Bitteswell Conservation Area

6.0 Definition of Special Interest

6.1 In April 1971 an exhibition entitled 'Bitteswell – Our Village a Local History Exhibition' took place in St Mary's Church. Residents (and former residents) of 1970s Bitteswell lent material to illustrate the past history of Bitteswell, its daily life and its people.^[2] This demonstrated the level of interest residents had in the value of their local environment. In 1848 Bitteswell was described as having, 'no pretentions to celebrity' and being a 'pleasant and social place of residence' and such a description is equally fitting in 2022.^[3]

6.2 In 1972 Bitteswell was designated as a conservation area. Such designation would help to preserve and enhance the qualities residents recognised and celebrated in the exhibition the previous year.

6.3 The development of Bitteswell is intertwined with the farmland that surrounds it. This is evident in the relationship between the farms, fields and traditional housing and farm buildings and is reflected in property names within the village. The development of the settlement has resulted in a diversity of building styles and materials which contribute to the character of the conservation area. It is an open spacious village where the relationship between the built environment of the settlement and the natural environment both within it and surrounding it are integral to its rural character.

6.4 Bitterswell conforms to Natural England's description of rural villages in south Leicestershire whose settlement patterns formed in medieval times remain evident with 'separate villages clustered around a tall church spire' and having a long history of agricultural land use^[4].