LEICESTERSHIRE-PLUS-L Archives
Archiver > LEICESTERSHIRE-PLUS > 1999-02 > 0918857774
From: <>
Subject: Thurlaston
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 17:16:14 EST
Vic
Bassett House is very close to where I live, but not easy to see - its a long
way off a road. It is whats known as an extra-parochial place - meaning it
isnt in a parish. Here is an account of it from Whites Directory in 1877 -
KNOLL and BASSETT HOUSE comprise about 200 acres of land. It is situated
about 6 miles N.E. of Hinckley, and in 1871 comprised only 11 inhabitants.
[The land] is farmed by Mr. Joseph Swinnerton, who resides in Knoll House, and
some of his servants occupy what remains of Bassett House, which was anciently
a seat of the Bassett family, whose fish ponds and gardens may still be
traced .
So you can see why your great-grandfather had such a grand address! The house
was already a ruin about 1800 - What remains is chiefly of stone, which is
very massive and firm. A pleasant stream runs beside it, and its premises have
been moated round. Today there is a farmhouse there, incorporating part of
the ancient stonework.
Normanton Lodge is a couple of miles south of Bassett House - it is at the
entrance to the Normanton Turville estate. There was once a village there in
the Middle Ages, but like many Leicestershire villages it became deserted, and
only the manor house remained. The estate is now in Thurlaston parish. The
ancient house, Normanton Hall, was pulled down in the 1920s, but some of the
outbuildings remain, and there is now a modern house. I think the lodge house
would be the same one that your geat-grandfather knew.
Best wishes
Pam Drinkall in chilly Leicestershire
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