Netherseal

Netherseal is a picturesque village on the banks of the river Mease, overlooking Leicestershire. The village was once part of the district of Seal, which included quite a few settlements, many of which now form Netherseal and Overseal. ‘Seal’ suggests the area was once heavily forested and Netherseal was recorded in the Domesday Book as a wooded area on the edge of the Ashby Woulds. It was once a mining community with a two-shaft colliery and several related industries. The mining industry has long gone and the centre of Netherseal village is now a conservation area with many listed buildings, including the 17th-century almshouses.

The Parish Church of St Peter was built in the 19th century, though it looks much older, and has some medieval fragments, including the tower. It stands on the site of an earlier church dating from the 13th century. The churchyard is the final resting place of Sir Nigel Gresley, who designed the famous Mallard locomotive.