Swithland Wood

Swithland Wood is a public woodland in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire. Although close to the village of Swithland, it is almost entirely within the parish of Newtown Linford. It is just north of Bradgate Park and also near Woodhouse Eaves and Cropston. The wood is part of the Swithland Wood and The Brand SSSI, noted for both its biological and geological interest, and is Leicestershire's most important ancient woodland for nature conservation. Quarries within the wood were a source of the distinctive Swithland Slate roofs found on many local buildings as well as the slate gravestones common in Leicestershire churchyards. Swithland Wood has been a public woodland since 1925, upon the acquisition from the Leicester Rotary Club, having previously been part of the estate of the manor of Groby. . The woodland began place of the Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood Trust in 1931, later acquired from the Leicester Rotary Club.

Ancient Woodland

Swithland

Coordinates: 52°42′48″N 1°11′17″W / 52.713228°N 1.188036°W / 52.713228; -1.188036

Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston and Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves. Although small, it has a village hall, a parish church, and a pub. The village is known for the slate that was quarried in the area.

History

Swithland was originally held by Groby. Part of the village had become held by the Danvers (originally called D'Anvers) family by 1412, and between 1509 and 1796, the whole village was held by the Danvers family. The village includes the 13th-century St. Leonard's parish church, which retains the original arcades and has an 18th-century west tower built for Sir John Danvers. The church includes monuments to Agnes Scott, Sir John Danvers (actually installed on Danvers' instruction six years before his death) and five of his children. The churchyard of St. Leonard's includes the tomb of Sir Joseph Danvers (1686–1753), which was built half inside the graveyard and half outside (on Danvers' estate) to allow his favourite dog to be buried with him (the dog buried on unconsecrated ground). Swithland was designated a conservation area in 1993, and includes 31 listed buildings, including the Grade I Mountsorrel Cross, and several Grade II buildings including the school, which was built in 1843 and a cottage from 1842. The village pub, the Griffin Inn, originally the Griffin Hotel, was built c.1700 and has been put to several uses in its history, including a brewery, bakery, and village mortuary. An annual village fair was held in Victorian times outside the pub on the Feast of St. Leonard in November.