Leicester

Coordinates: 52°38′N 1°8′W / 52.633°N 1.133°W / 52.633; -1.133

Leicester City of Leicester
City & unitary authority area
Leicester landmarks: (clockwise from top-left) Jewry Wall, National Space Centre, Leicester War Memorial, Central Leicester, Curve theatre, Leicester Cathedral and Guildhall, Welford Road Stadium, Leicester Market
Coat of arms
Motto: Semper Eadem {Constant/Always the Same//"'the Eternal Urbs'"}
Location within Leicestershire and England
Coordinates: 52°38′N 1°08′W / 52.633°N 1.133°W / 52.633; -1.133
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Ceremonial county	Leicestershire
Admin HQ	City Hall 115 Charles St Leicester LE1 1FZ
Encastellation of pre-existing Mercian inhabited centrality	AD c.50 as Ratae Corieltauvorum by the Romans
City Status	restored 1919
Government
• Type	Unitary authority, City
• Lord Mayor	Ted Cassidy[1]
• City Mayor	Peter Soulsby
• Leadership	Elected mayor and cabinet
• Unitary authority	Leicester City Council
• List of MPs	List of MPs Jon Ashworth (Leicester South) Liz Kendall (Leicester West) Keith Vaz (Leicester East)
Area
• City & unitary authority area	73.32 km2 (28.31 sq mi)
Population (mid-2014 est.)
• City & unitary authority area	337,653 (Ranked 16th)
• Density	4,605/km2 (11,930/sq mi)
• Urban	509,000
• Metro	836,484[2]
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Postcode	LE+, : LE1-6, [LE7], LE8, [LE9], [LE12], LE18-19 & [LE67] Urban~Metro.~[PARS]
Area code(s)	0116
Grid Ref.	SK584044
ONS code	00FN (ONS) E06000016 (GSS)
ISO 3166-2	GB-LCE
NUTS 3	UKF21
Distance to London	102.8 mi (165.4 km)
Website	http://www.leicester.gov.uk/

Leicester (ⁱ/ˈlɛstər/ LESS-tər,^[3] but often locally /ˈlɛstɒ/) is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest. It is the burial place of King Richard III.

In the 2011 census the population of the Leicester unitary authority was c.330,000 making it the most populous unitary authority in the East Midlands region. The associated urban area is also the 11th largest by population in England and the 13th largest in the United Kingdom.^[4]

"Unlike almost every other city in the UK, Leicester has retained a remarkable record of its past in buildings that still stand today".^[5] Ancient Roman pavements and baths remain in Leicester from its early settlement as Ratae, a Roman military outpost in a region inhabited by the Celtic Corieltauvi tribe. Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, the early medieval Ratae is shrouded in obscurity, but when the settlement was captured by the Danes it became one of five fortified towns important to the Danelaw and it appeared in the Domesday Book as "Ledecestre". Leicester continued to grow throughout the Early Modern period as a market town, although it was the Industrial Revolution that facilitated a process of rapid unplanned urbanisation in the area.

Leicester is located at the intersection of the north/south Midland Main Line and east/west Birmingham/Leicester/Cambridge CrossCountry railway lines and at the confluence of the M1 / M69 motorways and the A6 / A46 trunk routes.

On 20 June 2013, Leicester was announced as one of four shortlisted cities for the second UK City of Culture award.^[6] Kingston upon Hull was announced as the winner on 20 November.^[7]

Name

The name of Leicester is recorded in the 9th-century History of the Britons as Cair Lerion (whence Welsh Caerlŷr), and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Ligora-ceastre (A s.a. 942), Ligera- (A s.a. 914, 921; B, C s.a. 942), Ligere- (D s.a. 914), Ligre- (C s.a. 914), and Ligran-ceastre (D s.a. 918). In the Domesday Book of 1086, it is recorded as Ledecestre.^[8] Both Welsh cair and Anglo-Saxon ceastre reflect Latin castrum; the first element of the name, Ligora or Legora, is explained as a Brittonic river name, in a suggestion going back to William Somner (1701) an earlier name of the River Soar, cognate with the name of the Loire.^[9][10]

Based on the Welsh name (given as Kaerleir), Geoffrey of Monmouth proposes a king Leir of Britain as an eponymous founder in his Historia Regum Britanniae (12th century).^[11]

History

Prehistory

Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a history going back at least two millennia. The native Iron Age settlement encountered by the Romans at the site seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC. Little is known about this settlement or the condition of the River Soar at this time, although roundhouses from this era have been excavated and seem to have clustered along roughly 8 hectares (20 acres) of the east bank of the Soar above its confluence with the Trent. This area of the Soar was split into two channels: a main stream to the east and a narrower channel on the west, with a presumably marshy island between. The settlement seems to have controlled a ford across the larger channel. The later Roman name was a latinate form of the Brittonic word for "ramparts" (cf. Gaelic rath & the nearby villages of Ratby and Ratcliffe^[12]), suggesting the site was an oppidum. The plural form of the name suggests it was initially composed of several villages.^[12] The Celtic tribe holding the area was later recorded as the "Coritanians" but an inscription recovered in 1983 showed this to have been a corruption of the original "Corieltauvians".^[13][14] The Corieltauvians are believed to have ruled over roughly the area of the East Midlands.

Roman

It is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD 47, during their conquest of southern Britain.^[15] The Corieltauvian settlement lay near a bridge on the Fosse Way, a Roman road between the legionary camps at Isca (Exeter) and Lindum (Lincoln). It remains unclear whether the Romans fortified and garrisoned the location, but it slowly developed from around the year 50 onwards as the tribal capital of the Corieltauvians under the name Ratae Corieltauvorum. In the 2nd century, it received a forum and bathhouse. In 2013, the discovery of a Roman cemetery found just outside the old city walls and dating back to AD 300 was announced.^[15] The remains of the baths of Roman Leicester can be seen at the Jewry Wall; recovered artifacts are displayed at the adjacent museum.

Medieval

Knowledge of the town following the Roman withdrawal from Britain is limited. Certainly there is some continuation of occupation of the town, though on a much reduced scale in the 5th and 6th centuries. Its memory was preserved as the Cair Lerion^[16] of the History of the Britons.^[17] Following the Saxon invasion of Britain, Leicester was occupied by the Middle Angles and subsequently administered by the kingdom of Mercia. It was elevated to a bishopric in either 679 or 680; this see survived until the 9th century, when Leicester was captured by Danish Vikings. Their settlement became one of the Five Burghs of the Danelaw, although this position was short-lived. The Saxon bishop, meanwhile, fled to Dorchester-on-Thames and Leicester did not become a bishopric again until the Church of St Martin became Leicester Cathedral in 1927. The settlement was recorded under the name Ligeraceaster in the early 10th century.

Following the Norman conquest, Leicester was recorded by William's Domesday Book as Ledecestre. It was noted as a city (civitas) but lost this status in the 11th century owing to power struggles between the Church and the aristocracy and did not become a legal city again until 1919.

Geoffrey of Monmouth composed his History of the Kings of Britain around the year 1136, naming a King Leir as an eponymous founder figure.^[18] According to Geoffrey's narrative, Cordelia had buried her father beneath the river in a chamber dedicated to Janus and that his feast day was an annual celebration.^[19]

At the end of the War of the Roses, King Richard III was buried in Leicester's Greyfriars Church, whose ruins are now located beneath a car park. There was a legend that his corpse had been cast into the river, while some historians^[20] argued that his tomb and remains were destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. However, in September 2012, an archaeological investigation discovered a skeleton^[21] which DNA testing helped verify to be related to two descendants of Richard III's sister.^[22] In 2015 Richard III was reburied in pride of place near the high altar in Leicester Cathedral.

Modern

Tudor

On 4 November 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested on charges of treason and taken from York Place. On his way south to face dubious justice at the Tower of London, he fell ill. The group escorting him was concerned enough to stop at Leicester. There, Wolsey's condition quickly worsened. He died on 29 November 1530 and was buried at Leicester Abbey, now Abbey Park.

Lady Jane Grey, a great-granddaughter of Henry VII who reigned as England's uncrowned Queen Regnant for nine days in June 1553, was born at Bradgate Park near Leicester around 1536.^[23]

Queen Elizabeth I's intimate and former suitor, Robert Dudley, was given the Earldom of Leicester.

Stuart

The Corporation of Leicester opposed the efforts of Charles I of England to disafforest the nearby Leicester Forest, believing it to be likely to throw many of its residents into poverty and need of relief. Sir Miles Fleetwood was sent to commission the disafforestation and division of lands being used in common.^[24] Riots destroyed enclosures in spring 1627 and 1628, following a pattern of anti-enclosure disturbances found elsewhere including the Western Rising.^[25]

Petitions challenging the enclosures were presented by the Corporation of Leicester and borough residents to the King and Privy Council. They were unsuccessful so petitioned the House of Lords in June 1628 who however supported Fleetwood but asked for proceedings made by the Crown against the rioters to be dropped. Compensation made to the legal residents of the forest was reasonably generous by comparison with other forests. The Corporation received 40 acres for relief of the poor.^[26]

Civil War

Leicester was a Roundhead stronghold during the English Civil War. In 1645, Prince Rupert decided to attack the city to draw the New Model Army away from the Royalist headquarters of Oxford. Royalist guns were set up on Raw Dykes and, after an unsatisfactory response to a demand for surrender, the Newarke was stormed and the city was sacked on 30 May. Hundreds of people were killed by Rupert's cavalry and reports of the severity of the sacking were further exaggerated by the Parliamentary press in London.^[27]

Industrial Era

The construction of the Grand Union Canal in the 1790s linked Leicester to London and Birmingham; by 1832, the railway had arrived in Leicester. The Leicester and Swannington Railway provided a supply of coal to the town from nearby collieries and the Midland Counties Railway (running from Derby to Rugby) linked the town to the national network by 1840. A direct link to London's St Pancras Station was established by the Midland Main Line in the 1860s. These developments encouraged and accompanied a process of industrialisation which intensified throughout the reign of Queen Victoria. Factories began to appear, particularly along the canal and river, and districts such as Frog Island and Woodgate were the locations of numerous large mills. Between 1861 and 1901, Leicester's population increased from 68 000 to 212 000 and the proportion employed in trade, commerce, building, and the city's new factories and workshops rose steadily. Hosiery, textiles, and footwear became the major industrial employers: manufacturers such as N. Corah & Sons and the Cooperative Boot and Shoe Company were opening some of the largest manufacturing premises in Europe. They were joined, in the latter part of the century, by engineering firms such as Kent Street's Taylor & Hubbard (crane makers & founders), Vulcan Road's William Gimson & Company (steam boilers & founders), and Martin Street's Richards & Company (steel works & founders).

The politics of Victorian Leicester were lively and very often bitter. Years of consistent economic growth meant that living standards generally increased, but Leicester was a stronghold of Radicalism. Thomas Cooper, the Chartist, kept a shop in Church Gate. There were serious Chartist riots in the town in 1842 and again six years later.^[28] The Leicester Secular Society was founded in 1851 but secularist speakers such as George Holyoake were often denied the use of speaking halls. It was not until 1881 that Leicester Secular Hall was opened. The second half of the 19th century also witnessed the creation of many other institutions, including the town council, the Royal Infirmary, and the Leicester Constabulary. It also benefited from general acceptance that municipal organisations had a responsibility to provide for the town's water supply, drainage, and sanitation.

Leicester became a county borough in 1889, although it was abolished with the rest in 1974 as part of the Local Government Act. The city regained its unitary status apart from Leicestershire in 1997. The borough had been expanding throughout the 19th century, but grew most notably when it annexed Belgrave, Aylestone, North Evington, Knighton, and Stoneygate in 1892.

20th century

In 1900, the Great Central Railway provided another link to London, but the rapid population growth of the previous decades had already begun to slow by the time of Queen Victoria's death in 1901. World War I and the subsequent epidemics had further impacts. Nonetheless, Leicester was finally recognised as a legal city once more in 1919 and, in 1927, again became a cathedral city on the consecration of St Martin's. A second major extension to the boundaries following the changes in 1892 took place in 1935, with the annexation of the remainder of Evington, Humberstone, Beaumont Leys, and part of Braunstone. A third major revision of the boundaries took place in 1966, with the net addition to the city of just over 450 acres (182 ha). The boundary has remained unchanged since that time.

Leicester's diversified economic base and lack of dependence on primary industries meant that it was much better placed than many other cities to weather the tariff wars of the 1920s and Great Depression of the 1930s. The Bureau of Statistics of the newly formed League of Nations identified Leicester in 1936 as the 2nd-richest city in Europe^[29] and it became an attractive destination for refugees fleeing persecution and political turmoil in continental Europe. Firms such as Corah and Liberty Shoes used their reputation for producing high-quality products to expand their businesses. These years witnessed the growth in the city of trade unionism and particularly the co-operative movement. The Co-op became an important employer and landowner; when Leicester played host to the Jarrow March on its way to London in 1936, the Co-op provided the marchers with a change of boots. In 1938, Leicester was selected as the base for Squadron 1F, the first A.D.C.C (Air Defence Cadet Corp), the predecessor of the Air Training Corps.

The years after World War II, particularly from the 1960s onwards, brought many social and economic challenges.

Mass housebuilding continued across Leicester for some 30 years after 1945. Existing housing estates such as Braunstone were expanded, while several completely new estates – of both private and council tenure – were built. The last major development of this era was Beaumont Leys in the north of the city, which was developed in the 1970s as a mix of private and council housing. There was a steady decline in Leicester's traditional manufacturing industries and, in the city centre, working factories and light industrial premises have now been almost entirely replaced. Many former factories, including some on Frog Island and at Donisthorpe Mill, have been badly damaged by fire. Rail and barge were finally eclipsed by automotive transport in the 1960s and '70s: the Great Central and the Leicester & Swannington both closed and the northward extension of the M1 motorway linked Leicester into England's growing motorway network. With the loss of much of the city's industry during the 1970s and '80s, some of the old industrial jobs were replaced by new jobs in the service sector, particularly in retail. The opening of the Haymarket Shopping Centre in 1971 was followed by a number of new shopping centres in the city, including St Martin's Shopping Centre in 1984 and the Shire Shopping Centre in 1992.^[30] The Shires was subsequently expanded in September 2008 and rebranded as Highcross. By the 1990s, as well, Leicester's central position and good transport links had established it as a distribution centre; the southwestern area of the city has also attracted new service and manufacturing businesses.

Immigration

Since the war, Leicester has experienced large scale immigration from across the world. Many Polish servicemen were prevented from returning to their homeland after the war by the communist regime , and they established a small community in Leicester. Economic migrants from the Irish Republic continued to arrive throughout the post war period. Immigrants from the Indian sub-continent began to arrive in the 1960s, their numbers boosted by Asians arriving from Kenya and Uganda in the early 1970s.^[31][32]

In 1972, Idi Amin announced that the entire Asian community in Uganda had 90 days to leave the country.^[33] Shortly thereafter, the Leicester City Council launched a campaign aimed at dissuading Ugandan Asians from migrating to the city.^[34] The ads did not have their intended effect, instead making more migrants aware of the possibility of settling in Leicester.^[35] Nearly a quarter of initial Ugandan refugees (around 5000 to 6000) settled in Leicester, and by the end of the 1970s around another quarter of the initially dispersed refugees had made their way to Leicester.^[36] Officially, the adverts were taken out for fear that immigrants to Leicester would place pressure on city services and at least one person who was a city councillor at the time says that he believes they were placed for racist reasons.^[37] The initial advertisement was widely condemned, and taken as a marker of anti-Asian sentiment throughout Britain as a whole, although the attitudes that resulted in the initial advertisement were changed significantly in subsequent decades.^[38] Recent Leicester councillors have expressed significant regret for the council having run the advertisement.^[37]

In the 1990s, a group of Dutch citizens of Somali origin settled in the city. Since the 2004 enlargement of the European Union a significant number of East European migrants have settled in the city. While some wards in the northeast of the city are more than 70% South Asia, wards in the west and south are all over 70% white. The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) had estimated that by 2011 Leicester would have approximately a 50% ethnic minority population, making it the first city in Britain not to have a white British majority.^[39] This prediction was based on the growth of the ethnic minority populations between 1991 (Census 1991 28% ethnic minority) and 2001 (Census 2001 – 36% ethnic minority). However Professor Ludi Simpson at the University of Manchester School of Social Sciences said in September 2007 that the CRE had "made unsubstantiated claims and ignored government statistics" and that Leicester's immigrant and minority communities disperse to other places.^[40][41] The Leicester Multicultural Advisory Group is a forum, set up in 2001 by the editor of the Leicester Mercury, to co-ordinate community relations with members representing the council, police, schools, community and faith groups, and the media.

Geography

Wards

Leicester is divided into several administrative wards, that correspond to many historical suburbs, villages and districts in the unitary authority area:

Ward	Suburbs, villages and districts
Abbey	Abbey Ward, Frog Island, Mowmacre Hill, Stocking Farm
Aylestone	Aylestone, Aylestone Park, Saffron
Beaumont Leys	Beaumont Leys, Heathley Park
Belgrave	Belgrave
Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields	Braunstone, Rowley Fields
Castle	City Centre, Blackfriars, Clarendon Park, Southfields
Charnwood	Northfields
Coleman	Crown Hills, North Evington
Evington	Evington, Goodwood, Rowlatts Hill
Eyres Monsell	Eyres Monsell, Saffron
Fosse	Newfoundpool, West End, Woodgate
Freemen	Knighton Fields, Saffron
Humberstone & Hamilton	Hamilton, Humberstone, Humberstone Garden Suburb, Netherhall
Knighton	Stoneygate, Knighton, South Knighton, West Knighton
Latimer	St. Mark's
New Parks	New Parks
Rushey Mead	Rushey Mead
Spinney Hills	Spinney Hills, St. Matthew's, St. Peter's
Stoneygate	Highfields, Horston Hill, Evington Valley
Thurncourt	Thurnby Lodge
Westcotes	Bede Island
Western Park	Western Park, Dane Hills

The Office for National Statistics has defined a Leicester Urban Area, which consists of the conurbation of Leicester, although it has no administrative status. The area contains the unitary authority area and several towns, villages and suburbs outside the city's administrative boundaries.

Climate

Leicester experiences a maritime climate with mild to warm summers and cool winters, rain spread throughout the year, and low sunshine levels. The nearest official Weather Station was Newtown Linford, about 5 miles (8.0 km) North West of Leicester city centre and just outside the edge of the urban area. However, observations stopped in 2003. The current nearest Weather Station is Market Bosworth, about 10 miles (16 km) west of the city centre.

The highest temperature recorded at Newtown Linford was 34.5 °C (94.1 °F)^[42] during August 1990, although a temperature of 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) was achieved at Leicester University during August 2003.^[43] More typically the highest temperature would reach 28.7 °C (83.7 °F)^[44] – the average annual maximum. 11.3 days^[45] of the year should attain a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above.

The lowest temperature recorded at Newtown Linford was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F)^[46] during January 1963. Typically, 54.9 air frosts will be recorded during the course of the year.

Rainfall averages 684.4 mm^[47] per year, with 1 mm or more falling on 120.8 days.^[48] All averages refer to the period 1971–2000.

Climate data for Newtown Linford, elevation 119m, 1971–2000, extremes 1960–2003
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	13.6 (56.5)	17.9 (64.2)	21.7 (71.1)	23.9 (75)	26.5 (79.7)	31.5 (88.7)	32.3 (90.1)	34.5 (94.1)	27.7 (81.9)	23.3 (73.9)	16.2 (61.2)	14.6 (58.3)	34.5 (94.1)
Average high °C (°F)	6.3 (43.3)	6.9 (44.4)	9.7 (49.5)	12.2 (54)	16.0 (60.8)	18.6 (65.5)	21.4 (70.5)	21.1 (70)	17.7 (63.9)	13.5 (56.3)	9.1 (48.4)	7.1 (44.8)	13.3 (55.9)
Average low °C (°F)	0.5 (32.9)	0.5 (32.9)	2.1 (35.8)	3.3 (37.9)	6.0 (42.8)	8.7 (47.7)	10.8 (51.4)	10.7 (51.3)	8.8 (47.8)	6.0 (42.8)	2.8 (37)	1.3 (34.3)	7.1 (44.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−16.1 (3)	−11.7 (10.9)	−11.1 (12)	−6.6 (20.1)	−3.3 (26.1)	−0.9 (30.4)	2.8 (37)	2.8 (37)	0.0 (32)	−6.2 (20.8)	−7.4 (18.7)	−14.4 (6.1)	−16.1 (3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	61.65 (2.4272)	48.91 (1.9256)	51.86 (2.0417)	43.86 (1.7268)	50.83 (2.0012)	63.07 (2.4831)	46.08 (1.8142)	59.25 (2.3327)	61.50 (2.4213)	60.58 (2.385)	60.34 (2.3756)	68.82 (2.7094)	684.37 (26.9437)
Source: KNMI[49]

Government

On 1 April 1997, Leicester City Council became a unitary authority. Before then, local government was a two-tier system: the city and county councils were responsible for different aspects of local government services: this system is still in place in the rest of Leicestershire. Leicestershire County Council retained its headquarters at County Hall in Glenfield, just outside the city boundary but within the urban area. The administrative offices of Leicester City Council are in the centre of the city at 115 Charles Street, having moved from Welford Place, to be developed into a complex of offices and plazas. Some services (particularly the police and the ambulance service) still cover the whole of the city and county/ies, but for the most part the councils are independent.

After a long period of Labour administration (since 1979), the city council from May 2003 was run by a Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition under Roger Blackmore, which collapsed in November 2004. The minority Labour group ran the city until May 2005, under Ross Willmott, when the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives formed a new coalition, again under the leadership of Roger Blackmore.

In the local government elections of 3 May 2007, Leicester's Labour Party once again took control of the council in what can be described as a landslide victory. Gaining 18 new councillors, Labour polled on the day 38 councillors, creating a governing majority of +20. Significantly however, the Green Party gained its first councillors in the Castle Ward, after losing on the drawing of lots in 2003, though one of these subsequently resigned and the seat was lost to Labour in a by-election on 10 September 2009. The Conservative Party saw a decrease in their representation. The Liberal Democrat Party was the major loser, dropping from 25 councillors in 2003 to only 6 in 2007.

In the local government elections of 5 May 2011, Labour won 52 of the city's 54 seats, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats winning one seat each.^[50]

Leicester is divided into three Parliamentary constituencies, all controlled by the Labour Party : Leicester East, represented by Keith Vaz, Leicester South, represented by Jon Ashworth, and Leicester West represented by Liz Kendall. In April 2011 the then Leicester South MP Sir Peter Soulsby left the House of Commons to seek election as Mayor of Leicester.

On 5 May 2011, Peter Soulsby became the first directly elected Mayor of Leicester.

Before the creation of an elected executive Mayor the post of civic mayor and later Lord Mayor existed. The first mayor of Leicester was the Norman knight "Peter fitz Roger" (Peter son of Roger) in 1251.^[51][52] Following the restoration of city status this title was elevated to "Lord Mayor." In 1987 the first Asian Mayor of Leicester was indirectly elected by the councillors, Councillor Gordhan Parmar.^[53] After institution of a directly elected mayor in 2011 the Lord Mayor of Leicester still exists as a ceremonial role under Leicester City Council.^[54]

Coat of arms

The Corporation of Leicester's coat of arms was first granted to the city at the Heraldic Visitation of 1619, and is based on the arms of the first Earl of Leicester, Robert Beaumont. The charge is a cinquefoil 'ermine', on a red field, and this emblem is used by the city council.

After Leicester became a city again in 1919, the city council applied to add to the arms. Permission for this was granted in 1929, when the supporting lions, from the Lancastrian Earls of Leicester, were added.

The motto "Semper Eadem" was the motto of Queen Elizabeth I, who granted a royal charter to the city. It means "always the same" but with positive overtones meaning unchanging, reliable or dependable. The crest on top of the arms is a white or silver legless wyvern with red and white wounds showing, on a wreath of red and white. The legless wyvern distinguishes it as a Leicester wyvern as opposed to other wyverns. The supporting lions are wearing coronets in the form of collars, with the white cinquefoil hanging from them.

Demography

Demographic comparatives

In the 2011 census, the population of the Leicester unitary authority was 329,839, an increase of 11.8% compared to the United Kingdom Census 2001 figure of 279,921. The wider Leicester Urban Area,^[55] showed an estimated population of 509,000. The population of the Leicester unitary authority is marginally higher than that of Nottingham, while Nottingham has a higher urban area population compared to that of Leicester. Eurostat's Larger Urban Zone listed the population of the Leicester LUZ at 836,484 (2011) just above that of our East Midland neighbour; metropolitan and city region populations tend to be similar. According to the 2011 census Leicester had the largest proportion of people aged 19-and-under in the East Midlands at 27 per cent. Coventry, to the south west, has population close to that of Leicester although the urban and LUZ populations of Coventry are lower given the proximity to Birmingham.

Leicester compared[56]
UK Census 2011	Leicester	East Midlands	England
Total population	329,839	4,533,222	53,012,456
Foreign born	33.6%	9.9%	13.8%
White (2001)	63.9%	93.5%	90.9%
White (2011)	50.6%	89.3%	85.5%
South Asian (2001)	29.9%	4.0%	4.6%
South Asian (2011)	31.8%	5.1%	5.5%
Black (2001)	3.1%	0.9%	2.3%
Black (2011)	6.3%	1.7%	3.4%
Mixed (2001)	2.3%	1.9%	1.3%
Mixed (2011)	3.5%	1.4%	2.2%
East Asian and Other (2001)	0.8%	0.5%	0.9%
East Asian and Other (2011)	5.3%	1.3%	2.2%
Christian	32.4%	58.8%	59.4%
Muslim	18.6%	3.1%	5.0%
No religion	17.4%	15.2%	24.7%
Hindu	15.2%	2.0%	1.5%
English as a main language	69.3%	93.3%	90.9%

In terms of ethnic composition, according to the 2011 census, 50.6% of the population was White (45.1% White British, 0.8% White Irish, 0.1% Gypsy or Irish Traveller, 4.6% Other White), 37.1% Asian (28.3% Indian, 2.4% Pakistani, 1.1% Bangladeshi, 1.3% Chinese, 4.0% Other Asian), 3.5% of mixed race (1.4% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.0% White and Asian, 0.7% Other Mixed), 6.3% Black (3.8% African, 1.5% Caribbean, 1.0% Other Black), 1.0% Arab and 1.6% of other ethnic heritage.^[57]

Christians were the largest religious group in the city in 2011 at 32.4%, with Muslims next (18.6%), followed by Hindus (15.2%), Sikhs (4.4%), Buddhists (0.4%), and Jews (0.1%). In addition, 0.6% belonged to other religions, 22.8% identified with no religion and 5.6% did not respond to the question.^[58] There are three active synagogues in the city: one Progressive, one Orthodox, and one Messianic.

Leicester is the second fastest growing city in the country.^[59]

Languages

A demographic profile of Leicester published by the city council in 2008 noted:

Alongside English, around 70 languages and/or dialects spoken in the city. In addition to English and the primary western and central european languages, eight ethnic languages are sometimes heard: Gujarati is the preferred language of 16% of the city's residents, Punjabi 3%, Somali 4% and Urdu 2%. Other smaller language groups include Hindi, Bengali. With continuing migration into the city, new languages and or dialects from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe are also being spoken in the city.

In certain primary schools in Leicester, English may not be the preferred language of 45% of pupils and the proportion of children whose first language is known, or believed to be, other than English, is significantly higher than other cities in the Midlands or the UK as a whole.^[60]

Population change

Population growth in Leicester since 1901
Year	1901	1911	1921	1931	1939	1951	1961	1971	2001	2011
Population	211,579	227,222	234,143	239,169	261,339	285,181	273,470	284,208	279,921	329,600
Source: A Vision of Britain through Time

Economy

Leicester has the largest economy in the East Midlands. A recent study by emda/Experian estimated the GVA to be £15.3 billion.^[61] Companies that have their principal offices or significant sites in Leicester and the surrounding area include; Dunelm Mill, Next, Everards brewing and associated, Jessops, Santander banking, Shoe Zone, Brantano Footwear, British Gas, British Telecom, Caterpillar (Inc.), KPMG, Mazars, Topps Tiles and DHL.^[62]

The city has historically had a strong association with the production of textiles, clothing and shoes. While important companies such as Corah, Liberty Shoes and Equity Shoes have closed, companies such as Next and Boden are still active in the city. Moreover, in recent years the higher transport prices and longer lead-times associated with globalised production in Asia mean that some textile manufacturers are locating to the city.^[63][64]

Engineering

Engineering is an important part of the economy of Leicester. Companies include Jones & Shipman (machine tools and control systems), Richards Engineering (foundry equipment), Transmon Engineering (materials handling equipment) and Trelleborg (suspension components for rail, marine, and industrial applications). Local commitment to nurturing British engineers includes apprenticeship schemes with local companies, and academic-industrial connections with the engineering departments at Leicester University, De Montfort University, and nearby Loughborough University. Leicester was also home to the famous Gents' of Leicester clock manufacturers.

Shopping

Central Leicester has two primary shopping "malls" – Highcross Leicester and the Haymarket Shopping Centre: - The Haymarket Shopping Centre was opened on the site in 1974, and was the first to be built in the City, with parking for up to 500 cars on several levels, two levels of shopping with bus station, and was also the site of the former Haymarket Theatre. - Highcross Leicester opened in 2008 after work to redevelop "The Shires Centre" was completed at a cost of £350 million (creating 120 stores, 15 restaurants, a cinema, 110,000 m² of shopping space).

St Martin's Square and the Leicester Lanes area has numerous designer and specialist shops; several of the city's Victorian arcades are located in the same neighbourhood. Leicester Market is the largest outdoor covered market in Europe selling a wide variety of goods.

Central Leicester is the location for several department stores including Fenwick, House of Fraser, John Lewis, Debenhams. Leicestershire-based Dunelm Mill has its main store for the Leicester area in Thurmaston, 5 miles north of the City centre.

The Golden Mile is the name given to a stretch of Belgrave Road renowned for its authentic Indian restaurants, sari shops, and jewellers; the Diwali celebrations in Leicester are focused on this area and are the largest outside the sub-continent^[65]

Food and drink

Henry Walker was a successful pork butcher who moved from Mansfield to Leicester in the 1880s to take over an established business in High Street. The first Walker's crisp production line was in the empty upper storey of Walker's Oxford Street factory in Leicester. In the early days the potatoes were sliced up by hand and cooked in an ordinary fish and chip fryer. In 1971 the Walker's crisps business was sold to Standard Brands, an American firm, who sold on the company to Frito-Lay. Walker's crisps currently makes 10 million bags of crisps per day at two factories in Beaumont Leys, and is the UK's largest grocery brand.^[66] The Beaumont Leys manufacturing plant is the largest crisp factory in the world.^[67]

Meanwhile, the sausage and pie business was bought out by Samworth Brothers in 1986. Production outgrew the Cobden Street site and pork pies are now manufactured at a meat processing factory and bakery in Beaumont Leys, coincidentally situated near the separately owned crisp factories. Sold under the Walker's name and under UK retailers own brands such as Tesco's Finest, over three million hot and cold pies are made each week.^[68] Henry Walker's butcher shop at 4–6 Cheapside sold Walker's sausages and pork pies until March 2012 when owner Scottish Fife Fine Foods went bust, although the shop is temporarily open and selling Walker's pies for the Christmas 2012 season.^[69]

Landmarks

There are ten Scheduled Monuments in Leicester and thirteen Grade I listed buildings: some sites, such as Leicester Castle and the Jewry Wall, appear on both lists.

20th-century architecture: Leicester University Engineering Building (James Stirling & James Gowan : Grd II Listed), Kingstone Department Store, Belgrave Gate (Raymond McGrath : Grd II Listed), National Space Centre tower.

Older architecture:

Parks: Abbey Park, Botanic Gardens, Castle Gardens, Gorse Hill City Farm, Grand Union Canal, Knighton Park, Nelson Mandela Park, River Soar, Victoria Park, Watermead Country Park.

Industry: Abbey Pumping Station, National Space Centre, Great Central Railway.

Places of worship: Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal (Hindu temple),^[70] the Stake Centre of the LDS Church's Leicester England Stake, Jain Centre,^[71] Leicester Cathedral, Leicester Central Mosque,^[72] Masjid Umar^[73] (Mosque),^[74] Guru Nanak Gurdwara (Sikh), Neve Shalom Synagogue (Progressive Jewish).

Historic buildings: Town Hall, Guildhall, Belgrave Hall, Jewry Wall, Secular Hall, Abbey, Castle, St Mary de Castro, The City Rooms, Newarke Magazine Gateway.

Shopping: Haymarket Shopping Centre, Highcross, Market, Golden Mile, Beaumont Shopping Centre, Fosse Shopping Park, St Martin's Square, Silver Arcade.

Sport: King Power Stadium – Leicester City FC, Welford Road – Leicester Tigers, Grace Road – Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Beaumont Sports Complex - Leicester Lions Speedway, John Sanford Sports Centre – Leicester Riders, Saffron Lane sports centre – Leicester Coritanian Athletics Club

Leicester as viewed looking west to north from the top floor of the Attenborough Tower at the University of Leicester. In the foreground are Welford Road Cemetery and various buildings associated with the University of Leicester, and more distant landmarks visible include the King Power Stadium (Leicester City FC), Welford Road (Leicester Tigers RFC), Leicester Royal Infirmary, New Walk Centre (Leicester City Council), and St. George's Tower.

Transport

Rail

Mainline rail

The rail network is of growing importance in Leicester, and with the start of Eurostar international services from London St Pancras International in November 2007 giving Leicester railway station almost direct links to the continent, this growth is expected to continue.

East Midlands Trains are the InterCity operator running 'fast' and 'semi-fast' services to and from London to northern England, and provide local services throughout the East Midlands, regional services to the West Midlands and East Anglia are provided by CrossCountry.

Rail routes run north–south through Leicester along the route known as the Midland Main Line, going south to Bedford, Luton and London; and north to Lincoln, Sheffield, Leeds and York. Junctions north and south of the station link the east–west cross country route, going east to Cambridge, Stansted Airport and Norwich; and west to Nuneaton and Birmingham. Leicester is 99 miles (159 km) from London on the Midland Main Line, the fastest trains taking 1 hour and 07 minutes. Journeys to Sheffield take around 1 hour, Leeds and York are approximately a 2-hour journey. Birmingham and Peterborough are around 1 hour away.

Passengers using the railway station can include a PlusBus ticket with their train ticket which gives unlimited bus travel in a designated area.

Network Rail has plans afoot to re-develop the station incorporating the city council's plans for the surrounding area.^[75]

Great Central Railway

Leicester was also on a competing line from London to the North, built by the Great Central Railway in the late 1890s. Served by Leicester Central railway station, the Great Central Main Line closed as a through route in the late 1960s. A preserved section remains: from the newly opened Leicester North railway station (parts of the original route through Leicester have now been built on) to Loughborough is now a heritage steam railway.

Road

Leicester is close to the centre of the M1 motorway at Junction 21. This section is considered to be the busiest part in the country. The M69 motorway starts at Junction 21 and runs to the M6 Motorway and is contiguous with Coventry's eastern bypass.

Leicester is located at the intersections of the A6, A46, A47 and A607 trunk roads, complementary to the motorway routes.

Air

Distances from LEI, Campbell Street, LE1 or similar.

Leicester's city airport is Leicester Airport, located 4.75 miles (8.0 km) ESE of central Leicester, which is capable of handling business and regional aircraft.

East Midlands Airport, near to Castle Donington 20 miles (32 km) NNW of the City is the closest international airport. From here both scheduled and charter operators provide regular passengers services. The airport is also a significant hub for the mail/freight networks of the major distributors.

Alternatively, Birmingham Airport, located 39 miles (64 km) from Central Leicester, is about a 45-60 minute drive, and London Luton Airport, about 75 miles (120 km) to the south, can be reached in 1-1½ hours via the M1 motorway or main line train services.

Buses

Leicester has two main bus stations: St Margaret's Bus Station and Haymarket Bus Station.

There are three permanent Park and Ride sites located at Meynells Gorse (Leicester Forest East), Birstall and Enderby; buses operate every 15 mins from all sites. The park and ride services are branded as quicksilver shuttle and are contracted to Roberts Coaches from the City Council and County Council, buses use a purpose built terminal near St. Nicholas Circle.

The main bus operators for Leicester are Arriva Fox County, Centrebus, First Leicester, Hinckley Bus (Part of Arriva Midlands), Kinchbus, Leicester Bus, Roberts Coaches and Stagecoach Midlands.

National Cycle Network

National Cycle Network Route 6 passes through Leicestershire along with other secondary routes. The Leicester Bike Park is also located in Town Hall Square. 'Cycle Works' Bike Mechanic Training Centre is located in Wellington Street Adult Education Centre and former Central Lending Library.

Education

Schools

Leicester is home to a number of comprehensive schools and independent schools. Leicester Grammar School, a HMC member school, was founded in the 1980s after the city's loss of its state-funded grammar schools. There are three sixth form colleges, all of which were previously grammar schools.

The Leicester City Local Education Authority initially had a troubled history when formed in 1997 as part of the local government reorganisation – a 1999 Ofsted inspection found "few strengths and many weaknesses", although there has been considerable improvement since then.

Recent plans to improve the city's education system included the opening of Samworth Enterprise Academy, an academy whose catchment area draws in children from the Saffron and Eyres Monsell estates, co-sponsored by the Church of England and David Samworth, chairman of Samworth Brothers. State school status has also been granted to the Madani Schools Federation, a Leicester Islamic secondary school. The city's special schools are currently undergoing reorganisation.

Under the "Building Schools for the Future" project, Leicester City Council has contracted with developers Miller Consortium for £315 million to rebuild Beaumont Leys School, Judgemeadow Community College, the City of Leicester College in Evington, and Soar Valley College in Rushey Mead, and to refurbish Fullhurst Community College in Braunstone.^[76]

Leicester City Council underwent a major reorganisation of children's services in 2006, creating a new Children & Young People's Services department.

Leicester was one of the last places in the UK where milk was supplied to primary schools in third pint glass bottles. In 2007 the supplier changed to plastic bottles.

Tertiary

Leicester is home to two universities, the University of Leicester, which attained its Royal Charter in 1957 and is one of Britain's leading universities ranked 12th by the 2009 Complete University Guide, and De Montfort University, which opened in 1969 as Leicester Polytechnic and achieved university status in 1992.

It is also home to the National Space Centre located off Abbey Lane, due in part to the University of Leicester being one of the few universities in the UK to specialise in space sciences.

Culture

The city hosts an annual Pride Parade (Leicester Pride), a Caribbean Carnival (the largest in the UK outside London), the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India and the largest comedy festival in the UK Leicester Comedy Festival. One of the best known places in the city is Melton Road, near the city centre, which contains many diverse retail stores and restaurants for both locals and tourists. From clothing to fine cuisines, specialist bridal/groom makeup and home appliances, this road promotes and holds many authentic cultures globally. Melton Road is regarded as the pin point of Leicester as a multifaith city. For many residents of Leicester, Melton Road is a place with strong links to their roots and origins.

The Leicester International Short Film Festival is an annual event; it commenced in 1996 under the banner title of "Seconds Out". It has become one of the most important short film festivals in the UK and usually runs in early November, with venues including the Phoenix Arts Centre.^[77][78][79]

Notable arts venues in the city include:

• Curve: New purpose-designed performing arts centre, designed by Rafael Viñoly, opened in Autumn 2008,^[80] replacing and upgrading the facilities formerly provided by the Haymarket Theatre. In the Cultural Quarter.
• The De Montfort Hall
• The Little Theatre
• The City Gallery, one of the region's leading contemporary art galleries
• The Peepul Centre, Designed by Andrzej Blonski Architects, the £15 million building was opened in 2005 and houses an auditorium, restaurant, cyber café, gym and dance studio for the local people, as well as being used for conferences and events. The centre has even been host to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other senior Labour Party figures for hustings during the deputy leadership contest.
• Phoenix Square, which replaced the Phoenix Arts Centre in 2009.

Museums

• 

  Newarke Houses Museum (Grade II*)

• 

  New Walk Museum

• 

  Abbey Pumping Station

• 

  Jewry Wall Museum

• 

  Belgrave Hall

• 

  Gas Museum (Leicester)

• 

  The Guildhall

Music

In popular culture

Leicester is the setting for the fictional diaries of Adrian Mole, created by Sue Townsend. He lives in a fictional suburb known as 'Mangold Parva'. There, Mole lives and works in a second hand bookshop in the later novels, notably Townsend's latest, Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years. The local Leicestershire MP is Pandora Braithwaite, a fictional Labour MP since the 1997 general election.

Leicester is the setting for Rod Duncan's novels, the Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire series and the Riot trilogy.

Leicester and the surrounding county are also settings for several Graham Joyce novels, including Dark Sister, The Limits of Enchantment and Some Kind of Fairy Tale.

Sport

Public services

In the public sector, University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust is one of the larger employers in the city, with over 12,000 employees working for the Trust. Leicester City Primary Care Trust employs over 1,000 full and part-time staff providing healthcare services in the city. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust employs 3,000 staff providing mental health and learning disability services in the city and county.

In the private sector are Nuffield Hospital Leicester and the Spire Hospital Leicester.

Notable people

Local media

Leicester is home to the Leicester Mercury newspaper, and the Midlands Asian Television channel known as MATV Channel 6.

BBC Radio Leicester was the first BBC Local Radio station in Britain, opening on 8 November 1967. Other analogue FM radio stations are Demon FM which is Leicester's community & student radio station broadcasting from Demontfort University, Takeover Radio is the first ever children's radio station in the UK to be produced and presented by children, Capital FM East Midlands Gem 106, 106.6 Smooth Radio and Hindu Sanskar Radio, which only broadcasts during Hindu religious festivals. BBC Asian Network and Sabras Radio broadcast on AM.

The local DAB multiplex has the following stations:

• Capital FM East Midlands
• BBC Radio Leicester
• Sabras Radio
• Highways Agency Traffic Radio
• XFM
• Classic Gold GEM
• Gem 106
• Asian Plus – also known as Hindu Sanskar Radio
• Takeover Radio
• Smooth Radio

There are two hospital radio stations in Leicester, Radio Fox and Radio Gwendolen. The first children's radio station, Takeover Radio, broadcasts in Leicester.

Twin cities

Leicester is twinned with six cities.^[81]

Strasbourg, France (1960)[82][83] Krefeld, Germany (1969) Masaya, Nicaragua (1987)

Chongqing, China (1993) Rajkot, India (1996) Haskovo, Bulgaria (2008)

Since 1973, the fire services of Leicester and twin city Krefeld have played each other in an annual 'friendly' football match.^[84]

References

Further reading

• Hoskins, W. G. (1957) Leicestershire: an illustrated essay on the history of the landscape. London: Hodder & Stoughton

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leicester.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Leicester.

• "Leicester City Council". 

Suburbs of Leicester Wards Abbey Aylestone Beaumont Leys Belgrave Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields Castle Charnwood Coleman Evington Eyres Monsell Fosse Freemen Humberstone & Hamilton Knighton Latimer New Parks Rushey Mead Spinney Hills Stoneygate Thurncourt Westcotes Western Park Areas Abbey Rise Ashton Green Aylestone Beaumont Leys Bede Island Belgrave Blackfriars Braunstone Frith City Centre Clarendon Park Crown Hills Dane Hills Evington Evington Valley Eyres Monsell Frog Island Gilmorton Goodwood Hamilton Highfields Horston Hill Humberstone Humberstone Garden Kirby Frith Knighton Montrose Mowmacre Hill Netherhall Newfoundpool New Parks North Evington Northfields Rowlatts Hill Rowley Fields Rushey Mead Saffron Southfields South Knighton Spinney Hills Stocking Farm Stoneygate St. Matthew's St. Mark's St. Peters Thurnby Lodge West End West Knighton Western Park Woodgate

Ceremonial county of Leicestershire England Portal Unitary authorities Leicester Boroughs or districts Blaby Charnwood Harborough Hinckley and Bosworth Melton North West Leicestershire Oadby and Wigston Major settlements Ashby-de-la-Zouch Braunstone Town Castle Donington Coalville Earl Shilton Hinckley Leicester (Leicester Urban Area) Loughborough Lutterworth Market Bosworth Market Harborough Melton Mowbray Oadby Shepshed Syston Wigston Magna See also: List of civil parishes in Leicestershire Topics Birds Museums Parliamentary constituencies Places SSSIs Schools Country Houses Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings Windmills Monastic houses History Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs

Districts of the East Midlands Derbyshire Amber Valley Bolsover Chesterfield Derby Derbyshire Dales Erewash High Peak North East Derbyshire South Derbyshire Leicestershire Blaby Charnwood Harborough Hinckley and Bosworth Leicester Melton North West Leicestershire Oadby and Wigston Lincolnshire Boston East Lindsey Lincoln North Kesteven South Holland South Kesteven West Lindsey Nottinghamshire Ashfield Bassetlaw Broxtowe Gedling Mansfield Newark and Sherwood Nottingham Rushcliffe Northamptonshire Corby Daventry East Northamptonshire Kettering Northampton South Northamptonshire Wellingborough Rutland Rutland

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