| Country: | England |
| Civil Parish: | Redmile |
| Static Image: | Barkestone-le-Vale, Chapel Street - geograph.org.uk - 982377.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | Chapel Street, Barkestone-le-Vale |
| Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 52.89°N -0.84°W |
| Official Name: | Barkestone-le-Vale |
| Shire District: | Melton |
| Shire County: | Leicestershire |
| Region: | East Midlands |
| Constituency Westminster: | Rutland and Melton |
| Post Town: | NOTTINGHAM |
| Postcode District: | NG13 |
| Postcode Area: | NG |
| Dial Code: | 01949 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SK7834 |
Barkestone-le-Vale is a village and (as just "Barkestone") a former civil parish, now in the parish of Redmile, in the Melton district, in the north east of Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 238.[1]
The name Barkestone means "farm/settlement of Bark".[2]
The village originated as a settlement in the 7th century. It features as a parish in the 1086 Domesday Book.[3] On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished and merged with Redmile.[4]
There are 120 dwellings in Barkestone-le-Vale. The village had a primary school, which was closed in the late 1980s, by which time it had only 11 pupils. The school building was converted for residential use,[5] as was the former mill house and a large derelict farmhouse.
The Church of St Peter and St Paul is a listed building Grade II* dating mainly from the 14th century with 15th-century additions. Most of the windows are in the Perpendicular style of Gothic. Parts of the church were rebuilt in 1840 and the whole was restored in 1857.[6] The congregation belongs to the Vale of Belvoir group.[7]
A Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1825, but not mentioned in gazetteers later in the century.[8] It closed for lack of support in 1927.[9]
There are several footpaths serving the village, one of them linking it with Belvoir Castle. The rural countryside makes it suitable for bird-watching. Among the species seen round the village are the buzzard, the quail, and the reed and sedge warblers.[10] [11]
The Grantham Canal, which opened in 1797, is no longer in commercial use. It passes to the north and west of the village, parallel with the disused railway.[12]
The nearest railway station is Bottesford (5½ miles, 8.9 km) on the Nottingham to Grantham/Skegness line. Redmile railway station (1½ miles, 2.4 km), with trains between Melton Mowbray and Grantham or Newark-on-Trent, closed to passengers in 1951.
Barkestone is served by daytime buses between Bottesford and Melton Mowbray six times a day on Monday to Saturday.[13]
There is a primary school in Redmile (1.6 miles, 2.6 km).[14] The nearest shops and a secondary school[15] are in Bottesford (4.8 miles, 7.7 km). The village pub, The Chequers, has become a bar and grill, open most evenings. Plungar (1 mile, 1.6 km) has the nearest traditional pub, The Anchor.[16] The local post office opens for only two hours a week.[17]