Charley, North West Leicestershire, in 2020 is a recognised geographical name and place. It was not always so. For nearly twenty five years a small group of people have met together and worked to establish the uniqueness of their scattered hamlet in local and, incidentally, national minds. As they gracefully enter old age and there seems no prospect of a younger generation to continue, they have decided to give voice and perpetuate its stories and the part they have each played in uncovering them. The Group has continued over the years just as it began, not as passive receptors of the research of others but active performers in making things happen and here they will tell, often in their own voice, how and why they happened. So this also becomes a story of characters who live in and love their part of the world.

Charley from Iveshead Road
How this story will unfold.
The task of recording the Group's activities over the years has been delegated by Charley Heritage Group to Terry Sheppard and Maureen Havers. It had been hoped that this would result in a beautiful book of stories and photographs which would become an historical account for the future when, perhaps, the Parish of Charley is absorbed into a neighbouring town for economical and administrative purposes. Time, finances and advancing years now make this unlikely so the decision was taken to commit the stories to the world wide web under the banner of Charley Parish Council. Our thanks to the Council for providing this.
Each part of the account will be stored in the Council's Document folder and available under its own title and link.
Beginnings (PDF, 426 Kb)
The beginning of Charley Heritage Group
CHG Two Dissertations (PDF, 359 Kb)
Two Dissertations: Terry Sheppard
CHG Parish Map (PDF, 707 Kb)
The making of a parish map.
Charley Parish Map photograph (PDF, 485 Kb)
The Map of Charley Parish measures 5ft by 3ft.
CHG Map Book Descriptions (PDF, 16.1 Mb)
Map Book sketches and descriptions.
CHG Meetings and Research (PDF, 687 Kb)
Getting together in the early days
CHG Research (PDF, 663 Kb)
From casual conversations to research...
CHG The Oaks Fair (PDF, 961 Kb)
An enjoyable annual event for Charley...
CHG. Activities (PDF, 674 Kb)
Following the Groups' interests...