Rothley is situated approximately midway between Loughborough and Leicester, in the county of Leicestershire, England. Rothley was known as "Rodelei" in Saxon times, the name means a clearing by a stream, and the village is situated by Rothley brook, a tributary of the nearby river Soar. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 A.D. and the Stone Shaft in the churchyard dates back to 850 A.D.

 

 

Rothley Court is an Elizabethan house incorporating the remains of an ancient religious building Rothely Temple, although a Roman Villa is belived to have existed on the site, in 1203 the Order of the Knights Templar was granted the land, and the chapel they built still exists. The Act of Parliament which abolished slavery throughout the British Empire was drafted at Rothley Temple by William Wilberforce and Thomas Babington in the 18th century.

Rothley station, once derelict has been restored to working order and is one of the four stations currently on the Great Central Railway, where steam trains now run. It is planned to extend the railway to the north of Loughborough