Orton on the Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Orton on the Hill |
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 Shaw Cross House |
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| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
Orton on the Hill is a small village in Leicestershire, England. It used to be its own local area called a "civil parish," but now it's part of the Twycross parish. The village is located in the Hinckley and Bosworth district. Orton on the Hill is close to other places like Morebarne, Sheepy, Newhouse Grange, Appleby, and Austrey.
History
The name "Orton" means 'Upper farm' or 'Upper settlement'. This name comes from its high location on a hill. From this hill, you can see parts of four different counties!
Domesday Book
Orton on the Hill was first written about in the Domesday Book. This was a huge survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror in 1085. It listed who owned land and what was on it. In the Domesday Book, Orton was called Wortone.
At that time, a powerful person named Henry de Ferrers owned Orton. He had been given 35 lordships (large areas of land) by William the Conqueror. Later, Henry de Ferrers gave Orton (also called Overton) and Morebarne to a group of monks. These monks belonged to the Cistercian abbey of Merevale.
Tudor Times
During the Tudor period (when kings and queens like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I ruled England), the Bradshaw family owned the manor of Orton. A manor was like a large estate with a main house. Records show that Robert Bradshaw owned it in 1579.
In 1564, a survey of the church areas counted 31 families living in Orton parish. By 1588, Robert Bradshaw still owned the manor and a farm called the grange at Morebarne. Other groups, like the Knights Templar (a famous medieval order of knights), also owned some land in the parish.
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a big fight in England during the 1640s. It was between the King's supporters, called Royalists, and the Parliament's supporters, called Parliamentarians.
The local vicar (church leader) in Orton, Reverend Porter, seemed to support the King. Because of this, he faced serious trouble. He was accused of being a Royalist and had his property taken away. A new vicar, Mathew Mathews, was sent to take over the church. But when two officials tried to take control of the vicarage (the vicar's house) in 1647, Reverend Porter's mother wouldn't let them in! The church key had also been taken. Reverend Porter was put in prison three times and lost all his belongings. This left him and his wife and eleven children with nothing.
Orton was also visited by Parliamentarian soldiers during the war. These soldiers came from nearby army bases in Coventry and Tamworth. They often took horses from the villagers. For example, Captain Ottaway's soldiers from Coventry took horses from Mr. Robinson and John Orton. Soldiers from Tamworth took a gelding (a type of horse) and two mares (female horses) from Reverend Porter in November 1643.
Modern History
Orton on the Hill used to be its own "civil parish," which is a local government area. It was also part of an older division called the Sparkenhoe hundred. However, on April 1, 1935, the parish of Orton on the Hill was officially ended. It was then joined with the nearby parish of Twycross.
Population
Around 1,000 acres (about 4 square kilometers) of land in Orton were "enclosed" in 1782. This meant that open fields were fenced off into private farms. Not long after, in 1786, most of the old Orton Hall was taken down and rebuilt.
According to a government count in 1792, Orton on the Hill had 330 people living in 58 houses. This was much more than Orton Parva, which only had three houses. By 1801, the population of Orton on the Hill had gone down slightly to 303 people. It continued to decrease to 279 people by 1811. In 1931, just before it merged with Twycross, the parish had a population of 191.
