • 105. Nichols, Leics. ii. 570.
  • 106. White, Dir. Leics. (1846), 499.
  • 107. L. & P. Hen. VIII, xix, p. 371.
  • 108. L.R.O. Galby Tithe Award.
  • 109. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.41/2/241.
  • 110. Ibid. /244.
  • 111. Nichols, Leics. ii. 570-1; 42nd Dep. Kpr's. Rep. 48.
  • 112. L.R.O. receipt (formerly Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.32/63).
  • 113. L.R.O. Galby Tithe Award.
  • 114. Farnham, Leics. Notes, ii. 270.
  • 115. Ibid.
  • 116. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.41/2/241.
  • 117. White, Dir. Leics. (1877), 217.
  • 118. T.L.A.S. xxii. 178.
  • 119. Rot. R. Grosseteste, 400; on the rectory house see T.L.A.S. xxii. 198-200.
  • 120. Throsby, Leics. Views, ii. 136. See plate facing p. 65.
  • 121. Visitation in Dioc. Linc. 1517-31, ed. A. H. Thompson, i. 8.
  • 122. Throsby, Leics. Views, ii. 137.
  • 123. Ibid.; H. M. Colvin, Biog. Dict. Eng. Architects, 686.
  • 124. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.41/18/21.
  • 125. Nichols, Leics. ii. 570.
  • 126. Leic. City Mun. Room, 245'50/3.
  • 127. T.L.A.S. ix. 170.
  • 128. Tablet in church.
  • 129. Plan of church by Wm. Keay, reproduced in T.L.A.S. xxii, facing p. 195.
  • 130. Nichols, Leics. ii. 572.
  • 131. North, Ch. Bells Leics. 178.
  • 132. Trollope, Ch. Plate Leics. i. 206.
  • 133. There are a few earlier transcripts in Leic. City Mun. Room: Leic. City Museum and Art Gallery, Handlist of Par. Reg. Transcripts, 18; on the disappearance of the early register see Nichols, Leics. ii. 569.
  • 134. Rot. Hugonis de Welles, ed. W. P. W. Phillimore, i. 264.
  • 135. Ibid.
  • 136. Cal. Pat. 1553, 197.
  • 137. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D.41/2/241.
  • 138. T.L.A.S. xxii. 194-5.
  • 139. Leic. City Mun. Room, 1 D. 41/44/265, 267.
  • 140. Ibid. /479.
  • 141. Educ. Enquiry Abstract, 1835, 485.
  • 142. White, Dir. Leics. (1877), 218.
  • 143. Leics. Co. Counc. Mins. 11 May 1910.
  • 144. Leics. Educ. Cttee. Survey of Small Schs. and Depts. 1933.
  • 145. Leics. Co. Counc. Mins. 21 July 1943.
  • 146. Ibid. 14 Dec. 1949; ex inf. Co. Educ. Offices; Galby Sch. Log Books, 1876-1900, 1900-50, were deposited in L.R.O.