Regular Monthly Services (currently suspended)

1st Sunday: Holy Communion 10:30am

2nd Sunday: Benefice Service (rotated around the five churches) 10:30am

3rd Sunday: Ecumenical Morning Worship 10:30am St Peter’s with Methodist input

4th Sunday: Ecumenical Service at the Methodist Church 10:30am

5th Sunday: Benefice Service (rotated around the five churches) 10:30am

The Village

Higham is a small village, the parish being bounded to the west by the A5, the old Roman Watling Street, and to the east by the Ashby de la Zouch Canal .A population of 840 was recorded in the 2011 census and having a little over 400 dwellings. The Main Street boasts a number of character buildings, including that housing the Methodist Chapel. Within the parish boundary is the deserted village of Lindley, which during World War II, became the site of RAF Lindley and nowadays it has been developed into the home of the Motor Industry Research Association.  Lindley Hall Farm, within the parish, has been recognised by the Ordnance Survey as the geographical centre of England.

Farming dominates the land around the village, which means that the parish is in a very green area, with no heavy industry.  There is a small industrial estate on the northern end of the village.

 

Life of the Church and its Involvement in the Village

• Rents out land owned by the church to the Village Cricket Team
• Rents out plots of land as allotments
• St Peterstide Traditional Village Fete (Jointly with the school)
• Musically Accompanied Special Services (Christmas/ Easter)
• School Assemblies for end of term celebrations

History of the Village

The village is the birthplace, in 1887, of Geoffrey Fisher who became the 99^th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving in that role from 1945 until 1961. During his incumbency, he had the honour of crowning Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 at Westminster Abbey. His father and grandfather before him had been priests in Higham but after a period of time as a schoolmaster, he entered the church and rose to its highest position.

Other notable people born in Higham or Lindley were Robert Burton, a writer known for ‘’The Anatomy of Melancholy”, his brother William, who wrote the first county history of Leicestershire, and George Burdett, a 17^th century minister who held the post of colonial governor in the American province of New Hampshire for several years. The village once boasted three public houses, a number of shops and its own railway station. 

St Peter’s Church

The church tower dates back to 1130 and is one of the oldest in the country and the only complete Norman tower in South Leicestershire. A closed doorway in the tower suggests that it was originally planned to be a much larger cruciform church. Much of the remainder of the church was remodelled in the 17^th and 18^thcenturies. It has a peal of 6 bells, which include the Armada Bell, cast in 1589.