Ratcliffe on the Wreake

Ratcliffe on the Wreake is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 179.[1] It is just to the north of the River Wreake, opposite East Goscote.

Ratcliffe on the Wreake
Ratcliffe on the Wreake
Location within Leicestershire
Population179 
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLEICESTER
Postcode districtLE7
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

The village is small enough not to have a parish council; instead it has a parish meeting consisting of all the electorate. The 14th-century St Botolph parish church is a Grade II* listed building.[2]

Ratcliffe Hall is a Grade II listed country house built c. 1812 by Robert Shirley, 7th Earl Ferrers and was inherited by his granddaughter, Caroline Shirley, Duchess Sforza Cesarini, who had married into the Italian aristocracy.[3][4] It subsequently descended to the pioneer aviator, Sir William Lindsay Everard, who set up Ratcliffe Aerodrome, which opened with a 'Grand Air Pageant' on 6 September 1930. Famed aviator Amy Johnson made an unexpected trip from London to participate with Sir Sefton Brancker, Director of Civil Aviation. Some 5000 spectators were treated to a show with 100 planes and staged bombings of Chinese pirates. There was one crash, but no one was killed. Ratcliffe Aerodrome was one of the finest in civil aviation with a comfortable clubhouse and an outdoor pool. The hangars were first class and the many air shows and displays had the atmosphere of a garden party.

Ratcliffe is known for its abundance in wildlife especially crayfish which inhabit the River Wreake right through the village.

RAF Ratcliffe

As RAF Ratcliffe, it was an important Air Transport Auxiliary ferry pool in World War II.[5]

Apart from East Goscote, nearby places are Thrussington, further up the Wreake, Syston, further down, and Sileby, to the north-west.

Notes
  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  2. Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST BOTOLPH (1278781)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  3. "Ratcliffe Hall, Ratcliffe on the Wreake". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  4. "Ratcliffe on the Wreake Conservation Area Character Appraisal". Charnwood Council. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. Ratcliffe Aerodrome History at Ratcliffe College Archived 14 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine

Media related to Ratcliffe on the Wreake at Wikimedia Commons



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