William Lilly and Diseworth, Leicestershire

Hilda Lawson's booklet on the very unusual life of William Lilly (1602-81) is an amazing read. Lilly was born in Diseworth the son of a farmer of modest means, and after a village school education went to the grammar school in Ashby de la Zouch, where, according to his autobiography, he learned to speak Latin as well as he could English. In 1620 Lilly walked to London to work as a kind of secretary to Gilbert Wright, and after his master's death Lilly married Wright's widow, who was 25 years older than Lilly, and the first of his three wives.

By 1632 he had become a consultant astrologer in London, working for both the Roundheads and the Royalists. His most noted work is Christian Astrology Treated in Three Books, and he amassed a large amount of money. Toward the end of his life he became a physician.

Lilly's cottage stands in a prominent position in Diseworth, on the other side of the road from the parish church.

ADDENDUM: In a comment below, Quentin Field-Boden very helpfully provides a link to a YouTube video he's made, containing a number of old photos of the cottage. Here's the link:

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William Lilly's Cottage, Diseworth

John Shakespear and Diseworth, Leicestershire

John Shakespear (1774-1858) was born at Lount near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, initially educated at Staunton Harold, and then, under the patronage of Lord Rawdon, went to London to study Arabic. However, his specialization became Hindustani, on which he wrote a number of books, the most notable being Hindustani Grammar (1813) and A Dictionary of Hindustani and English (1817).

There is a memorial on the north wall of the chancel of St Michael and All Angels Church, Diseworth.

Shakespear retired in 1829 and bought Langley Priory, later home to a number of generations of Shakespears. The above photo shows some of their graves in the cemetery of St Michael and All Angels Church.