Place:Swannington, Leicestershire, England

Watchers
NameSwannington
TypeCivil parish
Coordinates52.741°N 1.385°W
Located inLeicestershire, England
See alsoWest Goscote Hundred, Leicestershire, Englandhundred in which the parish was included
Whitwick, Leicestershire, Englandancient parish of which it was a part
Ashby-de-la-Zouch Rural, Leicestershire, Englandrural district of which it was part 1894-1974
North West Leicestershire District, Leicestershire, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Swannington is a former mining village in Leicestershire, England. It was a terminus of the early (1832) Leicester and Swannington Railway that was built to carry away its pits' output.

Administratively, Swannington is a civil parish now forming part of the District of North West Leicestershire and, prior to 1974, the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Rural District. As stated below, before it became a separate civil parish, it was a township and chapelry inWhitwick ancient parish.

The parish church of Saint George was opened in 1825 to serve the townships of Swannington and Thringstone and is built on a spot reputedly chosen by William Wordsworth, a frequent guest of Sir George Beaumont (the 8th Baronet, 1799–1845) of nearby Coleorton Hall. (Further references will be found under Coleorton). It is possible that the dedication of the church to Saint George is derived from its association with this George Beaumont.

A windmill in Swannington called Hough Mill was built near a nature reserve established on the remains of Califat colliery (a 19th-century mine). It has been claimed as the birthplace of Robin Hood.

A History of Britain through Time provides the following description of Swannington from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"SWANNINGTON, a village, a township, and a chapelry, in Whitwick parish, Leicester. The village stands on the Leicester and Swannington railway, in a valley encompassed by gently rising hills, and well-watered by several fine springs, 3¾ miles E by S of Ashby-de-Ia-Zouch; and has a station on the railway, and a post-office under Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The township comprises 1,450 acres. Real property: £8,360; of which £4,132 are in mines. Population in 1851: 822; in 1861: 1,276. Houses: 285. The manor belongs to Wyggestone's Hospital. Coal abounds, and is largely worked.
"The chapelry is larger than the township. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Peterborough. Value: £140. Patron: the Vicar of Whitwick. The church is very plain. There are national schools."

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