Oadby is a town in the borough of

Oadby and Wigston Oadby and Wigston is a local government district with borough status in Leicestershire, England. It covers the two towns of Oadby, where the council is based, and Wigston, which is the larger town. Both form part of the Leicester urban area, l ...

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. Oadby is a district centre south-east 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 ...

on the A6 road.

Leicester Racecourse Leicester Racecourse is a horse racing course in Oadby, Leicestershire, about three miles south of Leicester city centre. History of horse racing in Leicester The earliest evidence suggests that racing took place at Abbey Meadow, Leicester ...

is situated on the border between Oadby and

Stoneygate Stoneygate is part of the City of Leicester, England. Situated on the south-east side of the city some two miles from the centre, Stoneygate is a mainly residential suburb characterised by its large Victorian houses. It straddles the London Roa ...

. The

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

Botanical Garden is in Oadby. Oadby had a population of 23,849 in 2011, and like its neighbour

Wigston Wigston, or Wigston Magna, is a town in the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire, England, just south of Leicester on the A5199. It had a population of 32,321 in 2011. Geography Wigston is south of the city of Leicester, at the cent ...

is made up of five wards. The Borough of Oadby and Wigston is twinned with Maromme in France, and

Norderstedt Norderstedt () is a city in Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (), the fourth largest city (with approximately 84,100 inhabitants as of 2023) in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, belonging to the Segeberg district. Hist ...

in Germany.

History

Angles, Danes and Normans

There has been a habitation in Oadby since an Anglian settlement in the early Anglo-Saxon period. Though the name Oadby is Danish (meaning "Outi's dwelling") it must have existed long before the Danish invasions as is shown by the existence of a pagan Anglian cemetery. The original Anglian name has been lost. In 1760, on Brocks Hill, evidence of an Anglian burial ground was discovered. The

Middle Angles The Middle Angles were an important ethnic or cultural group within the larger kingdom of Mercia in England in the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon period. Origins and territory It is likely that Angles (tribe), Angles broke into the English Midlands ...

came under the rule of the kings of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

and were later conquered by the Danish invaders. Oadby is one of seventy Danish settlements in

ending with "-by", which means

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

or settlement. Its name probably came from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

''Auðarbýr'' = "Auði's settlement". Danish rule continued until 920, when

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

won his battles against the Danes: the Oadby area is supposed to be the site of at least one of these battles. In the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, 1086, Oadby's name was recorded as Oldebi. Other early forms are Oladebi, Outheby (Feet of Fines, 1199), Onderby and, finally, Oadby. When

Harold had been defeated,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

gave Oadby to

Hugh de Grandmesnil Hugh de Grandmesnil (c. 1032 – 22 February 1098), (known in French as ''Hugues'' and Latinised as ''Hugo de Grentmesnil'', aliter ''Grentemesnil'', etc.), is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Bat ...

, Governor of Leicestershire, who founded the parish church of Oadby on the site of the present St Peter's Church. The tenants of the manor of Oadby were Roger who held one and half carucates, and Countess Judith who held 9 carucates and 2 bovates, and 30 acres of meadow. On the Countess's land were 46 socmen, eleven bordars and three serfs; two carucates were let to Robert de Buci. The manor was held in 1444 by William Ferrers; in 1457 it was held by William Grey, Lord Ferrers of Groby. In 1541 the manor was held by John Waldron; his successor John Waldron sold it in 1629 to Sir John Lombe. In 1831 the main landed proprietors were the trustees of the late George Wyndham (patrons of the vicarage), George Legh Keck (lord of the manor) and Thomas Pares.

Late 19th Century

Oadby remained a small settlement until the late 19th century when it became a fashionable suburb for the businessmen of Leicester, such as the factory owners of

's shoe and stocking manufacturers. Many substantial houses were built in Oadby, some of which are now used by the

. Stoughton Road in Oadby contains two sets of houses of historical interest. Some of the Framework Knitters Homes date back to 1909, while the North Memorial Homes, financed by Sir Jonathan North (former Mayor of Leicester), were built in 1927 and opened in the same year by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. As well as a series of houses, the North Memorial Homes site also houses the North Memorial Hall, built in a neo-Georgian style, which has been leased to Oadby Evangelical Free Church since 1974. In the late 19th century Oadby town centre was focused along Leicester Road, The Parade and London Road. The oldest properties and locations can be found at the Wigston Road, London Road junction through to the Glen Road (A6) junction. Some of the 19th century buildings that remain are the cottages and shops (including Wilson B Ragg Butchers & Gingerbread Cottage bakers) along London Road through to Glen Road.

Modern Times

Expansion of Oadby took place rapidly in the 20th century and was still continuing in 2017. Many residential developments have been constructed, and the population in 2011 reached 23,849. In the early 20th century, the Travellers Rest (located near to the London Road Glen Road junction) was torn down in 1939 and replaced by The Oadby Owl on a neighbouring site. Both inns were run by Walter Cufflin (a descendant of James Hawker).

Oadby today

Oadby is a large district centre with a good range of shops, services and facilities which are mostly located along The Parade. It is predominantly a residential area for families. Oadby has a diverse population, by age, country of origin and religion. About 20% of the population is under 17 years, 21% over 65 years, 17% were born outside the British Isles and 22%-29% (depending on source) come from

ethnically An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

diverse communities. The town has a mixture of properties, including Edwardian houses, new purpose-built accommodation blocks, three major supermarkets, and restaurants across all price points. Oadby Student Village is situated in the north-east of the town, including residences for the local university students. Oadby Industrial Estate, situated to the south-west of the town, contains a large number of small and medium-sized businesses. Notable local parks include Ellis Park, Coombe Park, Rosemead Park, Uplands Park and Brockshill Country Park.

Sport and culture

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

, premiership

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club, train at Oval Park on Wigston Road. The local tennis club (Oadby Granville Tennis Club) is situated on London Road and caters for all standards of tennis and ages and has produced county players and county champions amongst past members.

Education

Oadby is the home of

Beauchamp College The Beauchamp College ( ) is a coeducational secondary school and further education community college, in Oadby, a town on the outskirts of Leicester, England. It is situated on the southern edge of the built-up area of Oadby on the same campu ...

(formerly Kibworth Beauchamp Grammar School) and

Gartree High School Gartree High School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status. Its age-range designation is 11–16. GCSEs have been taught since 2017 and its first GCSE results published in 2019. The school is situated in Oadby, a town on the so ...

, both of which were attended by

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician who was the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" a ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. The town also has Oadby Manor High School. The

has its halls of residence in the northern part of the town.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC East Midlands BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, South Kest ...

and

ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...

. Television signals are received from the Waltham TV transmitter. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Leicestershire, City of Birmingham, South Staffordshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Rutland. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at ...

Capital East Midlands Capital East Midlands was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network, broadcasting to the East Midlands from studios in Nottingham. It launched on 3 January 2011 following the merger of Tr ...

Smooth East Midlands Smooth East Midlands is an Independent Regional Radio station for the East Midlands, 107.4 MHz, 97.2 MHz, 106.8 MHz 106.0 MHz which replaced Saga 106.6 FM at 6 am on Monday 26 March 2007. It is owned by Communicorp UK and oper ...

, Hits Radio East Midlands, and Greatest Hits Radio Midlands. The town is served by the local newspaper, the ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...

'' (formerly ''Oadby, Wigston & Blaby Mail'').

Places of worship

* St Peters Church * Oadby Baptist Church * Trinity Methodist Church * St Pauls Church * Gurdwara (Sikh) Shri Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji * Oadby Central Mosque

Transport

The main A6 dual carriageway passes through the town, bypassing the commercial centre. The A563 Leicester Ring Road intersects with the A6 close to Leicester Racecourse to the north of Oadby town centre.

Rail

The nearest railway stations are and , both less than away.

Bus

Oadby and the surrounding areas are served by

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

routes 31/31A/31E which operate as loops around the housing estates to/from

Leicester City Centre Leicester City Centre is Leicester's historical commercial, cultural and transport hub and is home to its central business district. Its inner core is roughly delineated by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road, although the various central ca ...

, Arriva X3 and

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

X7 both serving nearby villages and towns, including

Kibworth Kibworth is an area of the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, that contains two civil parishes in England, civil parishes: the villages of Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth Harcourt . At the 2011 census, Kibwor ...

and

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

Centrebus Centrebus Limited, trading as Centrebus, is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Centrebus hold a 51% shareholding in High Peak Buses a ...

also operate Orbital which links Oadby Parade to nearby

and Leicester General Hospital.

Notable residents

* Margaret Cooper, innovative nurse and tutor *

, bass player of

* James Hawker (poacher), English poacher

References

External links

Borough Website
{{authority control Towns in Leicestershire Unparished areas in Leicestershire Former civil parishes in Leicestershire Oadby and Wigston