River Sence, Wigston

River Sence
River Sence
	The river, just north of Great Glen.
Location
Country	England
Physical characteristics
Mouth
• location	River Soar

Last updated January 07, 2025

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, and then west (south of Wigston and South Wigston) until the confluence with the River Soar just to the west of Blaby and south of Glen Parva. 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, until 6 January 2025 when it reached a record height. 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 which are in fact two of its major tributaries.^[1]

The river flows past South Wigston at a point known locally as Crow Mills. After heavy rain the river level here rises quickly. It floods neighbouring fields and then flows across the road causing the road to become impassable to traffic. After prolonged rain the river floods large areas of farm land along its course. At village of Blaby it floods across the cricket pitch and also it can flood across the Leicester Road under the Leicester to Birmingham railway bridge. This can cause significant disruption to local traffic. Over recent years the maintenance on the river appears to have been reduced. It can often be seen choked with weeds and other vegetation.

The flooding of the Soar Valley

As a tributary of the River Soar, The River Sence in the Blaby and Wigston area suffers from persistent flooding.

In the mid 1800s, the railway viaduct at Crow Mill was swept away in a storm and subsequent floods. The destroyed wooden structure was replaced by a steel and brick construction to restore the main railway line. However, in the 1960s it was dismantled when the line was closed as part of the branch line cuts proposed by Dr Beeching.

The road at Crow Mill still suffers closures through flooding, as does the road between Blaby (Northfield Park) and Glen Parva, due to the River Sence bursting its banks.

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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.

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.

Blaby is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. The district is named after the village of Blaby, although the council is based in Narborough. The district covers an area lying south-west of the city of Leicester. Several of the district's settlements form part of the wider Leicester Urban Area, including Glenfield, where Leicestershire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall, and the town of Braunstone.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oadby</span> Town in Leicestershire, England

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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.

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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 adjacent to development.

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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.

The River Tweed is a short tributary of the River Sence. It rises around the west of the village of Barwell, Leicestershire, England and flows westwards, crossing the A447 at Abraham's Bridge.

Sence may refer to:

The South Leicestershire Railway was founded in 1850 as the Nuneaton and Hinckley Railway, with parliamentary powers to build a 4.5 miles (7 km) railway from Nuneaton on the London and North Western Railway to Hinckley in Leicestershire. In 1860 Parliament authorised the company to extend its line to Wigston Junction on the Midland Railway and to rename itself the South Leicestershire Railway. The extension was completed in 1864 which included stations at Elmesthorpe, Croft, Narborough, Blaby and Wigston as well as sidings for the granite quarries at Stoney Stanton, Croft and Enderby.

References

↑ Evans, Arthur Benoni (1881) Leicestershire Words, Phrases, and Proverbs; edited, with additions by Sebastian Evans. London: Trübner & Co.; p. 47

52°34′54″N1°11′14″W / 52.5818°N 1.1871°W / 52.5818; -1.1871

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[1] Evans, Arthur Benoni (1881) Leicestershire Words, Phrases, and Proverbs; edited, with additions by Sebastian Evans. London: Trübner & Co.; p. 47

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