1.
Leicestershire
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Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. The border with most of Warwickshire is Watling Street, the county has a population of just under 1 million with over half the population living in Leicesters built-up area. Leicestershire was recorded in the Domesday Book in four wapentakes, Guthlaxton, Framland, Goscote and these later became hundreds, 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, Leicestershires external boundaries have changed little since the Domesday Survey. These actions were reversed on 1 April 1997, when Rutland, Rutland became a distinct Ceremonial County once again, although it continues to be policed by Leicestershire Constabulary. The symbol of the county council, Leicestershire County Cricket Club, 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. A large part of the north-west of the county, around Coalville, the highest point of the county is Bardon Hill at 278 metres, which is also a Marilyn. The lowest point is about 24. 8m, north of Bottesford where the River Devon leaves Leicestershire, the population of Leicestershire is 609,578 people. The county covers an area of 2,084 km2 and its largest population centre is the city of Leicester, followed by the town of Loughborough. Other large towns include Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coalville, Hinckley, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Oadby, Wigston, some of the larger of villages are, Burbage Birstall, Broughton Astley, Castle Donington, Kibworth Beauchamp, Great Glen, Ibstock, Countesthorpe and Kegworth. One of the most rapidly expanding villages is Anstey, which has seen a large number of development schemes. The United Kingdom Census 2001 showed a resident population for Leicester of 279,921. Approximately 62,000 were aged under 16,199,000 were aged 16–74,76. 9% of Leicesters population claim they have been born in the UK, according to the 2001 UK Census. Mid-year estimates for 2006 indicate that the population of the City of Leicester stood at 289,700 making Leicester the most populous city in East Midlands, the population density is 3, 814/km2 and for every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. Of those aged 16–74 in Leicester,38. 5% had no academic qualifications,23. 0% of Leicesters residents were born outside of the United Kingdom, more than double than the English average of 9. 2%. Engineering has long been an important part of the economy of Leicestershire, John Taylor Bellfounders continues a history of bellfounding in Loughborough since the 14th century. In 1881 John Taylors cast the largest bell in Britain, Great Paul, snibston Discovery Park is built on one of three coal mines that operated in Coalville from the 1820s until 1986
2.
East Midlands
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The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. The eastern part of the Midlands, it consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, the region has an area of 15,627 km2, and was home to over 4.5 million people in 2011. The regions relative proximity to London and its connectivity on the national motorway and it is also the location of East Midlands Airport in north Leicestershire. The high point at 636 m is Kinder Scout, in the Peak District of the southern Pennines in northwest Derbyshire near Glossop. Other upland, hilly areas of 95 to 280 m in altitude, together with lakes and reservoirs, rise in and around the Charnwood Forest north of Leicester, and in the Lincolnshire Wolds. The regions major rivers, the Nene, the Soar, the Trent and the Welland, flow in a direction towards the Humber. The Derwent, conversely, rises in the High Peak before flowing south to join the Trent some 2 miles before its conflux with the Soar, the centre of the East Midlands area lies roughly between Bingham, Nottinghamshire and Bottesford, Leicestershire. The geographical centre of England lies in Higham on the Hill in west Leicestershire, some 88% of the land is rural in character, although agriculture accounts for less than three per cent of the regions jobs. Lincolnshire is the only county of the six, with a true North Sea coastline of about 30 miles due to the protection afforded by Spurn Head. Church Flatts Farm in Coton in the Elms, South Derbyshire, is the furthest place from the sea in the UK, in April 1936 the first Ordnance Survey trig point was sited at Cold Ashby in Northamptonshire. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts and The Wildlife Trusts are based next to the River Trent, the National Centre for Earth Observation is at the University of Leicester. The region is home to large quantities of limestone, and the East Midlands Oil Province, Charnwood Forest is noted for its abundant levels of volcanic rock, estimated to be approximately 600 million years old. 25% of the UKs cement is manufactured in the region at three sites in Hope and Tunstead in Derbyshire, and in Ketton Cement Works in Rutland. Of the aggregates that are produced in the region, 25% is from Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire each produce around 30% of the regions sand and gravel output. Barwell in Leicestershire had Britains largest meteorite on 24 December 1965, the 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake was 5.2 magnitude. Rockingham Forest was designated as a hunting forest by William the Conqueror. The National Forest is a project in central England run by The National Forest Company. It stretches from the outskirts of Leicester in the east to Burton upon Trent in the west
3.
Melton Mowbray
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Melton Mowbray is a town in Leicestershire, England,19 miles northeast of Leicester, and 20 miles southeast of Nottingham. The town is on the River Eye and the River Wreake and has a population of 25,554, the town is best known for its culinary speciality, the Melton Mowbray pork pie, and it is also one of the six homes of Stilton cheese. Melton Mowbray is promoted as the Rural Capital of Food, the name comes from the early English word Medeltone – meaning Middletown surrounded by small hamlets. Mowbray is a Norman family name – the name of early Lords of the Manor – namely Robert de Mowbray, there is industrial archaeology including the Grantham Canal and the remains of the Melton Mowbray Navigation. Windmill sites, ironstone working and smelting archaeological evidence suggest that Melton borough was densely populated in Bronze, many small village communities existed and strategic points at Burrough Hill and Belvoir were fortified. There is also evidence to suggest that the site of Melton Mowbray in the Wreake Valley was inhabited before Roman occupation. Other Roman track ways in the locality passed north of Melton along the top of the vale of Belvoir scarp, they linked Market Harborough to Belvoir, evidence of settlement throughout Anglo-Saxon and Danelaw period is reflected in many place names. Along the Wreake Valley, the Danish suffix -by is common, in addition, a cemetery of 50–60 graves, of Pagan Anglo-Saxon origin, was found in Melton Mowbray. All the original crosses were removed or destroyed during the reformation, the effects of the Norman conquest are recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. The water mills, still in use up to the 18th century, are remembered by the present names of Beckmill Court, Melton Mowbray has been a market town for over 1,000 years. Recorded as Leicestershires only market in the 1086 Domesday Survey, it is the third oldest market in England, tuesday has been market day ever since royal approval was given in 1324. The market was established with tolls before 1077, legacies from the Medieval period include consolidation of village and market town patterns, in Melton Mowbray, Bottesford, Wymondham, and Waltham-on-the-Wolds. The latter had a market in times that continued until 1921. Many buildings in Melton Market Place, Nottingham Street, Church Lane, King Street, alterations to number 16 Church Street revealed a medieval circular stone wall subjected to considerable heat. This is probably the Manor Oven mentioned in 13th century documents, surveys of 5 King Street show it to be part of an early medieval open-halled house. It may be part of the castle or fortified Manor of the Mowbrays, King Richard I and King John visited the town and may have stayed at an earlier castle. In 1549 following the Dissolution of the chantries, monasteries and religious guilds, church plate was sold, resulting rents were used to maintain Melton School, first recorded in 1347 and one of the oldest educational establishments in Britain. Funds were also used to maintain roads, bridges and to repair the church clock, Anne of Cleves house, now a Public House, is a Grade II* listed building
4.
Conservative Party (UK)
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The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently the party, having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. The partys leader, Theresa May, is serving as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in government with 8,702 councillors. The Conservative Party is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, the other being its modern rival. The Conservative Partys platform involves support for market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defence, deregulation. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives main rivals, Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Thatchers tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation, the Conservative Partys domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs, the party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Europarty and the International Democrat Union. The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly, the party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Conservative Party traces its origins to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party and they were known as Independent Whigs, Friends of Mr Pitt, or Pittites. After Pitts death the term Tory came into use and this was an allusion to the Tories, a political grouping that had existed from 1678, but which had no organisational continuity with the Pittite party. From about 1812 on the name Tory was commonly used for the newer party, the term Conservative was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was adopted under the aegis of Sir Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto, the term Conservative Party rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party, in Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged anti-Home Rule Unionists into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. The Conservatives served with the Liberals in an all-party coalition government during World War I, keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses
5.
Alan Duncan
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Sir Alan James Carter Duncan, KCMG is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, between 2010 and 2014 he was the Minister of State for International Development. Duncan began his career in the oil industry with Royal Dutch Shell, after several minor positions in the government of John Major, he played a key role in William Hagues successful bid for the Conservative leadership in 1997. He was removed from the Cabinet and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael, a return to front-line politics was signalled when his appointment as a minister of state at the Foreign Office was announced on 17 July 2016. He was the first openly gay Conservative Member of Parliament, having come out in 2002. Duncan was born in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, the son of J. G. Duncan OBE, an RAF wing commander, and his wife Anne Duncan, the family travelled much, following Alans father on NATO postings, including in Gibraltar, Italy, and Norway. Duncan was educated at two independent schools, Beechwood Park School in Markyate, and Merchant Taylors School in Northwood, whilst coming from a Liberal family, and running as a Liberal at a school mock election in 1970, Duncan joined the Young Conservatives in 1972. Duncan had two brothers, who also attended Beechwood Park School, Duncan then attended St Johns College at the University of Oxford, where he coxed the college first eight, and was elected President of the Oxford Union in 1979. Whilst there, he formed a friendship with Benazir Bhutto, and he gained a Kennedy Scholarship to study at Harvard University between 1981 and 1982. After graduating from Oxford, he worked as a trader of oil and refined products, first with Royal Dutch Shell, Duncan worked for Rich in London and Singapore. From 1988 to 1992, Duncan used the connections he had built up to be self-employed, acting as a consultant and adviser to governments on oil supplies. In 1989, Duncan set up the independent Harcourt Consultants, which advises on oil and he made over a £1 million after helping fill the need to supply oil to Pakistan after Kuwaits supplies had been disrupted in the Gulf War. Duncan was an member of the Battersea Conservative Association from 1979 until 1984. After Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned in November 1990, he offered his home in Westminster as the headquarters of John Majors leadership campaign, Duncan first stood for Parliament as a Conservative candidate in the 1987 general election, unsuccessfully contesting the safe Labour seat of Barnsley West and Penistone. For the 1992 general election he was selected as the Conservative candidate for Rutland and Melton, a safe Conservative seat, which he retained with a 59% share of the votes cast. In the Labour landslide of 1997, his proportion of the vote was reduced to 46% but has increased to 48% in 2001, 51% in 2005. From 1993 to 1995, Duncan was a member of the Social Security Select Committee and his first governmental position was as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Health, a position he obtained in December 1993. He resigned from the position within a month after it emerged that he had used the programme to make profits on property deals
6.
Stilton cheese
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Stilton is an English cheese, produced in two varieties, Blue, known for its characteristic strong smell and taste, and the lesser-known White. Thus cheese made in the village of Stilton in Cambridgeshire cannot be so called, traditional legend has it that in 1730, Thornhill discovered a distinctive blue cheese while visiting a small farm near Melton Mowbray in rural Leicestershire – possibly in Wymondham. He fell in love with the cheese and made an arrangement that granted the Bell Inn exclusive marketing rights to Blue Stilton. Soon thereafter, wagon loads of cheese were being delivered to the inn, since the main stagecoach routes from London to Northern England passed through the village of Stilton he was able to promote the sale of this cheese and the fame of Stilton rapidly spread. However, the first known reference to Stilton cheese actually pre-dates this and was in William Stukeleys Itinerarium Curiosum, Letter V. The recipe for a Stilton cheese was published by Richard Bradley, first Professor of Botany at Cambridge University in his 1726 book A General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening. Bradley records a letter from a correspondent, John Warner, which states the cheese is made in Stilton, Blue Stiltons distinctive blue veins are created by piercing the crust of the cheese with stainless steel needles, allowing air into the core. The manufacturing and ripening process takes approximately nine to twelve weeks, for cheese to use the name Stilton, it must be made in one of the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, and must use pasteurised local milk. The manufacturers of Stilton cheese in these counties applied for and received Protected Geographical Status in 1996, as of September 2016 just six dairies are licensed to make Stilton, each being subject to regular audit by an independent inspection agency accredited to European Standard EN45011. Four of the dairies are based in the Vale of Belvoir. Another Leicestershire dairy was located in the grounds of Quenby Hall near the village of Hungarton, Quenby Hall restarted Stilton production in a new dairy in August 2005 but the business folded in 2011. Two former employees set up the Hartington Creamery at Pikehall in Hartington parish which was licensed in 2014, Stilton cheese cannot be produced in the village that gave the cheese its name. Stilton village is not in the three permitted counties, it is in the county of Cambridgeshire, and in the historic county of Huntingdonshire. The Original Cheese Company applied to Defra to amend the Stilton PDO to include the village, to be called Blue Stilton, a cheese must, Be made only in the three counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire from local milk, which is pasteurised before use. Form its own crust or coat, contain delicate blue veins radiating from the centre. Have a taste profile typical of Stilton, minimum 48% milk fat in the dry matter Stilton has a typical fat content of approximately 35%, and protein content of approximately 23%. A number of cheeses are made in a similar way to Blue Stilton. These cheeses get their blue veins and distinct flavour from the use of one or more saprotrophic fungi such as Penicillium roqueforti and Penicillium glaucum
7.
Ab Kettleby
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It is situated 3 miles southeast of the border with Nottinghamshire. The village is situated 460 feet above sea level, the neighbouring hamlets of Wartnaby and Holwell form part of the civil parish of Ab Kettleby. A Roman mosaic and pavement were found beneath the present churchyard, Ab Kettleby was first recorded in the Domesday Book as Chetelbi. Ab Kettleby is of Danish origin, its meaning is Ketils homestead later differentiated from Eye Kettleby by Ab, the name Wartnaby is also of Danish origin, meaning Waerenoths homestead. The name Holwell however is of Old English origin meaning spring or stream in a hollow and this may refer to the spring at Holwell Mouth which is close to the Six Hills to Eastwell road. St. Jamess Church has a Norman font, and a memorial to Everard Digby one of the Gunpowder plotters, the remains of the villa, and a ditch running from north to south underneath the nave have caused serious structural problems for the church. The church closed in 2006 due to its problems and, following the raising of over £250,000 for repairs. The church was built in the 13th century but restored in 1852-3. St Michaels Church, Wartnaby was built in the 13th century and it has a double bellcote with a saddleback roof on the tower and medieval wall painting inside. Iron ore was obtained in all three parts of the parish, Holwell was the most important centre. Iron ore was first quarried to the north of Holwell on the side of the narrow part of Landyke Lane in 1875 and continued in various places to the north. From 1931 until 1943 iron ore was mined rather than quarried east of Browns Hill, the mine was a drift mine and the tunnel emerged from the north side of the hill in 1943. Quarrying was resumed at that point and continued until 1962, the last quarrying took place close to the road to Scalford Hall. Quarrying was done by hand with the help of explosives at first, the first quarrying machine was a petrol parrafin digger introduced in 1930. The first diesel digger arrived in 1943 and this branch transported the ore from Holwell as well as some of that from Eaton. The Holwell company built their own iron works close to the Holwell Branch which operated from 1881, the works was called Holwell Works because it was built by the Holwell Company but was actually at Asfordby Hill. The quarries and the mine fed the standard gauge line by means of narrow gauge tramways and these were at first worked by gravity or horses, but diesel locomotives were introduced in 1933. The tramways were replaced by lorries in 1948, part of the quarry area has been smoothed over
8.
Eaton, Leicestershire
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Eaton is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It is situated in the Vale of Belvoir and its current population is about 900 people, the population at the 2011 census was 648. Eaton has a church, a hall, a public house called The Castle, a childrens park. The civil parish includes nearby Eastwell, which is to the west of the village, the land surrounding Eaton has at least ten known springs and is the source of the River Devon. It is full of sandstone and in the past a large quarry was formed outside the village, the quarry has since become a woodland area. The land is full of iron ore and was a famous source of iron during the 1800s. The railway bridge under which the iron was transported is still in Eaton today, the church in Eaton is Saint Denys Church, which mostly dates back to the 13th century. Unusually the spire is built of ironstone, the public house in Eaton is The Castle, which serves food and is also a registered campsite. It is also one of the only pubs in England to have a village shop built on the side of it. Eaton also has a hall which was built in 1952. Like most ancient villages Eaton has a few local legends, probably the most famous is the phantom cat which stalks the surrounding countryside at night. There have been over 300 recorded sightings of the cat, said to be a black panther, over 2001 to 2002, people believe there must be more than one cat in the area and there have been sightings of dead herons and dead lambs found in trees. There are also plenty of hiding places for the cats as there are stretches of abandoned railway now covered in trees. The other local story is that of Ash Tree Operations, according to locals, back in the 17th century a band of vigilantes formed an organisation called Ash Tree Operations and built a huge underground hideout somewhere in the Eaton countryside. The entrance to this was an ash tree which gave the organisation its name. The reason this band was formed was that in the 17th century Eaton was a haunt for criminals from the surrounding villages and there were many murders. Eaton was considered too desolate for the police to get involved so ten local men formed Ash Tree Operations and became vigilantes, the incumbents reply to the Articles of Inquiry for the Ecclesiastical Revenues Commission in 1832. Robert Walker, the vicar, gives the population of Eaton as 350 and he was admitted in October 1814
9.
Freeby
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Freeby is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, about three miles east of Melton Mowbray. The parish has a population of about 300, the population at the 2011 census was measured at 244. As well as the village of Freeby the parish includes the villages of Saxby, Wyfordby, Brentingby, Isaac Watts would have preached at the Congregational Church. This did not become the United Reformed Church until early 1970s, the village was once a part of Melton Mowbray parish. At the time of Edward the Confessor it was known as Fretheby and it was referred to as Frieby as late as 1816. All the properties, except the United Reformed Church, still belong to the Freeby estate and it was granted as a manor to Hugh Despencer in the 13th century and is still a manor estate. The estate later passed to Lord de Ros, presumably at the demise of the Despensers, in 1568 the lord of the manor of Freeby was Edward, 3rd Earl of Rutland. Thirty years later the manor passed to Thomas Hartopp of that ancient family of Leicestershire, Sir John Hartopp, 3rd Baronet became M. P. for Leicestershire, employed the non-conformist Isaac Watts and left an endowment for the education of dissenting ministers. The estate was sold by Sir J. W. Cradock Hartopp, Bart. to Mr. Daniel Thwaites upon whose death in 1888 it passed to his daughter, Elma Amy. The estate was part of many owned by Mrs Yerburgh. Mrs. Yerburgh died in 1946 and from 1955 the estates and brewery were managed separately from adjacent offices at Eanam, the buildings in the village show a certain similarity of age and construction commensurate with estate management. This can be seen in window frames and doors, the use of ironstone, at the T junction to the west of the village, set upon a bank, is a terrace of six houses known as Sykes Row. The red brick and tiled roof construction with decorative window arches are striking, ivy House Farm, the Old Barn and Woodbine Cottage are opposite and as the road dips down into the village the church can be glimpsed behind the mature trees that border its north and west walls. As the visitor proceeds along the road such cottages as Primrose, Highfield and Laburnum Cottage grace the sides with their red brick and tile construction. Further along Manor Farm and Glen Farm, working farms, display wonderful building features such as working sash windows, the Manor Farmhouse is Grade 2 listed. Since 1994 Freeby has been under the protection of the Freeby Conservation Area which covers 3.38 hectares sand was designated by Melton Borough Council. The settlement is relatively unspoilt as a village, certainly worthy of preservation and its buildings. Most of the village, other than some farm buildings, are encompassed in the conservation area, the church dates from the 14th Century and is a grade one listed building mostly in the Early English style
10.
Frisby on the Wreake
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Frisby on the Wreake is a village located near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 557. The name of the village was coined by Danish invaders in the 9th or 10th centuries, the on the Wreake suffix was added later to distinguish the village from another Frisby, near Billesdon, about 8 mi to the south east. Wreake refers to the River Wreake, the name of the river has its origins in a Danish word referring to the meandering nature of the river. The oldest building in the village is the Anglican church, Saint Thomas of Canterbury, at the time of its foundation the main road from Leicester to Melton Mowbray passed through the village, entering from Hoby with Rotherby to the south and leaving by Kirby Bellars to the north. The village was bypassed to the east when the turnpike, now the primary route A607, was built in the 18th century, the new route passed a medieval cross that was perhaps a preaching place in early medieval times. This is still visible, though it is eroded and damaged. There is another medieval market cross in the village centre, Frisby Mill was situated on the River Wreake and was operating at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. The mill was rebuilt several times, though fell into disuse at the beginning of the 20th century, the channels to divert the river water to the mill may still be seen in the fields to the northwest of the village. Farming was organised on the field system. Each landowner was awarded a series of strips in the three different fields and this ensured everyone shared the best and worst land. The remains of the strips can still be seen, over a thousand years since they were first created, when the great fields were enclosed in the late 18th century, landowners were compensated by the award of blocks of land. The poorer owners often sold their holdings, which were very small. The existing farms in the fields were all created at this time. Originally the village lands were all worked from homes in the village itself, as in many other Leicestershire villages, the new, consolidated blocks of land were planted with hawthorn hedges, Thus, most hedges between the Frisby fields are not more than 250 years old. Those by the roadside and along the boundary are likely to be much older, as these were the lines that marked the medieval limits of the parish. In the 18th century the village enjoyed a period of notoriety when the local clergyman agreed to marry couples from some distance away. This was at a time when wedding ceremonies were closely controlled by the church and it is likely that many of the marriages of couples from elsewhere went against the agreement of close relatives
