Rushey Mead is an area,

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

and administrative division of the city 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 ...

, 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. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 15,962. It comprises the northern Leicester suburb of Rushey Mead in its entirety, as well as a part of the neighbouring area, suburb and

Belgrave Belgrave may refer to: Places *Belgrave, Cheshire, an English village *Belgrave, Leicester an English district *Belgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia **Belgrave railway line **Belgrave railway station, Melbourne **Belgrave (Puffing B ...

and historical parts of neighbouring Northfields and

Thurmaston Thurmaston is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Leicestershire, England, located within the Borough of Charnwood. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, it had a population of 9,668. It is pronounced "Thurmsto ...

Geography

Rushey Mead is bounded by the wards and areas of Belgrave to the south and west and

Humberstone & Hamilton Humberstone and Hamilton is an electoral ward and administrative division of the City of Leicester, England. It comprises the north-eastern Leicester suburbs of Humberstone, Humberstone Garden City, Hamilton and Netherhall. History Name The w ...

and Northfields to the east and south-east on the other side of the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...

. North and north-west of Rushey Mead are the

villages of

and Birstall at the Leicestershire county border and in the

Borough of Charnwood Charnwood is a local government district with borough status in the north of Leicestershire, England. It is named after Charnwood Forest, much of which lies within the borough. Towns in the borough include Loughborough (where the council is ...

at the start of the

Leicester Urban Area The Leicester Built Up Area (BUA), Leicester Urban Area, or Greater Leicester is an urban agglomeration defined by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), centred on the City of Leicester in the East Midlands, England. With a population of 559 ...

in that direction.

History

Rushey Mead was originally a part of the Thurmaston civil parish during the 19th century. The modern day suburb was split from Thurmaston and gazetted as a "Thurmaston Urban District" in 1894, before being annexed to the City of Leicester in 1935, when it was renamed Rushey Mead.

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...

, the American politician who was twice a Democratic Party candidate for nomination in elections to be

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

visited Rushey Mead on 5 December 2015 to open a park named in his honour.

Business and commerce

One of the most important lamp factories in Britain, originally built to supply parts for aircraft in World War Two was located in Rushey Mead. In 1946

British Thomson-Houston British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industry, heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufac ...

(BTH) opened the Mazda Lamps Factory on Melton Road, producing electric lamps of many kinds. BTH had licensed the '

Mazda (light bulb) Mazda was a trademarked name registered by General Electric (GE) in 1909 for incandescent light bulbs. The name was used from 1909 to 1945 in the United States by GE and Westinghouse Electric (1886), Westinghouse. Mazda brand light bulbs were mad ...

' brand name from

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

of USA (GE). In 1964 the lamp factory was renamed as Thorn Lighting after the merger of

Thorn Lighting Thorn Lighting Ltd, a subsidiary of the Zumtobel Group, is a global supplier of both outdoor and indoor luminaires and integrated controls. Thorn was founded when Sir Jules Thorn started The Electric Lamp Service Company Ltd, in 1928, dealing ...

with AEI.

, one of the world's biggest companies took over the Thorn Lighting company in 1991. The site contained ground breaking research labs that made countless contributions of global significance, development workshops and even built machines used on the factory floor. The Factory closed in 2007 after 61 years of producing lamps. GE Lighting Ltd - geograph

It became a well-known local landmark, known locally as "GE Thorn" or simply "Thorn Lighting" after Sir Jules Thorn who ran the business in the 1970s. For many years at Christmas Time there had been a Public Christmas Lights Display on the site of the Lamp Factory attracting people from Leicester, the Midlands and Beyond. The Site of the Former Thorn Lighting Factory is now occupied by a

Sainsbury’s J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

Supermarket. There is now a large metallic tree built opposite the former site on the corner of Melton Road and Troon Way called

The World Tree ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

, there being a map of the world on the base of the tree. This was built in honour of the former factory.

Earlier History

In 1928 BTH was amalgamated with its rival, the

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

company to form

Associated Electrical Industries Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of British Thomson-Houston (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK ...

(AEI). The two companies' brand identities were maintained until the 1960's when, soon after 1967 the holding company AEI was taken over by one of the UK's biggest companies, the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

(GEC).

Demographics

Rushey Mead has a large Asian population.

As of the 2011 Census

The population of Rushey Mead was 15,962 and was made up of approximately 51% females and 49% males. The average age of people in Rushey Mead is 39, while the median age is lower at 38. 53.9% of people living in Rushey Mead were born in England. Other top answers for country of birth were 18.7% India, 6.6% Kenya, 1.7% Sri Lanka, 1.2% Africa not otherwise specified, 1.0% Pakistan, 0.5% Ireland, 0.4% Zimbabwe, 0.4% Scotland, 0.3% Somalia. 61.0% of people living in Rushey Mead speak English. The other top languages spoken are 23.6%

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

, 5.5%

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, 1.8%

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, 1.3% Polish, 0.9% Urdu, 0.9% Slovak, 0.9% South Asian Language, 0.5% Portuguese, 0.4% Hindi. The religious make up of Rushey Mead is 43.1%

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 21.7%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 10.5%

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, 9.8%

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

, 9.2% No religion, 0.3%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 0.1%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. 668 people did not state a religion. 18 people identified as Jedi knights and 2 people said they believe in Heavy Metal. 54.2% of people are married, 5.4% cohabit with a member of the opposite sex, 0.4% live with a partner of the same sex, 24.5% are single and have never married or been in a registered same sex partnership, 6.0% are separated or divorced. There are 552 widowed people living in Rushey Mead. The top occupations listed by people in Rushey Mead are Process, plant and machine operatives 15.0%, Administrative and secretarial 13.6%, Elementary 13.3%, Sales and customer service 12.2%, Administrative 11.3%, Process, plant and machine operatives 10.9%, Professional 10.6%, Skilled trades 10.0%, Elementary administration and service 9.5%, Sales 9.4%.

Education

Schools in the area

Primary schools: Wyvern Primary, Herrick Primary, Sandfield Primary and Rushey Mead Primary. Rushey Mead Academy Leicester

Secondary schools:

Rushey Mead Academy Rushey Mead Academy, previously known as Rushey Mead School, is a mixed secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for students aged 11 to 16. It is part of The Mead Educational Trust which also includes Orchard Mead Academ ...

, which is the best state-funded secondary school in Leicester and Leicestershire and

Soar Valley College Soar Valley College is an 11–16 coeducational secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. It was designated a Maths and Computing specialist college in September 2004. As part of the Building Schools for the Future ini ...

The World Tree

Located in Rushey Mead, on the corner of Melton Road and Troon Way is a 5m high, steel tree sculpture with bronze light bulbs on the branches. It stands opposite the former site of the GE-Thorn Lighting Factory, which a

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

supermarket now occupies. It cost £62,000 and was paid for by

. It was unveiled on 4 March 2016 by the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

in the attendance of

Mayor of Leicester The Mayor of Leicester, styled ''City Mayor'' to distinguish from the Lord Mayor of Leicester, is the directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function of Leicester City Council in England. The incumbent is Peter Soulsby of the ...

Peter Soulsby Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby (born 27 December 1948) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of Leicester since 2011. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned his seat in April 2011, in ...

and

Leicester East Leicester East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Shivani Raja of the Conservative Party. Constituency profile This is an urban constituency, much of which is densely developed as hous ...

Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British politician who served as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 Unit ...

Places of Interest

Watermead Country Park The Watermead Country Park is a network of artificial lakes in the valley of the River Soar and the old Grand Union Canal, in and to the north of Leicester and in and to the south of the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire. The southern par ...

- a network of artificial lakes with a large statue of a mammoth atop a hill.

Scenery

The

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the East Midlands as well as the principal river of Leicestershire, England. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north throug ...

runs along the west of Rushey Mead and up to

Area

The

of Rushey Mead contains parts of the neighbouring area and

of Belgrave meaning that despite the actual geographical location that specific area may also be classed as being in Rushey Mead by virtue of the

mapping.

Shopping

There is a large

supermarket on Melton Road including a garage and café.

Transport

Major Roads

Rushey Mead is located on the

A607 road The A607 is an A roads in Great Britain, A road in England that starts in Belgrave, Leicester and heads northeastwards through Leicestershire and the town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, terminating at Bracebridge Heath, a village on the outskirts of ...

and the

A563 road List of A roads in zone 5 in Great Britain starting north/east of the A5, west of the A6, south of the Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotlan ...

Bus

First Leicester Leicester Citybus,Companies House extract company no 2000072

service 4 serves Rushey Mead on Glenagles Avenue and Trevino Drive and
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 ...
services 5, 5A and 6 all serve Rushey Mead along the A607. All bus services operate along the
Golden Mile Golden Mile or The Golden Mile may refer to: Geographical features * Columbia Street (New Westminster), a street in New Westminster, British Columbia nicknamed the Golden Mile. * Golden Mile (Belfast), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom ...
from and into
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 ...
. The nearest bus stations, both in
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 ...
are the Haymarket and St Margaret's.

Train
The nearest train stations are
Leicester railway station Leicester railway station (formerly Leicester Campbell Street and Leicester London Road) is a main line railway station in the city of Leicester, in Leicestershire, England. The station is managed by East Midlands Railway and owned by Network R ...
and
Syston railway station Syston railway station ( ) is a railway station serving the town of Syston in Leicestershire, England. The station is on the Midland Main Line from Leicester to Loughborough, down the line from St Pancras railway station, London St Pancras. E ...
. The
Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...
runs along at the east of Rushey Mead.

Airport
The nearest airport is
East Midlands Airport East Midlands Airport is an international airport in Castle Donington, England. The airport is situated between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is to the south and Lincoln, England, Lincoln northeast. It serves the maj ...
, located in Leicestershire and away from Rushey Mead.

Politics
Rushey Mead is located within the
Leicester East Leicester East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Shivani Raja of the Conservative Party. Constituency profile This is an urban constituency, much of which is densely developed as hous ...
parliament constituency, a seat currently held by the Conservative Party since
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
. The Labour Party consistently held the seat between 1987 and 2024 but lost the seat to the outgoing Conservative Government despite a landslide victory across the country for the Labour Party in that particular election. The Rushey Mead electoral ward is currently, since
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
represented on
Leicester City Council Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...
by three Conservative Party Councillors. The
electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
of Rushey Mead includes parts of the neighbouring suburb and Leicester area of Belgrave. Former Councillors for Rushey Mead include Ross Willmott, a former leader of the city council and the Labour Party candidate for Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, Piara Singh Clair MBE, former deputy city mayor and cabinet member for Culture, Leisure, Sport and Regulatory Services and Rita Patel, former assistant city mayor and cabinet member for Equalities and Special Projects and founder of the Peepul Centre, located in the neighbouring area of Belgrave and close to
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 ...
. Rushey Mead was represented within the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...
parliamentary constituency in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.

Council election results

Rushey Mead 2023

Rushey Mead 2019

Rushey Mead 2015

Sport
Highfield Rangers F.C. is based in Rushey Mead. They are currently members of the .

Notable people
*
Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (2003–2009). Her other television r ...
- actress - went to
Soar Valley College Soar Valley College is an 11–16 coeducational secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. It was designated a Maths and Computing specialist college in September 2004. As part of the Building Schools for the Future ini ...
. *
Rakhee Thakrar Rakhee Thakrar (born 29 February 1984) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Shabnam Masood in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2014–2016) and Emily Sands in the Netflix comedy-drama ''Sex Education'' (2019–2023). She als ...
- actress - went to
Soar Valley College Soar Valley College is an 11–16 coeducational secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. It was designated a Maths and Computing specialist college in September 2004. As part of the Building Schools for the Future ini ...
. *
Mark Morrison Mark Anthony Joseph Morrison (born 3 May 1974) is a British singer, best known for his 1996 platinum hit song " Return of the Mack", which was immediately met with success upon its release in several European countries. In the following year, ...
— singer - went to
Rushey Mead Academy Rushey Mead Academy, previously known as Rushey Mead School, is a mixed secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for students aged 11 to 16. It is part of The Mead Educational Trust which also includes Orchard Mead Academ ...
. * Chris Pyatt - professional boxer, former world middleweight champion,
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
gold medallist and ABA welterweight champion - went to
Rushey Mead Academy Rushey Mead Academy, previously known as Rushey Mead School, is a mixed secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for students aged 11 to 16. It is part of The Mead Educational Trust which also includes Orchard Mead Academ ...
. *
Tony Sibson Tony Sibson (born 9 April 1958, in Leicester, England) is a former professional boxer. Boxing career Tony Sibson was Commonwealth and European champion and a three-time world title challenger. His speed coupled with rugged power enabled him to ...
– professional boxer, former European and Commonwealth middleweight champion and three-time world title challenger - went to
Rushey Mead Academy Rushey Mead Academy, previously known as Rushey Mead School, is a mixed secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for students aged 11 to 16. It is part of The Mead Educational Trust which also includes Orchard Mead Academ ...
. *
Shivani Raja Shivani Rajnikant Raja (born 21 July 1994) is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East since 2024. She gained the seat from Claudia Webbe. Early life and career Shivani was born i ...
- politician and MP for
Leicester East Leicester East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since July 2024 by Shivani Raja of the Conservative Party. Constituency profile This is an urban constituency, much of which is densely developed as hous ...
- from Rushey Mead and went to
Soar Valley College Soar Valley College is an 11–16 coeducational secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England. It was designated a Maths and Computing specialist college in September 2004. As part of the Building Schools for the Future ini ...
. *
Jigar Naik Jigar Kumar Hakumatrai Naik (born 10 August 1984) is an English cricket player. Jigar was born in Leicester and educated at Rushey Mead School and Gateway College in the city. He is, as of June 2015, playing for Leicestershire. Naik who play ...
— cricketer - went to
Rushey Mead Academy Rushey Mead Academy, previously known as Rushey Mead School, is a mixed secondary school located in Leicester, Leicestershire, England for students aged 11 to 16. It is part of The Mead Educational Trust which also includes Orchard Mead Academ ...
.

References

External links

Rushey Mead Foundation - Charity linked to Rushey Mead SchoolCurve Theatre - Fashioning a City - Rushey Mead
{{Wards of Leicester Areas of Leicester