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.
Leicestershire, inland co. of England, bounded N. by Notts, E. by Lincolnshire and Rutland, SE. by Northamptonshire, SW. by Warwickshire, and NW. by Derbyshire; greatest length, about 44 miles; greatest breadth, about40 miles; area, 511,907 ac., pop. 321,258. Low undulating hills cover the surface of the county, the highest elevation being Bardon Hill (902 ft.), in the Charnwood range. Charnwood Forest, in the NW., is now nearly destitute of trees. The principal rivers are tributaries of the Trent, which flows in the NW. of the county; these are the Soar, Wreak, Anker, Devon, and Mease. The Avon and Welland flow in the S. Two canals, the Union and the Grand Union, are connected with the Grand Junction Canal. Much of the soil is loamy, and the richest districts are kept in pasture, upon which are reared the varieties of sheep and cattle for which the county is famous. Dairy farms are numerous, especially in the vicinity of Melton Mowbray where the well-known Stilton cheese is largely produced. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) Leicestershire consists mostly of the new reel sandstone formation. The coal measures have a total area of about 15 square miles, the most productive mines being in the neighbourhood of Ashby de la Zouch. Hosiery is the Leading mfr., the wool employed being that of Leicestershire sheep. The county has 6 hundreds, 332 pars, and 8 parts, and the parliamentary and municipal bor. of Leicester (2 members). It is almost entirely in the diocese of Peterborough. For Parliamentary purposes the county is divided into 4 divisions - Eastern, or Melton; Mid, or Loughborough; Western, or Bosworth; and Southern, or Harborough, 1 member for each division.
(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "Inland county" (ADL Feature Type: "countries, 2nd order divisions") |
| Administrative units: | Leicestershire AncC |
| Place: | Leicestershire |
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