Gumley lies eleven miles south-east of Leicester at
the eastern end of a ridge of hills which runs from
Husbands Bosworth through Mowsley and Laughton, north of the Welland valley. The civil parish,
which is 1,385 a. in area, has the shape of a very
irregular triangle, at the centre of which is the
village itself. The parish church stands just above
the 500 ft. contour line, and the Gumley woods are
prominent landmarks in the district. The soil is
mostly boulder clay. The hills running through
the parish are formed from the Middle Lias clays,
and on the north-east extend into a ridge followed
by the road to Debdale Wharf on the Grand Union
Canal. This wharf in the north-east corner of the
parish was the southern terminus of the canal from
the time when work was suspended in 1797 until the
construction of the branch to Market Harborough
in 1805. Water for the canal was provided by the
Saddington reservoir, part of which lies in the
north-west corner of Gumley parish. (fn. 2) The canal
follows the eastern boundary of the parish until it
reaches Foxton locks. Joseph Cradock (d. 1826)
of Gumley Hall was an active promoter of the
canal. (fn. 3) There are lanes to Laughton, Smeeton
Westerby, Saddington, and Foxton.
It is probable that the Saxon and medieval village
did not occupy the site of the present settlement.
The church stands in the grounds of Gumley Hall,
but the inclosure award map of 1773 makes it clear
that the original village street ran to the south wall
of the churchyard and round to the west, following
a course still marked by a broad, deep ditch which
skirts the field north of the church. (fn. 4) There is a
well and a ruined pump not far from the north-west
corner of the church. Buildings around the church
were probably removed to permit the construction
of Gumley Hall in 1764. A large area of the parish
around the village had been inclosed by agreement
in the 16th and 17th centuries. The chief topographical feature that has disappeared since inclosure is 'Dirty Lane', which ran a winding course
through ancient inclosures into Mill Field south
of Gumley Wood. In 1773 it contained several
houses. (fn. 5)
The recorded population of Gumley in 1086 was
20. (fn. 6) The poll tax returns of 1381 listed 65 names. (fn. 7)
In 1563 the village contained 20 households, and in
1670 39. In 1603 there were 110 communicants, and
in 1676 113. (fn. 8) The size of the village in the early
18th century was between 40 and 45 families. (fn. 9)
During the 19th century, however, there were
considerable fluctuations, caused to some extent by
variations in the amount of employment provided
by the Gumley Hall estate, which had a succession
of different tenants (see below). The population
rose from 224 in 1801 to 289 in 1821, and thereafter
fluctuated between 265 and 133. In 1951 the figure
was 183. (fn. 10)
There was no electricity until 1931, but the
owners of Gumley Hall made good this deficiency
by generating their own supplies. In the small
factory-like building with a large chimney-stack
north of the old school playground Capt. Whitmore
in the late 19th century produced gas, and Mr.
Murray Smith in the early 20th century converted
the installation to produce electricity. Both gas and
electricity were piped to the hall alone. (fn. 11)
The church and the hall stand near the top of the
hill and the houses of the village extend down the
slope on either side of the main street which runs
south-eastwards to Foxton. Most of the houses, in
red brick with slate roofs, date from the later 19th
century, and there are several half-timbered cottages
of the same period. The Bell Inn, the only public
house, and Goodman's Farm at the south-east end
of the village were built of locally-made bricks
earlier in the 19th century; they have low casement
windows. The main entrance to Gumley Hall
faces south-westwards, looking down a short avenue
of trees. The village street, which used to run directly
to the church between this avenue and the hall, has
been diverted so that it now runs across the end of
the avenue.
Gumley Hall was built in 1764 for Joseph Cradock
(d. 1826). (fn. 12) It consists of a large central block in
red brick of three stories, flanked by two-story
pavilions connected to the main block by quadrant
walls. The south-west façade of the central block
in the original design was a symmetrical arrangement of seven bays with a central doorway; the
central portion projected slightly and was surmounted by a pediment. (fn. 13) In 1869-70 Capt. Whitmore added a stone portico running the whole
length of the ground floor of the central block, and
the original window-frames have been replaced by
large sashes containing plate-glass. There used to be
four statues in the niches on the quadrant walls.
The north-east façade facing the garden and Gumley
Wood is similarly symmetrical, flanked by bowwindow projections to all three stories. (fn. 14) Internally
many of the features, including the main staircase
with its cast-iron balustrade, appear to date from
the earlier 19th century. These were probably inserted between 1823 and 1833 by Sir Edmund
Cradock-Hartopp who apparently took over the
house in an unfinished condition. (fn. 15) South of the hall
and opening upon the village street the red-brick
stables built round a court-yard were erected by
Capt. Whitmore; the clock-tower in the style of an
Italian campanile bears the inscription Incorrupta
Fides and a weathercock dated 1870. In order to
enable him to add the present extensions to the
northern pavilion of the house, Capt. Whitmore
removed the Rectory which stood against the hall,
and built the present Rectory (1869-70) in a field
north of the church. (fn. 16)
Gumley Wood, which lies north-east of the hall,
was in the 18th century one of the few sources of
timber in the district. The Gumley Hall estate was
then only 400 a. but with the woods it was guaranteed to yield an annual income of at least £500. (fn. 17)
The estate was in 1958 about 1,800 a. (fn. 18) The woods
contained many foxes and badgers. (fn. 19) In the late
18th century Gumley was on the southern border
of the country hunted by Meynell's hounds from
Quorn and Langton. (fn. 20) In 1800 the Pytchley paid
for stopping up the fox-earths in Gumley and
Laughton, but these were still considered within
Meynell's territory; (fn. 21) in 1900 Fernie's Hunt employed an earth-stopper in Gumley. (fn. 22) Most of the
owners and tenants of Gumley Hall have been enthusiastic fox-hunters, except its first owner, Joseph
Cradock (d. 1826). (fn. 23)
Cradock laid out the gardens and plantations of
Gumley Hall in imitation of the Parc de St. Cloud, (fn. 24)
and in the summer months they became a fashionable resort for the gentry of Leicester, particularly
those who came to take the mineral waters of its
'spa', a chalybeate spring found in 1789. (fn. 25) Some
of the plantations were made by the Revd. William
Hanbury of Church Langton who leased land in
Gumley for the purpose. (fn. 26) Cradock moved in the
literary society of Goldsmith, Johnson, and Burke,
and built a theatre at Gumley which was used for
amateur productions and by Garrick. (fn. 27) The owners
of Gumley Hall in the 19th century, described
below, were not always resident. There were at
least two periods when the hall was in the hands of
tenants-the 1860's and the 1890's. The CradockHartopps let it to Lt.-Col. Dottin Maycock (1816-
79) before he moved to Foxton Lodge, (fn. 28) and then
to Viscount Ingestre (1830-77) before he succeeded
as Earl of Shrewsbury in 1868. (fn. 29) After many structural alterations to the hall, 1869-70, the new owner,
Capt. Whitmore, came into residence. From c.
1890, when he moved to Essex, he let the hall to
a succession of tenants: T. K. Taplin (1855-91),
M.P. for South Leicestershire; (fn. 30) James Coats
(1834-1913), of J. & P. Coats, Ltd.; (fn. 31) and from 1893
Mrs. Emma Bellville, who afterwards moved to
Stoughton Grange. (fn. 32) In 1897 the hall was bought
by the Murray Smiths, who lived there until 1940.
G. A. Murray Smith then moved into the Rectory,
which was no longer required by the incumbent.
From 1946 to 1948 Group Capt. Leonard Cheshire,
V.C., rented the hall which was converted into flats
as an experiment in community living for ex-servicemen and their families. In 1958 the hall contained
one occupied flat. (fn. 33)
Gumley was a meeting-place for the witanagemot
of the kings of Mercia in the 8th century. (fn. 34) On the
south side of Gumley Covert there is a pond called
'the Mot' which may be a Saxon site. (fn. 35) The pond
stands in a small natural amphitheatre near a mound
surmounted with trees.
MANOR.
In 1086 9 carucates in GUMLEY were
held by Robert de Buci under the Countess Judith
and 4 carucates by Geoffrey under Robert de
Vescy. (fn. 36) The descents of these two manors remained
separate until the early 15th century when they were
merged under the Griffin family. In the 13th
century part of the former fee became attached to
the Brabazon manor in Mowsley. (fn. 37)
By 1109 the holding of Robert de Buci had passed
to Robert son of Vitalis and was considered part of
his adjoining manor at Foxton. (fn. 38) Robert's grandson,
Richard the son of Simon of Foxton, enfeoffed
Robert de Braybrook with his land in Gumley
about 1208-9. (fn. 39) On the death of Richard's son
Richard in or before 1224 the overlordship of the
property was divided between his two daughters,
Beatrice the wife of Richard of Middleton and Amice
the wife of Alan Basset. (fn. 40) The latter also had two
daughters, Joan who married William of Gumley and
Agnes who married Ralph de St. Lo, the overlord of
Foxton in the late 13th century. (fn. 41) The overlordship
later passed to the heirs of Richard of Middleton. (fn. 42)
Robert de Braybrook, tenant of this Gumley
manor in the early 13th century, had a son Henry,
who married Christine, daughter and heir of Wischard Ledet. Christine's grandson left two daughters, Alice and Christine, who married two Latimer
brothers. John Latimer, Christine's husband, died
in 1282 seised of a manor in Gumley and lands in
Foxton all held of Ralph de St. Lo. (fn. 43) His wife's
inheritance also included a share in the manors of
East Langton and Smeeton Westerby and the
honor of Wardon (Northants.). (fn. 44) John Latimer was
succeeded by his son Thomas (d. 1334) (fn. 45) and his
grandson Warin (d. 1349). (fn. 46) None of Warin's four
sons had children who survived and the inheritance
passed to the heirs of his daughter Elizabeth who
had married Thomas Griffin of Gumley and Weston
Favell (Northants.). (fn. 47) The widow of Warin's
youngest son Edward remained in possession until
her death in 1421. (fn. 48) She was succeeded by John
Griffin, Elizabeth's grandson.
No descent can be traced of the Domesday holding
which belonged to Geoffrey under Robert de Vescy
until the middle of the 13th century when 3 carucates
in Gumley were ascribed to the fee of Harcourt. (fn. 49)
Saer de Harcourt appears to have enfeoffed Richard
Griffin of Weston Favell. In 1262 he quitclaimed to
Richard Griffin the suit of his men at Gumley to
his court at Kibworth. (fn. 50) In 1279 Richard Griffin
held 4 carucates of Richard de Harcourt who held
of the Earl of Warwick. (fn. 51) But the Warwick interest
did not survive, and the nominal overlordship of the
Griffin manor in Gumley passed with the manor of
Kibworth Harcourt to Merton College, Oxford. (fn. 52)
The Griffins owed suit of court at Kibworth and a
rent of 5s. a year to the college. In 1616 the college
instigated proceedings against Sir Edward Griffin
and his son Thomas to recover this service which
had not been performed since the latter had alienated the manor to his tenants in 1610. (fn. 53)
The interests of both manors in Gumley were
united by the marriage of Elizabeth Latimer to
Thomas, Richard Griffin's grandson, already mentioned. John Griffin, Elizabeth's grandson, possessed
all manorial rights in Gumley. From 1421 the
descent of this manor followed the male line of the
Griffins, Lords Latimer of Braybrooke. (fn. 54)
On the death of Thomas Griffin in 1566 the manor
appears to have passed to his brother Edward
Griffin (d. 1569) of Dingley (Northants.), who
became Attorney General. It was subject to a partition of Griffin lands in 1561. (fn. 55) In 1610 Edward's
grandson Thomas conveyed it to Edward Chapman
the younger of Foxton and Robert Fellow of Foxton
for the use of its six principal tenants. (fn. 56) The
nature of this transaction was disputed, (fn. 57) but the
result was that during the 17th and early 18th
centuries the manorial rights in Gumley belonged
to local yeoman farming families. The precise
descent of the manor is, therefore, obscure. William
Aylworth (d. 1661) of Gumley devised the manor to
his nephew William Underwood of Irthlingborough
(Northants.). (fn. 58) William's son, John Underwood, was
living in Gumley in 1687, (fn. 59) and was probably still
alive in 1692-3. (fn. 60) By 1706 John's son, William
Underwood, had disposed of the manor to George
Farmer and Henry Morley whose heirs in 1712
conveyed it to John Horton (d. 1742). (fn. 61) The latter's
great-grandfather William Horton (d. 1637) in 1610
had acquired from Edward and Thomas Griffin the
messuage and 5 yardlands in Gumley which he
occupied. (fn. 62) The fact that this property was also
called a manor has added to the confusion surrounding this descent and led to the Hortons being
called lords of Gumley during the 17th century. (fn. 63)
In fact John Horton (d. 1742) was the only member
of the family to own the original manor, and just
before his death his children conveyed it to Joseph
Cradock (d. 1759) a Leicester hosier and draper. (fn. 64)
His son Joseph Cradock (d. 1826) succeeded to
the estate as a minor. (fn. 65) He built Gumley Hall in
1764 and became a well-known antiquary and
patron of the arts. His success brought great indebtedness, and in 1823, a widower with no children,
he retired to London on a small annuity and handed
over the heavily-mortgaged estate to his heir, Sir
Edmund Cradock-Hartopp (d. 1833), a grandson
of his uncle Edmund Cradock (d. 1749). (fn. 66) Sir Edmund was succeeded by his son Sir William Edmund (1797-1864) and his grandson Sir John
William (1829-88). (fn. 67) In 1867 the latter sold the
Gumley estates to his brother-in-law, Capt. T. C. D.
Whitmore (1839-1907) of Apley, near Bridgnorth
(Salop.), who succeeded to Orsett Hall (Essex) in
1884. (fn. 68) In 1897 Capt. Whitmore sold the estate to
George Murray Smith (1859-1919), from 1911
Chairman of the Midland Railway and the eldest
son of George Smith, publisher and founder of the
Dictionary of National Biography. (fn. 69) Smith's widow,
a daughter of the 1st Lord Belper, remained in the
hall until her death in 1940. (fn. 70) She outlived her three
sons: the eldest and youngest were killed in the
First World War; the other died in 1928. (fn. 71) Her heir
was the son of the eldest, Arthur George, Lt.-Col.
G. Anthony Murray Smith, the owner in 1957.
LESSER ESTATES.
In 1279 Roger le Brabazon
(d. 1317) (fn. 72) held ½ virgate and the rents of at least
7 free tenants in Gumley. (fn. 73) Like John Latimer
(d. 1282) at the same date, he held of the manor
of Foxton in the honor of Huntingdon. (fn. 74) He was
succeeded by his brother Matthew le Brabazon and
Matthew's wife Sarah (fn. 75) who were the direct ancestors of the earls of Meath. (fn. 76) On Sarah's death the
property was divided between Thomas le Brabazon,
Roger de Oadby, and William Curzon. (fn. 77) By 1345
the shares of the first two were united, (fn. 78) and probably remained in the hands of the Oadby family,
lords of Oadby, until the early 16th century. (fn. 79) The
Oadby interest may have passed to the Chapman
family of Foxton, and the two parts of Gumley
known in the 17th century as 'Chapman's land' and
'Skeffington's land' may originate from the Brabazon holding. (fn. 80) Thomas Skeffington of Skeffington
died in 1543 seised of land in Gumley. (fn. 81) The heir
of the last Skeffington was John St. Andrew (d.
1626). (fn. 82) When the latter's property was surveyed in
July 1646 on behalf of his heirs, his estate in Gumley
consisted of 2 farms, each with 3 yardlands, some
small closes, and pasture. (fn. 83)
In 1297-9 a messuage and carucate in Gumley
belonged to the heirs of John Vitor who held of
Ralph de St. Lo, lord of Foxton. (fn. 84) In 1309 Hugh
le Tayllur of Harborough conveyed a messuage and
a virgate in Gumley to Roger le Brabazon. (fn. 85) The
interest of Owston Abbey in property at Gumley has
not been discovered. (fn. 86)
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
In 1086, on Geoffrey's
holding, there were 2 ploughs, one held in demesne
with 2 serfs and one held by 3 socmen. There were
8 a. of meadow. The value had increased from 12d.
before the Conquest to 10s. On Robert de Buci's
holding there were 6 ploughs, one held in demesne
with 2 serfs and one held by 6 villeins, a priest, 5
bordars, and one freeman. There were 20 a. of
meadow. The value had increased from 10s. to 40s. (fn. 87)
Little is known of economic conditions in Gumley
during the Middle Ages. In 1517 Richard Oadby
was reported to have allowed the decay of a farmhouse and 70 a. through inclosure which displaced
6 persons. (fn. 88) In 1610, when Thomas Griffin conveyed
his manor in Gumley to Edward Chapman and
Robert Fellow for the use of his 6 tenants, there were
already many ancient inclosures. The villagers enjoyed common pasture rights over the largest, called
'the Lawnd', which probably corresponds to the
'Great Close' west of Gumley Hall in the inclosure
award map of 1773. (fn. 89) Tatgrave or Catgrave Lawnde,
then divided into 3 closes-Jakes Yard or Jakes Old,
the Home Close, and Woodcroft, was specifically
excluded from common pasture rights, but the other
5 closes named were probably included. (fn. 90) In the
1760's William Hanbury, the horticulturalist and
Rector of Church Langton, leased Gumley Plantation because he could not find sufficient ancient
inclosure in Langton. (fn. 91) The Jordans and the Fremans were the principal yeoman families in the 16th
century; (fn. 92) Richard Freman was named in 1610, and
the other 5 tenants of the Griffin manor were then
Richard and Edward Badley, Simon Iliffe, Robert
Bingley, and William Spence. The 1610 agreement
concerned 7 messuages, 2 cottages, and 19¾ yardlands. (fn. 93) Three open fields-Brook Field to the south,
Holdgate Field to the north-east, and Debdale or
Mill Field to the north-west-surrounded about
250 a. of ancient inclosure round the village. (fn. 94)
This arrangement lasted until the inclosure Act of
1772. (fn. 95) The inclosure award of 1773 divided over
1,139 a. between 18 occupiers and the rector. The
largest allotment, 259 a., went to the lord of the
manor, Joseph Cradock. Seven of the 18 occupiers
received allotments of less than 20 a. The award
mentions a piece of ground in Mill Field 'where
a mill lately stood'. (fn. 96) Previous attempts to secure
an inclosure Act in 1760 and 1771 had been abortive,
largely because of opposition from smallholders. (fn. 97)
After inclosure the greater part of the parish was
devoted to pasture farming; the crop returns of
1801 recorded only 115 a. of arable. (fn. 98)
PARISH ADMINISTRATION.
Eleven surviving
apprenticeship indentures, 1784-1832, include 4
which placed boys with framework-knitters in
Wigston, Fleckney, and Blaby. (fn. 99) In 1802-3 there
was no workhouse, and out-relief was given to
28 adults and 34 children. (fn. 1) After 1836 Gumley
was included in Market Harborough Union. (fn. 2) The
vestry minute book, 1887-94, shows that two annual
vestry meetings were held, one in March for the
ratepayers and one in April for the inhabitants.
At the March meeting 2 overseers and a guardian
of the poor, 2 collectors of taxes, a constable, and a
waywarden were elected. The April meeting examined the churchwardens' accounts. (fn. 3)
CHURCH.
There was a priest at Gumley in 1086. (fn. 4)
In the early 12th century the church was given to
Daventry Priory by Robert son of Vitalis. (fn. 5) Until
1266 the advowson belonged to the priory, and
thereafter (fn. 6) to the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln, who
occasionally leased their right of presentation in
the 17th century. (fn. 7) Under a scheme of 1932 the
benefice was united with that of Foxton in 1939. (fn. 8)
In 1957 the dean and chapter possessed the first
and third turns and the Lord Chancellor the second
turn to present to the united benefice of Foxton and
Gumley. (fn. 9)
The annual value of the rectory in 1254 was 100s.
and in 1291 £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 10) A pension of 13s. 4d. was
reserved from the rectory in the 14th and 15th
centuries for the benefit of the choristers of Lincoln Cathedral. (fn. 11) The gross annual value of the rectory in 1535 was £16 13s. 4d. (fn. 12) By the inclosure
award of 1773 the commissioners allotted to the
rector 151 a. in lieu of great and small tithes and
68 a. in lieu of glebe. (fn. 13) The tithes of 22 a. of woodland belonging to the lord of the manor, not commuted at the time of inclosure, were converted into
a rent-charge of 18s. 4d. in 1850. (fn. 14) In 1932 the tithe
allotments and glebe of Gumley alone produced an
annual income of £202 2s. 6d. in rent, augmented
by £30 from Queen Anne's Bounty and interest from
stock. (fn. 15)
Many of the medieval incumbents were probably
non-resident, holding either prebends or offices
connected with Lincoln Cathedral. (fn. 16) In the 16th
and 17th centuries four, perhaps five, of the rectors
were related to local families. (fn. 17) Nicholas Kestian
(d. 1686) was ejected from the living in 1662. (fn. 18)
Richard Wynne, rector 1758-88, was responsible
for the construction of a new rectory house, (fn. 19) but
it is doubtful whether either of his two successors
resided for any length of time. (fn. 20) The present
Rectory was built in 1869-70. (fn. 21)
The church of ST. HELEN stands in the grounds
of Gumley Hall, the main approach being from the
carriage drive in front of the house. It consists of
a spired west tower, chancel, nave, south aisle, and
south porch. The building is largely of the 14th
century but the chancel was completely rebuilt
during a restoration of the fabric in 1874-6.
The narrow south aisle probably dates from the
early 14th century. It is divided from the nave by a
somewhat primitive arcade of three bays, the two
chamfered orders of the arches being carried to
floor level without capitals or bases. On the eastern
respond is a crude niche and in the south wall a
small ogee-headed piscina. The two square-headed
south windows may well be later insertions. The
clerestory windows in their present circular form
date from the 19th-century restoration; at an
earlier stage they are shown with pointed heads and
without tracery. (fn. 22) The tower is of coursed limestone
masonry and appears to belong to the late 14th
century. It is surmounted by a broach spire having
two sets of lights with crocketted heads. On the east
gable-end of the nave is a crocketted finial containing an empty niche. The north wall of the nave has
two large windows and a doorway with a fourcentred head. All are insertions of the 16th century
or even later and much of the wall appears to have
been rebuilt at the same time. Until the middle of
the 19th century there was a porch outside the north
door. (fn. 23)
The chancel was rebuilt in 1759 and repaired in
1825 and 1831. (fn. 24) In 1874 the church was re-roofed
and thoroughly restored. The chancel was again
rebuilt, this time on the lines of medieval foundations
discovered during the progress of the work. (fn. 25) It is
mainly in the Decorated style and internally has two
crocketted niches containing statues which flank the
east window. A gallery which formerly blocked
the tower arch was probably removed during this
restoration. The tower was repaired in 1906. (fn. 26)
The pews probably date from 1825, when repairs
were made to the church, and the font was described as 'recently installed' in 1866. (fn. 27) The chancel
screen formed part of the 1874 restoration. The
pulpit was given in 1898. (fn. 28) Mural tablets include
those to John Horton (d. 1701) and his wife Barbara
(d. 1705) and to Andrew and Elizabeth Horton
(both d. 1721). A tablet to Richard Wynne, rector
(d. 1788), is by Firmadge. (fn. 29) There are also tablets
to members of the Murray Smith family (1919 and
1928).
The plate consists of a silver cup and paten,
two flagons, and a dish, all given in 1765 by Joseph
Cradock of Gumley Hall. (fn. 30) There are three bells:
(i) 1625; (ii) 1721; (fn. 31) (iii) mid-14th century, by John
of Stafford of Leicester. (fn. 32) In 1797 the archdeacon
recommended that the oldest register, which was
decaying rapidly, should be copied out into a new
book, but neither the register nor a copy has
survived. (fn. 33) The surviving registers begin in 1694,
with gaps from 1747 to 1757 (burials) and 1747 to
1754 (marriages).
R. W. Jesson, by will proved in 1930, left £200,
the income from which was to be applied to the repair
of the church, and his daughter Maude gave £25
in 1932 to be invested for the upkeep of the electriclight standard (which she had presented) on the
church steps. (fn. 34)
NONCONFORMITY.
Nicholas Kestian (d. 1686),
Rector of Gumley 1645-62, remained in the parish
after his ejection in 1662, but later moved to Market
Harborough and Leicester where he was a wellknown nonconformist preacher. (fn. 35) There were 4
nonconformists in Gumley in 1676, and 2 or 3 in
1705-16. (fn. 36) No further evidence of dissent has been
discovered.
SCHOOLS.
In 1819 there was only a Sunday
school attended by 40-50 children in the parish,
but by 1833 this had been expanded to provide a
day school for 42 children supported by subscriptions. (fn. 37) In 1864 Viscount Ingestre, tenant of Gumley
Hall, built the present school building which he gave
to the parish. It was kept in repair by successive
lords of the manor until 1906. (fn. 38) The instruction
given was on strictly Church of England lines. The
average attendance fell from 41 in 1871 to 36 in
1900, 23 in 1910, and 22 in 1922. (fn. 39) The closure of the
school was discussed in 1922 when parents of senior
pupils were encouraged to send them to Kibworth
school. (fn. 40) In 1929 a bus service took the seniors to
Church Langton, leaving the juniors at Gumley. (fn. 41)
Since 1933, when the school was closed, a bus has
taken all Gumley children to Church Langton and the
school building has been used for village meetings. (fn. 42)
CHARITIES.
Three benefactions to the poor of
Gumley were amalgamated in the late 19th century
as St. Thomas's Charity, worth 25s. a year, to be
distributed on St. Thomas's Day (21 December). (fn. 43)
This amount is derived from three separate rentcharges on land in Gumley: 10s. from Kirby's Close
which was acquired by 1786 with £10 left by John
Taylor, 10s. from land at Debdale devised by
William Kirby, by will dated 1731, and 5s. from
land near Foxton Locks devised by Richard Webb,
by will proved 1760. (fn. 44) It has always, in practice,
been distributed every two years by the rector and
churchwardens. (fn. 45)
A rent-charge of 5s. devised by John Kirby in
1764 to the poor was not collected after 1829. (fn. 46)