Skeffington
| Skeffington | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Thomas Becket, Skeffington |
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 Skeffington
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| Skeffington shown within Leicestershire | |
| Population | 223 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SK739025 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEICESTER |
| Postcode district | LE7 |
| Dialling code | 0116 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Skeffington is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated east of Leicester on the A47 Leicester to Uppingham road, between the parishes of Billesdon and Tugby and Keythorpe. The population (including Rolleston) at the 2011 census was 223.
The derivation is from the Sceaft tribe, whose name may possibly have derived from sceap, meaning sheep. The first written record of the village appeared as Scifitone in the Domesday Book in 1086, when it was under royal ownership and housed 186 villagers, 112 smallholders, 204 freemen and 1 priest. It was recorded as "Sceaftinton" in 1192.
The village's church is dedicated to St Thomas Becket and is a Grade II* listed building. It dates from the 13th century, but underwent a rebuild in 1860. There is jumbled medieval stained glass in the east chapel window, where damaged figures from a monument to Thomas Skeffington, sheriff of the county in Elizabethan times. There is also a 1651 monument to Sir John Skeffington, and several floor slabs commemorating other members of the family.
Skeffington Hall, adjacent to the church, is also Grade II* listed. It has some Tudor features. The estate passed in 1786 to an Irishman named Farrell who took the name Skeffington. He pulled down 21 houses in the village to improve his view from the Hall, but overspent, so that the estate was sold again in 1811. In 1860 it was bought by William Tailby, who founded the Billesdon fox hunt, of which he became master.
The village lay historically in the hundred of East Goscote.
The Anglican church is part of a group benefice with Keyham, Billesdon, Goadby, Hungarton and Rolleston. There are no commercial facilities. The nearest nursery school, primary school, public houses, shops, filling station and sports facilities are at Houghton on the Hill (4 miles).
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