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Leicester (pronounced [ˈlɛstə]) is the largest city and unitary authority in the English East Midlands region of the UK. The city is the traditional county town of Leicestershire. Leicester lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the English National Forest. In 2004, the population of the city proper was estimated at 285,100, with 441,213 living in the urban area. It is currently, by population, the 10th largest city in England and the 13th largest in the UK.
GeneralThe city is close to the M1 motorway, and is on the Midland Main Line from London to Sheffield, Nottingham and Leeds. High-speed trains operated by Midland Mainline can reach London in just over an hour. It is also served by rail lines to Birmingham via Nuneaton, and to Peterborough. Major industries in Leicester today include food processing, hosiery, footwear, knitwear, engineering, electronics, printing and plastics. The city centre is mainly Victorian with some later developments, which have usually been integrated in smoothly. The heart of the city centre is the Clock Tower, which is at the intersection of five routes into the city - High Street, Churchgate, Belgrave Gate, Humberstone Gate, and Gallowtree Gate. Today, the latter two are pedestrianised, and vehicles are restricted on the others.
There are a number of major developments on the horizon implemented by the Leicester Regeneration Company including the £51 million Leicester Performing Arts Centre designed by Rafael Viñoly. In 1990, Leicester was designated the UK's first Environment City, and won the European Sustainable City Award in 1996. Leicester has a large ethnic minority population, mainly from the Indian subcontinent. There are many Hindu mandirs, Sikh gurdwaras and Muslim mosques around the city, mostly converted from existing buildings. The Jain Temple in Leicester is near the city centre (The Jain Centre). The area around Belgrave Road is known as the Golden Mile, and contains many Indian restaurants, jewellery shops, and other shops catering to the large Asian community in the neighbourhood. Many people travel to the area specifically for the restaurants, which serve authentic Indian cuisine. The annual Diwali celebrations are also held here and at the nearby Abbey Park, and are the biggest outside of India. There are also many of Afro-Caribbean descent (mainly from Antigua & Barbuda, Montserrat and Jamaica), the community being centred around Highfields to the south-east of the city centre, and Leicester plays host to the second largest Caribbean Carnival in the UK after Notting Hill. While some wards in the north-east of the city are more than 70% Asian, wards in the west and south are all over 70% white. The city is set to become the first major urban area in the UK with a non-white ethnic majority population, by the time of the next census in 2011. HistoryAccording to Geoffrey of Monmouth, a mythical king of the Britons King Leir founded the city of Kaerleir (Leicester). He was supposedly buried by Queen Cordelia in a chamber beneath the River Soar near the city dedicated to the Roman god Janus, and every year people celebrated his feast-day near Leir's tomb. William Shakespeare's King Lear is loosely based on this story. RomanImage:Roman ruins at Jewry Wall.jpg The remains of the Roman baths at Jewry Wall Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a history going back 2000 years. The city of Leicester was first known as Ratae Coritanorum and was inhabited by the Corieltauvi tribe. The Corieltauvi were a Celtic tribe and Leicester was the capital of a territory of what is now known as the East Midlands. The Roman city of Ratae Corieltauvorum was founded around AD 50 as a military settlement upon the Fosse Way Roman road. After the military departure, Ratae Corieltauvorum grew into an important trading and one of the largest towns in Roman Britain. The remains of the baths of Roman Leicester can be seen at the Jewry Wall and other Roman artefacts are displayed in the Jewry Wall Museum adjacent to the site. Saxon and VikingKnowledge of the town in the 5th century is very patchy, certainly there is some continuation of occupation of the town, though on a much reduced scale in the 5th and 6th centuries. In 680 Leicester was chosen as the centre of a bishopric which survived until the 9th century, when Leicester was captured by the Danes (Vikings) and became one of the five boroughs (fortified towns) of Danelaw, although this position was short lived. The Saxon Bishop of Leicester fled to Dorchester-on-Thames and Leicester was not to become a bishopric again until the 20th century. It is believed the name "Leicester" is derived from the words castra (camp) of the Ligore, meaning dwellers on the 'River Legro' (an early name for the River Soar). In the early 10th century it was recorded as Ligeraceaster = "the town of the Ligor people". The Domesday Book later recorded it as Ledecestre. MedievalLeicester had become a town of considerable importance by Medieval times. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as 'civitas' (city), but Leicester lost its city status in the 11th century owing to power struggles between the Church and the aristocracy. It was eventually re-made a city in 1919, and the Church of St Martin became Leicester Cathedral in 1927. The tomb of King Richard III is located in the central nave of the church although he is not actually buried there. He was originally buried in the Greyfriars Church in Leicester, but there is a legend that his corpse was exhumed under orders from Henry VII and cast into the River Soar, although there is no evidence for this and some historians believe that his tomb and bones were destroyed with the dissolution of the church. Leicester played a significant role in the history of England, when, in 1265, Simon de Montfort forced King Henry III to hold the first Parliament of England at the now-ruined Leicester Castle. TudorOn 4 November 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested on charges of treason and taken from York Palace. On his way south to face dubious justice at the Tower of London, he fell ill. The group escorting him were concerned enough to stop at Leicester. There, Wolsey's condition quickly worsened and he died on 29 November 1530 and was buried at Leicester Abbey, now Abbey Park. 18th and 19th centuriesWith the construction of the Grand Union Canal in the 1790s linking Leicester to London and Birmingham, Leicester began rapid industrialisation. The main industries being hosiery, footwear and, especially in the 20th century, engineering. All are, however, in decline now. By 1832, railways had arrived in Leicester with the opening of the Leicester and Swannington Railway, which provided a supply of coal to the town from nearby collieries. By 1840 the Midland Counties Railway had linked Leicester to the national railway network, which further boosted industrial growth. By the 1860s, Leicester had gained a direct rail link to London (St Pancras) with the completion of the Midland Main Line. The Great Central Railway arrived in 1900, providing an alternative route to London. However, this closed in 1966. The borough expanded throughout the 19th century, most notably in 1892 annexing Belgrave, Aylestone, Knighton and North Evington. The city obtained its current boundaries in 1935, with the annexation of the remainder of Evington, Humberstone, Beaumont Leys, along with part of Braunstone. It became a county borough when these were established in 1889, but, as with all county boroughs, was abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, becoming an ordinary district of Leicestershire. It regained its unitary status in 1997. Post World War IIIn the decades after World War II, Leicester gained a large population of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, and from Kenya and Uganda in the early 1970s. These immigrant groups make up around 40% of Leicester's population, making Leicester one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United Kingdom. Among the more recent arrivals are a group of Dutch citizens of Somali origin, apparently drawn by its free and easy atmosphere and by the number of mosques. In the UK, Leicester today is widely regarded as a model of inter-communal tolerance; however, for a short period in the 1970s, the neo-fascist National Front recorded high votes in the city. Leicester is expected by 2011 to become the first major city in Britain in which the ethnic minority population will form a majority. Coat of armsThe 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 field is a white cinquefoil on a red background, 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 which 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". 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 supporting lions are wearing coronets in the form of collars, with the white cinquefoil hanging from them. EconomyThis is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Leicester at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
PoliticsImage:Leicester Town Hall.jpg Leicester town hall. On April 1, 1997, Leicester City Council became a unitary authority, local government up until then having been a two-tier system with the city and county councils being responsible for different aspects of local government services (a system which 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 the New Walk Centre and other office buildings near Welford Place. Some services (particularly the police and the ambulance service) still cover the whole of the city and county, but for the most part the two 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. Leicester is divided into three Parliamentary constituencies. Leicester East and Leicester West are represented by Keith Vaz and Patricia Hewitt respectively - both members of the Labour Party. The third seat, Leicester South, became vacant in May 2004 on the death of Labour politician Jim Marshall. A by-election was held on July 15, and was won by Parmjit Singh Gill of the Liberal Democrats, with a 21% swing. This by-election saw almost 4,000 votes go to a Respect Party candidate, who opposed the Iraq war. However, in the 2005 general election, Labour's unsuccessful by-election candidate and former Council Leader Sir Peter Soulsby won Leicester South back for the party, and Vaz and Hewitt retained their seats. TransportRailwayImage:Leicesterarrival.jpg Leicester station frontage The rail network is of growing importance in Leicester. From Leicester railway station, Central Trains provide local services throughout the East Midlands and regional services to the West Midlands and East Anglia. Midland Mainline are the InterCity operator running 'fast' and 'semi-fast' services to and from London to northern England. Rail routes run north-south through Leicester, going south to London St Pancras and north to Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and beyond along the route known as the Midland Main Line. Junctions north (near to Syston railway station) and south of the city (near to Wigston) connect to other lines to the West towards Birmingham New Street, and east towards Peterborough and Cambridge. Leicester is approximately 100 miles from London on the Midland Mainline and journeys take an average of 1 hour and 10 minutes. Journeys to Sheffield also take 1 hour and 10 minutes and Leeds is approximately a 2 hour journey. Birmingham can be reached in 50 minutes while Peterborough is 1 hour away. Leicester's importance and stature will undoubtedly grow when London St Pancras becomes the home of Eurostar international services from November 2007. There are four long and spacious platforms helping Leicester receive the accolade of "Highly Commended Large Station of the Year" in the 2005 National Rail Awards. Midland Mainline won "Train Operator of the Year" in 1999 and also in 2006. Train operators using the station include Midland Mainline, and Central Trains. Network Rail has plans afoot to re-develop the station incorporating the city council's plans for the surrounding area. Great Central RailwayLeicester was also on another competing line, the route to Loughborough is now a preserved Steam line. MotorwaysLeicester is at the heart of the Image:UK motorway M1.PNG AirportEast Midlands Airport is near to Castle Donington which is in North West Leicestershire. Buses & coachesSt. Margaret's Bus Station is the main interchange for coach services in Leicester, while local bus services are split between St. Margaret's and the Haymarket Bus Station.
National Cycle NetworkMany of the country's National Cycle Network pass through Leicestershire. In Leicester City Centre you will find The Bike Park. EducationLeicester is home to two universities, the University of Leicester (Royal Charter 1957) and the De Montfort University, (founded in 1992 from Leicester Polytechnic). Image:University of Leicester campus.jpg University of Leicester seen from Victoria Park - Left to right: the Department of Engineering, the Attenborough Tower, the Charles Wilson Building. It is also home to the National Space Centre, due in part to the University of Leicester being one of the few universities in the UK to specialise in space sciences. 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. While many state schools provide a good standard of education, there have been problems with one or two of the large community colleges, in particular New College. However, recent changes of leadership at New College have seen a turnaround in the school's prospects. Current plans to improve the city's education system include the opening of a City Academy partly sponsored by the Church of England and a local Christian businessman (a new school on the Saffron estate), a £250 million "Building Schools for the Future" project using the Private Finance Initiative, the granting of state school status to the Leicester Islamic Academy, and the reorganisation of the city's special schools. Leicester City Council underwent a major reorganisation of children's services in 2006, creating a new Children & Young People's Services department under the leadership of Sheila Lock. Education LinksThe ArtsThe city plays host to an annual Pride Parade (Leicester Pride), a Caribbean Carnival (the largest in the UK outside London), the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India, the largest comedy festival in the UK and the Summer Sundae music festival. Arts venues in the city include:
SportImage:Leicestersportingstatue.jpg The Sports Statue on Gallowtree Gate Sports teams include Leicester City F.C. (football), Leicester Tigers (rugby union), Leicester Riders (basketball), and the Leicestershire County Cricket Club. The city has also hosted British and World track cycling championships at its Saffron Lane velodrome. Leicester racecourse is located to the south of the city in Oadby. Leicester is now sometimes regarded (by its inhabitants at least) as the sporting capital of the UK. Recent titles won by local teams
To celebrate the successes of 1997-98, the Leicester Mercury organised the placement of a statue portraying a cricketer, a footballer, and a rugby-player on Gallowtree Gate, not far from the Clock Tower at the heart of the city. Leicestershire County Cricket Club are the only team that have won the Twenty20 Cup twice. Leicester City played the last Football League Cup Final at the Old Wembley Stadium beating Tranmere 2-1. Leicester Tigers are the only side to have retained the Heineken Cup, and also share the record for most English Championships won (6), with Bath. AreasImage:P1000123.JPG Snow in Leicester, taken in Spinney Hills Park
Places of interest and landmarksImage:Leicester Cathedral.jpg The inside of Leicester Cathedral Parks: Leicester Botanic Gardens, Abbey Park, Victoria Park, Gorse Hill City Farm Industry: Abbey Pumping Station, National Space Centre, Great Central Railway. Places of Worship: Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal (Hindu temple)[1], Jain Centre [2], Leicester Cathedral, Masjid Umar (Mosque)[3] Historic Buildings: Leicester Guildhall, Belgrave Hall, Jewry Wall, Leicester Secular Hall Shopping: Haymarket Centre, The Shires, Fosse Park (just outside the city). Sport : Walkers Stadium – Leicester City FC, Welford Road – Leicester Tigers RUFC, Grace Road – Leicestershire County Cricket Club, John Sanford Sports Centre, Saffron Lane Sports Centre. Famous LeicesteriansA Leicesterian is somebody who comes from the city of Leicester, England. Famous people born in Leicester, educated there, or otherwise associated with the city include: Academia
The arts and entertainmentImage:Graham Chapman Colonel.jpg Graham Chapman as The Colonel in Monty Python's Flying Circus Image:Engelbert Humperdinck - At His Very Best - Front.jpg Engelbert at his very best album released in 2000
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