Sileby Probate Material, 1801-1859

Sileby lies astride the main railway line between Leicester and Nottingham. In the 20th century it became a dormitory settlement for these two cities, and was described by W.G. Hoskins, in the Shell guide to Leicestershire, as ‘one of the unloveliest villages one could find anywhere … red brick, dreary’. Yet looks are not everything, for once you scratch beneath the surface a fascinating history appears. The physical form and character of Sileby were shaped by the pattern of land ownership before the railway appeared. Lacking strong lordship and with no dominant landowner, squatters’ cottages stood on the manorial waste (now replaced by permanent houses on the original footprint, creating a curious street plan), nonconformity prospered and factories and workshops grew up alongside houses.

As part of the research towards a full VCH entry for this parish, probate material has been transcribed, and the transcripts are divided on this site between the following periods:

Sileby Probate Material, 1621-40

Sileby Probate Material, 1661-80

Sileby Probate Material, 1681-1720

Sileby Probate Material, 1751-1800

Sileby Probate Material, 1801-1859 (here)