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Rolleston

Rolleston maps

Historic maps of Rolleston and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Rolleston maps

Rolleston photos

We have no photos of Rolleston, although we do have photos of these nearby places:

Billesdon| Kings Norton| Tilton On The Hill| Kibworth Harcourt| Kibworth| Smeeton Westerby| Fleckney| Saddington

Rolleston area books

Displaying 1 of 9 books about Rolleston and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of Rolleston

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Leicestershire memories

My Grandparents Kitty & Reg Nichols by Elaine Waterfield Nee Merrikin

My Mum Valerie Merrikin, nee Nichols, was born next to the old pub (recently knocked down) in Skeffington. Grandad Nichols worked at the hall and got the sack because he picked up some wood in the ground for a fire. This meant they lost their home and had to go and live somewhere else, 3 Sunrise Cottage, Brook Lane. When they moved they found an old suitcase full of baby's bones which caused a big hoo ha, and apparently a Miss Bents used to live there previously and she worked in the poor house.
Knowing this when I went to stay with my grandparents just after my Dad, Bernard Merrikin, died in 1973, I was rather frightened and made all the worse when Grandad Nichols used to snore all night long and the doors rattled.
One morning I woke up to a raucous sound coming from the garden and it was Grandad chasing some ducks from Simmingtons White Hall out of the garden and it was so funny that Nana... Read more

Living at The White Hall, Billesdon (c. 1972 - 1979)

We moved to the White Hall when I was 2, almost 3, and my sister was 5 weeks old!  It was a wonderful house to grow up in - lots and lots of space, inside and out, and were were fortunate enough to have ponies and dogs etc. .. an idyllic childhood!  I remember the huge walled vegetable garden - and the apple tree at the end where my sister and I used to climb up and hide while we ate peas fresh from their pods!

While we were living there our brother, Mark, was born and died 6 months later - I still feel a very strong tie to the beautiful church in the village, and visited there a few weeks before my wedding.  With the kind permission of the then vicar I took some evergreen foliage which went into my wedding bouquet - so I felt that my late brother was with us on our big day.  Our second brother was also born while we were living... Read more

The Limes

The Church of St John The Baptist c1955
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My mother Ethel Mary Austin was born at "The Limes", which is next door to the church on 20 August 1919. Her parents were Charles & Lillian Austin. They moved to Australia. My mother died in 1979. I have been back to The Limes a couple of times. Ray Mason owned the property when I visited. He gave me some old photos that he found in the ceiling when he was doing renovations. I have some old photos of my grandparents outside the house, if anyone is interested in seeing them get in touch with me through this site.

My Street

I was born 1953 and lived in No 94 Main Street until 1966, which is one of the small cottages on the right of the photo.  The big house at the bottom of the road was known as "General Jack's", he being a veteran of the Boar and First World Wars.  This road was great in the winter of 62-63 when, because of lack of traffic, we could sledge all the way down.  As you can see there were not many cars, only a total of 5 car owners in the whole of Main Street.

Just A Kibbuth Lad

For those who have never been to our village called Kibworth, it is worth noting locals call it "Kibbuth". You live in either "Top Kibbuth"- Kibworth Harcourt or "Bottom Kibbuth"- Kibworth Beauchamp. I myself personally, have lived in both and almost on the boundary of both parishes. For almost the past 40 years (man & boy), I have spent many a happy hour living, playing and working here. Some of my earliest reminiscences are of taking a pair of shoes to be repaired at Old Joe Nourish's cobblers shop on the Leicester Road (just at the end of the Rose & Crown (now Raitha's) car park.

On arrival at his shop, you would press the thumb catch on his wooden door and enter. Inside you would be welcomed by a mixture of heat and the aroma of leather. He had a small coke stove in one corner and Mr Nourish would be  sitting at his bench near the window. He had a slight hearing impairment and he'd be... Read more

Fleckney

My uncle Alf and Auntie Mary lived in Main Street, Fleckney. Their son was Joe my cousin.

George Lynns Grocers

The Square c1955
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My dad, Maurice Marsden, started work at the age of 14 in Lynns shop in 1937, after serving in the RAF and Fleet Air Arm during the war.  He returned to the shop to work and finished up as manager.  The shop closed in the 70s.

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