U3A Newbold -Barlestone- Cadby Stuart Galloway Route Summary A Circular Walk of 4.7 Miles around Newbold Verdon, Osbaston and Cadeby. Route Overview Category: Walking Rating: Unrated Surface: Average Date Published: 5th April 2016 Difficulty: Easy Length: 7.470 km / 4.67 mi Last Modified: 5th April 2016 Description The walk starts at The Swan Public House 22 Main St, Newbold Verdon, Leicester LE9 9NN. There is no car park at the pub but plenty of on street parking close by. Please order food before walking if more that 8 people. Waypoints Newbold Verdon (52.62933; -1.34485) Newbold Verdon The area has some pre medieval history. Neolithic or Bronze Age flint finds were discovered south of the former public house George and Dragon on Barlestone Road. A prehistoric pit alignment was discovered southwest of Newbold Hall. Bronze Age and Iron Age finds have been located at Newbold Spinney and enclosures dating from the Iron Age have been discovered. There are some roman sites close to Newbold Verdon. Finds in the fields near the Windmill Inn on Brascote Lane suggest Roman occupation somewhere in the area. Newbold (Niwebold, Newbolt or Neubolt) is referred to in the Domesday survey as being 2 carucates of land held by Hugh de Grandmesnil and 2 carucates of land held by Huard, 1 / 6 a Saxon. The name of Newbold suggests a ?new? building, presumably on some ancient place. The village attained the prefix ?Verdon? (or ?de Verdun?) in the 13th century, after possession of the manor passed to the Verdun family, possibly through marriage. The village passed from the Verdun family, by marriage, to the Crophull family and then to the Devereux family in the 16th century. Later the land became the property of the Earl of Huntingdon and then was split into several hands, including the Bishop of Durham and then to the Montague family in the 18th century. The estate passed into many different hands throughout the next century and was farmed by several families. Walk along Main Street towards the church. Various Sites of Interest (52.62982; -1.34698) St James Church The Parish church can be seen from the pub. It has C12, C13, C15 parts but in 1899 it was substantially rebuilt by C.Goddard of Leicester in a Gothic style. The lower part of the tower may be of C12 date. The Tower heightened and spire added in 1960. It is grade II listed. Medieval Moated Site The moated site is less than 100m from St James's Church. It can be seen on the OS map but is screened from direct view by trees. The moated area measures 90 x 100m overall and encloses a square island measuring 65 x 65m on the west, south and east sides with an in filled northern arm. Finds of medieval roof tile indicate the remains of a manor house located within the island. A post-medieval hall is situated a few metres to the north of the site. It is a scheduled monument. Newbold Verdon Hall This is a former country house, which is now a farmhouse. It is approached from the end of the village Main Street through a long axial forecourt defined by three of formerly four pavilions, one in each corner of the court. Built around 2 / 6 1700 with later C19 addition, and minor C19 and C20 alterations. Built for Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew of Stene, Northants, Bishop of Durham from 1674, d. 1721. It is grade I listed and the pavilions are grade II listed. Built in red brick in English bond with ashlar dressings, large hipped plain tiled roof with lead dressings and flat top, 4 brick roof stacks with triple shafts and brick cornice. Walk to the path alongside the church and follow it into a field. Care required, as there is usually livestock in this field. Go diagonally across the field to a way marker and then follow the path keeping close the hedge and then to the right. Take a left turn over a ditch, past Fields Farm on the left. Take the left hand path towards Osbaston when the path splits three ways. This leads to a minor road on which you turn right which leads to the centre of the village. Osbaston (52.63527; -1.37259) Osbaston The village was mentioned in Domesday Book as "Sbermestun". The village developed round the Norman manor now epresented by Osbaston Hall. The manor later had several owners including Sir Thomas Pope Blount who is considered responsible for the demolition and reconstruction of the manor house. The village had two famous residents. Francis Noel Clarke Mundy a poet. Mundy was the author of two admired descriptive poems ? Needwood Forest (1776) and the Fall of Needwood (1808) - and Lee Ryan, a lottery winner who has served a prison sentence for car theft and no longer lives in the village. Osbaston Hall It is not visible from the road. This is a privately owned 18th-century country house built on the site of the medieval manor house. It is currently the home of the de Lisle family who like some of us fell on hard times and had to downsize from Quenby Hall (sold for over £12M in 2012). It is a Grade II* listed building. The oldest fabric of the house dates from the late 16th or early 17th century. 3 / 6 Take a left turn in the village centre and in a few hundred yards take the path on the left over a stile. Walk diagonally across the field towards a small pylon and on to a hedge. Site of Roman Villa (52.63032; -1.37152) When you reach the hedge just opposite Kendall?s Barn is the site of a former Roman villa. Nothing is visible now but multiple finds of pottery and roof tiles confirm this. Continue to walk with hedge line on the left until you reach the B585. Take care to cross this and take a path directly opposite until you meet the A447 Hinckley Road. Again take care to cross this onto a path opposite, which leads into Cadeby. Turn left along a minor road into Cadeby. Cadby (52.61916; -1.37549) Cadeby Hall This is on the left as you go into the village. The original hall dates back to before the Doomsday book but unfortunately burnt down in the 1600?s. The present house is built in the Tudor style but its medieval history can be seen in the cellar, which survived the fire. In 1360 it was possessed by Henry Plantagenet. After being willed to the Abbey of Leicester, it returned to royal hands following the dissolution of the monasteries. However you missed the chance to own this as it was sold in July 2015 for a mere £3.5M! Until 2005, Cadeby Rectory garden near to All Saints Church was home to the Cadeby Light Railway. This was a short narrow gauge line and collection of railway artifacts belonging to the late Rev. Teddy Boston, a friend of the Rev W Awdry. It is believed that Teddy Boston was the inspiration for the fat controller in Rev Awdry?s children?s books. The railway is closed and was dismantled in 2006. 4 / 6 Follow the road round to the left back to the A447 and cross carefully onto a minor road and follow it until a sharp right hand bend. There is a greener route across fields but the resident horse seem to object strongly to people crossing his territory! Take the path across the fields and through a spinney. Follow this back to Newbold Verdon. 5 / 6 6 / 6.