A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Leicester, parl. and mun. bor., market town, and co. town of Leicestershire, on river Soar, 29 m. NW. of Northampton and 99 m. NW. of London by rail, 3200 ac., pop. 122,376; 5 Banks, 8 newspapers. Market-days, Wednesday and Saturday. It has been supposed that Leicester derived its name from the British King Lear. As a Roman station it was known as Rates or Ratiscorim. The first charter of incorporation was granted by King John. Leicester is the chief seat of the English worsted hosiery trade; besides which there are iron foundries, mfrs. of elastic webbing, sewing cotton, boots and shoes, lace, &c., also agricultural implements. The town has water communication by the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal and the river Soar. At the Blue Boar Inn (now demolished) Richard III. slept on the night before the battle of Bosworth Field (1485); and at Leicester Abbey (now in ruins) Cardinal Wolsey died in 1530. Leicester has sent 2 members to Parliament since the reign of Edward I.
(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "parliamentary and municipal borough, market town" (ADL Feature Type: "cities") |
| Administrative units: | Leicester CP Leicestershire AncC |
| Place: | Leicester |
Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.