In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Whitwick like this:
WHITWICK, a small town, a township, a parish, and a subdistrict, in Ashby-de-la-Zouch district, Derby. The town stands 1½ mile NNE of Coalville r. station, and 5 E by S of Ashby; underwent improvement of its market place in 1859; and has a post-office‡ under Leicester, a fine old church restored in 1849, four dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, national schools, charities £40, and a weekly market. ...
The township comprises 3,260 acres. Real property, £21,467; of which £6,800 are in mines. Pop. in 1851, 2,836; in 1861, 3,759. Houses, 708. An ancient castle of the Earls of Lancaster stood on Castle hill; figured, for a time, as an important fortress; and is now represented only by a few traces of its keep. Bardon Hill, about 2 miles from the town, is much frequented by picnic parties, and commands an extensive view. A Roman Catholic monastery, the earliest erected in England since the Reformation, and a reformatory for Roman Catholic criminals established in 1856, stand amid hills within a part of Charnwood forest.—The parish contains also Swannington and Thringstone townships; includes parts of Coalville and Oaks chapelries; and comprises 6,220 acres. Pop in 1851., 4,956; in 1861, 6,439. Houses, 1,303. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £400.* Patron, the Duchy of Lancaster. The p. curacy of St. George or Swannington is a separate benefice. -The sub-district contains four parishes and a part, and comprises 14,298 acres. Pop., 9,874. Houses, 2,055.
Whitwick through time
Whitwick is now part of North West Leicestershire district. Click here for graphs and data of how North West Leicestershire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Whitwick itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Whitwick in North West Leicestershire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/11371
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
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