Elmesthorpe

Elmesthorpe (sometimes spelt Elmersthorpe, Elmsthorpe[1] or Aylmersthorpe[2]) is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England.

The Black Death and a failing economy caused the village to depopulate and for a time disappear.

[2] In 1485, it is thought King Richard III and his troops stayed in the partially ruined church for shelter on their march from Leicester to the Battle of Bosworth; with the king and his officers sheltering within the church, and the soldiers camping outside.

[2] The "new village" grew up around this station; starting with workers' cottages and an inn built by The Earl of Lovelace, with designs by architect C.F.A.

The government initiated a scheme which brought families from depressed areas to make a living from the land.

In 1935 Church Farm was purchased by the Land Settlement Association, who built 43 smallholdings in the village.

St Mary's Church Elmesthorpe, showing the ruined and restored halves
Inside the ruined section of Elmesthorpe Church