The Southfields of
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
,
England consisted of
common land south of the city, and now refers to the mostly-developed area immediately south of the
city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
.
It is one of three such large fields that survive as placenames, the others being the
Highfields and the
Northfields. The field remained as common land until 1804 when it was controversially
enclosed by the
Corporation of Leicester
Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently contro ...
, setting aside a part of the field as 'Freemen's' common for the use of
freemen of the city. The Southfields were then developed in the 19th century, although some large open spaces still exist in the area - particularly
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
, the
Welford Road Cemetery, and Nelson Mandela Park.
The Southfields area also includes
HMP Leicester
HM Prison Leicester is a Category B men's Local prison, located on Welford Road in the centre of Leicester, Leicestershire, England. The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced priso ...
, the former Southfields College (now part of
Leicester College
Leicester College is a further education college in Leicester, England. It is one of the largest colleges in the UK, with more than 26,000 students, 1,600 staff, plus an annual budget of over £50million.
It has three main campuses in the city ...
),
De Montfort Hall
De Montfort Hall is the largest music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after the "Father of Parliament", Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.
History
The hall was built by the ...
and the
University of Leicester.
References
Areas of Leicester
Leicester
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