the lord was Hugh de Grandmesnil who was also associated with the hundreds of Goscote, Guthlaxton and Gartree in Leicestershire. The estate was held by the Ferrers family until 1445 when it passed to the Grey family. By 1800 the village had expanded with the population reaching 250, and by 1920 it had reached 1,000. Employment in the village was largely in the local granite quarries and in farming. The seventh Earl of Stamford and 3rd Earl of Warrington employed the London architect Mr M.J. Dain of Dain and Parsons to design the Jacobean style mansion to replace the former hunting lodge the Grey family used at Groby when they were hunting in Leicestershire, this mansion was built by the local builder of Groby Mr Thomas Rudkin, Bradgate House was completed in 1856 and built to the north-west of the village and referred to as the Calendar House because it had 365 windows, 52 rooms, and 12 main chimneys. The Earls niece Mrs Katherine Henrietta Venezia Grey sold the Leicestershire estates in 1925, she inherited these in 1905, including Bradgate House, which was demolished (although the ruins of its extravagant stable block remain), from which many villagers bought their homes. Plots of land in the area were subsequently sold to builders, leading to a significant expansion of the village. Historically, the village is noted for its connection with two Queens of England. Groby Old Hall, built in the 15th century, was owned by the Grey family whose estate included Bradgate Park. Sir John Grey of Groby married Elizabeth Woodville. After his death, in battle, she married Edward IV of England. Bradgate Park was the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, who became Queen of England for nine days in 1553. The Grey family held the barony until it was forfeited in 1554. Thomas Grey, Lord Grey of Groby became MP for Leicester in 1641 and fought on the side of Parliament in the English Civil War. In 1649 Grey was the only aristocrat of the 59 signatories of the death warrant of Charles I. There is no definitive explanation of the roots of the village's name, but its '-by' ending implies a link to Viking rule during the period of the Danelaw. Also, groo is a Viking word for pit, which may well refer to the quarry situated next to the village. The Domesday entry lists the village as 'Grobi'.