Slawston is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, north-east of Market Harborough. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 143, including Welham and increasing to 191 at the 2011 census. The parish includes the deserted village of Othorpe at . Slawston is located roughly 1 km away from Medbourne. History In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Slawston like this: SLAWSTON, a parish, with a village, in the district of Uppingham and county of Leicester; 2½ miles NW of Medbourne-Bridge r. station, and 5½ NE of Market-Harborough. Post town, Market-Harborough. Acres, 1,510. Real property, £3,241. Pop., 246. Houses, 59. The manor belongs to the Earl of Cardigan. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough. Value, £174.* Patron, the Earl of Cardigan. The church is of the 13th century, and has a tower and spire. There is an Independent chapel. "Slawston, a parish, with a village, in the district of Uppingham and county of Leicester." In Slawston the Anglican parish church is dedicated to All Saints, the church was restored in 1864 and currently seats 168 people. From the Church records the Anglican register dates from 1559, the congregational chapel was built there in 1776 and rebuilt in 1850. Slawston is 18 miles south east of Leicester on the southern edge of the hills which overlooks the valley of Welland and adjoining the county boundary with Northamptonshire. This parish includes the deserted hamlet of Orthorpe. The village lies at over 300 ft and Slawston hills (also known as Mill, Barrow or Burrough Hill) exceeds 400 ft. The south of the parish is below 250 ft; the low-lying ground adjoining the Welland is liable to flooding. The soil is a stiff clay overlaying limestone which in the 18th century was quarried; on Slawston Hill the soil was then described as "fine and red". Demographics Population The earliest census records date back to 1801 with the total population at 266 people. Between 1811 and 1851 the population fluctuated but after 1851 the Parish saw a significant decrease in population, the population went from 281 in 1851 to 145 in 1901. In the early 19th century the population slowly decreased to 124 in 1951, 10 years later in 1961 the population was 105 people. According to the 2011 census, Slawston had a population of 191 people.