Enderby, Leicestershire
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Enderby is a village in the middle of Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the south-western outskirts of the city of Leicester and has a population of just under 5,000. It is part of Blaby (district).
The parish church dates from 1868, and replaced an earlier church believed to have been originally constructed between 1230 and 1270.
The village centre consists of a number of old and very narrow roads, with more recent housing developments to the south and west. Despite retaining a traditional village centre, Enderby has excellent road links to the rest of the country, being situated between the M69 and the M1. A disused railway line which used to serve a quarry to the north of the village, has since become the western edge of the village. Enderby is distinguished from many other areas because it is culturally neither part of the City of Leicester or the county of Leicestershire, and the culture of the village is very much influenced by its dual suburban/rural geo-political heritage. As already mentioned, Enderby retains many characteristics of a traditional English village, but due to its close alignment to a major city it probably hasn't had such a strong coomunal bond that defines many smaller, more isolated villages. To the south-east of the village lies Carlton Park, a business park that includes the headquarters of Alliance & Leicester, who employ over 1,800 people locally. The village has regular bus services to Leicester, as well as to other parts of South Leicestershire including Oadby, Broughton Astley and Lutterworth. These services however, have become less frequent in recent years, with the Leicester service being reduced from three to two buses an hour despite local protest. The neighbouring village of Narborough has a train station which is used by many Enderby residents to commute to Nottingham, Birmingham and Coventry. The train station is only five minutes walk from parts of the village. Enderby is well served by licensed premises. It boasts four pubs, two bar/restaurants, a Conservative and a social club.
Enderby is unique in that it is practically joined to Leicester but retains its village charm. The original area of the village, known as 'old Enderby', is said to be a classic example of a traditional English village. However, it is assumed that sometime in the future Enderby will lose its 'village' status and become part of the city of Leicester. The people of Enderby also share a close relationship with those in the neighbouring village of Narborough (and to a lesser extent Littlethorpe). In fact, many residents are unsure as to where the boundaries of the villages are and in the past the parish council has seemed uncertain on the issue. Many residents from all three villages consider themselves to be part of one community. In addition, there are three distinct areas of Enderby. These are 'old' Enderby, 'new' Enderby and St Johns. The location of Enderby St Johns is separated from the rest of the village by the M1 motorway. Some residents considerer the area to be a separate entity. It is also worth noting that much of the 'pastures' area of narborough is closer to the Enderby village centre than that of Narborough and some of those that live here consider an Enderby pub to be their local. The headquarters of Leicestershire Constabulary are located at the very far end of Enderby St Johns, bordering Leicester and adjacent to Fosse Park.
Fosse Park is the UK's largest outdoor shopping centre, attracting shoppers from throughout the midlands and beyond. Although Fosse Park is not technically part of Enderby, it is considered so by many of its residents. It is also said that the land the precinct is built on is the most expensive in the UK, with shops (including ASDA, Gap and M&S to name a few) paying several million pounds a year in rent.
Enderby Leisure Centre is not surprisingly, located in Enderby. It is the largest health and leisure facility of its kind in the Blaby District and one of the largest in the county.
Enderby by demographics is overwhelmingly white, with an extremely small minority of families from Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent. This is surprising considerering the close proximity of Leicester, europes most ethnicly diverse city. However, the demographics of the village are expected to change over the course of the next 30 years and reflect those of other neightboring areas 'independent' from the city such as Braunstone Town, which has a significant Asian minority.
The village is part of the Blaby constituency, which is represented by the Conservative MP Andrew Robathan in the House of Commons. The people of Enderby are of a mixed working class and middle class background.
Despite its close proximity to a major city, Enderby has a very low crime rate. There are problems with anti-social behaviour and to a certain extent, drug related crime. It is worth mentioning that Enderby is known throughout the policing and scientific worlds as the location where murderer Colin Pitchfork raped and murdered a 15 year old schoolgirl. Pitchfork also killed a girl of the same age in Narborough. These crimes are still well known if not talked about by the residents of the community. The people of Enderby were subject to the first mass DNA screening of locals in history, and Pitchfork was the first person to be arrested and convicted of a crime using DNA profiling. The BBC have screened several television documentaries about the crimes since they occurred.
Violent crime however rarely occurs, if at all, and is of no concern to a visitor. More sources of information can be obtained by contacting the Leicester tourist office.
Nearby villages include Whetstone, Narborough, Huncote and Thurlaston.
Longitude: 1 degree 12 minutes West, Latitude: 52 degrees 35 minutes North. Ordnance Survey national grid reference SK 536 994
