Through the Ages
Domesday Book
The entries for Kirby Muxloe in the Domesday Book are shown on the Open Domesday website.
There are three entries, which together show a total of 15 households. There were 3½ "ploughlands", each of which was a measure of land, based on the area able to be ploughed in a year by a team of eight oxen.
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There were 12 acres of meadows and some woods. Since a ploughland is nominally 120 acres or ½ square km, the overall size does not appear to be substantially different from the size of Kirby today.
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Carbi, as our village was known, was held by Ricolf, as Lord. The tenant in chief was William Peverel.
Pakeman Family
By 1302, the manor has come to the Pakeman family. They had a manor house built on the site that was later to be occupied by Kirby Muxloe Castle.
Simon Pakeman (1306-1376) appears to have had a "rags to riches" rise that took him from villager to Lord of the Manor.
Hastings Family
By 1455, the Hastings Family owned Kirby. It was to be William, Lord Hastings, who built Kirby Muxloe Castle, or at least started to have it built, until his execution by Richard III.
For more information, see Jonathan Wilshere's book "Old Kirby (Muxloe)".
Medieval Kirby Muxloe
The medieval period of British history covers the 5th to 15th centuries. Little is known of Kirby's history in this period until we reach the Domesday Book of 1086. Here we find the first mention of our village name, as Carbi, which would eventually become Kirby.
See how Kirby's name has changed over time
16th Century Kirby Muxloe
1508
Ralph Petch, the assistant clerk of works at the castle died, leaving a bequest to Kirby Muxloe Church which included an annual feast day gift of 3s 4d, a ewe and a pullet.
1530
Cardinal Wolsey is accused of treason and dies at Leicester Abbey on route to London.
1550's
Kirby's earliest surviving probate inventories survive from this time.
1553
Lady Jane Grey of Bradgate is proclaimed Queen of England and was executed nine days later.
1559
Agnes King of Kirby died leaving an estate valued at £21 which included 4 oxen, 8 cattle, 6 swine, 2 horses, 7 acres of wheat, rye and barley and 7 acres of peas.
1561
The village Church registers begin recording births, marriages and deaths.
1563
There were 27 families in Kirby Muxloe and a further 15 in Glenfield.
1564
The Plague in Leicestershire was reported and also in 1579, 1583 and 1593.
1569
The Lord's Place was a town house in Leicester built for one of the 3 most powerful families in the town by Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon.
1569 or 1586
Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have stayed at the Lord's Place.
1598
The Poor Law Act- the English parliament provides for the establishment of workhouses and the punishment of beggars.
17th Century Kirby Muxloe
​1601
Parishes are charged with providing for the needy.
1604
The Plague returned again in 1606, 1610, 1625, 1636 and 1638.
1616
Walter Hastings, the great-grandson of the 1st Lord Hastings died and is buried at Kirby.
1628
The Red Cow and farms Boyers Lodge, Castle Farm and Ashby Scrubs date from around this time
1630
The Hastings family sold the Manor of Kirby to Sir Robert Banastre of Passenham, Northamptonshire.
1645
During the Civil War siege of Leicester, a garrison of Parliamentary troops was supposedly billeted in the castle.
1646-1664
The Manor was sold to William Wollaston of Shenton.
1662
The Hearth Tax was introduced but was repealed in 1689.
1663
Thomas Penfold dies leaving 555 sheep, 72 cattle, 3 mares, 3 foals, 2 fillies and a stock of wool.
1690
The probate inventory for Thomas Bagshaw, gentleman, included swords, pistols, rings, looking glasses, pictures, 2 guns and knives and forks.
1696
The Window Tax was introduced influencing architecture for the next 50 years.
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18th Century Kirby Muxloe
​1704
Thomas Barwell died leaving 37 sheep, 19 cattle and 6 horses and other items to the value of £141 10s.
1725
The Workhouse Test Act is introduced empowering parishes to deny relief to any applicant who refused to enter the workhouse.
1727
The coronation of George II was celebrated with a special peal of the then only three bells -the bell ringers were paid half a crown (special days payment usual one shilling).
1727
Kirby's small agricultural community lived in less than two dozen houses.
1727
The "street" (Main Street from Ratby corner to Fox Lane) was paved by "The "Mason" at a cost of £2 10s 6d
1728
This was one of the worst years for deaths. There were 12 burials recorded from July to October, probably due to typhus.
1752
The Gregorian Calendar is adopted resulting in the loss of 11 days.
1753
Land Tax is introduced.
1760
Sees the start of the Industrial Revolution.
1775
The only freeholder of land in the Parish is Robert Goode of Normanton-le-Heath- the land was occupied by Henry Hitchcock.
1778
The Manor of Kirby is bought by the Winstanley family of Braunstone.
1782
Henry Hitchcock died leaving The Red Cow public house to his daughter Jane Brewin.
1784
A smallpox outbreak was reported in the village.
19th Century Kirby Muxloe
​1810
The Royal Oak was first licenced.
1841
The first census recorded 321 persons in the village, (157 males & 164 females) living in 62 houses. There were 13 agricultural workers, 19 male servants, 13 farmers/graziers, 9 employed in hosiery, 23 female servants, 5 shoemakers, 5 blacksmiths, 3 butchers, 3 gardeners, 2 carpenters, 2 brickmakers, 2 dressmakers carpenters, 2 brickmakers, 2 dressmakers, 1 each of miller, hawker and warfinger.
1849
The new railway station was opened-part of the Leicester to Swannington line.
1853
St Bartholomew's Church organ was installed.
1859
The first postal service was introduced to Kirby from Leicester.
​1870
The only house in Kirby Fields was Lara House, built in about 1801 and was later renamed Th Old House. 1875
Building work started in Kirby Fields -all properties were virtually completed by 1905.
1877
The sale of 77 acres of land took place in Kirby Fields in 41 lots.
1879
The Kirby Muxloe Industrial and Provident Freehold Land Society Ltd was registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act of 1876.
1883
The Zion Chapel on Main Street was officially instituted "Kirby Muxloe Non-Conformist Chapel".
1894
Parish, rural and urban district councils were established.
1895
The Golf Club was formed with a 9-hole course.
1897
The new "Free Church" was opened on Main Street.
1897
Saw the arrival of gas to the village.
1899
In January the first Parish Council meeting was held.
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20th Century Kirby Muxloe
​1902
The Village celebrated the Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, with a procession along Main Street.
1905
The National Telephone Company opened Kirby's first exchange.
1910
The new school was opened on Barwell Road.
1912
Kirby's first Scout Troop was formed.
1914
World War I breaks out, lasting until 1918.
1918
The Spanish 'Flu pandemic resulted in a huge death toll.
1919
The Guide group was formed.
1923
The War Memorial was unveiled.
1924
St Bartholomew's Church Hall was built.
1926
Mains electricity came to the village.
1933
The War Memorial Garden of Remembrance was opened.
1934
The thatched cottages on Main Street were demolished for road widening.
1937
The Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
1937
The village celebrated with a Coronation Fancy Dress Competition.
1939
WWII broke out, ending in 1945.
1940
Two parachute bombs were dropped demolishing the Free church and damaging many other properties.
1951
Census - there were 2866 people recorded living in 1571 houses.
1953
The newly built Free Church was opened.
1953
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated with a pageant at the Castle.
1963
Kirby's "temporary" prefabs were demolished.
1964
The railway passenger service was withdrawn and the station closed.
1965
The last wake was held on the Back Lane.
1970
The Royal Oak was demolished and the Spanish Blade was opened-the name reverted back to the Royal Oak in 1981.
1977
Street parties ands celebrations were held for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.
21st Century Kirby Muxloe
2000
The Millennium Celebrations.
2002/3
Silks Haulage business closed and 3 white houses were demolished on Main Street to make way for a small housing development.
2002
The Queen's Golden Jubilee.
2004
The old bakehouse was demolished and building started at Carlyon Court.
2006
Kirby Muxloe Local History Group was formed.
2012
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
2012
The remains of Richard III were found in the car park of Leicester Grammar School annex. The land had previously been the site of the Grey Friars Priory.
2012/13
University of Leicester archaeologists find Iron Age Cauldrons, a sword, brooch and dress pins at their Glenfield Park dig site (now Optimus Point).
2014
The Kirby Muxloe History Group held an exhibition in the Village Hall to commemorate the start of WWI.
2014
The King Richard III Visitor Centre opened in Leicester.
2015
In March, after a procession from the site of the Battle of Bosworth to Leicester, the remains of Richard III were formerly reinterred in Leicester Cathedral.
2018
Following the success of their previous exhibition the History Group held another-this time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.
2019
The Covid pandemic resulted in lockdown in the UK in 2020.
2020
In December the UK was the world leader in introducing the Covid vaccination programme.
2022
Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee.
2022
The Parish Council refurbished our War Memorial Gates and the War Memorial Stone. These were rededicated by the Bishop Loughborough. the Remembrance Day Service, two days later, was followed by the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the "gift" of the Recreation ground by Henry Swain Bennett in 1923.
2022
Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
2023
The Coronation of Charles III and Queen Camilla.