Leicestershire Leasing

Did You Know?

The first British civilians to fight in the First World War were a group of 50 men, dubbed The Famous 50. They were mostly miners, from the North West Leicestershire town of Coalville.

During the Second World War, the brains at Bletchley Park in Bucks were responsible for decoding German secret messages which led to the breaking of the enigma code. Bletchley wouldn’t have worked without its ears, a Y station – a listening post – at Beaumanor Hall, in north Leicestershire.

Leicestershire has the oldest fossils and oldest rocks on Earth. Charnia Masoni, our oldest ancestor and the first multicellular organism, lived 540 million years ago in Charnwood Forest.

The Battle of Bosworth took place outside the beautiful town of Market Bosworth, in south west Leicestershire in August 1485. It was here Richard III became the last English king to die in battle. His body was brought back to Leicester and laid out in a church inside The Newarke’s ecclesiastical enclosure.

Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer, was raised at Kirkby Mallory Hall in south Leicestershire. Ada Lovelace Day is celebrated each October. 

Elizabeth Woodville married Sir John Grey of Groby Hall. He died in battle and left her alone with their two sons at their home in Leicestershire. Not long after she married King Edward IV and became The White Queen. Her two sons by the king are largely believed to have been murdered by Richard III.

Britain’s largest motorcycle company – Triumph – make their beautiful machines at their headquarters in Hinckley, south west Leicestershire.

Actor Richard Armitage, best known for playing Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit, heralds from Huncote in Leicestershire.

Lady Jane Grey, who was queen of England for nine days and executed at the age of 16, was born and raised in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire.

The brilliant Leicestershire Comedy Festival is the longest running comedy festival in the UK. This year it had 780 events at 60 venues.