Heather, Leicestershire

The village of Heather is due west of the village of Ibstock in North West Leicestershire, England. In the Domesday Book of 1086, its name is recorded as Hadre, meaning "the heathland".[1] It is pronounced "Heether" and not "Hether".

An Iron Age settlement immediately North West of the village was excavated in 1990.

The coal mine at Heather opened in 1874 though some coal had been worked there even earlier. Brick making followed during the 20th century. Heather Parish Church is dedicated to St John Baptist. The Anglican parishes of Heather and Ibstock are now the responsibility of the same clergyman (Rector of Ibstock).

Famous for its Scarecrow and Music Festivals, usually held around July/August, it was once the home to a number of brick works. It is located next to the Sence Valley Country Park, an area that was once part of a vast opencast coal mine from which, between 1982 and 1996, around eight million tons of coal were extracted.

See also

References

  1. ^ Watts, Victor et. al., (2004) The Cambridge Dictionary of Place Names, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

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