Great Glen, Leicestershire
| Great Glen | |
| Leicestershire | |
|---|---|
 The Village Green, Great Glen | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SP655975 |
| Location: | 52°34’17"N, 1°2’6"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Leicester |
| Postcode: | LE8 |
| Dialling code: | 0116 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Harborough |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Harborough |
Great Glen (or Glenn), also known as Glen Magna, is a village in Leicestershire, about seven miles south-east of Leicester.
The name of the village appears to come from the old British language; the word glennos (Welsh glyn) meaning valley. This records that Great Glen lies in part of the valley of the River Sence. The 'great' part is to distinguish the village from Glen Parva, also in Leicestershire.
History
In the 16th century, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, father of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey, became the lord of the manor. After his execution for treason, his lands were seized by the crown.
Following the Battle of Naseby in 1645, during the Civil War, Great Glen played host to a band of Cromwellian soldiers who were pursuing some of the (defeated) Royalist Cavalry. They were later joined by the rest of the army who camped overnight before moving onto Leicester. Some of these soldiers made camp in the church where they caused much damage (such as breaking all the windows), of which some evidence can still be seen today. There are five road names in the village that mark these events: Cromwell Road, Naseby Way, Ruperts Way, Edgehill Close and Halford Close.
Features and amenities
In 1751 a turnpike bridge was built over the River Sence as a part of the stagecoach route from Leicester to London. The pubs The Pug & Greyhound (The Old Greyhound) and The Crown were originally coaching inns built soon after the new road opened. This road later became the A6 road, and a bypass around the village was opened in 2003. The Midland Main Line runs to the south of the A6, and formerly had a station to serve the village at the closest point.
There are now only three pubs surviving in the village - The Yews, The Royal Oak and The Greyhound.
The village park, The Recreation Ground on Bindleys Lane is the home of 2 of the village's sports clubs, Glen Villa FC and Great Glen Cricket Club.
At the centre of the village on the Stretton Road/Oaks Road T-junction is Great Glen Methodist Church, a Grade II* listed building, built in 1827.
The K6 Red telephone box on the village green is a listed building.
Stretton Hall
Stretton Hall was built in the 18th century, and though named after Stretton Magna it lies in Great Glen parish. Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Board for the Mentally Defective bought the hall in 1932 for conversion to a hospital. Under the NHS it was a residential hospital for learning disabled children and had 157 beds in 1979 [1]. The hospital closed in the 1990s and a housing development has been built on part of the site.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Great Glen, Leicestershire) |