| The first is that the name is derived
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| | corporation and Leicester could from then
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| from a Celtic one, Coriletav. This theory
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| | on elect its own Mayor to run the town.
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| is supported by the name the Romans are
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| | By 1500 the population had doubled to
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| known to have given the settlement, Ratae
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| | 3000 and it continued to rise despite the
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| Corieltauvorum. The other theory is that
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| | frequent outbreaks of plague which could
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| a mythical British King, Leir, founded
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| | decimate the population of a town. In
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| the settlement of Kaerleir around the
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| | 1619 the town was granted a coat of arms.
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| same time as the Celts were supposedly in
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| | During the English Civil War Leicester
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| the area. King Leir, is supposed to be
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| | declared itself for the Parliamentarians
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| buried under the River Soar!
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| | and was laid to siege by the Royalists in
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| What we do know for sure is that around
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| | 1645 who, after breaching the town wall,
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| in 47 or 48 AD the Romans built a fort
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| | again killed many of the inhabitants. At
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| there and then by about 50AD a city had
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| | the beginning of the 18th Century the
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| grown up around it. Ratae Corieltauvorum
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| | population had again doubled to about
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| was important to the Romans as it was one
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| | 6000 and the birth of the industrial
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| of the key staging posts on a major Roman
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| | revolution saw both the population and
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| road, the Fosse Way, which linked what
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| | prosperity of Leicester flourish. By the
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| are now Exeter and Lincoln. Rapidly
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| | end of the 18th Century the opening of
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| becoming a market town for local people
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| | the Soar canal in 1794 quite literally
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| and their produce, the settlement thrived
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| | fuelled the boom in industry, by
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| on the trade that the Romans brought to
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| | providing cheap and quick methods of
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| the area. When the Romans left, moving
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| | transporting coal and iron into
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| North to conquer more of England, the
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| | Leicester.
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| settlement was well enough established to
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| | The first national census of 1801 gives
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| continue to prosper. The main feature
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| | the population of Leicester as 17,000.
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| still visible in Leicester of the Roman
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| | The town expanded rapidly and places that
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| occupation is the Jewry Wall and its Bath
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| | were once rural farms became subsumed in
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| House.
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| | the city as boroughs. The Victorian era
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| As with most of England, little is known
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| | is accepted as being an age of
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| of the history of Leicester during the
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| | enlightenment in terms of science and
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| Dark Ages following the departure of the
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| | engineering. In 1832 Leicester got its
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| Romans. The next significant event was in
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| | first railway line and in 1857 got a line
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| 680 when Leicester is known to have been
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| | connecting it with London. Leicester got
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| given a Bishop; life in Leicester at this
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| | its first Public library in 1871, ten
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| time seems to have been a good one with
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| | years later its first telephone exchange
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| the settlement continuing to prosper.
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| | and in 1894 its first electric street
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| Artefacts have been found showing that
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| | lights. By the time of the 1901 census
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| Leicester, alongside its farming
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| | the population had grown to a staggering
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| community, had cloth weavers, potters,
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| | 210,000 with boot and hosiery
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| blacksmiths and carpenters. The ninth
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| | manufacturing being the main source of
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| century saw a down-turn in fortunes when
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| | employment. Civic pride must have been at
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| the settlement fell to the Danish Viking
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| | an all time high during the Edwardian
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| invaders. The Bishop ran away which, for
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| | period when in 1919 Leicester was made a
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| some canonical reason, left Leicester
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| | city by Royal Charter; in 1926 it
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| without a Bishop until the twentieth
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| | regained its Bishop and a Cathedral and
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| century.
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| | in 1928 had its first Lord Mayor. A
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| The Norman Conquest sees Leicester
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| | period of light engineering expansion
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| mentioned in the Doomsday book as
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| | took place when the Imperial Typewriter
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| Ledcestre. This name is thought to have
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| | Company set up premises in the city and
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| been derived from Ligeraceaster; a
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| | between 1908 and 1950 the number of
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| combination of Castra - Camp and Ligore -
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| | people employed in Light engineering in
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| Legro, an early name of the River Soar.
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| | the city more than doubled from 6,000 to
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| In medieval times Leicester was a city of
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| | 13,500.
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| some importance. With a population of
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| | Leicester escaped any heavy bombing
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| some 1500 the Normans deemed it important
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| | during the Second World War but a
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| enough to build a wooden fort, which in
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| | slum-clearance programme was instigated
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| the 12th century was re-built with stone.
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| | in 1945 to rid the city of much of the
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| As was custom in those days Leicester was
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| | old housing built in the boom years of
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| ruled by an Earl. Unfortunately, in 1173
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| | the previous century. At this time there
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| Robert - Earl of Leicester - rebelled
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| | were influxes of Jewish, Latvian and
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| against the King (Henry II), causing the
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| | Polish refugees into the city. These were
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| citizens much suffering, indeed such was
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| | followed in the 1950s by West Indian
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| the King's wrath with Robert that many
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| | immigrants and then in the 1960s the
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| were killed. It was during the Middle
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| | population was swelled by the arrival of
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| Ages that Leicester became well known for
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| | Asian immigrants. The last major influxes
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| the quality of the wool cloth it produced
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| | of immigrants were mainly Indians who had
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| and the hosiery it made from the wool. At
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| | been forced to leave Uganda in the early
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| this time leather was also an important
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| | 1970s. Recently there has been a small
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| industry in Leicester, giving rise to its
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| | community of Somali refugees arriving in
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| association with shoes and footwear.
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| | the city, apparently drawn by its free
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| In 1464 trade was so strong that the
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| | and easy attitude and the number of
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| cities merchants managed to form a
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| | Mosques within its boundaries.
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