n.
City and unitary authority (pop., 2001: 279,923), geographic and historic county of Leicestershire , central England.
Located on the River Soar, it was settled by Romans. A considerable community by Norman times, it was the site of a Norman castle and abbey built in 1143, the ruins of which still stand. It was where King Richard III spent the night before he was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field . It was incorporated in 1589 and became an industrial centre after the arrival of the railway in 1832. The University of Leicester (founded 1957) is nearby.