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Evington is an area of
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, and electoral ward of the
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
district, in the ceremonial county of
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
, England. It used to be a small village centred on Main Street and the
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
church of St Denys but was close enough to Leicester to become one of the outer suburbs in the 1930s. Today, the ward comprises the historical village of Evington, as well as the modern ex- council estates of Rowlatts Hill and Goodwood. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 11,133.


History


Evington village

The name Evington comes from the
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
meaning 'farm/settlement of Eafa/Aefa'.Leicester City Council
A History of Evington Park
After the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
of 1066 the land was given to Hugh de Grentesmesnil. The first known spelling of Evington was by Walter de Evington in 1259, who leased a
carucate The carucate or carrucate ( or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms of tax assessment. ...
of land at the village of Evington – about . The parish of Evington was originally quite large and included the areas now known as North Evington and Evington Valley. These were annexed by the borough of Leicester in 1892, and are not generally considered part of Evington.British History Online
R. A. McKinley (editor)(1958) A History of the County of Leicester: volume 4: The City of Leicester
In 1931 the parish had a population of 1802. On 1 April 1935, the boundaries of Leicester (by this point a city), were expanded again, including nearly all of the remaining parish of Evington, except for a small part which went to
Oadby Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre south-east of Leicester on the A6 road (England), A6 road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby and Stoneygate. ...
. The modern ward does include the large 1950s development based at Downing Drive and Spencefield Lane. Evington village has been a
conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
since 1989.www.leicester.gov.uk
Evington Village


Council estates

Rowlatts Hill is a
council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...
established on a hillside to the north of Leicester General Hospital in 1964–67 by the City Architect Stephen George with two 22-story blocks of flats and single or two-storey houses of grey brick. A later development (1973–77) is of red brick houses.Pevsner, N., & Williamson, E., (1985) ''The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland''; 2nd ed. (Penguin Books) For council housing purposes it is considered separate from Evington. Goodwood is a 1950s council estate considered together with Evington for council housing purposes. It is just under 1000 residences.Leicester City Council housing supply


Features


Village Green

Evington Village Green is a triangle of land bounded to the north by Main Street, on the Southwest by High Street and to the east by Church Street. The village war memorial is located on the northeast corner. On the west corner is a Baptist Chapel and a building called the Manse.Leicester City Council
Evington Village Open Spaces (2003)
It is largely open space for recreation, with a large old oak tree in the south-east corner. It also features a newly refurbished children's playground, funded by the Friends of Evington Village Green. It is the site of the Evington Village Fete and Show, held annually.


Evington Park

Evington park is some of public parkland, opened in 1948, formerly the estate of Evington House (built 1836) which is used as offices and some public amenities. It contains many mature trees, including a mulberry dating from about the same time as the house. There are public exercise machines as well as tennis courts, football and cricket pitches and bowling greens. More recently, a concrete
table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...
table has been added and is situated near the tennis courts. Public toilets have also been built near the courts.Leicester City Council
Evington park


Arboretum

This was established as a public amenity in 1970 and consists of an area south of St Denys Church, bounded on the west by a golf course, with more than 500 trees largely planted in taxonomic groups.Evington Arboretum: leaflet (undated) by Leicester City Council Parks and Garded SpacesLeicester City Council
Shady Lane Arboretum
In the northmost area, many individual trees are planted by arrangement with the council as memorials to people who have died.


The Hollow

This is
Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
(SM17026), often known as 'Piggy's Hollow', consisting of the remains of the moats of a manor house built in the late 13th century by John de Grey.Leicester City Council
The Hollow, Evington

Piggy's Hollow
It is on the north side of the Arboretum and adjacent to St Denys Church on the west.


St Denys Church

The
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
church of St Denys has been the parish church for almost 800 years, having been dedicated on 9 October 1219 by the
Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...
.www.stdenys.org.uk
History
It is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
.www.heritagegateway.org
Parish Church of St Denys
The tower and spire are original: the South and North Aisles date from the 14th century, and the Chancel from the 19th century. Its rare ring of 4 bells was augmented to six following an appeal in the late 1980s. The interior includes 3 stained glass windows from 1870.


Evington Chapel

Evington Chapel is a
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Church on the corner of Main Street and High Street, by Evington Village Green. It is an 1837 Gothic style building with slate roof, and a Grade II listed building.www.heritagegateway.org.uk/
Evington Chapel


Masjid Umar Mosque

The Masjid Umar mosque, which is also Evington Muslim Centre, was completed in 2000.Leicester Mercury Oct 31, 2003
Mosque Wins Readers' Vote of Approval
BBC Leicester 2004
Exclusive access to Masjid Umar mosque


Amenities

Evington has two main shopping centres: the first largely based in a modern development near the old village and including the local library, and the second towards the northern end of Downing Drive. Public houses include the Cedars in the old village and the Dove in Downing Drive. The Village Hall is a brick building on Church Lane, opposite St Denys: its foundation stone calls it King George V Hall and is dated MDCDXII (1912). Nearby places, Goodwood, Evington Valley,
Oadby Oadby is a town in the borough of Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire, England. Oadby is a district centre south-east of Leicester on the A6 road (England), A6 road. Leicester Racecourse is situated on the border between Oadby and Stoneygate. ...
,
Thurnby Thurnby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thurnby and Bushby, in the Harborough district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is just east of Leicester's city boundaries. Thurnby village proper is set to th ...
, Stoughton. Evington is home to the Leicestershire Golf Club, on the south of the village, and west of the arboretum. The largest employer in the area is the Leicester General hospital, located near Goodwood on Coleman Road which is south of Uppingham Road (the A47). The ''Evington Echo'' is the community newspaper. It is produced by volunteers and is delivered free of charge to 5,800 houses in the area. It was first published in 1981.


Schools in the area

Primary schools: Linden Primary School, Evington Valley Primary School, Whitehall Primary School, Oaklands (Special School), Coleman Primary School,
Krishna Avanti Primary School, Leicester Krishna Avanti Primary School, Leicester is a Hinduism, Hindu faith primary school in Leicester, United Kingdom that is part of the Avanti Schools Trust. It was the first state-funded Hindu school in Leicester. The school is open to students of H ...
, Spinney Hill Primary School. Secondary schools: City of Leicester College, St Paul's Catholic School, Judgemeadow Community College., Madani Schools Federation. Evington Hall is a Grade II listed building (built about 1840)www.heritagegateway.org.uk
Evington Hall
which in the past was a convent school, then part of Leicester Junior Grammar School, but is now part of a Hindu faith school which opened in September 2011.Leicester Mercury, Sep 6, 2011
Leicester's Hindu school is a beacon, says Education Secretary Michael Gove

Evington Hall will be a Hindu State Primary School


Transport

Evington is served by regular buses operated by Centrebus services 22, 22A 22E & 81.


Council election result, 2007


People

Evington was the home of England
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
international Emile Heskey. Both Emile Heskey and
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
(winner of the Golden Boot) attended the City of Leicester College in Evington, as did former Labour media adviser
Alastair Campbell Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster, and activist, who is known for his political roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman an ...
and Dr Nicholas Shepherd (co-founder of the internet). Heskey and Shepherd were both pupils at Linden Primary school in Evington. What is now the Cedars public house and restaurant on the corner of Main Street and School Lane was formerly the home of the novelist E. Phillips Oppenheim. The novelist J. B. Priestley was evacuated to North Evington Hospital after being wounded in France in 1916.J. B. Priestley. ''Margin Released'' (1962) The Reprint Society London. p. 107.


References


Further reading


British History Online
Evington


External links

{{Coord, 52.628, -1.074, region:GB, display=title Areas of Leicester Former civil parishes in Leicestershire