LEICESTER IN ITS REGIONAL SETTING 13 
Bastard and Viccars have added to his gift. Nor can we refrain from 
regretting that an open area adjacent to the beautiful Swithland Woods 
should be spoiled by the unsightly erection of hutments for week-end 
visitors. 
To conclude our brief account of the Leicester Region we have yet to 
describe Leicester itself in the Soar Valley. The river has cut out a wide 
flat flood plain which varies in width up to a mile. For a distance of 
about 12 miles the right bank of this flood plain is formed by a minor 
escarpment caused by the river cutting into the Rhatic limestones of the 
lower Lias.2 At Barrow-on-Soar, about 6 miles north of the city, the 
presence of a lime works indicates the utilisation of the stone to make an 
excellent hydraulic cement from which drainpipes and artificial paving 
stones are made. This cement hardens readily under water and is 
therefore of great value for coastal and harbour work. The beds are of 
especial interest to the geologist, since in them have been found many 
fossil reptiles of the Jurassic period. 
The original site of Leicester was a gravel terrace on the east side of 
the river Soar. This dry terrace was the chief town or camp of a Celtic 
tribe. It was occupied by the Romans who carried through it the Foss 
Way on its way from High Cross to Lincoln. Above and below this 
point the river valley was marshy. ‘The gravel terrace coming close to 
the water’s edge doubtless formed a convenient crossing point for the 
Foss Way, and an equally convenient terminal point for the Via Devana, 
which, starting from Colchester, ran by way of Godmanchester and 
Medbourne to Ratz Coritanorum, as the Romans called Leicester. The 
many Roman remains found in and about Leicester indicate something of 
the importance of Leicester at the end of this line of route to the Romans. 
With the departure of the Romans in the fifth century, the land approach 
from the south-east was replaced by the water approach from the north, 
along which came first the Angles and later the Danes. Both Angles and 
Danes have left traces of their occupation of the region in the numerous 
place-names terminating in ‘ ton,’ ‘ ham,’ and ‘ by.’ This latter termina- 
tion, of Danish origin, is very common along the rivers Soar and Wreake, 
then navigable streams, as at Sileby, Rearsby, Frisby, Asfordby, and 
Kirby. 
The modern city has spread far beyond the limits of its original site on 
the gravel terrace by the river. Its chief expansion has been eastward 
up the face of the Rhetic escarpment and on to the plateau top beyond. 
On the plateau top is a fine open space, the Victoria Park, at the south-west 
edge of which, overlooking the city, are the buildings of the University 
College. One of the best residential areas in the city now extends along 
this high ground for a distance of about 24 miles south-eastward to Oadby. 
This high ground carries the main road to London and forms a clearly 
marked plateau-like ridge running north-west and south-east. It is 
bounded to the north-east by the sharply cut valley of the Willow brook, 
2 This escarpment is greatly obscured in places by boulder clay. 
3 Although this lime works is still in operation, the local quarries supplying the 
raw material have been abandoned, owing to the increasing thickness of the clay 
overburden. 
