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Leicestershire (. 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 . The border with Warwickshire is Watling Street (the A5 ). County Hall, situated in Glenfield , about 3 Mile s (5 Km ) 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 278 m/912 ft, which is also a Marilyn . As part of a 2002 Marketing Campaign , the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose the Foxglove as the County Flower . HISTORY See Also: History of Leicestershire Leicestershire was recorded in the , Framland , Goscote and Gartree . These later became Hundred s, with the division of Goscote into West Goscote and East Goscote , and the addition of Sparkenhoe hundred. In 1087, the first recorded use of the name was as ''Laegrecastrescir''. 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. 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. The symbol of the county council, and Leicester City FC , is the Fox . Leicestershire is considered to be the birthplace of Fox Hunting as it is known today. Hugo Meynell , who lived in Quorn , is known as the father of fox hunting. Melton Mowbray and Market Harborough have associations with fox hunting, as has neighbouring Rutland. DEMOGRAPHICS The population of Leicestershire (excluding the city of Leicester) is 609,579 ( 2001 ). The county covers an area of 2,084 km&2 (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 . ECONOMY Engineering Engineering has long been an important part of the economy of Leicestershire. is built on one of three coal mines that operated in Coalville from the 1820's until 1986. Abbey Pumping Station houses four enormous steam powered beam engines built in Leicester in the 1890's in the Vulcan factory owned by Josiah Gimson, whose son Ernest Gimson was an influential furniture designer and architect of the English Arts And Crafts Movement . Engineering companies today include , and Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome and proving ground. Farming Leicestershire has a long history of sheep farming which continues today. Robert Bakewell (farmer) (1725 - 1795) was a revolutionary in the field of selective breeding, and his Leicester Longwool sheep was much prized by American colonial farmers and is today a heritage breed admired all over the world. In 2006 in Leicestershire and Rutland there were 6,450 people working as farmers, managers and farm labourers on 2,719 farms with 192,181 acres of farmed land. The animal population was 122,284 cattle, 57,059 pigs and 314,214 sheep Source DEFRA . The Leicestershire County Show is held on the first Bank Holiday in May each year and includes animal showings, trade exhibitions, and show jumping. Melton Mowbray Market is an important regional livestock market. Field Sports remain an important part of the rural economy of Leicestershire, with stables, kennels, and gunsmiths based in the county. Thatched roofs are built and maintained by members of Rutland & Leicestershire Master Thatchers Association. Food and drink Stilton (cheese) , Red Leicester cheese, and the Pork Pie are three of Leicestershire's most famous contributions to English Cuisine . Leicestershire food producers include Claybrooke mill one of the very few commercially working watermills left in Britain producing a range of over 40 flours, meat from rare and minority breeds from Brockleby's, Christmas turkey and goose from Seldom Seen Farm, and the only manufacturer of Red Leicester cheese based in the county the Leicestershire Handmade Cheese Company. All natural non-alcoholic fruit cordials and presse drinks are made by Belvoir Fruit Farms and sold in supermarkets across Britain. Swithland Spring Water is sourced from the Charnwood hills. Breweries in Leicestershire and Rutland are listed on the Leicester CAMRA website. The county's largest beer brewer is Everards , and there are several microbreweries such as Brewsters, Belvoir, Parish, Grainstore, Hathern and Langton. Vineyards in Leicestershire include Chevelswarde Vineyard ( Lutterworth ), Welland Valley Vineyard ( Market Harborough ), and Eglantine ( Loughborough ). Melton Mowbray Sloe Gin is a liqueur with a distinctive flavour. Markets are held across the county, a list of some of the larger markets is here . A list of FARMA certified Farmers Markets in Leicestershire is here . A list of smaller country markets, supported by members of the Women's Institute, is here . Leicester Market is the largest outdoor covered marketplace in Europe and among the products on sale are fruit and vegetables sold by enthusiastic market stallholders who shout out their prices, and fresh fish and meat in the Indoor Market. The annual East Midlands Food & Drink Festival held in Melton Mowbray had over 200 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors attending in 2006 making it the largest British regional food festival. Food processing in the city and county includes popular British fish and chip shop pie Pukka Pies who are based in Syston. Walkers crisps are made in Thurmaston using potatoes from nearby Lincolnshire, and United Biscuits have their distribution centre in Ashby-de-la-Zouch . The Masterfoods UK factory at Melton Mowbray produces petfood for brands such as Cesar, Kitekat , PAL, Pedigree, Sheba , Whiskas , Aquarian and Trill. Samworth Brothers is a privately owned company with operations in Leicestershire and Cornwall, making a range of products from sandwiches to desserts for UK retailers under their brands as well the company's own portfolio of brands including Dickinson & Morris, producers of Pork Pie s and Melton Hunt Cake. Hand made chocolates are produced by Chocolate Perfection in Ashby-de-la-Zouch . Some 15 major Indian food manufacturers are based in Leicester including Mayur Foods, Cofresh Snack Foods Ltd, Farsan, Apni Roti, and Spice n Tice. The 'Mithai' Indian sweet market is catered for by award winning Indian restaurants - for instance the vegetable samosas approved by the Vegetarian Society sold at The Sharmilee on Belgrave Road. The growing market for Indian food has afforded new opportunities to long standing local companies, for example the Long Clawson dairy, a co-operative manufacturer of Stilton (cheese) now also makes Paneer cheese used in the Indian dish Mattar Paneer . Leicestershire food links , set up by the Soil Association and Leicestershire County Council , provides information for and about Leicestershire farmers and food producers. It is currently running projects aimed at publicising farmers markets, using local food in schools, and improving distribution. Leicestershire food sold abroad includes cheese from the Long Clawson dairy which is sold in supermarkets in Canada and the United States via a network of distributors coordinated by Taunton based company Somerdale. Belvoir Fruit Farms cordials are sold on the United States east coast in Wegmans Food Markets , and in specialized British food stores such as Myers of Keswick (New York City), and the British Pantry (near Washington, D.C.). Leicestershire County Council publishes a quarterly food and drink newsletter . The Leicester Mercury publishes a weekly food page titled Taste of Leicestershire . The annual Leicestershire & Rutland Restaurant Awards has several categories including Leicestershire & Rutland Restaurant of the Year, Best Asian Restaurant, Best Service, Best Newcomer, Best Fine Dining Restaurant, Best Value for Money, Best Drinks/Wine List, Best Local Produce Menu, Best Gastro Pub, Best Neighbourhood Restaurant, Best Business Lunch, and Leicestershire & Rutland Young Chef of the Year. Clothing Leicester and Leicestershire has had a traditional industry of which ended in 2004. Cheaper global competition, coupled with the 1999 slump in the UK fashion retail sector, led to the end of much of the cheaper clothing manufacturing industry. Today Leicestershire companies focus on high quality clothing and specialty textiles, such as the socks and knitwear made by Pantherella and Commando Knitwear, technical textiles for industrial or medical purposes, and clothing and fabric for the British Asian community - for example Saree Mandir sells silk Saree 's and salwar suits for women whose design patterns closely follow contemporary Indian trends. Also the creative side is in very good shape, with the design centre for Next (clothing) in Enderby, and the design centre for George Clothing (Asda/Walmart) in Lutterworth. De Montfort University has, in the form of its Fashion and Contour Design course a leading design department for female underwear. It also has the only UK University courses in Footwear Design providing future designers for local shoemakers Shoefayre, Stead and Simpson, and Shoe Zone , who all have their headquarters in the county. Healthcare University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust employs 12,000 in the city and county. Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust employs 3,300 staff in healthcare services in the county. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust employs 3,000 staff providing mental health and learning disability services in the city and county. Biomedical industries Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical instrument manufacturing companies include AstraZeneca pharmaceuticals, 3M , Bridgehead International in Melton, Fisher Scientific in Loughborough, and Ashfield Healthcare in Ashby de-la-Zouch. Freight and distribution Transportation links are good. East Midlands Airport is one mile south of Castle Donington , next to the M1 in North West Leicestershire, and is the second largest freight airport in the United Kingdom after London Heathrow. DHL Aviation have a large purpose built facility at EMA, and courier companies UPS and TNT also use the airport as a base. Lufthansa Cargo is also a regular user of East Midlands, and the airport is a primary hub for Royal Mail . The M1 is Leicestershire's other important transport hub. The start of the M6 , and part of the A14 briefly intersect with the southern tip of Leicestershire. Many large retail companies have huge warehouses at the Magna Park complex near Lutterworth including ASDA, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Argos, ECF, Sara Lee, Unipart, DHL, Britvic Soft Drinks, LIDL, Merck, BT, Exel, P&O, The Disney Store, Panasonic, Kingfield Heath, Costco, Computer 2000, and TNT. Pall-Ex of Ellistown provide automated palletised freight distribution services from their location off Junction 22 of the M1. The Midland Main Line provides important connections to Yorkshire and London, and the Birmingham - Stansted Line is essentially Leicestershire's east-west connection from Hinckley to Melton. Other Ibstock based developer Wilson Bowden was bought in 2007 by Barratt Developments plc in a GBP2.2 billion deal. Charles Street Buildings (Leicester) and Jelson Homes are two other successful Leicester based property companies. Syston based Dunelm Mill is a growing home furnishings retailer. The company started in 1979 as a family business selling curtains from a Leicester market stall whose first store opened in Churchgate Leicester in 1984. In 2006 Dunelm opened its 80th store, and the company floated on the stock market, placing the company's founders the Adderley family among Britain's most successful entrepreneurs. Hamilton based LPC Group manufactures more than 600 million toilet rolls and kitchen towel rolls per year in its Leicestershire factories. Oadby based Invicta Plastics manufacture the red noses used for Comic Relief 's Red Nose Day campaign. Much loved toy car company Corgi Classics Limited is based at the Meridian Business Park. Hairdresser Barrie Hedley operates three Barrie Stephen salons in the city and county, and has been a finalist in the British hairdressing awards 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007 Hedley won the Entrepreneur of the year at the Leicestershire Business Awards. Lumbers, of Market Street Leicester, was a finalist in the Independent Retailer category of the UK Jewellery Awards 2007. Ulverscroft Large Print Books, of Anstey, Leicestershire , are a leading publisher of books for the visually impaired. Financial and business services Financial and business service companies with operations in Leicestershire include Alliance & Leicester , Royal Bank Of Scotland , State Bank Of India , HSBC , and PriceWaterhouseCoopers . Companies that have their head office based in the area include Next (clothing) , and British Gas Business. Invest Leicesteshire provides information to businesses looking to relocate to the city or county, or to established local companies wanting to develop. Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce is another good source for business advice. Business awards The Leicestershire Business Awards has categories including Investing in Leicestershire, Contribution to the Community, and Entrepreneur of the Year. Recent Leicestershire winners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise are listed on the Lord Lieutenant's website . Statistics This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Leicestershire and Rutland (it does not include the City Of Leicester ) at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. EDUCATION Publicly funded secondary schools in Leicestershire are comprehensive. The schools are segregated by age in some areas to ages 10-14 ( Middle School s), and 14 to 16 or 18 ( Upper School s). The schools, compared to other LEA s, have large numbers on the roll with school enrollment often 2000 and more. For Melton and Blaby districts, although there is division by middle and upper schools, there is only one school for that whole district (for one particular age group); there is no choice of school. Charnwood has the largest school population - four times the size of the Melton district. Private schools in Leicestershire include Leicester Grammar School (mixed), Leicester High School For Girls (girls), Loughborough Grammar School (boys), Loughborough High School (girls), Fairfield Preparatory School (primary school - mixed), Welbeck College (military 6th form college - mixed), Ratcliffe College (Roman Catholic - mixed), Grace Dieu Manor School (Roman Catholic - mixed), Stoneygate school (primary school - mixed), and Leicester Montessori School (mixed). Leicestershire has three universities, Leicester University , De Montfort University , and Loughborough University . TOWNS AND VILLAGES ''See the List Of Places In Leicestershire .'' PLACES OF INTEREST today.]] and the War Memorial at Bradgate Park ]] ]] Top Deck Tours is a tour bus service linking many of the major tourist sites in the county.
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