This is the latest of a series of articles written by popular historian Arthur Tomlin more than 25 years ago. Mr Tomlin sadly died a couple of years ago. He was extremely well-known in the area as an artist and historian

SHEEPY Magna is a pleasant village on the west bank of the River Sence and is situated nine miles from Hinckley.

It contains 1,593 acres and at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086, part of the village was held by the wealthy Norman Baron Hugo de Grentemaisnell.

The origin of the name Sheepy comes form the old English words Sceapea or Sceapeg which translates as “Sheep River”.

It is believed that the village had associations with the Romans, with a large military station nearby at Mancetter.

There were two manors in Sheepy, one belonged to Sir Robert de Shepey, who gave land to the Cistercian Abbey at Merevale where the monks were noted for their wine making and in the gardens of Sheepy Magna there are traces of a terraced vineyard.

The other manor belonged to the Harcourt family which had a long association with the village. The Shepey family connection continued in Sheepy until the male line ended.

In the itinerary of 1280, the two Sheepy villages, together with Ratcliffe Culey and Lindley, answered collectively as one village containing around 40 families.

New House Grange in Sheepy is a moated 17th century house. It is a grange of Merevale Abbey with a panelled room and a unique staircase.

In the centre of the farmyard is a remarkable tithe barn, which is over 140ft long and is early 16th century. The barn, believed to have been the abbey’s main store, is timber framed with brick infilling.

The six bays inside are still in their original state with splendid oak timbers. The main trusses have aisle posts but the intermediate ones have no posts but sling braces instead. The half hipped room and the arch-braces to the principals make it one of the outstanding tithe barns in the country.

The parish church is dedicated to All Saints and the parishes of Sheepy Magna and Sheepy Parva and is the mother church of Ratcliffe Culey.

It is believed that a church was in existence on this site in the 11th century but it is only in the tower and the south wall that any trace of its ancient past can be discerned.

It has been suggested that it was built during the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189). In 1778 the church was almost entirely rebuilt, nothing of any antiquity was spared, not even the ancient font which was left to perish in the churchyard, or the stained glass which was erased from the windows.

The new building was considerably enlarged but not without sacrificing the greater part of the chancel, the only consolation being that it remained mainly Gothic with its pointed arches and windows.

The real tragedy of the rebuilding was the dismantling of the windows which bore the arms and escutcheons of many of the noble families who had estates in the district.

The reredos is a beautiful work in Caen stone surrounded by panels of alabaster depicting the last supper. Of the four windows in the south wall, two were designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and the remaining two were the work of C. E. Kemp, both distinguished artists of the Victorian era.

In 1220, there were three chapels attached to the mother church of Sheepy Magna, Sheepy Parva, Mythe and the only remaining church of Ratcliffe Culey. No trace of the other two remains. The vestry chest, which is made of oak, is considered to be very old and contains all the church registers and documents. The Communion plate consists of two chalices – one from 1575 and the other from 1722 – and are made from silver.

From 1768-1888 five members of the Fell family were rectors of the parish. At one time there were two rectory houses in the village, one of which was let to a farmer. The present rectory was built in 1856.

In the rectory garden there is a cypress tree on which is fixed a slate slab with a inscription showing that it was planted by a member of the Fell family in 1854. In the church are a number of memorials to the Fell families.

Of the six bells in the tower, two are dated 1601 and 1607, two are dated 1778, the date of one is unknown and the sixth was added some years later. On the outside of the church, under an arch, is a recumbent figure of a monk whose name and age are unknown.

A small independent chapel was built there in 1816. The National School was erected by the rector in 1874 at a cost of £400 and was attended at any one time by 26 boys and 35 girls.

The villages of Sheepy Magna and Sheepy Parva lie on either side of the River Sence and meet at a bridge beside which is one of the oldest watermills in the county.

The Sence joins the River Anker at Ratcliffe Culey and then falls into the River Tame. Eventually it reaches the River Trent and goes on to form the Humber Estuary.

The mill, which features in the Domesday Book, was a very imposing structure, probably the largest mill building in Leicestershire. It has a breast-shot well of about 14ft in diameter and drew its power from the River Sence. The output from the mill was tremendous, the flour being distributed by “Sentinel” – steam wagons.

The mill was eventually replaced by a water turbine and later by a steam engine. In the 1930s the power went electric.

Most of the old buildings have been demolished and the mill is now being run by Colborn Vitafeeds Ltd, a subsidiary of Shell, for producing cattle food.

Like many villages the two Sheepys were almost self-supporting, having their own tailor, post office, boot and shoe market, bakers, plumber, blacksmith, wheelwright and undertaker.

The blacksmith’s shop was built in 1742 and the overhead beams were formerly a ship’s keel, believed to be 500 years old. Since 1947 it has been in the capable hands of Mr Darren Moody, who has handed the premises and all the tools, forge and anvil over to the Snibston Museum near to Coalville.

In 1991 the workshop and all its contents were moved, everything being numbered and positioned identically to where they were at Sheepy, a remarkable feat.

In October 1971 a remarkable discovery was made when demolition contractors pulled down a cottage in the village. They discovered that one of the cottages had merely been built around the shell of an older building.

It is believed that the remains of an archway formed part of the Old Sun Inn, which was situated at the end of the row in the mid 18th century.

The only existing inn in the village is the Black Horse, which is a landmark in the district. The Black Horse was the first meeting place of the Sheepy Ploughing and Hedge cutting Association, which is still going strong and celebrates its centenary in a few years.

Ratcliffe Culey is situated on the confluence of the River Sence and the Anker, 6 miles from Bosworth and 2 miles from Atherstone.

It contains 1,192 acres of land, the soil being of variable nature. Ratcliffe was named after the Culies family who were lords of the manor. The church is dedicated to All Saints and is one of the few to have been stared and completed as “one build” in the decorated style.

The small west tower has a recessed spire with a tier of pierced quatrefoil lucarnes. The chancel windows have hoodmoulds, with headstops inside as well as out. The sedilia (priest’s seats) are elaborately cusped, with decorative edging to the gothic arches.

There are fragments of 14th century stained glass in the chancel side windows. The east window is the work of E. E. Kemp in 1901. In 1766, at the time of the enclosure, 125 acres were awarded to the church.

In 1721, the church was repaired and the “Great Bell” was recast. The church has a peal of bells.

Mythe is now non-existent and the only evidence of its presence is one farmhouse.

In the Hearth Tax returns of 1670 there was payment made for just one hearth, although in 1811 the census form indicated that the population was 15 and had risen to 42 in 1841. Ancient records indicate that both a hall and a chapel existed in the village, but there are no traces of either – it was not until 1861 that it was counted in Sheepy’s population figures.