The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Leicester , the county town of Leicestershire, in England.
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Leicester is a city, unitary authority area, unparished area and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a population of 373,399 in 2022. The greater Leicester urban area had a population of 559,017 in 2021, making it the 11th most populous in England, and the 13th most populous in the United Kingdom. A 2023 report ranked Leicester 16th out of the 50 largest UK cities on a range of economic measures, and the first of seven East Midlands cities.
The Jewry Wall is a substantial ruined wall of 2nd-century Roman masonry, with two large archways, in Leicester, England. It stands alongside St Nicholas' Circle and St Nicholas' Church. It formed the west wall of a public building in Ratae Corieltauvorum, alongside public baths, the foundations of which were excavated in the 1930s and are also open to view. The wall gives its name to the adjacent Jewry Wall Museum.
This article is intended to give an overview of the history of Leicestershire, England.
Hugh Aston was an English composer of the early Tudor period. While little of his music survives, he is notable for his innovative keyboard and church music writing. He was also politically active, a mayor, Member of Parliament, and Alderman.
Sapcote is a small village in south-west Leicestershire, England, in the Sparkenhoe Hundred. It has a population of approximately 3,260, measured at the 2021 census The well-known inland scuba diving site Stoney Cove is nearby.
Leicester City Centre is Leicester's historical commercial, cultural and transport hub and is home to its central business district. Its inner core is roughly delineated by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road, although the various central campuses of the University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Leicester College are adjacent to the inner ring road and could be considered to be a continuation of the City centre. In a similar way, the Leicester Royal Infirmary precinct, New Walk business district (Southfields), the Welford Road Stadium of Leicester Tigers’ RUFC and the King Power Stadium of Leicester City to the south, and the Golden Mile to the north could also be deemed to be extensions to the central core.
Ratby is a commuter village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated to the west of Leicester, and just south of the M1 motorway. The population of the civil parish was measured in the 2011 census as 4,468. Other nearby places include Field Head, Kirby Muxloe, Glenfield and Markfield. The proximity of Ratby to Leicester causes it to form part of the Leicester Urban Area.
Leicester Castle is in the city of the same name in the English county of Leicestershire. The complex is situated in the west of Leicester City Centre, between Saint Nicholas Circle to the north and De Montfort University to the south. A large motte, the Great Hall, the Church of St Mary de Castro, and the ruined Turret Gateway are the substantial remains of what was once a large set of defensive and residential structures. It was historically the seat of the Earls of Leicester, from 1107-1175 under the House of Beaumont, from 1239 to 1265 under the House of Montfort, and after 1267 with the House of Lancaster when the Earldoms of Leicester and Lancaster were combined. The Castle's Great Hall served for centuries as the home of Leicester County Assizes and is encased in a Queen Anne style frontage. The Castle is a scheduled monument.
St Mary de Castro is an ancient, Grade I listed church in Leicester, England, located within the bailey of Leicester Castle. Today it acts as a Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Leicester. "St Mary de Castro" is Latin for "St Mary of the Castle"; a name chosen to differentiate from nearby "St Mary de Pratis": "St. Mary of the Meadows".
St Nicholas Church is a Church of England parish church, and the oldest place of worship in Leicester, England.
Stockerston is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, located on the border with Rutland, by the Eye Brook. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 35. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 census and is included in the civil parish of Horninghold.
Frisby is a hamlet and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire that lies approximately 7.3 miles (11.7 km) southeast of the city of Leicester, that is now largely a deserted medieval village. The 2011 census for Frisby returned 5 houses and 16 residents. Often termed as Frisby by Gaulby, the modern hamlet is situated between the village of Gaulby 1 mile (1.6 km) to the southwest and Billesdon 1.94 miles (3.12 km) to the northeast.
Wistow is a deserted medieval village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in the English county of Leicestershire, and lies seven miles south-east of the city of Leicester in the valley of the River Sence. Since 1 April 1936 it has included most of the former civil parish of Newton Harcourt which was a chapelry of Wistow. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 256.
The Magazine Gateway is a Grade I listed building in Leicester. Now a solitary landmark alongside Leicester ringroad, it was originally the main gateway of a walled enclosure built around 1400, giving access to the religious precinct of The Newarke. The vaulted archway was open to traffic until 1905. The gatehouse rooms were variously used as a porter's lodge, guest accommodation, prison, militia building, and regimental museum. It is now a building managed by the Leicester Museum Service, and is generally only open to the public by arrangement.
Little Stretton is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire that lies approximately 5.53 miles (8.90 km) southeast of the city of Leicester. The parish includes the deserted medieval village of Great Stretton (or Stretton Magna, a scheduled monument that is located 0.7 miles to the west of the village. The Gartree Road, a Roman Road, runs through the parish, adjacent to both Little and Great Stretton, and is the reason for those settlements' names. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Stretton means "strēt" for a Roman road; and "tūn" for a settlement or an estate. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 92, with approximately 36 households.
Shangton is a parish and village 1 mile (2 km) north of Tur Langton in Leicestershire, England. The parish is part of the Harborough district. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Shangton could mean 'shank farm/settlement', a long, narrow bent piece of ground; a narrow ridge or 'shank' projecting from high ground beside the village. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was approximately 125.
St Margaret's Church is an ancient Anglican prebendal and parish church situated on St Margaret's Way in Leicester, England. Described by John Leland as “the fairest parish church in Leicester” it is notable for its large and well lit 15th century chancel, and the imposing west tower with its peal of 14 bells. Nicholas Pevsner noted that the fan vaulted south porch and tower's stair turret are unique examples among Leicestershire churches. It is a Grade I listed building.
The identification of Deserted Villages and Lost Places in Leicestershire owes much to the pioneering work of William George Hoskins during his time at the University of Leicester.
Blackfriars Leicester, also known as St Clement's Church, Leicester and St Clement's Priory, Leicester, is a former priory of the Order of Preachers in the city of Leicester in Leicestershire, England. It is also the name of a former civic parish, and a neighbourhood in the city built on and around the site of the old priory.
a walled rectangular space, divided by two main streets which crossed in the middle of the town and passed out of it by four gates, North, South, East, and West. From North to South the walled space measured about 880 yards, from east to west 733 yards, the walls enclosing over 130 acres.
The Leicester of the Doomsday Book stood as a free borough stood on no man's land and in no Hundred.
The historian Ordericus Vitalis, who knew the Grantmesnil family well, describes Leicester in 1101 as under 4 masters, the King, the Bishop of Lincoln, Earl Simon Senilis (Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton), and Ivo, who farmed the Kings fourth… In that year Ivo, who was the "first to introduce the horrors of private war into England," plundered and destroyed Leicester and fell under a heavy fine.
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From the accounts of the parish of St Martins, entry for 1647 "Paid to the ringers when the King came to Leicester 3s."
From the accounts of the parish of St Martins, entry for 1647 "Paid for a Directory and a Psalter."
A nine-tonne statue removed from Leicester five years ago has been restored at a roundabout close to its original location
Eliot Roscoe
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