Evington

For the village in Campbell County, Virginia, see Evington, Virginia.

Coordinates: 52°37′16″N 1°04′19″W / 52.621°N 1.072°W / 52.621; -1.072

Evington, Rowlatts Hill & Goodwood
Population 9,788 
OS grid referenceSK628030
Unitary authorityLeicester
Ceremonial countyLeicestershire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town LEICESTER
Postcode district LE5
Dialling code 0116
Police Leicestershire
Fire Leicestershire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentLeicester East
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire

Evington is an Electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. It used to be a small village centred on Main Street and the Anglican 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.

History

Evington village

Evington Village Conservation Area

The name Evington comes from the Anglo-Saxon name Aefa's Tun.[1] After the Norman conquest the land was given to Hugh de Grentesmesnil.[1] The first known spelling Evington was of Walter de Evington 1259 who leased a carucate of land at the village of Evington – about 100 acres (0.40 km2). 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.[2]

In 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. The modern ward does include the large 1950s development based at Downing Drive and Spencefield Lane.[2]

Evington village has been a conservation area since 1989.[3]

Council estates

Rowlatts Hill is a council estate 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.[4] For council housing purposes it is considered separate from Evington.[5]

Goodwood is a 1950s council estate considered together with Evington for council housing purposes.[5][6] It is just under 1000 residences.[7]

Features

Evington Village Green
Evington Park

Village Green

Evington Village Green is a triangle of land bounded on the North by Main Street, on the Southwest by High Street and on 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.[8] It is largely open space for recreation, with a large old oak tree in the south-east corner.[8] It also features a newly refurbished kids playground, funded by the Friends of Evington Village Green. There are benches for people to sit on and relax, and it is the site of the Evington Village Fete and Show, held annually.

Evington Park

Evington House

Evington park is some 44 acres (0.18 km2) of public parkland, opened in 1948, formerly the estate of Evington House (built 1836) which is used as offices and some public amenities.[1] 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.[9]

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 taxonimic groups.[10][11] In the northmost area, many individual trees are planted by arrangement with the council as memorials to people who have died.[10]

Piggy's Hollow

The Hollow

This is Scheduled monument (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.[12][13] It is on the north side of the Arboretum and adjacent to St Denys Church on the west.

St Denys parish church

St Denys Church

The Church of England 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.[14] It is a Grade II* listed building.[15] The tower and spire are original: the South and North Aisles date from the 14th century, and the Chancel from the 19th century.[14] Its rare ring of 4 bells was augmented to six following an appeal in the late 1980s.[9] The interior includes 3 stained glass windows from 1870.[15]

Evington Chapel

Evington Chapel

This is a Baptist Chapel on the corner of Main Street and High Street, by Evington Village Green.[16] It is an 1837 Gothic style with slate roof, being a Grade II listed building.[17]

Masjid Umar Mosque

Masjid Umar Mosque

The Masjid Umar mosque, which is also Evington Muslim Centre, was completed in 2000.[18][19][20]

Amenities

Evington Library

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).

Evington Village Hall

Nearby places, Goodwood, Evington Valley, Oadby, Thurnby, Stoughton.

Evington is home to the Leicestershire Golf Club, on the south of the village, and west of the arboretum.[21]

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 and the current (2013) editor is Helen Pettman.[22]

Schools in the area

Primary schools: Linden Primary School, Whitehall Primary School, Oaklands (Special School), Coleman Primary School.

Secondary schools: City of Leicester College, St Paul's Catholic School, Judgemeadow Community College.[23]

Independent schools: Leicester Grammar School.

Evington Hall is a Grade II listed building (built about 1840)[24] which in the past was a convent school,[2] then part of Leicester Junior Grammar School, but is now part of a Hindu faith school which opened in September 2011.[25][26]

Transport

Evington is connected to other parts of Leicester by the following bus services:

Arriva Fox County services 53/53A, 56/56A

Centrebus Services 10, 11, 22, 40, 54A, 81 and 747,

Coachmaster Service 36

First Leicester Services 22, 38/38A and 54.

Council Election Result, 2007

Evington (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Michael Johnson 1,531 20%
Labour Deepak Bajaj 1,519 20%
Conservative Caroline Roberts 1,425 19%
Labour Edward Gorrod 1,422 18%
Liberal Democrat Bob Carter 708 9%
Liberal Democrat Chris Garner 506 7%
Unity for Peace and Socialism Mohinder Singh Farma 283 4%
UKIP Bridie Duignan 153 2%
UKIP Andrew Ponting 143 2%
Turnout 4,069
Conservative hold Swing
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

People

Evington was the home of England Football international Emile Heskey. Both Emile Heskey and Gary Lineker (Winner of the Golden Boot) attended the City of Leicester College in Evington, as did former Labour media advisor Alistair Campbell 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 novelist E. Phillips Oppenheim.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Leicester City Council A History of Evington Park
  2. 1 2 3 4 British History Online R. A. McKinley (editor)(1958) A History of the County of Leicester: volume 4: The City of Leicester
  3. ↑ www.leicester.gov.uk Evington Village
  4. ↑ Pevsner, N., & Williamson, E., (1985) The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland; 2nd ed. (Penguin Books)
  5. 1 2 Leicester City Council Housing Allocation Areas Guide 2004-5
  6. ↑ Goodwood & Evington Tenants and Residents Association
  7. ↑ Leicester City Council housing supply
  8. 1 2 Leicester City Council Evington Village Open Spaces (2003)
  9. 1 2 Leicester City Council Evington park
  10. 1 2 Evington Arboretum: leaflet (undated) by Leicester City Council Parks and Garded Spaces
  11. ↑ Leicester City Council Shady Lane Arboretum
  12. ↑ Leicester City Council The Hollow, Evington
  13. ↑ Evington Echo Piggy's Hollow
  14. 1 2 www.stdenys.org.uk History
  15. 1 2 www.heritagegateway.org Parish Church of St Denys
  16. ↑ Evington Chapel
  17. ↑ www.heritagegateway.org.uk/ Evington Chapel
  18. ↑ Leicester Mercury Oct 31, 2003 Mosque Wins Readers' Vote of Approval
  19. ↑ BBC Leicester 2004 Exclusive access to Masjid Umar mosque
  20. ↑ Mosque website
  21. ↑ www.theleicestershiregolfclub.co.uk/
  22. ↑ www.evingtonecho.co.uk/
  23. ↑ www.judgemeadow.leicester.sch.uk/
  24. ↑ www.heritagegateway.org.uk Evington Hall
  25. ↑ Leicester Mercury, Sep 6, 2011 Leicester's Hindu school is a beacon, says Education Secretary Michael Gove
  26. ↑ Evington Echo Feb/March 2011 Evington Hall will be a Hindu State Primary School

Further reading

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