Birstall, Leicestershire

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Map sources for Birstall, Leicestershire at grid reference SK596088

Birstall parish church, St James the Great

Birstall is a large village north of Leicester in Leicestershire, England.

It lies on the A6 and is the last major settlement before Leicester when heading from the North. The village centre lies just off the A6, along Sibson Road. There is a supermarket (Somerfield), a garden centre and various other shops. There are various schools, including Highcliffe Primary School, Riverside Primary School, Stonehill High School, and Longslade Community College.

There is a large housing estate to the North-West of the village, towards Beaumont Leys known unofficially as the Gates estate because many of the road names end in the word 'gate'.

The Grand Union Canal runs through the bottom end of the village, separating it from Watermead Country Park, a series of lakes in the bottom of the Soar Valley, which have been set aside as a recreational area and country park.

The Great Central Railway steam railway has its southern terminus near the village, where the A6 meets the Leicester outer ringroad at Red Hill Circle. The railway also forms the boundary of the southern end of Birstall Golf Club.

To the north of the village, the A6 meets the A46 Leicester Western Bypass and then continues on towards Loughborough along the Soar Valley, and so on to the North of England.

A new housing development called 'Hallam Fields' commenced construction in 2006, occupying land to the west of the A6, between the 'Gates' estate and the A46. The development will take ten years to complete, consisting of up to 900 hundred properties including schools, shops, offices industrial units and a fire station. It has been described as a mini Poundbury.

The symbol of Birstall is a Cedar tree. The original tree stands in Roman Road.

Birstall is twinned with Rixensart, Belgium.

1 History
2 Places/buildings within the village
3 Neighbouring villages
4 References

[edit] History

The Birstall village sign depicting a Cedar tree

The name Birstall comes from the Old English for "old disused fort" - Burhsteall. Saxon remnants have been found in the village and surrounding area. The village was called Burstalle in the Domesday Book when it belonged to Hugh de Grandmesnil^[1]. Willard held these lands for Hugh and the 16 acres of meadow and a mill were said to be worth three ounces of gold. The village was a small one until the arrival of the Great Central Railway in 1899. From then onwards development has continued and still continues to-day. Between 1901 and the 2001 the population grew from 611 to over 11,000.

Population: 12,500 (5000 households) Area of Parish: 791 acres

[edit] Places/buildings within the village

Schools:

Shops:

Two main supermarkets
One garden centre
Various shops along Sibson road

Parks:

Watermead Country Park
School Lane recreational park

Golf club:

Birstall Golf Club - founded in 1901 - one of the first golf clubs in Leicestershire

[edit] Neighbouring villages

The closest village to Birstall is Wanlip, a smaller village, with the village of Rothley being the next closest. The villages of Thurmaston and Syston are also nearby. Loughborough, a larger town, is further away.

Coordinates: 52.67364° N 1.12000° W