A Leicestershire Family History
The Gregory Family of Peckleton & Desford traces one Leicestershire line from the reign of Henry VIII to the present day.
About the Book
This unique book traces the lives of thirteen generations of David's family, back to the time of King Henry VIII of England and through to modern times. It examines how religious upheaval, repeated visits of the plague, threats of invasion, civil war, dynastic change, the Industrial Revolution and the strengthening of parliamentary rule all shaped the lives of English people — including David's own family.
Born in Leicester, David has lived in Leicestershire all his life, spending the last forty years in the village of Glenfield — about five miles from Desford, where his ancestors farmed five hundred years ago. Before beginning this history, he knew nothing of those roots in Peckleton and Desford. A greater surprise still: his great-grandmother's family had farmed in Glenfield for centuries — the very land where he now lives.
The Direct Line
An unbroken line of descent, generation by generation, from Tudor Leicestershire to the present.
Names in the Book
Every name recorded in the book, with dates and the page you'll find them on. Start typing to search by surname or first name.
Type a name above, or tap a letter, to search the book's index.
No names match that search.
From the Pages
Three lives, recorded from parish registers, certificates and the record of their times.
Born c. 1534
No record of Rychard's birth survives, so I have estimated it at twenty-five years before his recorded marriage in 1559 — placing him around 1534, broadly alongside the future Queen Elizabeth I…
Read more1807 – 1868
The record of Mary's life outlines a stark existence marked by tragedy. In the early nineteenth century a child born out of wedlock branded its mother — and the 1834 Poor Law reform added a Bastardy Clause that…
Read more1834 – 1919
In 1856 Henry was twenty-two when he married. His wife, Catherine Meadows, was about fourteen and already expecting their first child — a situation that would appal a reader today, and was thought unacceptable even then…
Read moreSurnames in the Book
Adcocke · Barber · Barlow · Barnes · Barrs · Bateman · Biddle · Brewin · Brickenden · Coulson · Dawes · Desford · Erpe · Fletcher · Gamble · Grace · Grant · Greet · Gregory · Grym · Harris · Hassall · Hawkins · Heath · Heather · Heggs · Hopkins · Hughes · Hullie · Hully · Jephcoate · Kendall · Kilby · Lambarde · Latham · Leonard · Lever · Marshall · Meadows · Nixon · Peasgood · Peckleton · Pemberton · Pilgrim · Powdrell · Redfern · Robinson · Screeton · Sharpe · Sim · Smith · Stokes · Stringer · Sutton · Tylson · Upton · Vesey · Wakelin · Ward · Waring · Webber · Whiteman · Woolley · Wryght
People & Places
A few of the many images gathered across David's research — the family, and the Leicestershire places they knew.
Places
Now Available
The Gregory Family of Peckleton & Desford is available now, with the audiobook to follow.
Coming Soon
An audiobook edition is on its way.
Coming Soon