The Plungar name derives through the c.1130 name 'Plunard', itself from the Old English "plume" with the Old English "gara" or Old Scandinavian "garthr", meaning "Triangular plot where plum trees grow" or plum tree enclosure. In 1870 Plungar was a village and civil parish, and part of the district of Bingham. Parish area was with a population of 251, and 59 houses. At the time a Wesleyan chapel was recorded. Several Plungar children were educated at a free school in Barkestone. It had two rooms with a school house for a master and mistress. By 1830 the school had taught 14 children from Barkestone and 12 from Plungar, chosen by parish churchwardens. The lord of the manor was the Duke of Rutland. The population in 1830 was 280, including seven farmers, two tailors, two shoemakers, a bricklayer, a shopkeeper, a blacksmith, a wheelwright, a lace maker, an auctioneer, and the landlord of The Anchorpublic house. It also housed a parish curate and a gentleman.
Governance
In 1936 the adjoining civil parishes of Barkestone and Redmile were merged with Plungar to form the parish of Redmile, sometimes known as Barkestone, Plungar and Redmile, which had a population of 829 in 2001.
Amenities
The village public house, The Anchor, is close to the Grantham Canal. There is also a village hall. Plungar is served by a bus service to Bottesford or Bingham to the north and Melton Mowbray to the south. All three destinations have railway stations, the nearest being at Bottesford. The nearest primary school is at Redmile. There is a primary, a secondary and an independent school in Bottesford.
Landmarks
The parish church of St Helen dates from the 14th century, with additions in the 15th. The church was repaired in 1829, and rebuilding work in 1855–1856 added a chapel and replaced the south aisle. The church was listed as Grade II* in 1968. To the east of Plungar, in neighbouring Nottinghamshire, is the site of the disused RAF Plungar, once a base for No. 38 and No. 90 squadrons. A plaque at Plungar commemorates the crew of six of a Lancaster bomber, which crashed near Plungar in 1943. An obelisk to the dead of the First and Second World Wars stands in Harby Road.
