LEICESTER, a town, the capital of the county of the same name, ninety-eight miles north of London. It is situated on the river Soar; but, by means chiefly of canals, has the means of conveyance to every part of the kingdom. It is an ancient town, said to have been built by King Lear, and was a place of strength when England was invaded by the Romans. It appears by Doomsday Book, that at the Norman conquest, it was a city, and populous. In the reign of Henry V. a parliament was held here. Richard HL, after his defeat and death, was buried in a Franciscan convent, which then stood near St Martin’s Church. The town was formerly fortified, and the remains of the wall may now be in many parts distinctly traced. The castle was a most extensive building; and though a great part of the ground upon which it stood is now covered with good dwelling-houses, other parts are entire, and a portion is appropriately made of use for courts of justice at the county assizes. Leicester is divided into six parishes, and the castle, which is extra-parochial. It contains six churches, and twenty-one chapels for dissenters of the different denominations. It is a corporate town; and its government, under the provisions of the municipal corporation act, consists of a mayor, recorder, high bailiff, forty-two councilmen, fourteen aldermen, ten magistrates, town-clerk, and other officers, with an efficient police. It sends, as before, two members to the House of Commons. The chief employment of Leicester is the manufacture of hosiery goods, long consisting of worsted and thread stockings, to which afterwards cotton hose were added, and of late years hose of silk. But within a very few years a large quantity of gloves of cotton have been made. The lace trade is also carried on to a very considerable extent. The smaller branches of trade, such as braces, cravats, tapes, children’s fancy worsted boots and shoes, and other articles, are all in the most prosperous condition. The winding and sewing of cotton has also been carried on for several years, and is now arrived at the highest state of perfection. This part of the trade gi√es employment to vast numbers of young females, who are amply paid by their employers.
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The price of coals has been very much reduced of late years, in consequence of a new railway, constructed about four years ago, by which coals are conveyed from the northern part of the county. This has caused an active competition between the Leicestershire and Derbyshire coal-owners; and the reduction in the price of fuel has induced the manufacturers to erect steam-engines, which are employed in combing wool, spinning worsted, and other branches of trade. There are few towns in which are to be seen so very many charitable institutions for the relief of poverty, age, sickness, and general distress, and for the gratuitous instruction of the inferior classes. The country around is highly fertile, and the markets, held on Wednesday and Saturday, are amply and cheaply supplied. The population has rapidly increased, amounting in 1801 to 16,953, in 1811 to 23,146, in 1821 to 30,125, in 1831 to 39,306, and being at the present time (1836) not fewer than 44,000. The town has been greatly improved by the removal of old houses, and the erection of new ones. Several public buildings are in progress, viz. a new county lunatic asylum, and a reading and news-room, to be supported by subscriptions; a new theatre, and two new schools.