Leicestershire

Leicestershire (/ˈlɛstərʃɪər, -ʃər/ ^ⓘ LEST-ər-sheer, -⁠shər) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, and Staffordshire to the west. The city of Leicester is the largest settlement and the county town.

The county has an area of 2,156 km² (832 sq mi) and a population of one million according to 2022 estimates. Leicester is in the centre of the county and is by far the largest settlement, with a built-up area population of approximately half a million. The remainder of the county is largely rural, and the next-largest settlements are Loughborough in the north, Hinckley in the south-west, and Wigston south-east of Leicester. For local government purposes Leicestershire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with seven districts, and the unitary authority area of Leicester.

Leicestershire is generally a lowland county, characterised by small, rolling hills. It is bisected by the River Soar, which rises near the Warwickshire border south of Hinckley and flows north through Leicester and Loughborough before reaching the Trent at the county boundary. To the west of the river is Charnwood Forest, an upland area which contains Bardon Hill, which at 278 m (912 ft) is the county's highest point.

There are prehistoric earthworks in the county, and Leicester was a Roman settlement. The region was settled by the Angles in the sixth century and became part of the Kingdom of Mercia, and the county existed at the time of the Domesday Survey in the 1080s. The county has had a relatively settled existence; however, it was the site of the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, which established the Tudor dynasty's position as monarchs of England. During the Industrial Revolution the Leicestershire coalfield in the north and west of the county was exploited. Leicester became known for shoemaking, and with Loughborough continues to be a manufacturing centre. In agriculture the county is known for Stilton cheese and Melton Mowbray pork pies.

The Domesday Book (1086) records four wapentakes in the territory of Leicestershire: 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. The first recorded use of the county name occurs in 1087 as Lægrecastrescir.

Leicestershire's external boundaries have changed little since the Domesday Survey. The Measham-Donisthorpe exclave of Derbyshire has been exchanged for the Netherseal area, and the urban expansion of Market Harborough has caused Little Bowden, previously in Northamptonshire to be annexed. Until 1969, the county's legal name was "Leicester" rather than "Leicestershire", although the latter form was in common usage. In legal contexts the county was usually referred to as the "County of Leicester" where necessary to distinguish between the city and the county. In 1969 the government formally changed the county's name to "Leicestershire" at the county council's request.

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 1997, when Rutland and the City of Leicester became unitary authorities. Rutland became a distinct Ceremonial County once again, although it continues to be policed by Leicestershire Constabulary.

The symbol of the county council, of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club and of Leicester City FC is a fox. Tradition regards Leicestershire as the birthplace of fox hunting as it is known today. Hugo Meynell (1735-1808), who lived in Quorn, has a reputation as the "father of modern fox-hunting". Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough have associations with fox hunting, as has neighbouring Rutland.