A tribe known as the Corieltauvi constructed this road, running along the southern edge of the Great Leicester Forest, a vast tract of woodland which entirely covered west Leicestershire and stretched up into Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
It appears that the Corieltauvi were better farmers than warriors, for they lived in lowland settlements, usually beside streams, frequently surrounded, or even hidden, by areas of thick forest.
Being well inland, early Viking raids did not affect the villagers of Earl Shilton but in 874—875 a great heathen army of Danes moved up the River Trent and into the heart of Mercia.
It involved an intrinsic element of fairness, for each peasant's strips were widely spread over the entire manor; every family would have the benefit of good land in some areas, while accepting a poor yield elsewhere.
In addition to the open fields, each village or manor had common land where peasants had the right to graze cattle, collect wood, cut turf and at times catch fish.
Earl Shilton's castle was built around the site of an existing twelfth-century chapel called Saint Peter's that lies between Church Street and Almey’s Lane.
[citation needed] The original purpose of Shilton Park was to provide a hunting ground, stocked with game, for the lord of the manors' sport and food.
[citation needed] King Henry briefly held Shilton manor and park following the death of Simon de Montfort, before giving it to his son Edmund 'Crouchback'.
[citation needed] The widowed lady of the manor Constance de Shulton died on 20 May 1349, the year the Black Death arrived at Earl Shilton.
'[citation needed] The manor of Earl Shilton was given to John of Gaunt as part of her dowry when he married in 1359 Blanche, younger daughter of Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster.
[citation needed] During the reign of the Yorkist King Edward IV, the Shilton Park laws were rescinded, probably as it had belonged to the Lancastrian princes, and the land was given over to the Ruding family.
Swinging to the southwest, Richard is thought to have used the ancient track way to Shilton Hill and his army spent the night camped around the churches of Shulton and Elmesthorpe.
At the Court Baron for that year, on 13 October, Francis Thompson, a tenant of Studford Close, Earl Shilton, surrendered a field of 2½ acres to Nathaniel Ward and Thomas Sansome, held in trust for the poor of Hinckley.
[citation needed] From the start of the English Civil War in 1642 the broad tract of country between Ashby de la Zouch, Leicester and Watling Street became the buffer zone between the rival garrisons of Royalists and the Parliamentarians.
His offences included ignoring the Directory set by Parliament to enforce puritan reforms, refusing sacraments to those not kneeling, allowing Sunday games and reading a Royalist "Protestation" in the middle of a sermon.
[citation needed] John Goadby died in 1714, and in his will he bequeathed to the 'minister and poor Baptists in Earl Shilton - my close and its associated lands, commonly called Crowhearst.
When the old woman had gone through the ceremony they went off, but the person not being cured they collected a great many people and on Monday last returned to Aston pretending to have a warrant to justify their proceedings.
Clad in their red jackets, blue trousers and pipe clayed trimmings with pointed helmets, it is said that on Saturday nights Earl Shilton resembled a garrison town when everyone wore their uniform.
The reason for their preservation is believed to be that the old field pathways have kept their rights of way throughout the centuries, and the haphazard planning of the straggling village made desirable the small alleys leading to the main street.
[citation needed] In 1861 the American Civil War broke out, and Earl Shilton was hard hit by the Union blockade of the Confederate States' ports, preventing cotton exports.
[citation needed] The depression seemed to continue for many years, and the figures given by the Hinckley District Relief Committee in July, 1864, make interesting reading - Subscriptions raised in Earl Shilton parish were to the amount of £161 1s.
[citation needed] A Grand Bazaar was held in Earl Shilton on 28–29 December 1908, at the High Street School, to raise funds for a new building for the Social Institute.
The building is now used by the community and has 5 full size snooker tables and hosts regular Ju Jitsu classes & Little Stars play school and a food bank once a week.
[citation needed] After the Second World War generations grew up attending the Saturday matinees at the Picture House, or sessions at the new, outdoor, roller skating rink built beside it.
[13] At the top end of the village, the Air Raid Patrol wardens, met in the back room of the Plough, a Public House then run by Joe Lucas.
Thomas Green succeeded to the Baptist Church in Earl Shilton and in 1801, started the village's first school, where reading and writing were taught, as well as elementary knowledge of the Christian faith.
[citation needed] Shilton Victors, a football team who had their headquarters at the "King William IV" public house, won three cups in a single day, a very noteworthy achievement.
These matches were played after tea when work ceased, and very keen rivalry was witnessed, and good football without the frills was usually served up for the large crowds that assembled.
The town's present-day football team, Earl Shilton Albion FC play in the Leicestershire Senior League Division One, and their home stadium is Stoneycroft Park.
[citation needed] Between the World Wars Earl Shilton boasted a horticultural society, which held an annual flower and sports event in a field in Kings Walk.