By Tim Lambert
Early Blaby
Like many settlements in Leicestershire, Blaby has a Danish name, as the Danes settled the area in the 9th century. It was once Blar by, which means Blar’s village.
At the time of the Domesday Book, in 1086, Blaby was a typical village with a population of less than 150. One of the inhabitants was a slave. (Slavery died out in England by the middle of the 12th century). Blaby had one watermill where grain was ground into flour for the villagers. The earliest mention of a church in Blaby was in 1140, although, of course, there might have been one earlier. The church tower was built in the 14th century.
The population of Blaby may have declined in the 14th century, possibly as a result of the Black Death, which struck in 1348 and killed about a third of the population of England. At the end of the 14th century, Blaby probably only had a population of about 100. However, the Bakers Arms Inn was built in 1485.
During Tudor Times and the 17th century, the population grew much larger. It probably had a population of nearly 300 by the end of the 17th century. That was despite an outbreak of the plague in 1626, which killed 82 people in Blaby.
Modern Blaby
In 1801, the population of Blaby was 1,258. By the standards of the time it was a large village, but it only grew a little during the 19th century. In 1901, the population of Blaby was 1,842.
Blaby Hall was built in 1837. Bouskell Park Ice House was built in 1843. A Church of England school opened in Blaby in 1849. Blaby Railway Station opened in 1864, but it closed in 1968. Blaby gained gas street light in 1867, and Blaby Rural District was formed in 1894.
After the First World War, Blaby gained a piped water supply. Blaby War Memorial was erected after the First World War. The names of those who died in the Second World War were added later.
Northfield Park opened in 1931.
In the early 20th century, Blaby was famous for growing a type of tomato, the Blaby special. However, they ceased to be grown in 1948.
In 1951, the population of Blaby was 2,991. However, it grew rapidly in the late 20th century. By 2001, it reached 6,163. In 2025, the population of Blaby was 7,000.
