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For the former parliamentary constituency, see Leicestershire (UK Parliament constituency). Leicestershire was a County constituency in Leicestershire, represented in the British House of Commons.
Leicestershire
Image:EnglandLeicestershire.png
Geography
Status Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county
Region East Midlands
Area
- Total
- Admin. The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of Subdivisions of England used for the purposes of Local government outside Greater London The East Midlands is one of the Regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. Surface area is the measure of how much exposed Area an object has council
- Admin. area		 Ranked 28th
2,156 km²
Ranked 26th
2,083 km²
Admin HQ Glenfield
ISO 3166-2 GB-LEC
ONS code 31
NUTS 3 UKF22
Demographics
Population
- Total (2006 est. This is a List of Ceremonial counties of England by Area. See also To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here areas between 1000 km2 and 10000 km2 Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of This is a list of non-metropolitan counties of England by area Glenfield is a satellite town and suburb of Leicester, England. ISO 3166-2GB is an ISO standard which defines Geocodes it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to the United Kingdom. The Office for National Statistics coding system is a hierarchical code used in the United Kingdom for tabulating Census and other statistical data The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, ( NUTS) for the French nomenclature d'unités territoriales statistiques, is a Geocode In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology )
- Density
- Admin. The density of a material is defined as its Mass per unit Volume: \rho = \frac{m}{V} Different materials usually have different council
- Admin. pop. 		Ranked 21st
924,700
429 / km²
Ranked 17th
635,000
Ethnicity 85. This is a List of Ceremonial counties of England by Population. This is a list of non-metropolitan counties of England by population. 0% White
11. 9% S. Asian
1. 2% Black British
1. 5% Mixed Race
Politics
Arms of Leicestershire County Council
Leicestershire County Council
http://www.leics.gov.uk/
Executive Conservative
Members of Parliament
Districts


Leicestershire (IPA: /ˈlɛstəʃə(r) or ˈlɛstəʃɪə(r)/, listen (help·info)abbreviation Leics. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Composition Graphical representation of the House of Commons This is a comparison of the party strengths in the British House of Commons Stephen James Dorrell MP (born 25 March 1952) is a British Politician. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Alan James Carter Duncan (born 31 March 1957 is a British Politician. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Edward Henry Garnier QC (born October 26, 1952) is a Barrister and Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Patricia Hope Hewitt (born 2 December 1948) is a British Politician. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the For the Cornish rugby player see Andy Reed (rugby player Andrew John Reed (born 17 September 1964 is a British Labour and Co-operative The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Co-operative Party is a democratic socialist Political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative Andrew Robert George Robathan (born 17 July 1951 is a British Conservative politician and Member of Parliament (MP for Blaby in Leicestershire The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby (b December 27, 1948, Bishop Auckland) is a British Labour Party politician The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the David Leslie Taylor (born 22 August 1946 is a politician in the United Kingdom, and is Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP for The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Co-operative Party is a democratic socialist Political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative David Arthur Stephen Tredinnick (born 19 January 1950 is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known simply as Keith Vaz (born 26 November 1956 is a British Labour Party Politician and Member of The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Charnwood is a local government district with Borough status in northern Leicestershire, England. Melton is a local government district with Borough status in north-eastern Leicestershire, England. This is about the district of Harborough there is also the Harborough constituency. Blaby is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Hinckley and Bosworth is a local government district with Borough status in south-western Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional Oadby and Wigston is a local government district and Borough in the English county of Leicestershire. , is a landlocked county in central England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional See also Independent city A unitary authority is a type of Local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all Local government functions The county borders onto Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire. History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire Rutland is a county of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Geography Warwickshire is bounded to the northwest by the West Midlands Metropolitan county and Staffordshire, by Leicestershire to Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants The border with Warwickshire is Watling Street (the A5). Watling Street is the name given to an Ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Celts mainly between the modern

County Hall, situated in Glenfield, about 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Leicester city centre, is the seat of Leicestershire County Council and the headquarters of the county authority. Glenfield is a satellite town and suburb of Leicester, England. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Leicestershire County Council is the County council for the English Non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. The City of Leicester is administered from offices in Leicester itself and the City Council meets at Leicester Town Hall.

The River Soar rises to the east of Hinckley, in the far south of the county, and flows northward through Leicester before emptying into the River Trent at the point where Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire meet. The River Soar is a Tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands. The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire between Biddulph and Biddulph Moor. Trentlock, or Trent Lock is located on the border of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire near to Long Eaton. A large part of the northwest of the county, around Coalville, forms part of the new National Forest area extending into Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population of about 30000 The National Forest, is an area of 520 km² (200 square miles of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, in England. The highest point of the county is Bardon Hill at 278 m/912 ft, which is also a Marilyn. Bardon Hill, near Coalville, is the highest point in the English County of Leicestershire and the National Forest, 278  A Marilyn is a type of Mountain or Hill in Great Britain, Ireland or surrounding islands with a relative height of at least 150 metres

As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose the Foxglove as the county flower. The following are the flowers selected for the historic counties (and major cities of the United Kingdom in Plantlife 's 2002 "County Flowers" campaign Plantlife is a wild plant conservation charity founded in 1989 Digitalis purpurea ( Common Foxglove, Purple Foxglove or Lady's Glove) is a Flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae (formerly In a number of countries plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas

Contents

History

Main article: History of Leicestershire

Leicestershire was recorded in the Domesday Book in four wapentakes: Guthlaxton, Framland, Goscote and Gartree. Leicestershire was recorded in the Domesday Book in four Wapentakes Guthlaxton, Framland, Goscote and Gartree The Domesday Book (ˈduːmzdeɪ bʊk also known as Domesday, or Book of Winchester) was the record of the great survey Guthlaxton was a hundred of Leicestershire. It was in the south of the county and covered Lutterworth and Wigston Magna. Framland was a hundred in north-east Leicestershire, roughly corresponding to today's borough of Melton. Goscote was a Wapentake of Leicestershire, England, consisting of the north and north-west of the county Gartree was a hundred of Leicestershire. It was in the south-east of the county roughly corresponding to today's Harborough district These later became hundreds, with the division of Goscote into West Goscote and East Goscote, and the addition of Sparkenhoe hundred. West Goscote was a hundred of Leicestershire, that arose from the division of the ancient Goscote hundred into two East Goscote was a hundred of Leicestershire, that arose from the division of the ancient Goscote hundred into two Sparkenhoe was a hundred of Leicestershire, England. It was in the south-west of the county covering Market Bosworth and Hinckley In 1087, the first recorded use of the name was as Laegrecastrescir.

Leicestershire's external boundaries have changed little since the Domesday Survey. The Measham-Donisthorpe exclave of Derbyshire has been exchanged for the Netherseal area, and the urban expansion of Market Harborough has caused Little Bowden, previously in Northamptonshire to be annexed. Measham is a village in Leicestershire, near the Staffordshire and Derbyshire border located just off the A42 just south of Ashby-de-la-Zouch Donisthorpe is a Village in the East Midlands of England, administered as part of the Leicestershire district of North West Leicestershire History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle Netherseal (or 'Netherseale' is the southernmost village on the border of the English county of Derbyshire. Market Harborough is a Market town in Leicestershire, England. Little Bowden is a Conurbation of Market Harborough in Leicestershire. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants

In 1974 , the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the county borough status of Leicester city and the county status of neighbouring Rutland, converting both to administrative districts of Leicestershire. The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c 70 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in England and Wales County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (excluding Scotland) to refer to a Borough or a City Rutland is a county of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government These actions were reversed on 1 April 1997, when Rutland and the City of Leicester became unitary authorities. Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Rutland became a distinct Ceremonial County once again, although it continues to be policed by Leicestershire Constabulary. The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Leicestershire Constabulary is the Home Office Police force responsible for policing Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland in

The symbol of the county council, and Leicester City FC, is the fox. PLEASE NOTE This section is the introduction Please do not add too much detail here A fox is an Animal belonging to any one of about 27 Species (of which only 12 actually belong to the Vulpes genus or 'true foxes' of small Leicestershire is considered to be the birthplace of fox hunting as it is known today. Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking chase and sometimes killing of a fox traditionally a Red fox, by trained Foxhounds or other Scent hounds Hugo Meynell, who lived in Quorn, is known as the father of fox hunting. Hugo Meynell (June 1735 &ndash 14 December, 1808) is generally seen as the father of modern Fox hunting became Master of Fox Hounds for the Quorn is a Village in Leicestershire, England. Its name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889 to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough have associations with fox hunting, as has neighbouring Rutland. Melton Mowbray (known locally as Melton) is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. Market Harborough is a Market town in Leicestershire, England.

Demographics

The population of Leicestershire (excluding the city of Leicester) is 609,579 (2001). Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The county covers an area of 2,084 km² (804 sq mi).

The largest population centre is Leicester, followed by Loughborough. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘfbɘɹɘ/ "LUFF-burra" /lɘf Other major towns include Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coalville, Hinckley, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Oadby and Wigston. Ashby de la Zouch (often shortened simply to Ashby) is a small Market town and Civil parish in north west Leicestershire, England Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population of about 30000 Hinckley is a town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43246 (2001 census Market Harborough is a Market town in Leicestershire, England. Melton Mowbray (known locally as Melton) is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a town within the borough of Oadby and Wigston, in Leicestershire, England. Great Wigston or Wigston Magna (see also Wigston Parva) is a town within Leicestershire, England just to the south of Leicester

Some of the larger of Leicestershire's villages are: Broughton Astley (said to be the largest village in the county, which has also claimed to be the largest village in England and indeed Europe), Castle Donington, Kibworth Beauchamp (along with Kibworth Harcourt), Great Glen, Ibstock, Countesthorpe and Great Easton. Broughton Astley is a busy village and Civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. Castle Donington is a large Village almost considered a town with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, close to Derby Kibworth Harcourt (kɪbwɜːθ hɑːkɔːt and Kibworth Beauchamp (kɪbwɜːθ biːtʃʌm are two villages in Leicestershire, south east of Leicester. Ibstock is a small town and Civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population of around 5300 Cuntesthorpe is a large village and Civil parish in the Leicestershire district of Blaby, with a population of 6393 (2001 census

One of the most rapidly expanding villages is Anstey, which has recently seen a large number of development schemes.

Economy

Engineering

Engineering has long been an important part of the economy of Leicestershire. John Taylor Bellfounders continues a history of bellfounding in Loughborough since the 14th century. Taylors Eayre & Smith Ltd (formerly trading as John Taylor Bellfounders, John Taylor & Co and other names based in Loughborough in the United Kingdom In 1881 John Taylors cast the largest bell in Britain, "Great Paul", for St Paul's Cathedral in London. Norman & Underwood have been making sand cast sheet lead roofing and stained glass since 1825 working on many of England's major cathedrals and historic buildings, including Salisbury Cathedral, Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, and Chatsworth House. Snibston Discovery Park is built on one of three coal mines that operated in Coalville from the 1820's until 1986. Snibston Discovery Park is built on a site of a former Colliery, and is located in the National Forest England, Ashby Road Coalville, Leicestershire Abbey Pumping Station houses four enormous steam powered beam engines built in Leicester in the 1890's in the Vulcan factory owned by Josiah Gimson, whose son Ernest Gimson was an influential furniture designer and architect of the English arts and crafts movement. The Abbey Pumping Station is a museum in Leicester, England, on Corporation Road opposite the National Space Centre. Ernest William Gimson (Leicester Dec 21, 1864 - Sapperton August 12, 1919) was an English Furniture designer and Architect The Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, and American Aesthetic movement occurring in the last years of the 19th century and the

Engineering companies today include sports car maker Noble Automotive Ltd in Barwell, Triumph motorcycles in Hinckley, Jones & Shipman (machine tools), Metalfacture (sheet metal work), Richards Engineering (foundry equipment), Transmon Engineering (materials handling equipment), Trelleborg Industrial AVS in Beaumont Leys (industrial suspension components), Parker Plant (quarrying equipment), Aggregate Industries UK (construction materials), Infotec in Ashby-de-la-Zouch (electronic information display boards), Alstec in Whetstone, Leicestershire (airport baggage handling systems), and Brush Traction (railway locomotives) in Loughborough. A sports car is a term used to describe a class of Automobile. Noble Automotive Ltd, more commonly known simply as Noble, is a British Sports car manufacturer. Barwell is a Village in Leicestershire, England, with a population of about 6300 Triumph Motorcycles is a British Motorcycle manufacturer originally based in Coventry. Hinckley is a town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 43246 (2001 census Ashby de la Zouch (often shortened simply to Ashby) is a small Market town and Civil parish in north west Leicestershire, England Whetstone is a village and Civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of Railway Locomotives based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, United Kingdom situated Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘfbɘɹɘ/ "LUFF-burra" /lɘf Local commitment to nurturing the upcoming cadre of British engineers includes apprenticeship schemes with local companies, and academic-industrial connections with the engineering departments at Leicester University, De Montfort University, and Loughborough University. The University of Leicester is a research led university based in Leicester, England, with approximately 19000 registered students - about 12000 of them full-time De Montfort University ( DMU) is a British university situated in Leicester, England. Loughborough University is a Campus university located in the Market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands The Systems Engineering Innovation Centre and Centre for Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies are both based at Loughborough University. Loughborough University is a Campus university located in the Market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands Private sector research and development organisations include PERA - the technology based consultancy in Melton Mowbray, and MIRA - the automotive research and development centre based on the outskirts of Hinckley. Automotive and aerospace engineers use the test facilities at Mallory Park, and Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome and proving ground. Mallory Park is a Motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome and Proving Ground is a privately owned Airport in Leicestershire near the village of Bruntingthorpe. On 18 October 2007, the last airworthy Avro Vulcan was flown from Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome after 10 years of restoration there by aerospace engineers of the Vulcan Operating Company. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome and Proving Ground is a privately owned Airport in Leicestershire near the village of Bruntingthorpe.

Trade Associations

There are several trade associations with their head offices based in Leicestershire including the Ergonomics Society, the European Construction Institute, the Institute of Diagnostic Engineers, the Pre-cast Flooring Federation, the Concrete Pipe Association, the Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation, and the National Association of Wood Shaving & Sawdust Merchants & Contractors.

Farming

Leicestershire has a long history of livestock farming which continues today. Robert Bakewell (farmer) (1725 - 1795) of Dishley, near Loughborough, was a revolutionary in the field of selective breeding. Robert Bakewell (1725 - 1795 was a revolutionary in the field of Selective breeding. Bakewell's Leicester Longwool sheep was much prized by farmers across the British Empire and is today a heritage breed admired all over the world. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. There are several commercial and rare breeds associated with the descendants of Bakewell's sheep including the English Leicester, Border Leicester, Bluefaced Leicester, Scotch mule, and Welsh halfbred. English Leicester are an English breed of Sheep. Alternate names for the breed include Leicester Longwool Bakewell Leicester Dishley Leicester Improved The Border Leicester (Leicester is pronounced "Lester" is an English long wool breed of sheep.

In 2006 in Leicestershire and Rutland there were 6,450 people working as farmers, managers and farm labourers on 2,719 farms with 192,181 acres of farmed land. The animal population was 122,284 cattle, 57,059 pigs and 314,214 sheep Source DEFRA.

The Leicestershire County Show is held on the first Bank Holiday in May each year and includes animal showings, trade exhibitions, and show jumping. Melton Mowbray Market is an important regional livestock market.

Field Sports remain an important part of the rural economy of Leicestershire, with stables, kennels, and gunsmiths based in the county.

Thatched roofs are built and maintained by members of Rutland & Leicestershire Master Thatchers Association.

Food and drink

Stilton (cheese), Red Leicester cheese, and the Pork pie are three of Leicestershire's most famous contributions to English cuisine. Stilton is a Cheese of England. It is produced in two varieties the well-known blue and the lesser-known white. Leicester cheese, usually called Red Leicester, is an English Cheese, made in a similar manner to Cheddar cheese, although it is crumblier it Pork pies are a type of Meat pie and are traditional British food English Cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate its island geography and its history

Leicestershire food producers include Claybrooke mill one of the very few commercially working watermills left in Britain producing a range of over 40 flours, meat from rare and minority breeds from Brockleby's, Christmas turkey and goose from Seldom Seen Farm, and the only manufacturer of Red Leicester cheese based in the county the Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company.

All natural non-alcoholic fruit cordials and presse drinks are made by Belvoir Fruit Farms and sold in supermarkets across Britain. Swithland Spring Water is sourced from the Charnwood hills. Breweries in Leicestershire and Rutland are listed on the Leicester CAMRA website. The county's largest beer brewer is Everards, and there are several microbreweries such as Brewsters, Belvoir, Parish, Grainstore, Hathern and Langton. Everards is a British Regional brewery founded in 1849 by William Everard and Thomas Hull in Leicester when they bought the Wilmot brewery Vineyards in Leicestershire include Chevelswarde Vineyard (Lutterworth), Welland Valley Vineyard (Market Harborough), and Eglantine (Loughborough). Lutterworth is a Market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. Market Harborough is a Market town in Leicestershire, England. Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘfbɘɹɘ/ "LUFF-burra" /lɘf Melton Mowbray Sloe Gin is a liqueur with a distinctive flavour.

Markets are held across the county, a list of some of the larger markets is here. A list of FARMA certified Farmers Markets in Leicestershire is here. FARMA is a co-operative association of farmers producers and farmers' market organisations in the United Kingdom. A list of smaller country markets, supported by members of the Women's Institute, is here. Leicester Market is the largest outdoor covered marketplace in Europe and among the products on sale are fruit and vegetables sold by enthusiastic market stallholders who shout out their prices, and fresh fish and meat in the Indoor Market.

The annual East Midlands Food & Drink Festival held in Melton Mowbray had over 200 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors attending in 2007 making it the largest British regional food festival.

Food processing in the city and county includes popular British fish and chip shop pie Pukka Pies who are based in Syston. Pukka Pies is a manufacturer of Pies that is headquartered in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Walkers Midshire Foods, part of the Samworth Brothers group, makes sausages and pies in its Beaumont Leys factories. Samworth Brothers has operations in Leicestershire and Cornwall, making a range of products from sandwiches to desserts for UK retailers under their brands as well the company's own portfolio of brands including Dickinson & Morris, producers of Pork pies and Melton Hunt Cake. Pork pies are a type of Meat pie and are traditional British food Walkers crisps are made in Beaumont Leys using Lincolnshire potatoes. United Biscuits have their distribution centre in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. __FORCETOC__ United Biscuits ("UB" is a British multinational food manufacturer makers of McVitie's biscuits KP Nuts, Hula Hoops Ashby de la Zouch (often shortened simply to Ashby) is a small Market town and Civil parish in north west Leicestershire, England The Masterfoods UK factory at Melton Mowbray produces petfood for brands such as Cesar, Kitekat, PAL, Pedigree, Sheba, Whiskas, Aquarian and Trill. Pedigree Petfoods is a company that manufactures Pet food located at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England with another factory in Sheba is a brand of canned Cat food produced by Mars Incorporated. Whiskas is a Brand of Cat food sold throughout the world It is owned by Masterfoods part of Mars Incorporated. Hand made chocolates are produced by Chocolate Perfection in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Ashby de la Zouch (often shortened simply to Ashby) is a small Market town and Civil parish in north west Leicestershire, England

Some 15 major Indian food manufacturers are based in Leicester including Mayur Foods, Cofresh Snack Foods Ltd, Farsan, Apni Roti, and Spice n Tice. The 'Mithai' Indian sweet market is catered for by award winning Indian restaurants - for instance the vegetable samosas approved by the Vegetarian Society sold at The Sharmilee on Belgrave Road. The growing market for Indian food has afforded new opportunities to long standing local companies, for example the Long Clawson dairy, a co-operative manufacturer of Stilton (cheese) now also makes Paneer cheese used in the Indian dish Mattar Paneer. Stilton is a Cheese of England. It is produced in two varieties the well-known blue and the lesser-known white. Paneer ( Hindi: पनीर panīr, from Persian پنير panir) is the most common Persian and South Asian Cheese Mattar Paneer (मटर पनीर is an Indian dish consisting of Paneer (cheese and Peas in a sweet and spicy sauce

Leicestershire food links, set up by the Soil Association and Leicestershire County Council, provides information for and about Leicestershire farmers and food producers. The Soil Association is a UK membership Charity that promotes Sustainable food and farming through the use of Local, Seasonal and Leicestershire County Council is the County council for the English Non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire. It is currently running projects aimed at publicising farmers markets, using local food in schools, and improving distribution.

Leicestershire food exported abroad includes cheese from the Long Clawson dairy which is sold in supermarkets in Canada and the United States via a network of distributors coordinated by Taunton based company Somerdale. Belvoir Fruit Farms cordials and pressé drinks are sold on the United States east coast in Wegmans Food Markets, World Market, Harris Teeter, Dean & DeLuca, and in specialized British food stores such as Myers of Keswick (New York City), and the British Pantry (near Washington, D. Wegmans Food Markets Inc is a 79-store US regional Supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Harris Teeter is a chain of Supermarkets based in Matthews North Carolina, just outside Charlotte. Dean & DeLuca is a chain of upscale grocery stores The first one was established in New York City 's SoHo district by Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca in September C. ).

Leicestershire County Council publishes a quarterly food and drink newsletter. In 2007 the Leicester Mercury published a series of articles on the Taste of Leicestershire.

The annual Leicestershire & Rutland Restaurant Awards has several categories including Leicestershire & Rutland Restaurant of the Year, Best Asian Restaurant, Best Service, Best Newcomer, Best Fine Dining Restaurant, Best Value for Money, Best Drinks/Wine List, Best Local Produce Menu, Best Gastro Pub, Best Neighbourhood Restaurant, Best Business Lunch, and Leicestershire & Rutland Young Chef of the Year.

See also Leicester food & drink

Clothing

Leicester and Leicestershire has had a traditional industry of knitwear, hosiery and footwear, and the sheep on the county's coat of arms is recognition of this. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional "Knit" redirects here See also KNIT and Knitted fabric. Hosiery is knitted coverings for the legs and feet Also referred to as legwear hosiery describes garments worn directly on the feet and Legs The term Footwear consists of Garments worn on the feet, for protection against the environment and Adornment. The rich history of the East Midlands knitting/knitwear industry is chronicled on the Knitting Together website. The local manufacturing industry, which began with hand knitting in the Middle Ages, and was fully industrialized by the end of the 19th century, survived until the end of the 20th century through retailers buying UK sourced products, and government measures such as the protection of the Multi Fibre Arrangement which ended in 2004. The Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA also known as the Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC governed the world trade in Textiles and garments from 1974 through 2004 imposing Cheaper global competition, coupled with the 1999 slump in the UK fashion retail sector, led to the end of much of the cheaper clothing manufacturing industry. Today Leicestershire companies focus on high quality clothing and specialty textiles, such as the socks and knitwear made by Pantherella and Commando Knitwear, technical textiles for industrial or medical purposes, and clothing and fabric for the British Asian community - for example Saree Mandir sells silk saree's and salwar suits for women whose design patterns closely follow contemporary Indian trends. British Asians are British citizens who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka for the town in Nepal see Sari Nepal A sari or saree or shari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent The British Knitting & Clothing Federation continues to be based in Leicestershire. On the creative side the design centre for Next (clothing) is in Enderby, and the design centre for George Clothing (Asda/Walmart) is in Lutterworth. Next plc ( is a British clothes Retailer, with its headquarters in Enderby, Leicester. De Montfort University has, in the form of its Fashion and Contour Design course a leading design department for female underwear. De Montfort University ( DMU) is a British university situated in Leicester, England. It also has the only UK University courses in Footwear Design providing future designers for local shoemakers Shoefayre, Stead and Simpson, and Shoe Zone, who all have their headquarters in the county. Shoe Zone is a footwear retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland which sells shoes at low prices

Healthcare

University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust employs 12,000 in the city and county. The Trust of the University Hospitals of Leicester was created in April 2000 with the merger of the Leicester General Hospital, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust employs 3,300 staff in healthcare services in the county. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust employs 3,000 staff providing mental health and learning disability services in the city and county.

The British Psychological Society, and the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) based in Wigston, have their head offices in Leicestershire.

Biomedical industries

Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical instrument manufacturing companies include AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals, 3M, Bridgehead International in Melton, Fisher Scientific in Loughborough, and Ashfield Healthcare in Ashby de-la-Zouch. AstraZeneca PLC (,) is a large Anglo-Swedish Pharmaceutical company formed on 6 April 1999 by the remerger of Swedish Astra AB 3M Company ( formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company until 2002 is an American multinational conglomerate corporation with a worldwide

Freight and distribution

Transportation links are good. East Midlands Airport is one mile south of Castle Donington, next to the M1 in North West Leicestershire, and is the second largest freight airport in the United Kingdom after London Heathrow. East Midlands Airport is an Airport in the East Midlands of England, near Castle Donington in Leicestershire. Castle Donington is a large Village almost considered a town with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, close to Derby The M1 is a major south – north Motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where DHL Aviation have a large purpose built facility at EMA, and courier companies UPS and TNT also use the airport as a base. DHL Aviation (doing business as DHL Worldwide Express is the aviation subsidiary of DHL. United Parcel Service Inc ( commonly referred to as UPS, is one of the world's largest Package delivery companies TNT NV is a global express and mail delivery services company with headquarters in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Lufthansa Cargo is also a regular user of East Midlands, and the airport is a primary hub for Royal Mail. Lufthansa Cargo is the Cargo airline subsidiary of Lufthansa based in Frankfurt, Germany. Royal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. The M1 is Leicestershire's other important transport hub. The start of the M6, and part of the A14 briefly intersect with the southern tip of Leicestershire. This article concerns the M6 motorway in England There are also M6 motorways in Russia (see Caspian Highway) Hungary (see M6 motorway Many large retail companies have huge warehouses at the Magna Park complex near Lutterworth including ASDA, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Argos, ECF, Sara Lee, Unipart, DHL, Britvic Soft Drinks, LIDL, Merck, BT, Exel, P&O, The Disney Store, Panasonic, Kingfield Heath, Costco, Computer 2000, and TNT. Pall-Ex of Ellistown provide automated palletised freight distribution services from their location off Junction 22 of the M1. Ellistown is a small village in Leicestershire, England with a primary school several parks a football club, two Shops, a Garage The Midland Main Line provides important connections to Yorkshire and London, and the Birmingham - Stansted Line is essentially Leicestershire's east–west connection from Hinckley to Melton. The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. The Birmingham to Peterborough Line is a cross-country railway line in the United Kingdom, linking the Midlands to East Anglia

Other

Ibstock based developer Wilson Bowden was bought in 2007 by Barratt Developments plc in a GBP2. Ibstock is a small town and Civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population of around 5300 Wilson Bowden plc is a British housebuilding and general construction company headquartered in Coalville in central England. Barratt Developments PLC ( is one of the largest residential property development companies in the United Kingdom. 2 billion deal. Charles Street Buildings (Leicester) and Jelson Homes are two other successful Leicester based property companies.

Syston based Dunelm Mill is a growing home furnishings retailer. The company started in 1979 as a family business selling curtains from a Leicester market stall whose first store opened in Churchgate Leicester in 1984. In 2006 Dunelm opened its 80th store, and the company floated on the stock market, placing the company's founders the Adderley family among Britain's most successful entrepreneurs.

Hamilton based LPC Group manufactures more than 600 million toilet rolls and kitchen towel rolls per year in its Leicestershire factories.

Oadby based Invicta Plastics manufacture the red noses used for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day campaign. Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character or scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work often to relieve tension

Much loved toy car company Corgi Classics Limited is based at the Meridian Business Park. Corgi Classics Limited is a diecast model manufacturer which has its origins in the Corgi Toy brand introduced by Mettoy in 1956

Hairdresser Barrie Hedley operates three Barrie Stephen salons in the city and county, and has been a finalist in the British hairdressing awards 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007 Hedley won the Entrepreneur of the year at the Leicestershire Business Awards.

Lumbers, of Market Street Leicester, was a finalist in the Independent Retailer category of the UK Jewellery Awards 2007.

Ulverscroft Large Print Books, of Anstey, Leicestershire, are a leading publisher of books for the visually impaired. Anstey is a large semi-industrialised village in Leicestershire, England, located north west of Leicester in the borough of Charnwood.

Financial and business services

Financial and business service companies with operations in Leicestershire include Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland, State Bank of India, HSBC, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Alliance & Leicester is a British Bank and former Building society. The Royal Bank of Scotland plc ( Scottish Gaelic: Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group State Bank of India (SBI ( is the largest Bank in India. It is also measured by the number of branch offices and employees the second largest bank in the HSBC Holdings plc ( (,,,) is a Public limited company incorporated in England and Wales, headquartered in London. PricewaterhouseCoopers (or PwC is one of the world's largest Professional services firms Companies that have their head office based in the area include Next (clothing), and British Gas Business. Next plc ( is a British clothes Retailer, with its headquarters in Enderby, Leicester. The Institute of Credit Management, the European Association of Trade Mark Owners, and the Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) are all based in Leicestershire.

Invest Leicesteshire provides information to businesses looking to relocate to the city or county, or to established local companies wanting to develop. Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce is another good source for business advice.

Business awards

The Leicestershire Business Awards has categories including Investing in Leicestershire, Contribution to the Community, and Entrepreneur of the Year.

Recent Leicestershire winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise are listed on the Lord Lieutenant's website.

Statistics

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire and Rutland (it does not include the City of Leicester) at current basic prices published (pp. Rutland is a county of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional 240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year Regional Gross Value Added[1] Agriculture[2] Industry[3] Services[4]
1995 6,666 145 2,763 3,758
2000 7,813 112 2,861 4,840
2003 9,509 142 3,045 6,321
  1. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  2. ^ includes hunting and forestry
  3. ^ includes energy and construction
  4. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

Education

Publicly funded secondary schools in Leicestershire are comprehensive. The schools are segregated by age in some areas to ages 10-14 (middle schools), and 14 to 16 or 18 (upper schools). Middle school or Junior High School serves as a "bridge" between the Elementary School and the High School Upper Schools tend to be schools within Secondary education. Outside England the term normally refers to a section of a larger school The schools, compared with other LEAs, have large numbers on the roll with school enrollment often 2000 and more. For Melton and Blaby districts, although there is division by middle and upper schools, there is only one school for that whole district (for one particular age group); there is no choice of school. However, it should be noted that many students of Lutterworth College in Harborough District, students hail from the Blaby district. Lutterworth College is a comprehensive upper school and sixth-form college on Bitteswell Road in the south Leicestershire market town of Lutterworth This is about the district of Harborough there is also the Harborough constituency.

Charnwood has the largest school population - four times the size of the Melton district.

In 2007, the best state school at GCSE was the Beauchamp College in Oadby. No comprehensives in Leicestershire LEA were poorly performing, unlike neighbouring counties. 7800 pupils took the exam. In Leicester, the worst school was New College Leicester.

At A level, the best school in the county was the De Lisle Catholic Science College in Loughborough. De Lisle Catholic Science College, formerly De Lisle Roman Catholic Comprehensive School and sometimes called De Lisle School is a co-educational Comprehensive school in The best schools overall at A level were the two private single-sex schools in Loughborough.

GCSE results by district council

% of pupils gaining 5 grades A-C in 2007 including English and Maths (46. 8% was the England average compared to Leicestershire's 48. 9%).

Private schools

Private schools in Leicestershire include Leicester Grammar School (mixed), Leicester High School for Girls (girls), Loughborough Grammar School (boys), Loughborough High School (girls), Fairfield Preparatory School (primary school - mixed), Welbeck College (military 6th form college - mixed), Ratcliffe College (Roman Catholic - mixed), Grace Dieu Manor School (Roman Catholic - mixed), Stoneygate school (primary school - mixed), and Leicester Montessori School (mixed). Leicester Grammar School (often abbreviated to LGS) is an independent Secondary school situated in the centre of Leicester, England Leicester High School for Girls is an independent day school for girls aged 3-18 situated in South Knighton, Leicester. Loughborough Grammar School (commonly LGS founded in 1495 by Thomas Burton is a selective fee-paying independent Secondary school in Loughborough, Loughborough High School (commonly LHS is a fee-paying independent girls' secondary school in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Fairfield Preparatory School is a fee-paying independent mixed primary school in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College (Welbeck DSFC is a Sixth form College in Woodhouse Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom Ratcliffe College is an independent Catholic boarding and day school in Leicestershire, England.

Further Education

Leicester College offers, among others, courses in catering, cookery, hospitality and leisure, plumbing, electrician, carpentry and joinery, building trades and gas, motor vehicle maintenance, computing, business, design, and media and print. Leicester College is a Further education college in Leicester, England.

Stephenson College Coalville offers, among others, courses in construction building trades and gas, motor vehicle maintenance and repair, beauty, computing, business, sport and coaching, care and complementary therapy.

Farming sector training

Brooksby Melton College provides apprenticeships and further education training courses in animal care, countryside, equine, fisheries, and land based service engineering, at their Brooksby campus. Brooksby is a village in Leicestershire, England. Brooksby Melton College offers apprenticeships and further education training courses in animal care countryside

Higher education

Leicestershire has three universities, Leicester University, De Montfort University, and Loughborough University. The University of Leicester is a research led university based in Leicester, England, with approximately 19000 registered students - about 12000 of them full-time De Montfort University ( DMU) is a British university situated in Leicester, England. Loughborough University is a Campus university located in the Market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands

Educational Associations

Several educational associations have their head offices in Leicestershire, including the Mathematical Association, the Association of School and College Leaders, the Association for College Management, the Girls Schools Association, the National Adult School Association, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education and the Headmasters & Headmistresses Conference.

Sporting Associations

A number of UK sporting bodies have their head offices in Leicestershire, including the Institute of Sports & Recreation Management, the Institute of Swimming Teachers & Coaches, the English Volleyball Association, the Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association, the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, the British Judo Association, the British Parachute Association, the British Triathlon Association, the Amateur Swimming Association, the British Gliding Association, the British Motorcycle Federation, the English Indoor Bowls Association, the Youth Sports Trust and the British Isles Bowls Council.

Music

The full range of music is performed in the county, from early medieval, European and Asian classical music, folk, jazz, blues, rock, and pop.

Symphony Orchestras

The Philharmonia Orchestra, Leicester Symphony Orchestra, and the internationally famous Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra are three of the larger orchestras in the county. The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO is a youth Orchestra based in Leicester, England.

Amateur Orchestras

Leicestershire Sinfonia, the Loughborough Orchestra, the Charnwood orchestra, and the Coalville Light Orchestra.

Choirs and choral societies

Leicester based choirs include the Leicester Bach Choir, Broom Leys Choral Society Whitwick, Cantamici, the Cecilian Singers, Charnwood Choral Society, Coalville and District Male Voice Choir, Coro Nostro Chamber Choir, Humberstone Choral Society, Kainé Gospel Choir, Kingfisher Chorale, Leicester Church Music Consort, Leicester City Male Voice Choir, Leicester Philharmonic Choir, Loughborough Male Voice Choir, Meridian Singers, Newtown Linford mixed voice choir, Red Leicester choir, the Scarlet choir, Shepshed Singers, and the Peepul Choir. Whitwick (pronounced "Wittick" is a Village in Leicestershire, England.

Early music

The Longsdale Consort perform music of the renaissance and baroque periods. Leicester Recorder Society.

Music shops

Stores selling sheet music and musical instruments in Leicestershire include Sona Rupa (Indian), Sheehans Music Instruments, Intasound Music Centre, ABC Music Market Harborough, MH Music, and the Musician Shop.

Towns and villages

See the list of places in Leicestershire. This is a list of cities, towns and villages within the ceremonial county boundaries of Leicestershire, England

Places of interest

Belvoir Castle today.
Belvoir Castle today. Belvoir Castle (pronounced Beaver) is a Stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir (
Rocks, Old John and the War Memorial at Bradgate Park
Rocks, Old John and the War Memorial at Bradgate Park
The National Space Centre in Leicester
The National Space Centre in Leicester

Top Deck Tours is a tour bus service linking many of the major tourist sites in the county. For the circus elephant see John L Sullivan (elephant Old John is a Folly atop the highest hill in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire Bradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, just northwest of Leicester. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional

See also

External links


Dictionary

Leicestershire

-proper noun

  1. An inland county of England bordered by Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Derbyshire.
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