Belvoir / Belvoir Castle

 Extract from White's Leicester and Rutland Directory 1877

BELVOIR, formerly an extra-parochial demesne, but now a civil parish, in Framland Hundred, Grantham Union and County Court District, is the head of a Petty Sessional Division, and contained, in 1871, a population of 211 persons, living in 17 houses, on 170 acres of land. The rateable value is £1640. It is situated 12 miles N.E. of Melton Mowbray; 18 miles F. by S. of Nottingham ; 6 miles W.S.W. of Grantham; and 28 miles N.E. of Leicester. It is celebrated for its CASTLE, the splendid seat of the Duke of Rutland, which has been mostly rebuilt during the present century, and which occupies the crown of a lofty eminence en the south side of the Vale of Belvoir, and on the north-eastern verge of the county adjoining Lincolnshire. Except the inn and the head gardener's house, the houses are detached offices belonging to the Castle, which is by far the most superb architectural ornament of which the county can boast. The pleasure-grounds belonging to the Castle extend over more than .500 acres in the adjacent parishes. The cliff on which it stands is an abrupt termination of a lofty isolated hill, the sides of which are formed into terraces, at various heights, diversified with shrubs, whilst the base is covered with large forest trees, forming a complete woodland, which gives the Castle a most imposing embowered appearance. The present edifice is in the Gothic of the Tudor period, crowned arid embattled in the style of the feudal ages, and occupying a large quadrangular area. The foundation of the original castle is involved in considerable doubt. Leland was of opinion that there was no fortress here anterior to the Conquest; but after the Norman invasion the elevated situation of Belvoir was of too much importance to be long neglected, when the Barons could secure their personal safety only by the fortified strength of their habitations. The Conqueror gave it to Robert de Todenei, his standard-bearer, who built his castle on the summit of the hill, and obtained from it the name of Robert de Belvedeir. From a survey taken at his death it appears he was in the possession of eighty lordships, many of which by uninterrupted succession are now the property of the Duke of Rutland. Of this castle there are now no traces; but the great tower of the present edifice is, no doubt, erected on the site of the original keep. His successors took the name of Albini, and the fortress continued in their family till the marriage of their heiress Isabel, about 1270, with Robert Lord Roos, of Hamlake. William de Albini, the son of the above Robert de Belvedeir, was a celebrated warrior, and distinguished himself at the battle Tenchebrai, in Normandy. where Henry I. encountered his brother, Robert Curthose. He obtained a royal grant for an annual fair at Belvoir, to be continued eight days. Wm. de Albini, the third of the name, was a distinguished character in the reign of Richard I., and went with him to Normandy, in 1195. He was one of the 25 barons who swore to the observance of Magna Charta and the Charter de Foresta, sealed by King John at Runnymede. Afterwards he was engaged in the Barons' wars, and was taken prisoner by the King's party, at Rochester. In 1304 William de Roos was allowed to enclose 100 acres in the parish of Redmile under the name of Belvoir, or Bever Park. His son, Wm. Lord Roos, was appointed Lord High Admiral of England, in 1342. Sir Wm. de Roos, Kt., held several offices of state, and was Lord High Treasurer in 1402. John, the eldest son of the above, succeeded to the estates in 1414, and was slain, with his brother William, at Baugé, near Anjou. During the Wars of the Roses, Thomas Lord Roos espoused the Lancasterian cause and was attainted in 1461. The lordship of Belvoir and all its members, with the rents called Castle-guard were granted by Edward IV., in 1467, to William Lord Hastings who Leland says, 'coming' hither upon a tyme to peruse the ground and to lye at the Castel, was sodenly repelled by Mr. Harrington, a man of poure thereabout, and friend to the Lord Rose; whereupon Lord Hastings came upon another tyme, with a strong poure, and upon a raging wille, spoillid the Castel, defacing the rofes, and takeing the leades of them, wherewith they were al covirid. Then felle the Castel to ruine, and the tymbre of the rofes unkeverit rotted away, and the soile betwene the walles, at the last, grue ful of elders, and no habitation was there tyl of late dayes the Eyrle of Rutland hath made it fairer than ever it was. The attainder being removed on the petition of Lord Roos to Parliament, in the reign of Richard III., the Castle and its extensive domain reverted to his family. In the latter part of the 15th century Eleanor, sister and co-heiress, and ultimately sole heiress of Thomas Lord Roos, carried Belvoir in marriage to Sir Robert Manners, Knight, whose family had held large estates from the time of the Conquest in Northumberland, where their chief seat was Ethale or Etal Castle. Sir Thomas Manners, the grandson of Sir Robert, was summoned to Parliament as Lord Roos in 1515, and was created Earl of Rutland in 1525. Having restored the Castle, which had been in ruins since Lord Hastings' attack, he made Belvoir his chief residence. Henry, the second Earl of Rutland, was appointed by Mary, in 1556, Captain-General of all the forces then going to France, and also chief comniander of the fleet. In 1559 he was made Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Edward, his son and successor, was made Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, in 1582, and Camden calls him 'a profound lawyer, and a man accomplished with all polite learning.' John. the fourth Earl. was constituted Constable of Nottingham Castle, and Lord-Lieutenant of that county, in 1587. Roger, the fifth Earl, was a friend and associate of the Earl of Essex, and accompanied him into Ireland, and was subsequently engaged with him in his attempt to raise an insurrection in London and to seize the Queen's person; for which offence he was confined to the Tower until the end of Elizabeth's reign. Francis, the sixth Earl, was a great traveller, and was appointed to several great offices of state. By his second marriage he had two sons, who, according to a monument at Bottesford Church, were murdered by 'wicked practice and sorcery.' As illustrative of the superstition of the times it may be amusing to explain this. Joan Flower and her two daughters, who were servants at Belvoir Castle, having been dismissed the family, in revenge made use of all the enchantments, spells, and charms that were at that time supposed to answer their malicious purposes. Henry, the eldest son, died soon after their dismission: but no suspicion of witchcraft arose till five years later, when the three women, who are said to have entered into a formal contract with the Devil, were accused of 'murdering Henry Lord Roos by witchcraft, and torturing the Lord Francis his brother, and Lady Catherine his sister.' After various examinations, before Francis Lord Willoughby of Eresby and other magistrates, they were committed to Lincoln Gaol. Joan died at Ancaster, on her way thither, by wishing the bread and butter she ate might choke her if guilty. The two daughters were tried before Sir Henry Hobart, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Sir Edward Bromley, one of the Barons of the Exchequer; confessed their guilt, and were executed at Lincoln, March 11, 1618-19. George, the seventh Earl, was honoured with a visit from Charles I. in 1634, John, the eighth Earl, in the wars between Charles I. and his Parliament espoused the cause of the latter, and his castle was early taken possession of by the Royalists. After a long siege the Royal garrison surrendered the Castle to the Parliamentarian forces, on Feb. 3,1648, and the House of Commons ordered it to he dismantled. It was stipulated on its capitulation that the garrison and Sir Gervase Lucas, the governor, should have liberty to march away to Lichfleld, with their horses and arms, with colours flying, drums beating, matches lighted, and muskets laden with bullets. In. 1654, on the petition of the Earl of Rutland, that in consequence of the unhappy wars his estates had been devastated, whereby he was reduced to great straits for the maintenance of his family, and that Viscount Campden had been a principal instrument in the ruin of the petitioner's castle, lands, and woods about Belvoir, he (Viscount Campden) being a chief commander of the royal garrison there, it was ordered by both Houses of Parliament that satisfaction should be made the Earl to the amount of £5000 out of Lord Campden's estates. This Earl restored the Castle in 1668, and, dying in 1679, was succeeded by his third son, John Manners, first Baron Manners, of Haddon, Derbyshire, who was by Queen Anne advanced to the titles of Marquis of Granby and Duke of Rutland, in 1703. He made Belvoir his chief seat, and greatly enlarged the Castle, where he spent a sort of rural life. He died in 1711, when his son, John, became the second Duke of Rutland, &c. The latter died in 1721, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John, the third Duke, who was the last of the Rutland family who made the ancient baronial mansion of Haddon Hall, in Derbyshire, an occasional residence, though they still keep it in repair, as an interesting object of antiquity, and maintain the shooting-box of Longshaw, in the moorlands of that county. His eldest son, John, the celebrated Marquis of Granby, was born in 1721. Entering early into the army, he raised a regiment for his Majesty's service in the rebellion of 1745. He was afterwards colonel of the Horse Guards (Blue), and was made lieutenant-general in 1759, when he went as second in command (under Lord George Sackville) of the British troops co-operating with the King of Prussia. Being present at the Battle of Minden, he received the thanks of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. On Lord Sackville's resignation the Marquis was appointed chief in command of the British troops, which office he retained during the Seven Years' War, and both they and he gained honour at the Battle of Warburg, in 1760; of Kirchdenkern, in 1761; and at Grebenstein and Hornburg, in 1762. After four years' arduous services he was rewarded with the post of Master of the Ordnance, in 1763; and was promoted, in 1766, to the rank of Commander-in-Chief. He resigned this office in January 1770, and died much regretted on the 19th of October following, nine years before his father. His popularity as a military hero is shown by the frequent occurrence of his portrait as a sign for inns and taverns, in all parts of England. He represented Cambridgeshire in Parliament, was a privy councillor, and married the eldest daughter of the Duke of Somerset. His youngest son, Lord Robert Manners, was lieutenant of the 'Victory,' in Admiral Keppel's engagement, .July 27, 1778; and was made post-captain on the day after the defeat of the Spanish fleet, in 1780. At the close of this year he went to the West Indies, as captain of the 'Resolution,' in which he distinguished himself in the action with the French off the Chesapeake, in 1781; and also in that off St. Kitt's, when he was one of the seconds to Commodore Affleck, in 1782, In the memorable action off Dominica, in the latter year, he had an arm broken and was wounded in both legs, one of which was amputated; but he survived only a few days, and, by his express desire, his remains were committed to the deep. Falling in battle, he became one of the three heroes to whom their country decreed, by its representatives, a monument to be placed among the national worthies in Westminster Abbey. This monument is by Nollekens, and his two compeers in honour are Capt. Blair and Capt. Bayne. The third Duke built the hunting-seat of Croxton Park, 5 miles south of Belvoir, about 1730. He also made great improvements at Belvoir about the year 1750. He died in 1779, nud was succeeded by his grandson, Charles, who was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in 1784, and retained that high office till his death, in 1787, when he was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, John Henry, who was horn January 4, 1778, and died January 20, 1857, having held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Leicester for more than 50 years. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the Most Noble Charles Cecil John Manners, the present DUKE or RUTLAND, Marquis of Granby, Baron Manners of Haddon, Lord-Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Leicestershire, Honorary Colonel of the Leicestershire Militia, &c., who was born in 1815, and was M.P. for Stamford from 1837 to 1852, and for the Northern Division of Leicestershire from 1852 to 1857. His heir-presumptive is his brother, Lord John James Robert (born 1818), and now one of the Parliamentary representatives for North Leicestershire. His Grace's sisters are Elizabeth Frederica (born 1801), and Adeliza Gertrude Elizabeth (born 1810). His Grace's other brother, George John (born 1820), died in August, 1874.
The late Duke of Rutland had expended at least £200,000 in rebuilding Belvoir Castle, and it was estimated that £20,000 more would have completed the work, when a fire broke out on October 26, 1816, which nearly consumed the whole of the extensive and stately building except the south-west and south-east fronts. The fire did not reach the chapel, but most of the costly furniture, with many valuable paintings by the first masters, in other parts of the Castle, were totally destroyed. The portraits of the Earls of Rutland and of the three first Dukes were fortunately among those that were saved. The Duke's splendid design of rebuilding the Castle was formed during his minority, the work being commenced in 1801. Soon after the calamitous fire in 1816 he resumed his plans, and erected on the ruins of his mansion a Castle far superior in size and grandeur to any of its predecessors. The whole of the building since the fire has been constructed from the plans and designs of his Grace's late domestic chaplain, the Rev. Sir John Thoroton, Kt.: and the south-east and south-west fronts, and such other parts as were left uninjured by the conflagration, were designed by Wyatt.
BELVOIR CASTLE, from the admirable natural advantages of its situation, from the skill and taste which have been displayed in adapting the architecture both to the site and the importance of the historical recollections with which it is associated, has acquired a celebrity by no means confined to England, for scarcely any foreigner of cultivated taste visiting this country omits the gratification of visiting it. This superb edifice is built of freestone, and occupies the whole summit of the hill, presenting a coup d' œil at once imposing and majestic. The most prominent features in the north-east front are Norman. The great tower, which is of Norman massiveness in the basement, first, and principal storeys, slightly but appropriately decreases in its solid proportions towards the turrets and battlements, and forms, in connection with the Staunton and north towers and the projections of the porch and cloister-like entrance, on the north-west side, a magnificent arrangement of castellated architecture. The beautiful windows of the Elizabeth Saloon, in the great tower, are ornamented with multiplied courses of zig-zag mouldings, and the panelled buttresses are decorated with armorial insignia. The corbel table, on this and the north-west or grand entrance front, presents a series of elegantly elongated moulded trefoils; but in the other fronts the battlements are marked by a series of segmental blocks, which show also the parts which were left untouched by the fire of 1816. The principal feature in the north-west front is the Grand Entrance, forming a highly decorated Gothic archway, on each side of which are tastefully arranged firelocks, swords, and other arms for about 120 men. This entrance passage leads from the porch to the Guard Room, or Entrance hall, which is fitted up in the ancient baronial style; and the stranger is at once reminded of the sombre grandeur of the feudal ages by two full-length figures of knights in gilded armour, and by complete suits and detached pieces of steel armour, banners, &c., arranged in niches or against the panels. There are also a number of relics from the. field of Waterloo, and an interesting model of the former castle and its outworks, by the Rev. - Mounsey. The architectural ornaments of this grand apartment and its vaulted roof are of the most elaborate character, and four of its windows are enriched with beautiful designs in stained glass. Two flights of steps lead into the Gothic Gallery, executed in the purest style of the art, with windows of stained glass, representing figures of the ancient barons of Belvoir, in full mail. The Grand Staircase is decorated with portraits of nine Earls of Rutland. The Regent's Gallery, in the south-west wing, is a magnificent apartment, 131 long, 18 feet 2 inches high, and 17 feet 8 inches broad at each end, but forms in the centre a semi-rotunda, 41 feet 6 inches in length, and 35 feet 8 inches in breadth. It was temporarily fitted up for the reception George IV. when Prince Regent, and is ornamented in compartments by eight pieces of beautiful Gobelin tapestry, on which are delineated, with the brilliancy of colouring and the minute finish of the most accomplished pencil, the adventures of Don Quixote. Many beautiful paintings and finely executed marble busts decorate the walls, and the furniture is of the most costly description. In one of the cabinets in this room are six or seven silver trowels, used by the present and two last Dukes in laying the foundation-stones of churches and other public buildings; and there is a curious chair, made from the tree behind the farm of La Haye Sainte, close to which the Duke of Wellington frequently took his station during the battle of Waterloo. The Picture Gallery, 31 ft. 5 in. high, 25 ft. 8 in. broad, and 61 ft. 10 in. long, is lighted from above by a series of windows filled with ground glass. The walls are appropriately covered with crimson cloth, and present a magnificent array of first-rate paintings, by ancient and modern masters, in the highest state of preservation. Among the pictures are the six sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony, by Poussin. The seventh sacrament of Penance is gone, and its place is supplied by 'John baptizing Christ,' by the same artist. This series cost £3000, and is the first one; painted; the only other by this artist is in the possession of the Duke of Bridgewater. There is also a much admired picture by Teniers, illustrative of 'Dutch proverbs,' and some fine family portraits. At the end of the Regent's Gallery the Chapel is entered, which is fitted up with great taste and neatness, and has a, beautifully painted altar-piece by Murillo, representing the Holy Family, and insured for 3000 guineas. The gallery over the altar is faced with tabernacle work, consisting of five canopies. The Awaiting Room, formerly used as a billiard-room, is 30 ft. 4 in. by 21 ft. 6 in., and is lighted chiefly by a lantern in the roof. It contains several cases of books and some valuable paintings. The Library is 47 ft. by 23 ft. 9 in., and 18 ft. high. It has a very neat and unique appearance, being fitted up altogether with oak panel and furniture, and having deeply recessed and elaborately moulded windows and a gilded panel roof. It contains a number of very valuable drawings by the most celebrated ancient masters. The number of volumes in this and the anteroom amounts to about 7000; and, with the exception of a few modern works of imagination, there is scarcely a volume that does not possess great intrinsic value. The collection comprises many manuscripts, and is rich in divinity, classics, and illustrated works. The Boudoir of the late Duchess is the apartment in which she usually indulged in those pursuits congenial to her highly cultivated mind. Its windows command beautiful and extensive views, and its internal charracter is rather that of simple elegance than elaborate decoration. The ceiling is coved, and decorated with gilded mouldings and cornice. Beneath the latter there is a series of classical designs, bronzed on a warm, salmon-coloured ground; and in single panels round the room are many repetitions of Venus and Cupid. There are a few first-rate gems of the pictorial art in this room, intermixed with others whose chief value is of a domestic kind. The Ballroom or Grand Corridor is one of the most imposing portions of the Castle, being designed from models of various parts of Lincoln Cathedral. It is upwards of 120 ft. long, and about 24 ft. broad. The central portion is lighted by nine windows, with multifoil heads and double lights, divided by transoms. The roof is a groined vault, intersected by ribs springing from vaulting shafts; and some of the windows are enriched with painted glass. That portion of the corridor leading to the Grand Dining Room, &c. is so rich a specimen of English architecture that a mere description would not do justice to its beauties. The Queen's Drawing Boom, formerly called the Green or Assembly Room, in which the family and visitors assemble previous to dinner, is only 27 ft. by 24 ft., and 171/2 ft. high, exclusive of the bay-window, which increases the width 71/2 ft. and commands a magnificent prospect, extending over the lake to the village of Woolsthorpe and the splendid newly-built mansion of Harlaxton, in one direction; and across the Vale and the adjoining county to Lincoln, in another. The Chinese Rooms are a suite of apartments each lighted by two lofty windows, and having many decorations, curiosities, &c., of genuine Chinese workmanship. The Elizabeth Saloon is a beautifully imagined and well-proportioned room, 55 ft. by 301/2 ft., and 23 ft. 10 in. in height. It has its name from the wife of the fifth Duke, who designed it, and entrusted the arrangement and superintendence of the decorations to Mr. Matthew Wyatt, who also painted the ceiling. The beautiful marble statue of the Duchess was executed by Mr. Wyatt, which is seen immediately on entering, standing before a magnificent pier glass in one of the panels of the whole height of the room. She is represented in simple drapery, with sandals. The style of the room is the gorgeous fashion of Louis Quatorze, and the ceiling is divided into one circular and three semicircular compartments. In that over the statue of the Duchess is painted Jupiter, with the eagle and thunderbolts, despatching Mercury on a mission; and the others are also filled with mythological subjects, painted in the same style. The head of Jupiter is an admirable likeness of the late Duke of York. The Italian marble chimneypieces, the grates, the chairs covered with blue satin damask, the bracket and pendant chandeliers, and the carved and gilded candelabra on gilded pedestals, are beautiful specimens of art; and the walls are divided into panels of blue satin damask, in gilded frames, surmounted with a massive cornice. Fitted to the walls, in the panels, are a number of enamels and water-colours by eminent artists. Some of them are perfect gems. There are also two excellent portraits of the late Duke and Duchess, in pedestal frames, standing on either side of the bay-window. In the Saloon are four cabinets of black marble, ebony, and gilded carving, with shallow panels, decorated with birds and fruit in Floreutine mosaic, and containing a number of curiosities, among which is the Key of the Staunton Tower, and several gold cups. Another beautiful casket is formed of rich compartments, designed and painted by the late Duchess, to whose memory it bears an inscription. The Grand Dining Room is a splendid apartment, 55 feet by 31, and 19 feet high, lighted by four spacious windows, and having at each end a shallow recess, with circular arch and broad pilasters of Derbyshire marble. These recesses are filled with plate glass, from the ceiling to the sideboards, there are three similar recesses opposite the windows, and also two elegant fireplaces, with chimney-pieces of statuary marble, sculptured in the finest style of the art. This room contains a number of family portaits ; and a singular work of art, by Matthew Wyatt, consisting of a side-table covered apparently with a white cloth, so admirably executed in marble that it requires a very close inspection to dispel the illusion. The most ancient portion of the Castle is the first storey of the Staunton Tower, which had its name from the Stauntons of Nottinghamshire, who held of the Lords of Belvoir by the service of castle-guard. Thoroton, the historian, says this tower is yet to be found 'sufficiently guarded by the strength of its own liquor, with 'which the bottom of it is usually replenished.' What Thoroton has thus quaintly alluded to is still the fact, for the vault under the tower is new divided into wine-bins, capable of holding 16,750 bottles. The roof is a groined vault, intersected with eight plain bevelled ribs, springing from the rock or floor of the eellar; and the keystone is rudely sculptured with monograms of Longobardic character. In the other cellars are many large barrels, one of which holds 1300 gallons, and was filled with ale May 16, 1815, when the present Duke was born, and tapped when he came of age.
It would require a volume to describe all the rooms, works of art, and other objects of interest in this magnificent castellated mansion, which is only excelled by the abode of Royalty-the similarly situated Castle of Windsor. The Pleasure Grounds are very extensive, embracing terraces, connected by flights of steps, guarded by balustrades, and adorned with statues; fountains and ingenious water-work machinery; shady avenues, terminated by Grecian temples, Gothic arches, statues, obelisks, and grottoes; tasteful lawns, gardens, and shrubberies; an ornamental farm; flourishing woods and plantations; and several beautiful gardens. A lake of 15 acres, and a wood of 90 acres, with other parts of the pleasure-grounds, are in Woolsthorpe parish, Lincolnshire, near the small river Deven. The Bastion on the west side of the Castle commands the only accessible approach, and is mounted by eight pieces of brass cannon, which would sweep a destructive fire over an area of three-fourths of a circle. An avenue called the Duke's Walk extends in a winding direction towards the west for nearly two miles. On the summit of Blackberry Hill is an elegant MAUSOLEUM, the first stone of which was laid by the late Duke of York, March 1,1826; and the building was consecrated by the Bishop of Lincoln, in 1828. After its completion the body of the late Duchess, and those of more than twelve others of the Rutland family, including that of the celebrated Marquis of Granby and those of the four Dukes, were removed from the vault at Bottesford to the Mausoleum, which was designed by Wyatt, and is of the mixed style of Saxon and Norman architecture. It consists of two storeys; the lower is supported by massive Norman pillars, between which are recesses for the coffins; and the upper one is enriched with all the luxuriant ornaments of the Saxon style, with a rich groined ceiling surmounting the whole. In a recess at the eastern end of this apartment, and lighted by an invisible window, is introduced a statue of the late Duchess, executed in Parian marble, by Matthew Wyatt, in the act of ascending the skies, we1comed by the four children who had died before her. This beautiful structure is enveloped in a dense grove of forest-trees, which throws a still and hallowed gloom over the whole scene. From the Belvoir Inn, the western side of the bill, a private railway extends about two miles across the Vale to the Grantham Canal. The dovecote near the inn stands on the site of BELVOIR PRIORY, which was founded about 1076, by Robert de Todenei, for four black monks of the order of St. Benedict, as a cell to St. Albans. It was dedicated to St Mary and was endowed by the founder with the manor of Horninghold, 4 carucates and 20 acres in Belvoir, and the tithes of his vineyards. At the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries its clear annual value was £98 19s. 5d., and it was granted to Thomas Earl of Rutland. Traces of its foundation may still be seen. In its church were interred the founder, three of the Albinis, several of the De Roos family, a D'Eincourt, a Staunton, and a De Vaux. Several ancient leaden coffins were removed to Bottesford Church many years ago, and are still carefully preserved. According to Nichols the priory church consisted of a tower, nave, side-aisles, and choir, with a presbytery, and three small chapels dedicated to St. Mary, St. Nicholas, and St. Osyth; and on the north side of it were the cloisters, with the chapter-house in the centre.
PETTY SESSIONS are held at the Peacock Inn on the first Monday in each month. The acting magistrates are the Duke of Rutland, Sir G. D. Welby-Gregory, Bart., T. D. Hall, Esq., Geo. Norman, Esq., Wm. Earle Welby, Esq., M.P., Geo. B. Davy, Esq., and the Revs. F. John Norman, G. S. Stanley, and W. H. Earle Welby. Wm. Manners, Esq., is their clerk. Belvoir and Melton Mowbray form one police division (see Melton).

POST viâ Grantham, but Knipton is the nearest Money Order Office. 

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