In 1270
Walter de Merton, the founder of
Merton College, Oxford, bought a large part of the parish of Kibworth Harcourt from Saer de Harcourt, who had been forced to sell the estate after giving his support to the unsuccessful "
Second Barons' War" led by
Simon de Montfort. Much of the parish has remained the property of
Merton College, Oxford to the present day. There is a
stained-glass window depicting Walter de Merton in the bell tower of the parish church, St Wilfrid's, of which the warden and scholars of the college are joint patrons with the
Bishop of Leicester.[citation needed] The church is a
Grade II* listed building.
A village school was founded in 1709, and endowed by Sir Nathaniel Edwards.[1]
A book of the same name was published by
Viking.[5] The series was likened to Who Do You Think You Are? for a whole community. Villagers (Kibworth Improvement Team - KiT) have created a new website[6] and successfully requested a grant of £48,200 from the
Heritage Lottery Fund to continue the legacy of the TV series by creating a Kibworth Guide Booklet (heritage trails for Kibworth Harcourt, Kibworth Beauchamp and
Smeeton Westerby), several interpretation panels around the three villages, ongoing study materials for the three tiers of local schools, and an Archive (Virtual Museum).
Facilities
Kibworth has a number of shops, a community newspaper (The Kibworth & District Chronicle),[7] and since 2002 new shops, including a branch of the
Co-Op.[8] New housing continues to be built on the edge of the village, causing periodic controversy.[9]
The Bookshop, which opened in the High Street in 2009, won a regional award for Independent Bookseller of The Year in 2012.[10]
It's not clear when Kibworth Cricket Club was founded, but evidence of cricket being played in the villages dates back to 1846.[14] The club moved to their
new ground in 2006. Kibworth CC has a significant success record, with 13
County championship titles to their name[15] and two
ECB National Club Cricket Championship wins, in 2004[16] and 2008.[17] Kibworth field four senior teams in the
Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League (a designated
ECB Premier League[15]) and a Women's team in the East Midlands Women’s Cricket League.[18] They also have an established junior training section that play competitive cricket in the Leicestershire Youth League.[19]
Football
The association football club, previously known as Kibworth and Smeeton, was renamed in 2018 as Kibworth Town, merging the younger and senior teams together.
Other clubs
Kibworth CE Primary School is host to Kibworth Rugby Stars, a children's rugby club serving ages 18 months to 6 years.[20]
The village also has clubs for snooker, tennis, golf, bowls and dance.[citation needed]