Appleby Parva

Coordinates: 52°40′36″N 1°32′43″W / 52.676629°N 1.545231°W / 52.676629; -1.545231

Appleby Parva, or Little Appleby (Known locally as Over-Town), part of the parish of Appleby Magna in Leicestershire, is a hamlet about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of Appleby church. It straddles the A444, south of the crossroads of the highways from Ashby de la Zouch to Tamworth, from Atherstone to Burton upon Trent and Junction 11 of the M42/A42. Appleby Magna and Appleby Parva are usually collectively known as Appleby.

The village was also calculated to be the centre of population of Great Britain in 2000, according to research by Professor Danny Dorling.

History

Appleby Parva is originally believed to be a Danish settlement, whilst Appleby Magna is believed to be an earlier settlement pre-dating the Anglo-Saxons. The name is derived from a combination of 'apa', meaning water or stream, and 'by(r)', meaning settlement.

Appleby appears 3 times in the Domesday Book, with Appleby Magna (listed as Aplebi and Apleby) and Appleby Parva (listed as Apleberie) recorded separately.Appleby Magna is listed as partly in Derbyshire and partly in Leicestershire, where Appleby Parva is listed as being in Leicestershire Both have shifted across the borders several times but have been part of Leicestershire since 1897.