Facts about Leicestershire

Anstey , with its Packhorse Bridge and ruins of Bradgate House where Lady Jane Grey spend her childhood nearby, Ashby-de-la-Zouch , with its delightful 15 th century castle and Elizabethan and Georgian buildings, Barrow-upon-Soar , which is twinned with Marans in France and has a replica of a Plesiosaur on a roundabout celebrating its find in the village in 1851, Barwell , once known for its shoe, hosiery and knitwear factories Birstall , with its large estate of new houses akin to a mini Poundbury named Hallam Fields, Blaby , close to junction 21 on the M1, on the A426, where we have conducted many structural building surveys, Coalville , aptly named as it once was well known for its coalmining industry, Cosby , the village that suffered from a freak whirlwind in 1930, Countesthorpe , where in Peatling Rd you will see an old 17 th century mud house which was once typical of the properties you would find in this area, Crowland , with the ruined monastery Croyland Abbey thought to be inspired by Wells Cathedral, Desford , with many Tudor, Stuart and Georgian buildings East Goscote , a 1940s new village built on the site of an army supply depo, Enderby , south west of Leicester, Fleckney , which in days gone by was home to the hosiery factory Walker and Sons, Groby , with the beautiful Sheet Hedges Wood a perfect place to stop after a busy day surveying properties in the area, Hinckley , famous for the Hansom Cab which was tested and developed in the town by its inventor Joseph Hansom, Ibstock , with the large brick company Ibstock Brick Ltd's Head Office in the town, Kibworth Harcourt , on the A6 between Market Harborough and Leicester with its Listed red telephone box, Kirby Muxloe , with its moated 14 th century castle ruins and was a village that was in receipt of many bombs during WWII, Leicester , with its modern glass cad theatre designed by architect Rafael Vinoly, The Curve, Loughborough , with its controversial Sock sculpture by Shona Kinloch in celebration of the town's earlier success in the woollen and hosiery industries, Lutterworth , renowned for the development of the jet engine by Sir Frank Whittle at Ladywood Works, Market Harborough , with its Old Grammar School building at the heart of the town, a delightful timber framed construction which stands on large oak pillars, of much interest to us as Chartered Surveyors, Measham , in between junction 11 and 12 on the A42, Melton Mowbray , synonymous with pork pies, on the River Soar there is the town of Mountsorrel , well known for its granite quarries, Narborough , now housing a gift shop but also a family home, Narborough Hall in Coventry Rd, is a great example of an Elizabethan Manor House, Oadby , with the beautiful Leicester University Botanic Gardens, Quorn , in the past home to framework knitters their 19 th century cottages in Sarson Street can still be seen with their large windows perfect for their work, Ratby , not far from the M1 junction 21a, on the B5380, Shepshed , known in the past for its woollen industry, where we have carried out many residential and commercial building surveys, Sileby , in the Soar Valley, Syston , with 18 th century houses in the High St and The Green, Whitwick with Whitwick Colliery which closed in the 1980s there are many red brick houses in the town which were for colliery workers in the past and Wigston once known as Two Spires in medieval times due to the two prominent church spires.