Leicester

Sister cities

• Rajkot
• Chongqing
• Strasbourg
• Krefeld
• Haskovo

History

Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a history going back at least two millennia. The native Iron Age settlement encountered by the Romans at the site seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC, around a century or so before the arrival of the Romans. Little is known about this settlement or the condition of the River Soar at this time, although roundhouses excavated from this era seem to have clustered along roughly of the east bank of the Soar. This area of the Soar was split into two channels: a main stream to the east and a narrower channel on the west, with a presumably marshy island between. The settlement seems to have controlled a ford across the larger channel. The later Roman name was a latinate form of the Brittonic word for "ramparts" (cf. Gaelic rath and the nearby villages of Ratby and Ratcliffe The Celtic tribe holding the area was later recorded as the "Coritanians" but an inscription recovered in 1983 showed this to have been a corruption of the original "Corieltauvians". The Corieltauvians may have ruled over roughly the area of the East Midlands. It is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD 47, during their conquest of southern Britain. The Corieltauvian settlement lay near a bridge on the Fosse Way, a Roman road between the legionary camps at Isca (Exeter) and Lindum (Lincoln). It remains unclear whether the Romans fortified and garrisoned the location, but it slowly developed from around the year 50 onwards as the tribal capital of the Corieltauvians under the name Ratae Corieltauvorum. In the 2nd century, it received a forum and bathhouse. In 2013, the discovery of a Roman cemetery found just outside the old city walls and dating back to AD 300 was announced. of the History of the…

Geography

The Office for National Statistics has defined a Leicester Urban Area (LUA); broadly the immediate Leicester conurbation, although without administrative status. The LUA contains the unitary authority area and several towns, villages and suburbs outside the city's administrative boundaries. Suburbs and districts of Leicester (ancient villages now incorporated into the city are shown in bold) Leicester experiences a maritime climate with mild to warm summers and cool winters, rain spread throughout the year, and low sunshine levels. The nearest official Weather Station was Newtown Linford, about northwest of Leicester city centre and just outside the edge of the urban area. However, observations stopped there in 2003. The current nearest weather station is Market Bosworth, about west of the city centre. The highest temperature recorded at Newtown Linford was during August 1990, although a temperature of was achieved at Leicester University during August 2003. However, the highest temperature since records began in Leicester is on 15 July 1868. More typically the highest temperature would reach – the average annual maximum. 11.3 days of the year should attain a temperature of or above. The lowest temperature recorded at Newtown Linford was during January 1963. Typically, 54.9 air frosts will be recorded during the course of the year. Rainfall averages 684.4 mm per year, with 1 mm or more falling on 120.8 days. All averages refer to the period 1971–2000.