Harby

The small village of Harby in Nottinghamshire is just a few miles west of the City of Lincoln. Harby’s main claim to fame is that it was where Eleanor of Castille, wife of King Edward I of England, died on 28 November 1290, aged 49. There is little to see. It is thought she had malaria, or perhaps a heart condition. Travelling northwards, the royal party stopped at Harby and stayed at the house of Richard de Weston, where she died. This was situated behind the Victorian church of All Saints, but the only visible remains of it are some bumps in the grass where the moat was. A chantry chapel was set up in 1294 to hear prayers for Eleanor, but this was destroyed in the 16th century. All Saints’ church replaced an earlier chapel of ease and there is a Victorian statue of Eleanor on the tower. The local primary school is named for Queen Eleanor.