LEICESTERSHIRE, England, north mid land county, bounded by Derby on the north west, Nottingham on the north, Lincoln and Rutland on the east, Northhampton on the southeast and Warwick on the southwest, where it likewise touches Staffordshire. The area of the county is 819 square miles. The surface is undulating, the hills of the Churn wood Forest in the northwest forming the est ground, Barden Hill having 912 feet eleva tion. The county drains chiefly to the Trent through the Soar, Anker, Devon and Mease but the south of the county drains to the The climate is mild and rainfall moderate; the soil of a loamy quality, of which nine-tenths is under cultivation. Dairying is an important industry and the famous Stilton cheese is manufactured near Melton Mowbray. It is a famous fox-hunting county, Leicester and Mel ton Mowbray being the principal centres, the noted kennels of the Quorn Hunt arc at Quorndon, near Mount Sorrel. Coal mining is carried on extensively and there arc quar ries of limestone, freestone, blue slate and granite. The Leicester sheep are famous for their tine fleeces, the wodl being largely used in local manufactories of wool hosiery. The
district was penetrated by the Anglians in the 6th century and Leicester fell to them about 556. It formed the kingdom of the Middle Angles in the kingdom of Mercia in 679, and in the 9th century was conquered by the Danes The earliest inhabitants were the Celtic Cori tani, who were conquered in turn by the Ro mans, Anglians, Danes and Normans. The Domesday Survey of 1086 reveals the land holders of the district to he chiefly Norman Leicester was a Lancastrian stronghold dur ing the Wars of the Roses and was the scene of the battle of Bosworth in 1485. In the Civil War of the 17th century Leicesteshire favored Parliament in the main. Lady Jane Grey was born at Bradgate, near Leicester. The woolen industry was important as early as Norman limes and Leicestershire wool commanded a higher price than any in England in 1343. The manufacture of hosiery was inaugurated in the 17th century and continues of prime import ance. Pop. 432,019.