Whetstone, Leicestershire

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Whetstone
High Street, Whetstone - geograph.org.uk - 509589.jpg
High Street, Whetstone in July 2007
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Whetstone
Location within Leicestershire
Population6,556 (2011)
OS grid reference SP556974
Civil parish
  • Whetstone
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LEICESTER
Postcode district LE8
Dialling code 0116
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire
52°34′21″N1°10′48″W / 52.572367°N 1.179907°W / 52.572367; -1.179907

Whetstone is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England and largely acts as a commuter village for Leicester, five miles to the north. The population at the 2011 census was 6,556. [1] It is part of the Leicester Urban Area.

Contents

The village is bounded on the east by the A426 (on the other side of which is Blaby village), to the north by the railway line from Birmingham to Leicester, and to the west by the M1. It is well connected to Leicester City centre, with a very frequent direct bus service. From 1899 to 1963 the village was served by Whetstone railway station.

Industry

Whetstone was the site of Frank Whittle's factory, where jet engines were developed. Babcock Services, ITP Engines Ltd and Converteam now occupy much of the site. Smaller companies rent space, mainly for storing commercial vehicles. Until 2002 the site sounded an Air Raid Siren at 8am every Wednesday.

The site of the Whittle factory became the English Electric Company (later GEC). A significant part of several nuclear power stations was made there in the 1960s and 70s. English Electric was one of the largest engineering companies in the Leicester area, employing thousands of workers and training hundreds of apprentices each year. At one point more than 4,000 workers had to be shipped in from Middlesex to reduce labour shortages. Many settled permanently, causing a boom in the late 1960s.

The computer performance measurement called the "Whetstone" was named for the Whetstone ALGOL compiler, developed by English Electric at the factory; [2] it thus takes its name from the village.

Apart from Blaby, nearby places are Enderby, Glen Parva, Countesthorpe, Cosby, Littlethorpe and Narborough.

Education

There are two schools in Whetstone: Badgerbrook primary school and St Peter's primary school.

Sport

Whetstone has several football clubs: Blaby and Whetstone Boys, Whetstone Juniors and Saffron Dynamo.Holmes Park is the home of the Leicester & Rutland County FA. Holmes Park is also home to the Leicester City Football Club Under 23s. The village is also home to rugby union clubs Leicester Lions RFC and Vipers RFC. [3]

Culture

Whetstone holds an annual Remembrance Parade led by the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade, supported by 1st Whetstone Scouts and 1st Whetstone Guides.

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References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  2. ↑ Randell, Brian and Russell, Lawford John "Algol 60 Implementation" London: Academic Press, 1964. ISBN   0-12-578150-4.
  3. ↑ "Vipers RFC - Contacts". vipersrfc.rfu.club.


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