Langar, Nottinghamshire

Langar

Langar Hall
Langar
Langar shown within Nottinghamshire
Population 980 (2011 census, including Barnstone)
OS grid reference SK7234
Civil parish
  • Langar cum Barnstone
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Nottingham
Postcode district NG13 9xx
Dialling code 01949
Police Nottinghamshire
Fire Nottinghamshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK Parliament

Langar is a small village about four miles south of Bingham in Nottinghamshire and the Vale of Belvoir. The appropriate civil parish is called Langar cum Barnstone. The population of this parish at the 2011 Census was 980.[1]

Geography

To the south of the parish of Langar cum Barnstone, on Langar Airfield, it borders Clawson, Hose and Harby, the district of Melton and Leicestershire. At Hose Lane it meets Colston Bassett. It passes northwards, crossing Harby Lane, where it follows a tributary of the River Smite. At Langar Lane Bridge, it briefly meets Cropwell Bishop, for around 330 yards (300 m), then borders the parish of Wiverton Hall, following the start of the River Smite, and briefly following Bingham Road at Wiverton Smite Bridge. It passes on the western edge of Northfield Farm, then the east side of Smite Hill Farm (outside the parish). Near the point where the former railway crossed the River Smite, it meets Whatton-in-the-Vale. It meets Granby at Granby Lane, which it follows and the River Whipling, east of Barnstone (part of the parish). The boundary follows southwards, to the east of the former Bingham to Melton railway, and south of Granby Gap woods (outside the parish) it meets Leicestershire.

Both Langar and Barnstone lie on heavy yellow clay which can be screened to yield a decent, red earthenware.

At the 2001 census, the civil parish had 378 households.

History

One of the first recorded landowners was Gerard de Rodes in the 12th century. The de Rodes family served as soldiers for King John who visited Langar in 1215. The estate then passed to the Tibetots in the 13th century. Following the marriage of Margaret Tibetot to Roger Scrope, 2nd Baron Scrope of Bolton[2] in 1373, the estate passed to the Scrope family.

The last Lord Scrope who was associated with Langar was Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland. Emanuel's estate was inherited by Annabella, his illegitimate daughter. In 1677, Annabella married the Gloucestershire politician, John Howe. According to Thoroton, Langar Hall and nearly the whole parish had lately become the estate of Mr Howe.

A famous descendant of the Howe's was Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, famous for his victory in the sea battle known as the "Glorious First of June", celebrated every year at Langar Hall. Admiral Howe died in 1799 and was buried in Langar Church.

Another famous son of Langar was the author Samuel Butler whose father, Thomas, was rector of Langar-cum-Barnstone.[3]

St Andrew's Church

The church of St Andrew's is often called the 'Cathedral of the Vale' due to its large size for such a small village. This may be in part due to its importance as a place of pilgrimage in Saxon times.[4]

Airfield

Langar Airfield

The village has lent its name to the Second World War airfield, RAF Langar, which is on the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire boundary. The airfield was used for bombing operations over Germany by RAF Bomber Command. There is a war memorial at the airfield. 207 Sqn were based there.

Post-war use was by the Royal Canadian Air Force for many years. The airfield is still there, and is now famously the base of British Parachute Schools since 1977.

Economy

There is the Lafarge Barnstone cement works south of Barnstone,[5] formerly owned by Blue Circle Industries, who were bought by Lafarge in 2001. It produces quick-setting cement, by the addition of calcium sulphate, which produces the Microcem brand,[6] known as a special cement.[7] Naturescape Wildflower Farm is north of the airfield. The majority of Langar's working population find employment in nearby Nottingham. A modest bus service is provided by Barton.

Langar C. of E. Primary School

This is the local school of Langar[8] and educates about 103 pupils.

Langar Hall

Langar Hall

Adjacent to the church is Langar Hall, once the home of Earl Howe. The present building was constructed in 1837 and was later bought by Annie Bayley, wife of Thomas Bayley, the former MP for Chesterfield. It is now a restaurant and hotel.

Treasure of Robert Earnstock

It is known from pieces of evidence recovered from various places around the Vale of Belvoir that in the 17th century Robert Earnstock committed a series of robberies from numerous places in the area. We know from letters that were later discovered he was raising money to travel to his wife-to-be who lived somewhere to the north of England. Earnstock kept the treasure hidden away until he had raised a small fortune, as he neared his goal Earnstock was caught and hanged for his offences. Earnstock's treasure was never found.

Unicorn's Head

Unicorn's Head

The Unicorn's Head public house was built in 1717 and had its own brewhouse which can still be identified by its unusual three tier chimney to the south of the building. The public house was originally known as the Feathers. The name was taken from the plume of feathers in the Howe family crest. The current name was adopted following the purchase of the estate in 1799 (following Admiral Howe's death) by John Wright the Nottingham banker and one of the founders of the Butterley Company; he had a unicorn's head as his family crest. The Unicorn's Head was a coaching inn in the 19th century and the original stables can still be seen around the back of the building.

Notable people

In birth order:

  • John Grobham Howe (1625–1679) became a Member of Parliament in 1659 and died in Langar.
  • John Grubham Howe (1657–1722), born in Langar, son of John Grobham Howe, was elected a Member of Parliament several times.
  • Charles Howe (1661–1742), born in Langar, son of John Grobham Howe, became a devotional writer and courtier.
  • Emanuel Scrope Howe (c. 1663–1709), born in Langar, son of John Grobham Howe, became a diplomat and Member of Parliament.
  • Samuel Butler (novelist) (1835–1902), novelist, was born and bred in Langar, the son of the rector.
  • Thomas Bayley (1846–1906) was Liberal MP for Chesterfield from 1892 to 1906.
  • Imogen Skirving (1937–2016), was a hotelier who turned Langar Hall into a successful country hotel.

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Roger Scrope". thePeerage.com.
  3. ↑ Brown, I. Samuel Butler of Langar, Nottinghamshire County Council Leisure Services (1990)
  4. ↑ "Southwell & Nottingham DAC Church History Project".
  5. ↑ History of the cement works
  6. ↑ Microcem cement Archived 19 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Special cements
  8. ↑ Primary school
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