Place:Church Langton, Leicestershire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

Church Langton was the mother church of the four other parishes which include the word Langton in their names: East Langton, West Langton, Thorpe Langton and Tur Langton. Church Langton is 4 miles north of Market Harborough and it had an area of 4,409 acres. The church at Church Langton stands on a ridge lying between two small streams which form the principal parish boundaries. The two streams enter the River Welland from east and south at a distance of less than 400 yards. The ancient parish is therefore narrow in shape, extending westwards and northwards from the river for about 4 miles, broadening out as the ground rises. The villages of West Langton and East Langton lie on the southern slopes of the ridge, close to Church Langton; Thorpe Langton is at the eastern end, nearest to the river, and Tur Langton is on the western side of the ridge, north of Church Langton. The mother church of the parish and the greater part of the village of Church Langton now lie in the civil parish of East Langton. (Source: Victoria County History of Leicestershire, Vol 5, chapter on Church Langton)

Church Langton church tower is a landmark to travellers from the south, and the whole building is finely proportioned. The church has an organ given by William Hanbury, vicar for 25 years from 1753. There is an Old Roman Road that runs nearby, as it moves southeast out of Leicester. It is about 86 miles north of London, 12 miles southeast of Leicester city and (as said above) 4 miles north of Market Harborough. (Source: Wikipedia).

East and West Langton, Thorpe Langton and Tur Langton all became separate civil parishes in 1866 and Church Langton became part of East Langton parish.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History - Leicestershire - Vol 5, pp193-213 - Parish: Church Langton. (London, 1964) British History Online. University of London.
• The map on the place-page for Market Harborough Rural District illustrates the location of the various parishes.
• From this Findmypast page you can browse the Leicestershire parishes which have parish register transcripts online.
• From this Ancestry page you can browse the Leicestershire parishes which have parish register transcripts online.
• For both of the above sites, a subscription is charged. Transcriptions of these records may also be available free of charge on the FamilySearch website.
• A further collection of online source references will be found on the county page for Leicestershire.