#1Sports
Chris Kirkland
born 1981English association football player (born 1981)
28 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Barwell, Leicestershire
Most of the 8 famous people born in Barwell came into the world in the Victorian era
Chris Kirkland, the English association football player, is the most widely known, written about in 28 languages. Only 12 of the 77 towns in Leicestershire with anyone on record list more. Athletes make up the largest group, 4 of them. From William Bradford in 1663 to Chris Kirkland in 1981, the births cover 318 years.
Born here
8
notable people
Best known
Chris Kirkland
in 28 Wikipedia languages
First
1663
William Bradford
Youngest
1981
Chris Kirkland
Most common field
Sports
4 people
The best known
Born in Barwell
By how many languages cover them, Chris Kirkland comes first (28), then George Geary (7) and Carol Black (5).
#1
#2
#3Through the years
When Barwell’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1870s come out on top, with 2 births.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Barwell is known for
Share of Barwell’s famous people in each field.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Barwell
Still to come: 5 more, from 1663 to 1879.
George Ward
1879–1951British Liberal politician and boot manufacturer (1879-1951)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Hinckley leads the towns around it, with 21 names.
Questions about famous people from Barwell
Who is the most famous person from Barwell?
Chris Kirkland (English association football player (born 1981)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 28 languages. Next come George Geary and Carol Black.
How many famous people were born in Barwell?
8 people born in Barwell have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Barwell known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 4 of the 8. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Barwell?
William Bradford, born in 1663. The youngest on the list was born in 1981.
Who counts as from Barwell?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Barwell’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (7)
- Chris Kirkland: Dan Farrimond, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Geary: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Carol Black: Katy Blackwood, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Roger Cotes: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Adcock: Lafayette Ltd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Avery Dunning: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Armitage: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.