Rothley is a village and civil parish which centres on two greens, Cross Green and the Town Green, both of which are accessed by a road that leads from the crossroads. Rothley has been inhabited since Saxon times, as evidenced by the ancient Saxon cross in the church graveyard in the village. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
In the Middle Ages, Rothley was home to a manor of the Knights Templar, known as Rothley Temple, but now the Rothley Court Hotel, which passed to the Babington family after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. The knights Templar Chapel forms part of the hotel estate. In 1899, Rothley railway station was opened on the Great Central Railway, which is now part of the Great Central Steam Railway.
The station has been used to film period drama such as the 1988 film Buster and the 2004 Miss Marple TV adaptation of 4.50 from Paddington (where the station stood in for Paddington.) Today visitors can enjoy a very traditional English village with fascinating historical connections and no shortage of places to get some great food and drink.
