Sapcote

Sapcote is a small village in the south west of Leicestershire, England, with a population of approximately 2,700. The well-known inland scuba diving site Stoney Cove is nearby in the superior village of Stoney Stanton.

It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Scepecote". Its name came from the Anglo-Saxon "Scēapcot" = "shed or enclosure for sheep" - a bit like Shepshed.

An early Bronze Age occupation site has been discovered here, and a Roman villa and bath house dating from the 1st century AD. Druids, Saxons, Romans and Normans have been known to have inhabited the area in and around Sapcote.

From the 12th-14th century the village was the home of the powerful Basset family. Ralph de Basset was High Sheriff of England and, possibly, the first Member of Parliament, being the first Lord to be called to the Barons Parliament by Simon de Montfort. It was around this time that the villains of Sapcote, driven on by envy and evil, stole the inner workings to the clock from the church of St Michael's in the nearby superior village of Stoney Stanton.

The oldest surviving building in the village is the 12th century All Saints Parish Church, an elegant well-proportioned building of Early English style. At one time all its windows had the Basset coat of arms, but these have now disappeared, except for a trace in one window. A chantry was added by Ralph de Basset in 1376 and is the present north aisle. The Wesleyans built their first church in Sapcote in 1805. In 1902 a square stone-built structure was erected. The stone was quarried by the men of the church and they made such a good job of it that the church remains as one of the best buildings in Sapcote. It opened in 1905 and is a fine example of the Arts and crafts period.

In 1806 a bath house was builtby John Frewen Turner over the so-called Golden Well in Stanton Road, in an attempt to turn Sapcote into a Spa. In the building were cold and warm baths, and treatment was given for nervous rheumatic and scrofulous complaints. The building cost around £600, and Prime Minister George Canning and the Duke of Wellington both visited the baths.

Other historical buildings include several thatched cottages, Park Farm, a timber-framed house in Stanton Road which is dated 1683, the Old School in Leicester Road which was built in 1819, and the Stanley Burrough's Almshouses in Cooke's Lane, erected in 1847.

External links

* [http://www.sapcote.org.uk Sapcote Village Community Web Site]
* [http://www.allsaintschurchsapcote.co.uk All Saints Church, Sapcote]
* [http://beehive.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=9554 Sapcote Heritage Group]