BOSWORTH (MARKET), a parish in the hundred
of SPARKENHOE, county of LEICESTER, comprising
the town of Market-Bosworth, the chapelries of Barleston,
Carlton, Shenton, and Sntton-Cheney, the township
of Barton in the Beans, and part of the township
of Osbaston, and containing 267'7 inhabitants, of which
number, 1117 are in the town of Market-Bosworth,, 11§
miles (S.W.) from Leicester, and 107 (N.W.) from London.
This place, in Domesday-book called Bosworde,
takes the prefix to its name from a market granted to
the inhabitants in the reign of Edward I. The neighbourhood
is celebrated as the scene of a decisive battle
which took place on the 22nd of August, 1485, between
Richard III. and the Earl of Richmond, afterwards
Henry VII.: this battle, the last of those sanguinary conflicts
between the houses of York and Lancaster, which
had for so many years disturbed the internal tranquillity
of the kingdom, and deluged its plains with
blood, was fought on a large moor, three miles from the
town, formerly called Redmore, but since that event
better known as Bosworth Field. It is at present enclosed,
and the particular spot, called Richard's Well,
is distinguished by a monument erected by subscription,
through the exertions of the late Dr. Parr, who
visited the site in 1813, and wrote an appropriate
inscription for it in Latin: numerous swords, shields,
spurs, and other military relics, have been dug up at different
times in the neighbourhood. The town, which is
pleasantly situated on an eminence, contains some respectable
houses, and is well supplied with water. The
manufacture of worsted stockings is carried on here, and
in the adjacent villages, to a considerable extent; and
greater facility has been given to trade by the Ashby
canal, which, passing within a mile of the town, affords
a medium for supplying it with coal and other articles
of consumption. The market is on Wednesday: the
fairs are on May 8th, for horses, horned cattle, and
sheep, and July 10th, which is called the Cherry fair.
The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Leicester,
and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the Icing's books
at £55. 18. 4., and in the patronage of the Dixie family.
The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a spacious ancient
structure, with a beautiful spire; within are many in.
teresting monuments, among the finest of which is one
to certain members of the Dixie family. There are places
of worship for Baptists and Independents. The free
grammar school, open to all boys whose parents reside
within the parish, was founded in 1593, and endowed
with land, by Sir Wolstan Dixie, Knt., who also en^
dowed two fellowships of £30, and four scholarships
of £10, per annum each, in Emanuel College, Cam'
bridge. In consequence of its affairs being in Chancery,
the school has been discontinued for the last twenty-
five years, during which period, its funds have accu^
mulated to the amount of £15,000: of this sum it is
in contemplation to appropriate a part to the foundation
of additional scholarships. The premises, including
commodious residences for the masters, have been
handsomely rebuilt in the later style of English architecture,
at an expense of £ 5000: the management
is vested in ten governors, including the rector and
churchwardens of the parish: the total income arising
from the endowment is £700 per annum. The Rev-.
Anthony Blackwall, a distinguished critic and classical
scholar, was master, and the celebrated Dr. Johnson,
and Thomas Simpson, the eminent mathematician, were
ushers, in this school j the latter, who was a native of
the town, became Professor of Mathematics at Wook
wich, and died here in 1761.