Hinckley

Sister cities

• Herford
• Le Grand-Quevilly

History

In 2000, archaeologists from Northampton Archaeology discovered evidence of Iron Age and Romano-British settlement on land near Coventry Road and Watling Street. Hinckley has a recorded history going back to Anglo-Saxon times; the name Hinckley is Anglo-Saxon: "Hinck" is a personal name and "ley" is a clearing in a wood. By the time of the Domesday Book in 1086, Hinckley was quite a large village, and it grew over the following 200 years into a small market town—a market was first recorded there in 1311. There is evidence of an Anglo-Saxon church—the remnants of an Anglo-Saxon sundial being visible on the diagonal buttress on the south-east corner of the chancel. Hinckley is around south of what is believed to be the location of the Battle of Bosworth, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, which occurred in 1485, and resulted in Henry Tudor's forces defeating those of King Richard III. In the 17th century, the town developed a hosiery industry, producing stockings and similar items. Hinckley played a prominent part in the English Civil War. Its proximity to several rival strongholds—the royalist garrisons at Caldicote, Ashby de la Zouch and Leicester, and those of the Parliamentarians at Tamworth and Coventry—and the presence of parties of troops or brigands occupying several fortified houses in nearby Warwickshire, led to frequent visits by the warring parties. The local townsfolk were forced to decide whether to declare their allegiances openly or attempt to remain neutral—with the risk of having to pay levies, ransoms, and fines to both sides. In March 1644, Hinckley was occupied by a group of Royalist troops, though they were soon driven out by a force of Parliamentarians, who took many prisoners. The Civil War years were a particularly…

Geography

Hinckley's suburban districts include Hollycroft, Middlefield, Stoneygate, Wykin, Forest View, West Hinckley, Saxon Paddock and Druid Quarter. The suburbs of Burbage, Sketchley and Lash Hill are separated from the rest of Hinckley by the railway line.

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,970
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  8,668
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,591
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,185
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,997
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,469
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,081
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,675

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2023-06-28
  2 km SE of Cheadle, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2022-05-30
  2 km ESE of Prees, United Kingdom
• M 3.2 — 2022-02-21
  5 km N of Hockley, United Kingdom
• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2015-09-22
  2 km W of Cottesmore, United Kingdom