show the extent of the damage to some extent but the author has no access to the interior. There is a preservation order, granted on 24 August 1999 by Melton Borough Council, on a dozen trees on the north side of the churchyard. The church was vested in the Churches Conservation Trust on 15 April 2016. At present the villagers worship in the chapel, which is a small building a short walk across the road from St Mary's. The chapel was built before 1881. It has a double-arched window and a porch. Civil parish The civil parish of Freeby includes Saxby, Stapleford, Wyfordby and Brentingby as well as Freeby itself. Saxby Saxby is a small village in the parish of Freeby. Saxby is one of the Thankful Villages – only 53 of which are known. These villages and parishes sent men to fight in the Great War, 1914-1918, and all of them came back alive. St Peter's Church, Saxby is a Grade II* listed building. It was built in 1789 to the designs of George Richardson. Notable residents In 1696 the non-conformist cleric and hymn-writer Isaac Watts (1674–1748) was appointed minister to the Hartopp family of Stoke Newington and Freeby. He preached at the Congregational chapel in the village until 1699. The chapel became a United Reformed Church in the early 1970s. References Bibliography External links Freeby Parish Council Civil parishes in Leicestershire Villages in Leicestershire Borough of Melton