Launde Abbey, Leicestershire Genealogy

England   Leicestershire



Parish History
Launde Abbey is an extra parochial place and the site of a former Augustinian Priory.

The building is presently used as a Conference and Retreat Centre, by the Church of England Dioceses of Leicester and Peterborough.

The Abbey is an Elizabethan Manor House, extensively modified, originally built on the site of an Augustinian Priory. The original priory was founded in 1125 by Richard Basset and his wife Matilda.

Launde is set in beautiful countryside. Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's chief minister responsible for the dissolution of the monasteries, so liked its position that he wrote in his diary "Myself for Launde". But Cromwell never occupied the house as he was executed in 1540 for treason. In that same the year the building of the new house commenced. His son, Gregory, lived at Launde Abbey for ten years after its construction with his wife Elizabeth, the sister of Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII. front view

The chapel is thought to be all that remains of the original Priory Church. Some of its stained glass is mediaeval and Nikolaus Pevsner has described the monument to Gregory Cromwell as "one of the purest monuments of the early Renaissance in England". The chapel is used for daily worship by the resident community and guests, and is an attraction for visitors.

The records of Loddington, Leicestershire are the relevant neighbouring parish

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Refer to Loddington, Leicestershire

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Billesdon Poor Law Union, Leicestershire

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Leicestershire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.