Leicester

On the River Soar; site of Iron Age settlement; established as 'Civitas' by Romans; legendary home of King Lear; Cathedral see of Bishop of Leicester until the 9th century when it became a Danish borough; one of the Five Boroughs of Danelaw; site of first Parliament called in 1265 by Simon de Montfort and early center of dissidents; became important industrial center in the 14th century; visited by Richard III before his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485; center for hosiery and shoe industries since the 18th century.