Leicestershire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, and Staffordshire to the west. The city of Leicester is the largest settlement and the county town.
The A6 is one of the main north–south roads in England. It runs from Luton in Bedfordshire to Carlisle in Cumbria, although it formerly started at a junction with the A1 at Barnet. It is the fourth longest numbered road in Britain; only the A1, A38 and A30 are longer.
Oadby and Wigston is a local government district with borough status in Leicestershire, England. It covers the two towns of Oadby, where the council is based, and Wigston, which is the larger town. Both form part of the Leicester urban area, lying south-east of the city.
Wigston, or Wigston Magna, is a town in the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire, England, just south of Leicester on the A5199. It had a population of 32,321 in 2011.
Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Leicester on the A6 road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby and Stoneygate. The University of Leicester Botanical Garden is in Oadby. Oadby had a population of 23,849 in 2011, and like its neighbour Wigston is made up of five wards. The Borough of Oadby and Wigston is twinned with Maromme in France, and Norderstedt in Germany.
Harborough is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. It is named after its main town, Market Harborough, which is where the council is based. The district also includes the town of Lutterworth and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. In the north of the district it includes parts of the Leicester Urban Area, notably at Thurnby, Bushby and Scraptoft. Covering 230 square miles (600 km2), the district is the largest by area of the eight districts in Leicestershire and covers almost a quarter of the county.
The A5199 road is the direct road from Northampton to Leicester in England. It was formerly part of the A50 trunk road that ran from Bedfordshire to Lancashire. For most of its length it is known as the Welford Road, except for small stretches near Welford where it is known as High Street and Northampton Road, and a section near Wigston Magna where it is known as Bull Head Street.
Great Glen is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in Leicestershire, 2 miles south of Oadby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 3,662. Leicester city centre is about seven miles north west. Its name comes from the original Iron Age settlers who used the Celtic word glennos meaning valley, and comes from the fact that Great Glen lies in part of the valley of the River Sence. The 'great' part is to distinguish the village from Glen Parva.
Glen Parva is a civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England with a population of over 17,000. The population of the civil parish, including Eyres Monsell was 17,189 in the 2011 census. To the north it runs into Aylestone and to the east South Wigston. To the south and west it is not immediately surrounded by development.
Countesthorpe is a large village and civil parish in the Leicestershire district of Blaby, with a population of 6,393 (2001 census, falling slightly to 6,377 at the 2011 census. It lies to the south of Leicester, and is about 6 miles from the city centre, but only two miles south of the suburb of South Wigston. Nearby places are Blaby and South Wigston to the north, Kilby to the east, Peatling Magna and Willoughby Waterleys to the south, and Broughton Astley, Cosby and Whetstone to the west.
Fleckney is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated 2.5 miles (4 km) west of the A6 national route between Market Harborough and Leicester.
South Wigston is a large village to the south of Leicester, England. It is outside the city boundary, forming part of the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire. The population at the 2011 census was 7,490.
Kilby is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. Kilby is the easternmost village in the district, and is 6.1 miles (9.8 km) south east of Leicester. Kilby civil parish includes the former parish of Foston and its deserted medieval village. Nearby places are Countesthorpe 2.21 miles (3.56 km), Fleckney 2.12 miles (3.41 km), Arnesby 1.96 miles (3.15 km), Wistow 1.4 miles (2.3 km) and Kilby Bridge 1.18 miles (1.90 km).
South Wigston railway station is in the large village of South Wigston, Leicestershire, England, on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line 3.5 miles (6 km) south of Leicester and the west-north loop of Wigston Junction. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway (EMR). Not all trains operating between Birmingham and Leicester stop here. Although the station is only served by CrossCountry, it is managed by East Midlands Railway as CrossCountry does not manage any stations.
The River Sence is a river which flows in Leicestershire, England. The tributaries of the Sence, including the Saint and Tweed, fan out over much of western Leicestershire from Charnwood Forest and Coalville in the north-east to Hinckley and almost to Watling Street in the south and south-west. Its watershed almost coincides with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough of Leicestershire, which was formed in 1974 by amalgamation of Market Bosworth Rural District and Hinckley Urban District. It flows into the Anker, which in turn flows into the River Tame. It is part of the wider River Trent catchment, which covers much of central England. In 1881, Sebastian Evans wrote that the usual names for this river were Shenton Brook and Sibson Brook.
Newton Harcourt is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wistow, in the Harborough district, in the English county of Leicestershire, and lies 7 miles south-east of the city of Leicester on the northern ridge of the River Sence valley. In 1931 the parish had a population of 142.
The River Sence is a Leicestershire (England) tributary of the larger River Soar. The River Sence can be traced eastwards up to the village of Billesdon, and then flows south west through Great Glen, Leicestershire, and then west until the confluence with the River Soar just to the west of Blaby. Tracing the River Sence upstream, the Environment Agency does monitor the river between Blaby and Great Glen, but there has been no significant flooding in recent years, and the land along the River Sence is largely agricultural. In 1881 Sebastian Evans wrote that the usual names for this river were Billesdon Brook and Burton Brook.
Foston is a deserted medieval village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kilby, in the Blaby district of Leicestershire and lies approximately 6.1 miles (9.8 km) south of the city of Leicester, England. The settlement name Foston means "Fotr's farm/settlement": "Fotr" is an Old Norse personal name, and "tūn" in Old English means an enclosure, farmstead, village or estate. In 1931 the parish of Foston had a population of 36. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Kilby.
The Leicestershire County Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out club competition organized by the Leicestershire Rugby Union. It was first introduced in 1890 with the inaugural winners being South Wigston. The competition was known as the Leicestershire League Cup until 1893 when it was changed to Leicestershire Senior Cup. The first competition was open to the top sides in the county apart from the Leicester FC first XV, who were considered too strong and would instead enter an 'A' team up until 1906. Smaller clubs in the county, as well as senior club second sides, played in the Leicestershire Junior Cup which had its inaugural competition three seasons earlier in 1887.
