| Wigston Magna | |
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Wigston Magna
Wigston Magna shown within Leicestershire |
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| Population | 25,645 |
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| OS grid reference | SP6197 |
| District | Oadby and Wigston |
| Shire county | Leicestershire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WIGSTON |
| Postcode district | LE18 |
| Dialling code | 0116 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Harborough |
| List of places: UK • England • Leicestershire | |
Wigston Magna also historically referred to as Wigston Two Steeples or Great Wigston (see also Wigston Parva), is a town within Leicestershire, England just to the south of Leicester, on the A5199 road which leads to Northampton.
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Wigston is located five miles south of Leicester, in central Leicestershire. It is centrally located in the East Midlands.
Wigston is coupled with Oadby to the east, sharing the Oadby and Wigston borough council name. The two towns are connected by the B582 road.
To the west along the B582, or Blaby Road is South Wigston town.
The Grand Union Canal runs from Wistow, south of Wigston, to nearby Kilby Bridge, and for several miles through South Wigston, Glen Parva, Blaby and on towards Leicester city.
Wigston's population of approximately 30,000 live in both the post-war private suburban housing estates surrounding the old town centre, and the nineteeth century buildings now sandwiched between modern housing developments. The oldest of the post-war developments is Wigston Fields located to to the north of Wigston towards Knighton and Leicester; the Meadows and Little Hill estates were later developed during the 1970s and 1980s to the east and south of Wigston's old centre. Then finally completing the current fold is Wigston Harcourt, which was developed up until the early 1990s between the Little Hill and Meadows estates. These three estates mark the boundary of the greater Leicester urban sprawl, beyond which lies agricultural land.
One of the earliest records of Wigston is in the Domesday book where it is listed amongst the lands held by Hugh de Grandmesnil[1] for the King.
In the Middle Ages it was known as Wigston Two Spires as, unusually, there were two mediaeval churches there, All Saints' and St Wistan's.
St Wistan's is known as that because it was one of the places where the body of St Wistan or Wigstan rested before burial. First, he was buried at Repton and finally in Evesham. Wigstan was a Mercian Prince who was assassinated but was regarded as a Martyr.
It was the birthplace of George Davenport, a notorious highwayman; Abigail Herrick, the mother of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels; former Leicester Tigers and England scrum-half Harry Ellis who attended Bushloe High School; and former Leicester Sound and BBC Radio Leicester presenter, Mark Hayman. Graham Chapman, of Monty Python fame, also did much of his growing up in Wigston. Author and journalist John Marquis was born in Wigston and educated at Abington and Guthlaxton schools. The Leicester City footballer Howard Riley was also Wigston born and bred. Composer and piano virtuoso Michael Garrett was educated at Guthlaxton school. The music hall star Gertie Gitana is buried in Wigston cemetery, having been married for many years to local theatrical impresario Don Ross. She died in the 1950s, having been a showbiz celebrity in the early years of the 20th century. Another Guthlaxton pupil was prominent policeman Geoffrey Barrett, who received a Governor's commendation as a member of the Hong Kong anti-corruption squad in the 1970s and ended his career as head of the Leicester murder squad.
Bushloe House, now the Council Offices of the Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, was originally a c1850 house which was extended in c1880. The interior decoration of the house and the design of most of the furniture (and possibly the design of the extension) was carried out by Christopher Dresser for the owner, his solicitor, Hiram Abiff Owston (1830-1905).
Henry Davis Pochin the manufacturing chemist who later owned the Bodnant Estate (now the National Trust's Bodnant Garden) was born in Wigston, son of another notable householder William Pochin.
There is a Framework Knitting Museum here, as it was an important occupation in this area from the 17th to 19th centuries. Hosiery manufacture continued to be an important industry in the town after the decline of hand process of framework knitting with manufacturing firms such as Two Steeples, Wigston Co-Operative Hosiers, A H Broughton and William Holmes. In neighbouring South Wigston Henry Bates was the leading hosiery manufacturer.
Wigston was the subject of W. G. Hoskins's pioneering historical study, The Midland Peasant (London: Macmillan, 1965), which traced the social history of this village from earliest recorded history into the 19th century.
Since the 1980s Wigston's retail economy has become increasingly dependent on national retailers. Up to 50% of retail in the town belongs to supermarkets and chain stores. The share of local business has, naturally, caused local and independent businesses to close. This followed the trend of the 1990s homogenisation of British high streets.
McDonalds, Sainsbury's, Boots the chemist, CO-OP, Tesco, Iceland, Superdrug, Farmfoods, Aldi, B&Q, Wetherspoons, Subway, Greggs sandwich shops, Coombs bakery, Ladbrookes all hold businesses in the town centre or near-by.
MacFisheries' MacMarkets was the town's major supermarket for many years. One particular unit in the town centre became a branch of International Stores in the late 1970s and was later successively a Gateway Foodmarket, Solo (a Gateway Foodmarket re-brand) Kwik Save, Somerfield, then Kwik Save and Somerfield again, before becoming vacant for quite some time. This unit has recently re-opened as a branch of Wilkinson which has relocated from elsewhere in the town.
However, such regular changes isn't common place within the towns economy. Although trends during the last five years have shown an increasing number of empty units in in the town centre as the 2008 banking collapse effected consumer spending.
Sainsbury's in the centre of the town, which opened up in 1980, stands on the previous site of Bell Street Primary School. The towns Tesco store is on Blaby Road in neighbouring South Wigston, has been open since 2002.
There are also a number of independent stores including several long standing charity shops, two car dealerships, hair and beauty salons, opticians, florists, fish and chip shop, fish sellers, newsagents, and public houses.
There is a concentration of companies on the industrial estate located on Chartwell Drive including the Cromwell Tools World Distribution Centre and Delifrance.
Abington High School (built 1952, former secondary modern, ages 10–14); Bushloe High School (ages 10–14, completely rebuilt September 2006); Guthlaxton College (built late 1950s, ages 14–18, former grammar school), with recently updated, grant-aided, sports facilities; and South Leicestershire College (formerly Wigston College) are all very near each other on Station Road. The schools' results are average for Leicestershire, but below average for the UK. Close by, on the same road, are the headquarters of the Oadby and Wigston Borough Council known by many as the "Wiggy Piggy".
South Leicestershire College was rebuilt on Canal Street, South Wigston for 2010.
1461 (Wigston) Squadron of the Air Training Corps is located in Tigers Road,South Wigston, and recruits many members from the schools in Wigston.
South Wigston railway station lies on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line. Trains to Leicester run every hour and take five minutes. Connections are frequent from Leicester Railway Station to London St Pancras, where Eurostar international services have operated since November 2007.
Wigston Magna is served by Arriva services 47, 48, 49, 49A and 49B and Centrebus Leicester service 40 (Circle Line).
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