Melton Mowbray

Melton Mowbray(/ˈmɛltənˈmoʊbri/) is amarket townin theMeltondistrict inLeicestershire, England, 19 miles (31 km) north-east ofLeicesterand 20 miles (32 km) south-east ofNottingham. It lies on theRiver Eye, known below Melton as theWreake. The town had a population of 27,670 in 2019.The town is sometimes promoted as Britain's "Rural Capital of Food";it is the home of theMelton Mowbray pork pieand is the location of one of six licensed makers ofStilton cheese.
The name comes from the early English wordMedeltone– meaning 'Middletown surrounded by small hamlets' (as do Milton and Middleton).Mowbrayis theNormanfamily name of earlyLords of the Manor– namelyRobert de Mowbray.
In and around Melton, there are 28 scheduled ancient monuments, some 705 buildings of special architectural or historical interest, 16 sites of special scientific interest, and several deserted village sites.Its industrial archaeology includes theGrantham Canaland remains of theMelton Mowbray Navigation. Windmill sites and signs of ironstone working and smelting suggest that the site was densely populated in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Many small communities existed and strategic points atBurrough HillandBelvoirwere fortified.
In Roman times, Melton benefited from proximity to theFosse Wayand other major Roman roads, and to military centres at Leicester and Lincoln. Intermediate camps were established, for example, at Six Hills on the Fosse Way. Other Roman trackways passed north of Melton along the scarp of the Vale of Belvoir linkingMarket Harboroughto Belvoir, and south toOakhamandStamford.
Evidence of settlement in the Anglo-Saxon and 8th–9th-centuryDanelawperiods shows in place names. Along the Wreake Valley, the Danish suffix "-by" is common, e.g. in Asfordby, Dalby, Frisby, Hoby, Rearsby and Gaddesby. A cemetery of 50–60 graves of pagan Anglo-Saxon origin has been found in Melton Mowbray. Most villages and their churches had origins before theNorman Conquestof 1066, shown by stone crosses at Asfordby and Sproxton and Anglo-Saxon cemeteries at Goadby Marwood, Sysonby and Stapleford.
Melton Mowbray had six recorded crosses from several centuries: (i) Kettleby Cross near today's filling station near the junction of Dalby Road and Leicester Road, (ii) Sheep Cross at Spital End, now Nottingham Street/Park Road junction, (iii) Corn Cross at Swine Lane/Spittle End junction, remade and re-erected at the Nottingham St/High St junction in 1996 as a memorial to theRoyal Army Veterinary Corps, (iv) Butter Cross or High Cross at the west end of Beast Market, again rebuilt from remains of an original Anglo-Saxon cross in 1986–1987 in the Market Place, (v) Sage Cross at the East end of the Beast Market close to Saltgate, in Sherrard Street opposite Sage Cross Street, and (vi) Thorpe Cross at the end of Saltgate, near the junction of Thorpe Road and Saxby Road. The original crosses were removed or destroyed during the Reformation and other iconoclastic periods, or to make room for traffic or other development.
The effects of theNorman Conquestrecorded in the 1086Domesday Bookshow that settlements atLong ClawsonandBottesfordwere of noteworthy size, and that Melton Mowbray a thriving market town of some 200 inhabitants, with weekly markets, two water mills and two priests. The mills, still in use up to the 18th century, are remembered in the names of Beckmill Court and Mill Street.
Melton has thus been a market town for over 1,000 years. Recorded as Leicestershire's only market in the 1086Domesday Survey, it is the third oldest market in England. Tuesday has been market day since royal approval was given in 1324. The market was founded with tolls before 1077.
Legacies from the Middle Ages include consolidation of village and market-town patterns – in Melton Mowbray, Bottesford, Wymondham and Waltham-on-the-Wolds. The last had a mediaeval market which survived until 1921, and an annual fair of horses and cattle. Many buildings in Melton Market Place, Nottingham Street, Church Lane, King Street and Sherrard Street have ancient foundations. Alterations to No. 16 Church Street revealed a medieval circular stone wall subjected to considerable heat. This is probably the Manor Oven mentioned in 13th-century documents. Surveys of 5 King Street show it belonged to an early medieval open-halled house. It may have been part of the 14th-century castle or fortified manor of the Mowbrays.
King Richard IandKing Johnvisited the town and may have stayed at an earlier castle. In 1549, after the Dissolution of chantries, monasteries and religious guilds, church plate was sold and land bought for the town. Resulting rents were used to maintainMelton School, first recorded in 1347, making it one of the oldest in Britain. Funds were also used to maintain roads and bridges and repair the church clock.
During theEnglish Civil War, Melton was aRoundheadgarrison commanded by a Colonel Rossiter. Two battles were fought: in November 1643, Royalists caught the garrison unaware and carried away prisoners and booty; in February 1645, SirMarmaduke Langdale, commanding a Royalist force of 1,500 men, inflicted severe losses on the Roundheads. Some 300 men were said to have been killed. Legend has it that the hillside where the battle was fought was ankle deep in blood, hence the nameAnkle Hill. However, the name appears in documents from before the Civil War and the names of Dalby Road and Ankle Hill have been switched, so confusing the true site of the battle.
Local notable families seem to have had divided loyalties, though the Civil War ended with rejoicings outside the Limes in Sherrard Street, home of Sir Henry Hudson. His father, Robert Hudson, founded the Maison Dieualmshousesopposite the Church in 1640, complementing the stone Anne of Cleves House opposite. This was built in 1384 and housed chantry priests until the Dissolution. It was then included in the estates ofAnne of ClevesbyHenry VIII, as a divorce settlement in the 16th century, although there is debate about whether she ever stayed there. A Grade II* listed building, it is now a public house owned byEverards, a Leicester brewery.
On 6 April 1837, the3rd Marquess of Waterfordand a hunting party went on a spree through Melton streets causing much damage, according to theLondon Examiner.Henry Alken's picturesA Spree at Melton MowbrayandLarking at the Grantham Tollgateare said to illustrate this. They featured also in a play,The Meltonians, at TheTheatre Royal, Drury Lanein 1838.The Corn Exchange in Nottingham Street was completed in 1854.
In 1942–1964,RAF Melton Mowbraylay to the south towardsGreat Dalby. TheClass A airfieldhad been intended for aircraft maintenance, but was taken over byRAF Transport Command. In 1946–1958, it was used as a displaced persons camp by thePolish Resettlement Corps.Melton Mowbray served as aThorstrategic missile site in 1958–1963, when254(SM) Squadronoperated a flight of three nuclear missiles from the base.
Stilton cheeseoriginated as a commercial venture developed to manufacture cheese for sale at the village ofStiltoninCambridgeshire, which has led to claims that the cheese itself originated outside that village. Historical evidence suggests an evolution of the cheese over many years, with some sourced from Melton Mowbray or surroundings. Stilton is still made in the town at the Tuxford & Tebbutt creamery, one of only sixdairieslicensed to do so. Makers in Cambridgeshire cannot call their cheese Stilton, even if it is made there.The earliest reference cited isDaniel Defoe, who in 1724 called the cheese he ate at Stilton "the EnglishParmesan". Growth of business from travellers on theGreat North Roadand from sales toLondonled to a need to source more cheese from further afield, including the Melton region, and over time the modernblue cheesedeveloped.
Melton Mowbray pork piesare made by a specific "hand-raising" process and recipe. On 4 April 2008 theEuropean Unionawarded the Melton Mowbray pork pieProtected Geographical Indicationstatus, after a long-standing application made by theMelton Mowbray Pork Pie Association. Only pies made in a designated zone round Melton using uncured pork may bear the Melton Mowbray name.The pork was originally a by-product of cheese making as thewheywas fed to pigs.
Melton Mowbray is home to Melton cloth, a tightly woven fabric first mentioned in 1823, heavily milled with anapraised to a short, dense non-lustrouspile. Sailors'pea coatsare traditionally made of it, as are the commonly worn workmen'sdonkey jacketsof Britain and Ireland, and loggers' "cruising jackets" andMackinawsin North America.
There are two tiers of local government covering Melton Mowbray, at district and county level:Melton Borough CouncilandLeicestershire County Council.The borough council has its offices at Parkside on Burton Street, adjoiningMelton Mowbray railway station.The building was purpose-built for the council and opened in 2011.
Six of the 16 wards from which borough councillors are elected are named for the town: Melton Craven, Melton Dorian, Melton Egerton, Melton Newport, Melton Sysonby, and Melton Warwick.
Melton Mowbray was anancient parish.The parish was made alocal government districtin 1860, governed by a local board.Such districts were reconstituted asurban districtsin 1894.In 1929 the Melton Mowbray Urban District Council bought Egerton Lodge to serve as its offices and meeting place.Melton Mowbray Urban District was abolished in 1974, merging with the surroundingMelton and Belvoir Rural Districtto become the borough of Melton. Nosuccessor parishwas created for the former urban district.
When created in 1974 Melton BC inherited offices at Egerton Lodge from Melton Mowbray Urban District Council and at Warwick Lodge on Dalby Road from Melton and Belvoir Rural District Council.In 1986 the council moved to a new building on Nottingham Road.The Nottingham Road building largely burnt down on 30 May 2008.The northern wing of the building was repaired and is now called Phoenix House, but the rest of the building was beyond repair and was demolished. The council chose to build new headquarters at Parkside, spending £5.6m on the new building.
Melton Mowbray contains a rare example of early town government. The Melton Mowbray Town Estatewas founded in 1549, during the Reformation, when two townsfolk sold silver and plate sequestered from the church and bought land to be held in trust for all inhabitants. It provided early forms of education and the first street lighting, and still owns and keeps the town's parks, sports grounds and market. From its inception, the running of the Town Estate was undertaken by Town Wardens.
In 1989, a new Scheme of Arrangement drawn up by the Charity Commission after public consultation transferred management to a body of 14Feoffees, two of whom are known as Senior and Junior Town Warden.Nowadays the Town Warden position is titular, as the public face of the Town Estate on civic or ceremonial occasions.
Melton Mowbray was a part of theRutland and Meltonseat until the dissolution of Parliament for the 2024 general election, at which Melton Borough became the largest component of the newMelton and Systonconstituency.
Melton Mowbray's 1,766 inhabitants in 1801 rose by 1831 to 3,327, by 1841 to 3,740, by 1851 to 4,434, and by 1861 to 4,436. Melton Mowbray's official web site listed the 2009 population of the town as 25,276 and that of Melton Borough as 46,861.
Before 1960, the Production Engineering Research Association of Great Britain came to Nottingham Road and employed about 400 people in supporting research and development in industry.It is also houses the East Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service.The formerEast Midlands Regional Assemblywas also based in Nottingham Road.
Petfoodsarrived in 1951 as Chappie Ltd, employing at its peak over 2,000. It still employs about 1,000. The firm changed its name to Petfoods in 1957, to Pedigree Petfoods in 1972, and to Masterfoods in January 2002. At Melton, it makes four million items of pet food a day, though this is less than earlier. Masterfoods now has its UK headquarters close to Melton atWaltham-on-the-Wolds.
St Mary's Churchdates mainly from the 13th–15th centuries. It has been described as "one of the finest parish churches in Leicestershire".
Egerton Lodge is a Grade IIlisted buildingbuilt in 1829 forLord Wilton, as ahunting box. It served as the offices of Melton Mowbray Urban District Council from 1929 until its abolition in 1974,and was later a care home  until 2023.Its gardens are laid out as awar memorial.
TheMelton Carnegie Museumwas refurbished in 2010 to cover the history of the town. Included are sounds from the ages, a history of the hunt, a preserved phone box, a buried Anglo-Saxon, and shrapnel from the Second World War.
The Melton Band, a traditional British-style brass band, can trace its directors back to 1856, and was until recently called Melton Borough Band. The colourful Melton Mowbray Toy Soldiers Marching Band was formed in 1936. Happy Jazz – a Dixieland jazz band – had its headquarters in the town in 1996–2014. The Melton Mowbray Tally Ho Band formed in 1936 and the mixed brass and woodwind Tornado Brass in the 1980s.
Some of Melton's many pubs, such as theGenerous BritainorJenny B, continue to encourage live music.TheNoels Armsfree house was Melton Mowbray DistrictCAMRAPub of the Year in 2014 and was also briefly home to Gasdog Brewery.One of Melton's oldest surviving pubs, with features from the early 14th century, is theAnne of Clevesin Burton Street, close to St Mary's Church; once home to chantry monks, the building was passed after the Dissolution to Anne of Cleves as part of her divorce settlement.
The town cinema, The Regal in King Street,occupies a purpose-built theatre complete with period interior design, sumptuous colours, winding staircases and fancy plasterwork.It re-opened in 2013 after refurbishment.
Concerts have been held at the Carousel Bandstand in Melton Mowbray Park since August 1909. They take place on summer Sundays.
Melton's radio station, 103 FM The Eye, broadcasts to Melton Borough and the Vale of Belvoir and parts of Rushcliffe Borough. It can also be heard on the internet.When launched in 2005, it was the first in the UK to go on the air under the new tier of community radio, licensed by the broadcasting regulator OFCOM. The station has since won awards for its work. It is named after the local river, theEye.
TheStapleford Miniature Railway, built in 1958, is a private, steam-hauled passenger railway atStapleford Parkabout 3 miles (5 km) to the east of Melton Mowbray. Famous for a fleet of steam locos and its scenic location, it attracts visitors and tourists for two public charity events each year. It has the same10+1⁄4in (260 mm) gauge as the Town Estates railway around Play Close Park in Melton.
Also1⁄2mile (800 m) to the north-east of Melton is theTwinlakes Theme Park, with a range of family attractions and rides.The Waterfield Leisure Pools include a gym and fitness suite, as well as swimming.
The library in Wilton Road is close to the town centre.Adjacent is Melton Theatre, part ofBrooksby Melton College, on the junction with Asfordby Road. The theatre, first opened in 1976, was recently refurbished. In the past few years, it has produced ballet, opera and stage plays and provided a venue for bands and acts, pantomime and art shows.
Melton has a fire station, a police station, and a hospital that includes St Mary's Maternity Centre. The War Memorial Hospital off Ankle Hill, originally Wyndham Lodge, was donated to the town in 1920 by Colonel Richard Dalgliesh. It was sold in 2010 to help fund St Mary's Hospital.Melton Country Parkprovides green space.
The town's secondary schools areLong Field AcademyandJohn Ferneley Collegefor pupils aged 11–16 and theMelton Vale Post 16 Centre(MV16) for sixth-formers. Its primary schools are Brownlow, Grove, St Francis RC, St Mary's C of E, Sherard and Swallowdale. Birchwood Special School caters for pupils of primary and secondary-school age. Melton's largest school was theKing Edward VII, which at one time had some 2,000 pupils aged 11–19. It was founded as a grammar school in 1910, became comprehensive in the late 1960s, and closed after reaching its centenary.Brooksby Melton Collegeprovides vocational, further and higher education in a wide range of subjects at a campus in Asfordby Road and at its Brooksby campus 6 miles (10 km) out of town.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC East MidlandsandITV Central. Television signals are received from the nearbyWalthamTV transmitter.
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Leicesteron 104.9 FM,Smooth East Midlandson 106.6 FM,Capital Midlandson 96.2 FM,Greatest Hits Radio Midlandson 106.0 FM, andThe Eye, a community-based radio station which broadcast from the town on 103 FM.
TheMelton Timesis the town's weekly newspaper.
Two main roads intersecting at Melton Mowbray are theA606betweenNottinghamandOakhamand theA607betweenLeicesterandGrantham. Other roads include theA6006 from Asfordby, the second section of theB676 roadto Colsterworth, and theB6047 road to Market Harborough, which starts in Melton.
A bypass relief road, the North & East Melton Mowbray Distributor Road, connecting the A606 and A607 with the aim of alleviating congestion in the town centre,began construction in spring 2023 and is expected to be completed by summer 2025.
Melton Mowbray railway station, on theBirminghamtoStansted Airportline, also servesLeicester,PeterboroughandCambridge. Trains run hourly. The station offers peak-hour trains to and fromNottingham,NorwichandSleaford. It is managed byEast Midlands Railway, but most services are run byCrossCountry, which intends to enhance its service gradually to half-hourly on this route. Since early 2009,East Midlands Trainshas offered a single daily journey from Melton Mowbray toLondon St Pancrasand return. This is notable for being the first regular passenger service to cross the historicWelland Viaductsince 1966. In 2010, the company introduced a single daily return journey toDerby.
Arriva Midlandsprovide frequent buses toLeicesteron service 5A.Centrebusare the main operator of bus services around the town, with some longer-distance routes operating toSyston,Grantham,Loughborough, andOakham. The service toNottinghamwas withdrawn in April 2022.
Greyhound racingwas held at a stadium on the north side of Saxby Road in 1946–1969.Motorcycle speedwayracing was held at the Greyhound Stadium in 1949–1950.The cinder track was laid before and lifted after each meeting. The events, staged on a Sunday, were opposed by theLord's Day Observance Societyfor a short time. The stadium was also the venue for a few meetings in 1950 when the Melton Lions faced select teams.
Melton Town Football Clubcompetes in theUnited Counties LeaguePremier Division North, step five in theEnglish Football Pyramid. Known as the Pork Pie Army, they play their home games at Melton Sports Village on a recently installed FIFA Pro Quality 3G pitch. The ground is currently sponsored by local firm Sign Right Creative and the club are coached by Player/Manager Tom Manship.
Melton Rugby club competes inCounties 2 Midlands East(North). The town has its own Sunday Football League, in which some 15 teams compete every Sunday. Asfordby Hill is home to Holwell Sports, which plays in the Leicestershire Senior League premier division.
Leicestershire County Cricket Clubplayedfirst-class cricketatEgerton Parkin 1946–1948.
There is aparkrun(held in the country park every Saturday morning) and a junior parkrun (held in Play Close Park every Sunday morning).