Thorpe Arnold

Thorpe Arnold is situated on the top of a hill to the north-east of the town of Melton Mowbray.

Nearby major cities include Leicester, Birmingham, and Sheffield.

In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Thorpe Arnold as follows:

"THORPE-ARNOLD, a parish in Melton-Mowbray district, Leicester; 1¾ mile NE of Melton-Mowbray r. station. Post town, Melton-Mowbray. Acres, 1,742. Real property, £2,811. Pop., 124. Houses, 25. The manor belongs to the Duke of Rutland. The living is a vicarage, united with Brentingby, in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £400. Patron, the Duke of Rutland. The church is old."[1]

Arms of de Bois: Argent, two bars and a canton gules, as depicted by Matthew Paris and in the de Bois Hours

The first recorded mention of Thorpe (Torp) is in the Domesday Book of 1086, as one of the numerous manors held by Hugh de Grandmesnil, Sheriff of Leicestershire and Governor of Hampshire, who was richly rewarded by William the Conqueror for his part in the Norman Conquest of England.[2]

From the 12th century, Thorp is known as Thorp Arnold, having taken the first name of its new owner, Arnold (or Ernauld, Latinised to Hernaldus) de Bois (French: "from the wood/forest") (Latinised to de Bosco ("from the wood/forest")), a vassal of the Earl of Leicester. His successors also used the first name Arnold.[3] The death of Hernaldus de Bosco (Arnold de Bois) in 1255, a Warden of the Forest, is recorded by Matthew Paris in his Historia Anglorum (1250-1259), folio 170 verso.[4] His arms were Argent, two bars and a canton gules.

Arnold I de Bois and his son Arnold II de Bois took an active part in the political life of England and Normandy. Arnold II supported Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester and was rewarded by the earl with a grant of numerous manors in Leicestershire (including Thorpe Arnold, Brentingby, Evington, Humberstone and Elmesthorpe) and in Warwickshire (Clifton-on-Dunsmoor and Shrewley).[5] The "de Bois" Book of Hours made at Oxford in 1325/30 for Hawise de Bois survives in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York (MS-M700).[6]

In the 17th century, Thorp Arnold was owned by sir Martin Lister, English politician, whose stepdaughter Frances Thornhurst lately became the mother of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.[7]

John Towne (1711?–1791) was vicar of Thorpe Arnold and afterwards archdeacon of Stow.

Administratively, Thorp Arnold forms part of the civil parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold that, in turn, form part of the Borough of Melton.[8] The population is included in the civil parish of Scalford.

Thorpe Arnold Cricket club in 1902

Thorpe Arnold has its own cricket club.[9] The earliest photograph of the club dates back to 1902. The present site of the club chosen in 1922.

In 1931, the club entered the Melton & District League. In 1938, the first set of club rules appeared. In 1947, Thorpe Arnold Cricket Club formed its very first junior team.

Nowadays the club still takes an active part in competitions in various leagues across the County.[10]

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