Leicestershire
ceremonial county in England
Leicestershire ( LEST-ər-sheer, -shər) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warwickshire to the south-west, and Staffordshire to the west. The city of Leicester is the largest settlement.
The county has an area of 2,156 km2 (832 sq mi) and an estimated population of 1,133,921 in 2024. Leicester is in the centre of the county and is by far the largest settlement; its urban area includes the towns of Wigston and Oadby immediately to the south-east. The rest of the county is largely rural, and its settlements include the university town of Loughborough in the north, Melton Mowbray in the north-east, Hinckley in the south-west, Market Harborough in the south-east, and Coalville in the north-west. For local government purposes Leicestershire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with seven districts, and the unitary authority area of Leicester.
Leicestershire is generally a lowland county, characterised by small, rolling hills. It is bisected by the River Soar, which rises near the Warwickshire border south of Hinckley and flows north through Leicester and Loughborough before reaching the Trent at the county boundary. To the west of the river is Charnwood Forest, an upland area which contains Bardon Hill, which at 278 m (912 ft) is the county's highest point.
“Leicestershire” enters the record as ceremonial county in England. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Leicestershire, ceremonial and county can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Leicestershire” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Leicestershire, ceremonial and county provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q23106. VIAF identifies the subject as 131316875. The Library of Congress control number is n50056602. Authority coordinates are 52.717, -1.183. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Leicestershire”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Leicestershire primary sources, Leicestershire archive and Leicestershire research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Leicestershire”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Leicestershire” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.