South Luffenham

The village's name means 'homestead/village of Luffa'. At Christmas 1793, a tribe of gypsies were camping at the 'Follies' near Foster's Bridge. The gypsy king, named Edward Boswell, had a beautiful daughter, Rose, the Princess. She was just 17 and dying of consumption (tuberculosis). When the time came to move on, she was too ill to travel in a jolting caravan, and so the gypsies stayed a further two months on the cold bleak heath. When she died, the churchwardens of South Luffenham would not have her buried in the parish because she was not considered a Christian. The curate, the Rev. Bateman, finally over-ruled his parishioners and she was buried in the south aisle. A few weeks later, a…

]] The windmill was built in 1832; in 1895, a storm blew the cap off, but the building continued to be used until 1908. The watermill is early 19th century. Owned by Molesworths, a miller was employed, who was responsible for controlling the water level of the sluice and the working of the mill. In addition, his duties covered management of the Railway Hotel. After the closure of the adjoining mill, trade at the hotel decreased and it was forced to close in the 1930s. Prior to 1910, flour had mainly been milled, and 16 stone sacks were hoisted to the second floor for storage and lowered to carts below when required. When the steam-driven mill was installed in 1910, the mill concentrated on…