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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox UK place
|official_name            = Knaptoft
|static_image_name        = Knaptoft Village - geograph.org.uk - 2773925.jpg
|static_image_caption     = Knaptoft (2012)
|civil_parish             = Knaptoft
|country                  = England
|region                   = East Midlands
|shire_county             = [[Leicestershire]]
|shire_district           = [[Harborough District|Harborough]]
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.227809
|area_total_km2           = 5.77
|population               = 47
|population_ref           = (2011)
|coordinates              = {{coord|52.500719|-1.0768025|display=inline,title}}
|os_grid_reference        = SP627896
|london_distance_mi       = 80.13
|post_town                = LUTTERWORTH
|postcode_area            = LE
|postcode_district        = LE17
|dial_code                = 0116
|constituency_westminster = [[South Leicestershire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Leicestershire]]
|website 			      = [https://politics.leics.gov.uk/mgParishCouncilDetails.aspx?ID=555 Knaptoft Parish Council]
}}
'''Knaptoft''' is a [[deserted medieval village]] and [[civil parish]] in the [[Harborough District|Harborough]] district of [[Leicestershire]] and lies approximately {{convert|9.7|mi|km}} south of the city of [[Leicester]], England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Knaptoft could mean "cnafa" (Old English) for 'a boy, a young man, a servant, a menial, or a personal name' and 'toft' (Old English), the plot of ground in which a dwelling stands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Leicestershire/Knaptoft |title=Key to English Place-names |website=kepn.nottingham.ac.uk |accessdate=2022-04-06 }}</ref> The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 47.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.doogal.co.uk/Parish.php?parish=E04005444 |title=Knaptoft parish postcodes |website=doogal.co.uk |accessdate=2022-04-06 }}</ref>
==Geography==
Knaptoft is situated on a ridge due south of [[Shearsby]] {{convert|0.85|mi|km}}, between the villages of [[Bruntingthorpe]] {{convert|1.51|mi|km}} to the west and [[Mowsley]] to the east {{convert|1.31|mi|km}}. The soils are "Slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils", according to UK Soil Observatory results.<ref name="ukso">{{Cite web |url=http://mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/ukso/home.html |title=Soil Type: Soilscapes for England and Wales |website=ukso.org |publisher= UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)|accessdate=2022-04-06 }}</ref> The site of the settlement is mainly situated on [[Till]] (a superficial deposit formed up to 2 million years ago in the Quaternary Period), with a strip of [[Lacustrine deposits]] on the western end that is underpinned by Dyrham Formation (grey siltstone, 183-191 million years old), with Charmouth Mudstone (105-180 million years old) to the western end of the village.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://largeimages.bgs.ac.uk/iip/mapsportal.html?id=1001665 |title=Geological Survey of England and Wales 1:63,360/1:50,000 geological map series, New Series (Sheet 170) |website=largeimages.bgs.ac.uk |publisher=[[British Geological Survey]] |accessdate=2021-04-06}}</ref>
==History==
[[File:Knaptoft-Ruined Church - geograph.org.uk - 2773351.jpg|left|245px|thumb|Knaptoft - Ruined Church]]
Mentioned in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086, Knaptoft was a settlement in the [[Hundred_(county_division)|Hundred]] of [[Guthlaxton]], Leicestershire. It had an estimated population of 22 households including a priest, in 1086.<ref name="Domesday (1086)">{{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SP6289/knaptoft/ |title=Knaptoft, Leicestershire |website=opendomesday.org |publisher=Open Domesday |accessdate=1 May 2022}}</ref> Evidence of activity prior to this is very slim, but a piece of Saxon pottery of 8th-9th century date was recovered by archaeologists on the site of the old manor in 2011.<ref name="Excavation Report (2011)">{{cite report |last1= Clay |first1= C. |last2= Allen |first2= M. |last3= Piirainen |first3= M. |date= 2011 |title= Archaeological Evaluation Report: Trial Trenching on land at Knaptoft Hall Farm, Knaptoft, Leicestershire |url=https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1118426&recordType=GreyLitSeries |publisher= Lincoln: Allen Archaeology Ltd. |format= PDF |id= Report No 2011085 |access-date = 1 May 2022 |doi= 10.5284/1021203 }}</ref> By 1279, the number of households increased to 32.<ref name="LH 1993">{{cite journal |last=Hoskins |first=W.G. |date=1941 |title=The Deserted Villages of Leicestershire |url= https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/DMVPagesfromXXIIpartIV-2.pdf |journal=Leicestershire Archaeology Society |volume=22 |page=254 |accessdate=1 May 2022}}</ref>
A survey drawn up in 1301 after the death of Richard Gobion (the lord of the manor), lists that the village had a [[Manor house|manor]], [[windmill]], 2 fish ponds and 20 tenants.<ref name="Historic England Research Records">{{Cite web |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=342098&resourceID=19191 |title= Historic England Research Records: Knaptoft Deserted Village|website= heritagegateway.org.uk |publisher=Heritage Gateway |accessdate=2022-05-01}}</ref><ref name="Knaptoft DMV Listing Report">{{NHLE|num=1008817 |desc= Knaptoft medieval settlement and manorial complex including church, three fishponds and windmill mound |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref> It is believed that evidence of what is possibly the mill mound has been located at the eastern end of the deserted medieval village {{gbmapping|SP 63105 89408}}, opposite the new Knaptoft Hall Farm complex.<ref name="Hartley (2018)">{{cite book |last=Hartley |first=Robert |author-link= |date=2018 |title=The Medieval Earthworks of South & South-East Leicestershire |url= |location= |volume= |issue=4 |publisher=Leicestershire Fieldworkers, Leicester |pages=26–29 |isbn=978-0-9548200-3-9}}</ref>
By 1507 the lord of the manor, William Turpin, enclosed the open fields in favour of sheep-farming.<ref name="Hartley (2018)" /> Many of the villagers were believed to have been rehoused in the neighbouring village of [[Shearsby]].<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)">{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=J.M. |last2=McKinley |first2=R.A. |date=1964 |title=A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 5, Gartree Hundred |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol5/pp248-256 |location= |volume=5 |publisher= Victoria County History, London |pages=248–256 |isbn= |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref> Following the death of William Turpin, in 1523, a subsidy assessment the following year listed only five [[labourers]] and the lord of the manor.<ref name="Hartley (2018)" />
A map of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, produced by [[Christopher Saxton]] as part of his ''Atlas of England and Wales'' in 1576 clearly shows Knaptoft,<ref name="Saxton (1576)">{{Cite map |author1= Christopher Saxton |author-link= Christopher Saxton |year= 1576 |title= Saxton's map of Warwickshire and Leicestershire |edition = |scale = |series = |location= |publisher= Great Britain. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Taylowe Limited. Terwoort, Lenaert. |oclc= |url= https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz002cf7j4 }}</ref> but no indication of the village size shown. A survey in 1624 again lists five [[labourers]] alongside a church and a manor.<ref name="Leicestershire & Rutland Churches">{{Cite web|url=https://www.leicestershirechurches.co.uk/knaptoft-church-st-nicholas/ |title=Knaptoft Church St Nicholas |website=leicestershirechurches.co.uk |date=18 December 2012 |publisher=Leicestershire & Rutland Churches |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref>
A visit by the printer and author [[John_Nichols_(printer)|John Nichols]] noted that five freeholders were polled in Knaptoft in 1719, and by 1775, there were none.<ref name="John Nichols (1807)">{{cite book |last=Nichols |first=John |author-link=John Nichols (printer) |date=1807 |title=The history and antiquities of the county of Leicester : Vol. 4, Part 1 |url=http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p15407coll6/id/3161/rec/58 |location=United Kingdom -- England -- Leicestershire |volume=4 |publisher=Printed for the author by J. Nichols |page=221 |isbn=}}</ref>
In 1778, it was recorded that out of the 1,370 acres of parish land, 141 belonged to Thomas Turvile, esq. and the rest belonged to the Duke of Rutland, as ‘Lord of the Manor’. By 1790, the village had 7 houses but the manor Hall was now in a derelict state.<ref name="John Nichols (1807)" />
The ancient parish of Knaptoft included the [[Chapelry|chapelries]] of [[Shearsby]], [[Mowsley]]<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" /> and the hamlet of [[Walton in Knaptoft]], all of which became separate civil parishes in 1866. By the 1870s, the village listed 7 houses, along with 54 residents.<ref name="visionofbritain">{{Cite web |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/10974 |title=A Vision of Britain Through Time: Knaptoft, Leicestershire |website=visionofbritain.org.uk |publisher= Great Britain Historical GIS Project (2017) 'Great Britain Historical GIS'. University of Portsmouth. |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref>
==Knaptoft Manor and Estate==
Prior to 1066, Harding (son of Alnoth) was the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] Lord over numerous settlements within the Guthlaxton Wapentake (Hundred) which included Knaptoft.<ref name="Domesday Harding (1086)">{{cite web|url=https://opendomesday.org/name/harding-son-of-alnoth/ |title=Name: Harding (son of Alnoth) |website=opendomesday.org |publisher=Open Domesday |accessdate=2022-05-01}}</ref> By the time of the Domesday survey, the Earl [[Aubrey de Coucy|Aubrey (of Coucy)]], of [[Normans|Norman]] origin, was recorded as the Lord of the estate.<ref name="Domesday Aubrey (1086)">{{cite web|url= https://opendomesday.org/name/earl-aubrey-of-coucy/ |title=Name: Aubrey (of Coucy) |website=opendomesday.org |publisher=Open Domesday |accessdate=2022-05-01}}</ref>
During the reign of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], the Gobion family took lordship of the Manor up until 1300 when through marriage to Elizabeth Gobion, the Paynel family claimed lordship of the manor.<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" /> A survey recorded in 1301 mentions a manor house with enclosed garden and two fish ponds.<ref name="HE: Knaptoft Deserted Village">{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=342098&resourceID=19191 |title=Historic England Research Records: Knaptoft Deserted Village|website= heritagegateway.org.uk |publisher=Heritage Gateway |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref> By 1417 the lordship moved to the Turpin family, again through marriage via Margaret Paynel’s daughter. It was during the time of the Turpin’s that a significant change of farming practice signalled a decline in the village population. In 1507, William Turpin enclosed the fields around Knaptoft for sheep-pasture, and most of the inhabitants were relocated.<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" /> At the same time, orchards and formal gardens were developed on the grounds of the manor house, now known to be situated on the western end of the village, behind the church.<ref name="Hoskins (1969)">{{cite book |last=Hoskins |first=W.G. |author-link=W. G. Hoskins |date=1969 |title=A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 2 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/leics/vol2/pp194-195 |location= |volume=2 |publisher= Victoria County History, London |pages=194–195 |isbn= |accessdate= }}</ref>
Between the years 1525-1530 the manor house is believed to have been destroyed by fire,<ref name="Knaptoft DMV Listing Report" /> and a new Hall built in its place, by the Turpin family.<ref name="Knaptoft Archaeology">{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MLE1818&resourceID=1021 |title=Leicestershire and Rutland HER: Knaptoft |website=heritagegateway.org.uk |publisher=Heritage Gateway |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref> Archaeological evidence reveals that the “Hall was built of red brick with stone quoins and mullions, with a slate roof.”<ref name="Knaptoft Hall Listing Report">{{NHLE|num= 1409561 |desc= Remains of Knaptoft Hall |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref> The hall remained in the Turpin family until 1648, where it is locally believed that the Hall, along with the church, was sacked by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s [[Roundhead]] forces in June 1645 whilst in pursuit of the fleeing defeated [[Cavalier|Royalist]] army. After the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]] of the monarchy in 1660, the Hall and lands were passed to the [[Duke of Rutland]].<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" />
The printer and author, John Nichols noted in 1792, that the Hall was abandoned and was showing significant signs of decay. He went on to describe the house:
{{quote|"[The old Hall] had a circular tower or bastion, of brick and stone, embattled, and was probably built by John Turpin in the reign of Henry VII and enlarged, or at least embellished, by Sir William Turpin, in the reign of either Elizabeth or James…"<ref name="John Nichols (1807)" />}}
Nichols returned to Knaptoft 15 years later and described the old Hall by this stage as a ruin.<ref name="John Nichols (1807)" /> The remains of the Tudor Hall buildings were used for farming into the 1800s before a new farmhouse was built in 1843.<ref name="Knaptoft DMV Listing Report" /> In 1869, the Duke of Rutland sold the estate<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" /> and a new farmhouse eventually replaced the Victorian building in 1931.
The surviving remains of the Tudor Hall were listed as a [[Grade II listed building]] in 2014<ref name="Old Tudor Hall Listed Building">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1409561|desc=Remains of Knaptoft Hall|access-date=2 May 2022|grade=II}}</ref> and in 2019, the farmhouse and its associated buildings were demolished to make way for new housing. All of the surviving Grade II listed structures from the old Tudor Manor were preserved and incorporated into the new buildings as testament to their historical and architectural significance.<ref name="Meadow View">{{Cite web|url=https://www.onthemarket.com/details/6994284/ |title=Meadow View, Knaptoft |website=onthemarket.com |publisher= OnTheMarket plc |accessdate=2022-05-02 }}</ref>
==Church==
[[File:Benefactor tribute - geograph.org.uk - 224700.jpg|right|245px|thumb|Benefactor tribute plaque (1932)]]
The village Church of St. Nicholas is now a ruin and is a [[Grade II listed building]].<ref name="Church Listed Building">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1061481|desc=Church Ruin|access-date=1 May 2022|grade=II}}</ref> The earliest reference to the parish church is 1143,<ref name="Knaptoft DMV Listing Report" /> and c.1220, Roger de Merley was the Patron of Knaptoft church.<ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" />
It has been recorded that the church was built in 1279<ref name="Church History">{{Cite web|url=https://www.stnicholascenter.org/gazetteer/2575/ |title=Parish Church of St. Nicholas |website=stnicholascenter.org |publisher=St Nicholas Center |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref> and the surviving remains of the church do appear to be of 13th century date, but work made to consolidate the remaining walls in the early 20th century has made it difficult to confirm.<ref name="Church Ruins">{{NHLE|num=1061481 |desc=Church Ruins  |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref>
In 1625, the village purchased a bell for the church and in 1630 the church was noted to be still standing.<ref name="John Nichols (1807)" /> It is thought, however, to have been sacked and destroyed by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s [[Roundhead]] forces after the [[Battle of Naseby]] in June 1645 whilst in pursuit of the fleeing defeated [[Cavalier|Royalist]] army. Evidence supports that a skirmish occurred here, based on archaeological finds.<ref name="Leicestershire & Rutland Churches" /> But it has been suggested that the church was already abandoned by this stage.<ref name="LAHS (1941)">{{cite journal |last1= Horton-Smith |first1= L.G.H. |date= 1941 |title= The Hortons of Leicestershire |url= https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/1941-2/1941-42%20(22)%2095-116%20Horton%20Smith.pdf |journal= Transactions of Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society |volume= 22 |issue= 2 |page= 106 |doi= |accessdate= 2022-05-01 }}</ref><ref name="Lee and McKinley (1964)" /> By 1792, the church was recorded to be in ruin, with much of its fabric used to repair local roads.<ref name="John Nichols (1807)" />
==20th century==
[[File:Silver Jubilee Commemoration sign - geograph.org.uk - 224702.jpg|right|245px|thumb|Silver Jubilee Commemoration (1977)]]
Renewed interest in the village manifests itself when consolidation of the church walls, as a measure to preserve the remaining structure was funded by the wealthy philanthropist and former [[High Sheriff of Leicestershire]], Henry Truman Mills, in 1932.<ref name="H.T.Mills (1932)">{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Henry-Mills/6000000005437535535 |title=Henry Trueman Mills |website= geni.com |date=30 April 2022 |publisher= Geni |accessdate=2022-05-02 }}</ref>
A few years later, research by the economic geographer and historian [[W. G. Hoskins]], brought attention to numerous deserted medieval villages throughout Leicestershire - including Knaptoft - and encouraged research on the subject.<ref name="LAHS (1941)" /> Hoskins later became editor of ‘The [[Victoria County History]] of the County of Leicester. Volume 2’, published in 1969, which features Knaptoft (pages 194-195).<ref name="Hoskins (1969)" />
In 1954, the site of the deserted medieval village (located east of the Church car park) was formally listed as a Scheduled Monument.<ref name="DMV Scheduled Monument">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1008817|desc=Site of Deserted Medieval Village|access-date=1 May 2022|grade=Scheduled Monument}}</ref>
It is understood that the landscape historian and archaeologists [[John Hurst (archaeologist)|John G. Hurst]] and [[Maurice W. Beresford]] formed the ‘Deserted Medieval Village Research Group’ while on visit to Knaptoft in 1964.<ref name="Hartley (2018)" />
A few years later, in celebration of Queen [[Elizabeth II]]’s [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Silver Jubilee]], a commemorative plaque of Knaptoft and its church was installed in the ruins by the [[Harborough District|Harborough District Council]] in 1977.{{cn|date=August 2023}}
==Knaptoft today==
Today, the [[Church (building)|Church]] of [[Saint Nicholas]] is a roofless ruin but still contains [[headstones]] and its stone [[baptismal font|font]]. Open air church services continue to be held at the church at 3pm on the third Sunday of June, July, August and September.<ref name="Church Activity">{{Cite web|url=https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm105KR_St_Nicholas_church_Knaptoft_Leicestershire |title=St Nicholas' church - Knaptoft, Leicestershire - Anglican and Episcopal Churches |website=waymarking.com |publisher=Groundspeak |accessdate=2022-05-01 }}</ref>
There is a free car park next to the church that is capable of holding up to 26 cars.
The Grade II listed remains of the Old Tudor Hall can now be observed incorporated in the new housing, situated behind the Church ruins. If you walk to the end of the lane and head left down the public footpath, you will find the two original fish ponds.
[[Coarse fishing]] at the Knaptoft medieval fishponds further downhill (Knaptoft Hall Farm) are commercially open. These ponds were individually restored between 1976 and 1981, and were populated by a small number of Roach, Rudd, and Tench that were brought in from the existing medieval fishponds downhill from the new houses built on the site of the old Tudor Hall.<ref name="Coarse fishing">{{cite web|url=http://www.kmfp.co.uk/ |title=Knaptoft Medieval Fish Ponds |website=kmfp.co.uk |publisher=Knaptoft House Farm |accessdate=2022-05-06}}</ref>
==Notable residents==
*[[George Turpin (MP)|Sir George Turpin]] (1529–1583), was an English Member of Parliament.
*John Moore (d.1619), was an author, church minister and Parson of Knaptoft.<ref name="Moore (1612)">{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=John |author-link= |date=1612 |title=A Target for Tillage |url=https://ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/repository/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12024/A07668/A07668.html |location= |publisher=London, Imprinted for William Jones |page= |isbn=}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Knaptoft}}
*[https://politics.leics.gov.uk/mgParishCouncilDetails.aspx?ID=555 Knaptoft Parish Council]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051025092753/http://www.leicesterchronicler.com/knaptoft.htm Knaptoft at Leicester Chronicler]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/image_galleries/knaptoft_manor_gallery.shtml Knaptoft at the BBC]
*[https://studylib.net/doc/6729546/knaptoft-farm-and-family-history Knaptoft Farm & Family History]
*[https://www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/1994/1994%20(68)%2094-97%20Copson.pdf The Identification of a Parliamentary Army Chaplain: John Moore of Leicestershire]
[[Category:Villages in Leicestershire]]
[[Category:Deserted medieval villages in Leicestershire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Leicestershire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Harborough District]]