LEICESTERSHIRE. 
LEICESTER, a townlhip of North America, in Ad- 
difon-county, Vermont, fituated on the eait fide of Ot¬ 
ter-creek, containing 52a inhabitants. 
LEICESTER, called by the Indian natives Towtuid , 
a coniiderable poll-town in Worcefter-county, Maffa- 
chufetts, containing 1103 inhabitants; fitoated upon the 
poll-road from Bollon to Hartford, New York, and Phi¬ 
ladelphia : fix miles well of Worcefter, and fifty-four wed 
by foil til of Bollon ; fettled in 1703, and incorporated in 
1720 or 1721. It has three meeting-houfes, for congre- 
gationaliits, anabaptills, and quakers ; and an academy, 
incorporated in 1784, and well endowed. Wool-cards 
are manufactured in this town. 
LEICESTERSHIRE, called in the Domefday furvey 
Ledeceflrefcire , is an inland county, fituated nearly in the 
middle of England, and environed by the counties of Rut¬ 
land and Lincoln to the ealt, Nottingham and Derby on 
the north, Stafford (hire and Warwicklhire to the welt, 
whilll part of the latter county and Northamptonlhire at¬ 
tach to the fouthern border. A part of the great Roman 
road, called Watling-llreet, appears to have formed a re¬ 
gular divifion between Leicelterfhire and Warwicklhire. 
The diltrift included within thefe boundaries was, at an 
early period, a part of the territory belonging to the Co- 
ritani. After the Romans had fnbjugated the Britons, and 
bad eftablifhed colonies in different parts of the illand, 
this county was included within the province o.f Flavia 
Csefarienfis, and had military llations eftablilhed at Ratae 
(Leiceller) ; Vernometum, on the northern border of the 
county; Benonae, near High-Crofs; and Mandueffedum, 
at Manceter. Thefe llations were connected by regular ar¬ 
tificial roads, ormilitary ways, known by the names of Wat- 
ling-Street, Foffe-Way, and Via Devana. After the Ro¬ 
mans had evacuated the illand, this dillriCt became part 
of the kingdom of Mercia ; and, when the fubdivifion of 
the Anglo-Saxon provinces into counties was eilablilhed, 
and bilhops’ lees eredted, the town of Leicefter was con- 
Ilituted the feat of the diocefan. The Mercian kingdom 
was divided into fouthern and northern ; and the inhabi¬ 
tants of Leicellerlhire were denominated Mediterrana, or 
Middle Angles. They were frequently haraffed by the 
invading Danes, who, entering the diftridt from the eallern 
coaft, laid the whole country under contribution between 
the German ocean and Leiceller; and, having conquered 
this place, eftablilhed themfelves here for feme length of 
time : indeed, Leicefter was confidered as one of their 
five chief cities in the illand. After the Norman invafion 
In 1066, Leicellerlhire experienced a complete revolution 
in its civil and manorial privileges; as the conqueror di¬ 
vided it among his relations and adherents. Two hun¬ 
dred and twenty-eight lordlhips, the chief parts of the 
country, were allotted and parcelled out to different Nor¬ 
man chiefs ; who again re-granted various allotments to 
their following dependants, to be held of them by knight’s 
fervice. The king, the archbilhop of York, and the bi- 
fheps of Lincoln and Conllance, were alfo poffeffed of 
landed property in the county ; and fome was annexed to 
the abbeys of Peterborough, Coventry, and Croyland. 
The Norman chiefs, in order to feeure their newly-ac¬ 
quired poffeffions, foon built, on their refpedtive eltates, 
lirong and magnificent caftles, which might at once fecure 
themfelves, and keep the conquered Englilh in awe. The 
feveral townlhips, in which fuch caftles are known to have 
been erefled, with the names of the founders, are Lei¬ 
celler, Mount Sorel, Whitwick, and Shilton, founded by 
the earls of Leicefter; Groby and Hinckley, by Hugo de 
Grentemaifnell; Donington,, by Euftace baron of Hal- 
ton ; Melton, by Roger lord Mowbray ; Ravenllon, by 
Goesfrid Hanfelin ; Sauvey, by lord Baffet of Weldon ; 
and Thorpe, by Ernald de Bois. Molt of thefe caftles, 
during the unquiet reigns of Henry II. John, and Henry 
III. being held by the rebellious barons, and rendered 
receptacles of thieves and freebooters, were, by com¬ 
mand of the latter king, utterly demolifhed ; and, though, 
fome of them were afterwards rebuilt, yet at this day 
459 
there is not one of them remaining entire, and even the 
ruins of moll of them are entirely defaced. The Norman 
chiefs, after fettling their poffelfions, and fortifying them- 
felves within their refpedtive domains, next directed their 
attention to the religious habits and prejudices of the times ; 
as to fecure the favour and influence of the monks, in an 
age when they were almoft omnipotent, or at lealt could 
command and intimidate the whole community, was a 
neceffary branch of military policy, which the provincial 
barons neither overlooked nor ncgledted. Accordingly,, 
part of their eftates were appropriated to the foundation 
of abbeys, priories, nunneries, and other monaltic ella- 
blilhments. In this county were founded four abbeys, at 
Croxton, Garendon, Leicefter, and Olvellon ; twelve pri¬ 
ories, at Belvoir, Bradley, Bredon, Charley, Hinckley,. 
Kirkby Beler, Laund ; at Leicefter were four, for Ere • 
mites, Black Friars, Gray Friars, and Auftin Friars ; and 
Ulvellon ; two nunneries at Gracedieu and Langley; two 
collegiate churches in Leicefter ; and various free chapels, 
hofpitals, preceptories, and chantries, in differents parts 
of the county. 
At the time of compiling that great national work, the 
Domefday furvey, Leicelter.fnire was divided into four 
wapentakes or hundreds; Framland, Guthlaxton, Gartre, . 
and Gofcote; and thus it continued till the 20th of Ed¬ 
ward III. when an additional hundred, Sparkenhoe, was 
taken out of Guthlaxton ; and afterwards Gofcote was 
divided into two, denominated, from their fituations, Ealfc 
and Weft Gofcote. In theie fix hundreds are 196 parilhes, . 
and 12 market-toums, viz. Leicefter, Alhby de la Z-ouch, 
Bofworth, Hallaton, Harborough, Lutterworth, Melton 
Mowbray, Mount Sorel, Billeldon, Hinckley, Loughbo¬ 
rough, and Waltham on the Wold. The whole county 
is within the ecclefialtical jurifdidtion of the lee of Lin¬ 
coln, and in the province of Canterbury ; under one arch¬ 
deacon, and fix deaneries. Mr. Nichols ftates, from the 
Domefday furvey, that the whole county, at the time that 
record was compiled, contained 34,000 inhabitants. The 
number returned to parliament, under the population adl 
of.the year 1810, was 155,100. The reprelentatives in 
parliament are but four: two for the county, and two for 
the borough of Leiceller. 
This county has not any rivers of importance; but thofe 
which pals through it are convenient and ornamental. 
The chief are the Soar, the Swift, the Welland, the Avon, „ 
the Wreke, and the Anchor. The Soar, anciently called 
Leire, which is the largell of thefe, rifes from two heads 
or lources in the fouth-iveftern part of the county, and, 
after receiving a fmall tributary Ilream near Whetftone, 
paffes by the welt and north fidesof the town of Leicefter. 
Leicelterlhire, being more an agricultural than a com¬ 
mercial diftridt, and deprived of any particular mines, has 
not equally participated with many other Englilh counties 
in canal navigation’. Some plans for this purpofe have 
been projected at different periods, and a few have been 
executed. In 1782, a bill was brought into parliament 
for making a navigable canal from Chilver’s Coton in 
Warwicklhire, to pafs through a great part of Leicelter- 
Ihire ; but, being oppofed by a variety of interefts, it failed 
of luccefs. In 1790, another bill was introduced for 
opening a canal communication between Loughborough 
and Leiceller; but it was thrown our on the fecond read¬ 
ing. In 1791, another application was made with better 
fuccefs ; and an adl was obtained for making the faid 
Communication : the Proprietors are Ityled in this aft “ the 
Company and Proprietors of the Leiceller Navigation.” 
In the fame year, another adl was obtained for making 
navigable the rivers Wreke and Eye; and, in 1793, a bill 
was palled for making the Oakham Canal, from a town 
of that name in Rutlandlhire, to Melton Mowbray. See 
the article Canal Navigation, vol. iii. p. 681; 
The whole of Leicelterlhire prefents nearly a flat fur- 
face, and is chiefly appropriated to the grazing fyftem. 
It has obtained peculiar celebrity, among agriculturifts, ; 
fora breed of Iheep, diftinguilhed by the name of the 
fUire 5 
