A venue and village
that is steeped in history

The name 'Medbourne' is Anglo Saxon and means 'Meadow Stream' - the name unchanged since the Doomsday Book. The Nevill Arms, facing the brook is a two storey ironstone building built in Tudor style and dated 1863. The Inn was rebuilt by Captain G.R. Nevill, brother and heir of Cosmos George Nevill owner of the Holt estate, to replace the former building which was destroyed by fire.

The village of Medbourne lies on the main road from Market Harborough to Uppingham, over 14 miles south-east of Leicester, in a small valley on the west side of Nevill Holt hill. The latter, 500ft high, is an outlier of the Northamptonshire ironstone beds and has provided the bulk of the building stone for houses in the district.

There are many other buildings of significance in Medbourne including the thatched Old Queen House, The Old Village Hall, Old Rectory, Horse & Trumpet and the Church of St Giles which stands on the north side of the green in the centre of the village. Originally built about 1000 AD, it was destroyed by fire in 1270 AD and a new Church completed in 1320 AD - the tower was added about 1370 AD.

The history of Medbourne is as much about the people and their way of life as it is about the buildings. Medbourne joins with Hallaton every Easter Monday to play out the ancient game of Bottle Kicking. There are parades in both villages with the distribution of the hare pie in Hallaton which precedes the scramble for three wooden barrels (the bottles) of ale. The players from both villages are keen to win this annual event and there is much celebrating before and after the game!