East Leake

GOOD FOR ANOTHER THREE CENTURIES?

Following a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund, a grant of £16,300 has enabled East Leake Local History Society, with its partners St Marys Parochial Church Council and East Leake Parish Council, to complete the conservation of a handsome 18th century chest tomb erected, it is thought, by the friends of John Bley in 1734. He was a great local benefactor, whose lasting legacy to the village of his birth was the endowment of a school for both boys and girls, at a time when there was almost no educational provision of any sort for the ordinary people.

The tomb had deteriorated over time to a precarious state where the slate inscription was at risk of collapse, so the rescue scheme was conceived as a matter of urgency. The conservation work was carried out by Skillington Workshop of Grantham, with ironwork by Alun Walker of Kettering (to fit new railings to replace those removed during World War Two). The structure is now safe and strong, and includes some internal strengthening which should ensure it will be another few centuries before it needs attention again.

To broaden the scope of the project and satisfy the Heritage Lottery Fund requirement for any scheme to meet as large a public as possible, a biographical leaflet about John Bley has been produced (to be available soon), and an information board will be erected in the Memorial Gardens. Also, a professional educational historian has prepared detailed, illustrated teaching packs for use in schools.

For further information, please contact:
Tony Grundy, Chairman, East Leake Local History Society, tel 01509 820646
e-mail t.grundy@ntlworld.com

Inscription on John Bley's tomb, describing his legacy.