Kibworth

Kibworth is an area of the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes—the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp  and Kibworth Harcourt. According to the 2001(2011) census, Kibworth Beauchamp has a population of 3,798(5433), and Kibworth Harcourt has a population of 990. The two villages are split by the A6. Kibworth is close to Foxton Locks, Market Harborough, and Leicester.

Facilities
Kibworth has a number of shops, a community newspaper (The Kibworth & District Chronicle), and since 2002 new shops including a branch of Co-op UK. There were also new houses built on the edge of the village, with plans for 610 more to be built by 2012.

The village snooker team - 'Kibworth Snooker' based at the village Working Mens Club won the Market Harborough snooker league in both 2011 and 2012, enjoying cup successes in both these years also. However recent seasons have not been as fruitful, the team are having a better year so far in the 2014/15 campaign.

The local Cricket club won the ECB National Club Cricket Championship in 2004. In the village there are clubs for golf, bowls and football, and dance schools. The Bookshop opened on the High Street in 2009 won the regional award of Independent Bookseller of The Year in 2012.

The Midland Main Line runs through the area. Kibworth railway station, which served both villages, closed in 1968.

History
In 1270 Walter de Merton, the founder of Merton College, Oxford, bought a large part of the parish of Kibworth Harcourt from Saer de Harcourt, who had been forced to sell the estate following his support for the unsuccessful "barons' rebellion" led by Simon de Montfort. A large part of the parish has remained property of Merton College, Oxford to the present day. There is a stained glass window depicting Walter de Merton in the bell tower of the parish church, St Wilfrid's, and the warden and scholars of the college are joint patrons with the Bishop of Leicester.

Kibworth Harcourt was the birthplace of the writer/reformer Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743–1825) and her brother John Aikin. Their father, John Aikin (1713–1780), kept a dissenting academy there and served as minister of a nearby Presbyterian chapel. The family moved in 1757 to Warrington.

On 23 July 1825 the ancient tower and spire of St Wilfrids collapsed.

Michael Wood's Story of England
In September 2010, Kibworth was the central feature of Michael Wood's Story of England, a documentary aired on both BBC Four and BBC Two, presented by Michael Wood about the history of England framed through Kibworth.

A book of the same name was published by Viking (Penguin Books). The series was likened to Who Do You Think You Are? for a whole community. Villagers (Kibworth Improvement Team - KiT) have created a new website and successfully requested a grant of £48,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to continue the legacy of the TV series by creating a Kibworth Guide Booklet (heritage trails for Kibworth Harcourt, Kibworth Beauchamp and Smeeton Westerby), several interpretation panels around the three villages, ongoing study materials for the three tiers of local schools and an online Archive (Virtual Museum) to be produced during 2011 and 2012.

Notable residents
In birth order:
 * John Aikin (1713–1780), a Unitarian preacher, schoolteacher, and father of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, lived and taught in Kibworth in 1730–58.
 * Anna Laetitia Barbauld (née Aikin, 1743–1823), a poet, essayist, innovative children's author, and daughter of John Aikin, was born in Kibworth Harcourt.
 * John Aikin (1747–1822), physician, biographer, and brother of Anna Laetitia Barbauld, was born in Kibworth Harcourt.
 * James Beresford (1764–1840), Anglican cleric and humorous writer, was rector of Kibworth from 1812 until his death in 1840.
 * Edmund Knox (1847–1937), Anglican bishop, Evangelical writer, and father of Ronald Knox, was rector of Kibworth from 1884 to 1891.
 * T. E. R. Phillips (1868–1942), Anglican cleric and astronomer specializing in planets, was born in Kibworth.
 * Wilfred Knox (1886–1950), Anglican theologian and brother of Ronald Knox, was born in Kibworth.
 * Ronald Knox (1888–1957), Roman Catholic monsignor and religious writer, was born in Kibworth.