The statue depicts William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, who led the unsuccessful besieging force on Mountsorrel Castle in 1217 on behalf of the King.
The siege was lifted when the King's men were threatened by the combined French and Baronial army.
Please print this page then close the window to return to the main site
| One way to see the features of Mountsorrel is to walk the trail. Cars can be parked in a free car park in front of the Memorial Hall, just off the Leicester Road. | |
| Cross over the Leicester Road, keeping Church House on your right and walk up The Green to the Village Green. |
|
| Walking up The Green, you will pass a 17th Century coaching inn (Nos 31 and 33), and a Commons House (No 71). |
|
| You will see Christ Church directly in front of you. |
|
| Walking back down the Green from Christ church on the opposite side of the road, you will pass the Pinfold on your left. |
|
| Further on down the road, is the village pump by the bus stop. |
|
| Carry on walking down the road until you reach the Leicester Road once more. On your left is a former chapel, which was used by the Baptists from 1843 until 1926. It is now a shop. In front of you is the present Baptist chapel, which was built in 1879. |
|
| Turn left and walk through Castle Gardens. |
|
| Walking through the gardens you will see on your left the statue of a knight, which is the work of former local sculptor, Mike Grevatte. The statue depicts William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, who led the unsuccessful besieging force on Mountsorrel Castle in 1217 on behalf of the King. The siege was lifted when the King's men were threatened by the combined French and Baronial army. |
|
| The footpath continues, over a stile and up a steep and rocky path on up to Castle Hill. (An alternative route is to walk back onto the Leicester Road, turn left and continue along to the Buttermarket.) |
|
| A war memorial is presently situated on Castle Hill commemorating the dead of both world wars, it is lit at night on the Armistice weekend and over the Christmas and New Year period. |
|
| There is also a beacon. |
|
| Return back down the hill to the railings, keeping them on your right. Continue down this footpath until you come out by the houses on Watling Street. On the opposite side of the road, slightly to your left is the former St Peter’s school which has been converted into private flats. Turn right and walk down to the Buttermarket. Turn left and walk along Leicester Road passing the library. On your left you will see St Peter’s Church and opposite, an imposing Adam-style house built in 1783, which was once the vicarage. It is now a private dwelling. |
|
| Keep walking North along the road, passing the Swan, another sculpture by Mike Grevatte. |
|
| When you reach Bond Lane, turn left and then first right into Stonehurst family farm and museum. |
|
| On leaving the farm, cross over the road and walk back the way you came on the opposite side of the road. When you reach the former vicarage once more, turn left and head down towards the canal. Care needs to be taken in this area as the road becomes very narrow. As you cross the bridge, on your right you will see Mountsorrel Lock |
|
| by the Waterside Inn. |
|
| Continuing over the bridge, there is a footpath on your left, which will take you along the canal and towards the 1860 bridge. To the right, a footpath along the canal is accessible from the grounds of the Waterside Inn. |
|
| Returning up the path, turn left and enter the Peace Garden. The war memorial which is there was installed in 2000 in consideration of people who find access to the Castle Hill memorial difficult. |
|
| As you leave the Peace Garden, you will pass the replica of the original Mountsorrel Cross, carved by Mike Grevatte to commemorate the centenary of the Parish Council in 1994. The original market cross was built in the 15th century and was moved by Sir John Danvers in the late 18th century to his park at Swithland where it still stands. It was replaced by the Buttermarket. |
|
| Turn left and walk back towards the car park. As you walk, you will pass The Grapes, which used to be one of the village’s largest coaching inns. |
|
| Further along, also on your left is the Parish room. |
|
(With thanks to the village trail produced by Charnwood Borough Council Economic Development department, which inspired this one.)