Syston

The Syston Library on Upper Church Street is a branch of the Leicester County Council Library System. It is open 5 days each week (verify by phone if you are visiting) and has staff familiar with Family History research.

• A cemetery board was formed in 1879 and set aside 3.5 acres for the cemetery and a mortuary chapel. It was under the control of the Parish Council.
   
• Richard LAW has a photograph of the mortuary at Syston Cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2017.
   
• Kate JEWELL has a photograph of Syston Cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2006.
   
• Tom GLOVER also has a photograph of Syston Cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2016.
   
• Not to be forgotten, Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of a gravestone from the parish churchyard on Geo-graph, taken in February, 2017.
   

• Syston was made the centre of a subdistrict of the Barrow-on-Soar Registration District.
   
• The 1851 census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print and Volume 23 covers the Syston subdistrict of which the parish is a part.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.
   
• Some sources show the dedication only to Saint Peter.
   
• The date of the original structure is uncertain, but the design is Gothic.
   
• The church was re-pewed in 1800.
   
• The church was restored and partially rebuilt in 1873.
   
• Additions were made to the church and the chancel rebuilt in 1881.
   
• The church seats 550.
   
• Dr. Neil CLIFTON has a photograph of the parish church on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2009.
   
• Saint Aidan's Mission church was built in 1900 of corrugated iron.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1644.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of Goscote (second portion).
   
• The Particular Baptists built a chapel here in 1869, replacing an earlier building.
   
• Richard LAW provides a photograph of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Goode's Lane on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2016.
   
• The Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists had chapels here by 1849.
   
• There appears to be only a single Methodist chapel in the parish in current times.
   
• Mike FULLER provides a view of the Methodist chapel, with a few Methodists spilling out of the door, on Geo-graph, taken in 2005.
   
• Richard LAW has a view of the Divine Infant of Prague Catholic Church on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2016.
   

• Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
   
• Syston was made the centre of a subdistrict of the Barrow upon Soar Registration District.
   

Syston is a village and a parish in northern Leicestershire. The parish is 107 miles north of London, 8.5 miles south of Loughborough, and 4.5 miles north-north-east from Leicester city. The parish covers 1,720 acres and sits near the junction of the River Soar and the Wreak navigation canal.

If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, there are several approaches off of the A46 north out of Leicester city.
   
• There is rail passenger service to Syston. Richard VINCE provides a photograph of Syston station on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2017.
   
• Kate JEWELL provides a view of Broad Street in Syston on Geo-graph, taken in 2005.
   

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Syston to another place.

• In the 1700s and 1800s many citizens were frame-work knitters.
   
• The parish was also known for malting, brewing, tanning, chair making, rope making and needle fabrication.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST offers a photograph of the Fox and Hounds Inn on Geo-graph, taken in November, 2013.
   

• The Earl of Stamford was the lord of the manor.
   
• There is mention of a Manor House in the Directories of 1881 and 1912, but no descriptions.
   

• See our Maps page for additional resources.
   

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK627115 (Lat/Lon: 52.697557, -1.073642), Syston which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• Syston had a rifle range (or "butts") used to train recruits in World War I.
   
• Pete CARTWRIGHT provides a view of the War Memorial on Flickr, taken in 2011.
   
• Kate JEWELL has a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2005.
   
• There are ten Commonwealth War Graves in Syston Cemetery.
   

The Commonwealth War Graves are for (data from the CWGC site):

• This place was an ancient parish in Leicester county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• The parish was in the ancient East Goscote Hundred in the northern division of the county.
   
• In April, 1935, the parish gave a 534 acre parcel to Barkby Civil Parish and received a 363 acre parcel in return as part of a boundary re-alignment.
   
• On that same date, the parish gave a 2 acre parcel to Cossington Civil Parish and received a 17 acre parcel in return.
   
• You can contact the Town Council regarding civic or political matters, but they are NOT staffed to assist with family history searches.
   
• For today's district governance, see the Charnwood District Council website.
   

• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Barrow-upon-Soar Poor Law Union.
   
• Bastardy cases were heard in the Leicester petty sessional hearings.
   

Year	Inhabitants
1841	1,421
1861	1,656
1871	1,877
1881	2,470
1891	2,582
1901	2,930
1911	3,087
1921	3,214
1931	4,322
1951	5,508
1961	6,455

• A National School for boys, girls and infants was built here in 1856 in the High Street.
   
• An Infants' School was built here in 1817 and enlarged in 1893.
   
• A girls' School was opened in 1882.
   
• The parish also had a Grammar School prior to 1849.