History of Leicestershire - Definition and Overview

Leicestershire was recorded in the Domesday Book in four wapentakes: Guthlaxton, Framland, Goscote and Gartree. These later became hundreds, with the division of Goscote into West Goscote and East Goscote, and the addition of Sparkenhoe hundred.

Leicestershire's external boundaries have changed little since the Domesday Survey. The Measham-Donisthorpe exclave of Derbyshire has been exchanged for the Netherseal/Overseall area, and the urban expansion of Market Harborough has caused Little Bowdon, previously in Northamptonshire to be annexed.

In 1974, due to the Local Government Act 1972, the county of Rutland was annexed to Leicestershire as a district, and Leicester's county borough status was abolished, it becoming a district also. Both these actions were reversed on April 1, 1996.

See also

• History of England