| Leicestershire |
 |
| Geography |
| Status: |
Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county |
| Region: |
East Midlands |
Area:
- Total
- Admin. council
- Admin. area |
Ranked 28th
2,156 km²
Ranked 26th
2,083 km² |
| Admin HQ: |
Glenfield |
| ISO 3166-2: |
GB-LEC |
| ONS code: |
31 |
| NUTS 3: |
UKF22 |
| Demographics |
Population
- Total (2004 est.)
- Density
- Admin. council
- Admin. pop. |
Ranked 21st
909,000
421 / km²
Ranked 17th
623,900 |
| Ethnicity: |
85.0% White
11.9% S.Asian
1.2% Afro-Carib. |
| Politics |
Leicestershire County Council
http://www.leics.gov.uk/ |
| Executive: |
Conservative |
| Members of Parliament |
|
Stephen Dorrell, Alan Duncan, Edward Garnier, Patricia Hewitt, Andy Reed, Andrew Robathan, Peter Soulsby, David Taylor, David Tredinnick, Keith Vaz
|
| Districts |
- Charnwood
- Melton
- Harborough
- Oadby and Wigston
- Blaby
- Hinckley and Bosworth
- North West Leicestershire
- Leicester (Unitary)
|
Leicestershire (abbreviated Leics) is a landlocked county in central England. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire. The county borders onto Lincolnshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire.
County Hall, situated in Glenfield, about 5 km (3 miles) northwest of Leicester city centre, is the seat of Leicestershire County Council and the headquarters of the county authority. The City of Leicester is administered from offices in Leicester itself and the City Council meets at Leicester Town Hall.
The River Soar rises to the east of Hinckley, in the far south of the county, and flows northward through Leicester before emptying into the River Trent at the point where Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire meet. A large part of the northwest of the county, around Coalville, forms part of the new National Forest area extending into Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The highest point of the county is Bardon Hill at 278m/912ft, which is also a Marilyn.
History
Leicestershire County Hall at Glenfield, built in 1967
Main article: History of Leicestershire.
Leicestershire was recorded in the Domesday Book in four wapentakes: Guthlaxton, Framland, Goscote and Gartree. These later became hundreds, with the division of Goscote into West Goscote and East Goscote, and the addition of Sparkenhoe hundred.
Leicestershire's external boundaries have changed little since the Domesday Survey. The Measham-Donisthorpe exclave of Derbyshire has been exchanged for the Netherseal/Overseall area, and the urban expansion of Market Harborough has caused Little Bowden, previously in Northamptonshire to be annexed.
In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 abolished the county borough status of Leicester city and the county status of neighbouring Rutland, converting both to administrative districts of Leicestershire. These actions were reversed on 1 April 1996, when Rutland and the City of Leicester became unitary authorities.
Demographics
The population of Leicestershire (excluding the city of Leicester) is 609,579 (2001). The county covers an area of 2,084 sq km (804 sq mi).
The largest population centre is Leicester, followed by Loughborough. Other major towns include Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coalville, Hinckley, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Oadby and Wigston.
Towns and villages
See the list of places in Leicestershire.
Places of interest
See also
External links
