Parish History
The two Roman roads of Watling Street (now the A5) and The Fosse Way cross at what was once the Roman Fort of Venonis, now High Cross. This is about a mile-and-a-half from the village of Claybrooke Magna and is one of those places which claim to be the centre of England. Although the Romans surfaced Watling Street, its existence is ancient. High Cross is one of the sites suggested for the Battle of Watling Street, where Suetonius finally destroyed the rebellion of Boudica in AD 60 or 62.
For the first years of the Roman occupation, the Fosse marked the western edge of Roman control, so Claybrooke would have been very much on the frontier, as it is today. Watling Street is the boundary between Leicestershire and Warwickshire, and the religious parish of Claybrooke straddles this border, incorporating the Claybrookes and Ullesthorpe (which are in Leicestershire) and Wibtoft, which is in Warwickshire. The parish thus predates the establishment of the counties.
After the Romans left, the next wave of invaders came from Germany. The Saxons settled in Claybrooke Parva; there was an Anglo-Saxon manor here (the moat still exists by the burial ground) and the foundations of St Peter’s are Saxon.
When the Danes invaded, the northeastern part of the country was given over to Danish control and called ‘The Danegeld. Once again, Claybrooke was a frontier village, for Watling Street was the boundary. This is reflected in village place names. Leire (a village a couple of miles away) probably derives its name from the Swedish word for ‘clay’ which is ‘lera’, whilst the Danish is ‘ler’. Similarly, Ullesthorpe was a Viking settlement. ‘Thorpe’ is the Viking word for ‘farm’ and the modern Swedish for ‘wool’ is ‘ull’. Interestingly, Ullesthorpe had a large sheep market right up to the 1960’s. It is probable that the two races mingled around here and eventually intermarried.
The Norman invasion had little effect on Claybrooke, although given our position near the ‘boss’ of
England, the major battles of Bosworth and Naseby took place near us.
Claybrooke was and remains a rural village. Stocking knitting took place in Claybrooke Magna, but little or none in Claybrooke Parva. The coach road from London to Chester passed through the village, but it was Ullesthorpe and Claybrooke Magna which developed the inns. Parva however provided the religious focus of the church.
St Peter’s church dominates the village and is, to quote Simon Jenkins in his ‘England’s Thousand Best Churches’ “a jewel”. The nave is Perpendicular, the the top two tiers of the tower are seventeenth Century whilst the base of the tower is dated at about 1100. But it is the chancel that is its glory. There is eighteenth Century graffiti carved outside on the east of the chancel, whilst the south side shows a medieval mass dial and deep grooves in one of the windows, thought to be caused by centuries of locals sharpening arrows.