The Grange, Fowke Street

The Grange in Fowke Street is often confused with Rothley Grange Farm in West Cross Lane on the Mountsorrel border. Rothley Grange Farm is a listed building, The Grange is not, much to the surprise of local residents. It is, however, within a Conservation Area.

In the Enclosure Award of 1782 The Grange and the fields behind right up to the Turnpike (Loughborough Road) were listed as awarded to Sir John Danvers, Lord of Swithland Manor. The canal cutting to create the island field was a requirement of the Enclosure. Danvers would have put in place a rather nice farmhouse and outbuildings to give a base to a tenant farmer producing rental income for his estate.

Sir John died in 1796, the Grange falling into the hands of his son-in-law Augustus Richard Butler, who had to add Danvers to his name in order to inherit Swithland Hall & Manor. In 1815 Augustus needed cash to finance his son's wedding and proceeded to unload The Grange and other Rothley lands onto city financiers. The Grange was subsequently bought up by Matthew Babington, brother of Thomas Babington of Rothley Temple, who were in partnership together in the Leicester Bank with John Mansfield.

Matthew died in 1836 and The Grange was tenanted through the rest of the 1800s by a succession of gentlemen. In 1894 the whole mini-estate was bought by Isabella Robinson, widow of a prosperous Durham brewer, as the base for the development of a country seat for her son, Colonel Abbott Robinson. She paid £488 13s 4d. Abbott Robinson was married in 1894 to Mary Argentine Fryer, of a prestigious army family. The couple set about seriously enlarging The Grange, and creating extensive water gardens at the back of the house. The Abbott Robinsons were pillars of local society. The Colonel died in 1946, and his widow in 1950.

Their estate was administered by prominent Leicester solicitor Geoffrey Barnett, husband of Lady Isobel Barnett. The house and land were sold to Barrow Rural District Council for their headquarters, being described in the sale brochures as "an eighteenth century Country House with 9 Bedrooms, 4 Maids Rooms, very large Lounge, Hall, Dining Library, Butler's Pantry, Servant's Hall, 2 Coach Houses, Harness Room, Motor House, Carriage House, Electric Light Station, 4-stall Cowshed, Hay Loft, 2 Loose Boxes and 5 Closes of Pasture".

The Barrow Council surrounded the old property with tasteless modern outbuildings, which became the headache for the new Charnwood Borough Council, taking over in the 1974 Local Government Reorganisation. Charnwood's solution was to lease the use of the buildings, which became bases for units of Severn-Trent Engineering, and of Leicestershire Social Services.

This long tail of decline ended in 2008 with the speculative purchase from the Council by William Davis, who have since created the sparkling new and renovated apartments complex that graces Fowke Street in 2010.

Sadly, this is not the original eagle but the hunt is on to see what happened to it. The late Jack Moore said that it had been taken to Charnwood Borough Council for safe keeping so where is it now? Any information to the Site Editor, please, on 0116 2375156
In a photograph dated 1948 there is no eagle over the front door so any information on its history would be very welcome.
It is sad that our history is lost in this way so the hunt is also on for the plaque of the discus player and any information on its history is being sought.
The millstone has been stolen and this would be around the time that the graves were being excavated so will now most likely be a feature in another garden.

To learn more about The Grange, its history and wildlife please click on the following link: