Melton Mowbray

Melton Mowbray, a market town in the Melton parliamentary division of Leicestershire, England, pleasantly situated in a fertile vale, at the confluence of the Wreake and the Eye. Pop. of urban district (Igor), 7454. It is 105 m. N.N.W. from London by the Midland railway, and is served by a joint branch of the London & North Western and Great Northern railways. The church of St Mary, a fine cruciform structure, Early English and later, with a lofty and richly ornamented central tower, was enlarged in the reign of Elizabeth. Melton is the centre of a celebrated hunting district, in connexion with which there are large stables in the town. It is known for its pork pies, and has a trade in Stilton cheese. There are breweries and tanneries and an important cattle market. There are blast furnaces in the neighbouring parish of Asfordby for the smelting of the abundant supply of iron ore in the district. During the Civil War Melton was in February 1644 the scene of a defeat of the parliamentary forces by the royalists. It is the birthplace of John Henley the orator (1692-1759).