Cosby, Leicestershire

Cosby Village centre

Cosby is a village in the English county of Leicestershire. Cosby is located in the south west of the county near the larger villages and towns of Whetstone, Blaby and Wigston. Its proximity to the city of Leicester means it is part of the Leicester Urban Area. The village is administered by Blaby District Council. Cosby has a brook which runs through the village and eventually serves as a tributary to the River Soar.

It is not known how the name originated, and it is first recorded as "Cossebi" in the Domesday Book in 1086 with 40 families living in the village. Cosby was described as a "considerable village" in 1810 by historian John Nichols. In 1991 it had a population of 3,400 and in 2001 a population of 3,489, increasing to 3,506 at the 2011 census.[1]

The Parish church is St Michael and All Angels'. It also has Methodist and Baptist churches. Cosby has two schools. Cosby Primary School and independent school Brooke House Day School. Cosby has football, rugby and cricket teams which all participate in Leicestershire's sporting leagues. The teams play their home games at Victory Park. Cosby also has a barn that dates back to the late 16th century although the wattle and daub was replaced by brick in 1766, hence the date in the brickwork.

The Great Central Railway, the last main line to be built from the north of England to London, opened on 15 Mar 1899 and ran past the east side of Cosby on an embankment. Although there was never a station at Cosby, this section of the line was well known for the lengthy curve which for northbound trains was to the right (east), after coming out of which the city of Leicester would be directly ahead and the route would be almost ruler straight all the rest of the way to the centre of the city, a distance of almost 5 miles (8 km). Railwaymen referred to this curve as Cosby Corner. The line closed on 5 May 1969; today the rear gardens of many adjacent homes have been extended up over the embankment.

The "Victory Show", a commemoration of World War II, is held at Foxlands Farm on a 100-acre site in September. The show hosts re-enactments of military events.

Sir Garfield Sobers has visited Cosby twice in early-mid-2009. First, he was the guest at a special evening when he talked about his cricket career. The former West Indies captain returned a few days later to join members who had successfully bid to play a round of golf with him. His visits came during a busy spell for Cosby when they hosted the County Championship at the end of June 2009.

Leicester Cobras Wheelchair Basketballer and Cosby resident Steve Gill was a housemate in the Big Brother 11 (UK) TV Series on 9 June 2010.

In September 2011, Cosby's Lucy Garner sprinted to victory in Copenhagen to claim the Junior Women's World Championship. She finished in the Top 3 of the 2011 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award category. In May 2012, Garner added the National Junior Road Race title to her Junior World Title.

In the 2014-15 football season, Cosby United won an unprecedented treble by winning the Leicestershire Premier Division, County Cup and League Cup. Ross Gilbert became the clubs most successful ever player with 2 league titles and 2 cup winners medals.

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2016". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
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Coordinates: 52°33.1′N 1°11.6′W / 52.5517°N 1.1933°W / 52.5517; -1.1933

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