Leicester Town Wall

In the civil parish of Leicester. In the historic county of Leicestershire (Modern Authority of Leicester; City of, 1974 county of Leicestershire).

No remains of medieval town wall based on and extended from Roman wall. Said to be raised in 1174. Murage grants in 1286, 1293 and 1316. Walls were ruinous by 1587 and are now entirely buried. The walls were built with some reused Roman masonry.

This site has been described as a;
Urban Defence.

The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.

Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK585040

PastScape Defra ELS number; 867059, 867061, 867062, 867060, 867063

Books

Creighton, O.H. and Higham, R.A., 2005, Medieval Town Walls (Stroud: Tempus) p23, 45, 59-60, 68-70, 107, 109, 142-3, 179, 216, 231, 236, 246, 266, 278
Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p41 [mention]
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p140
Buckley. R. and Lucas, J., 1987, Leicester town defences: excavations 1958–1974 (Leicester: Leicestershire Museums, Art Galleries and Records Service)
Bond, C.J., 1987, 'Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Defences' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p92-116
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p256-7
Barley, M.W., 1975, 'Town Defences in England and Wales after 1066' in Barley (ed) Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA research reports) pp57-71
Turner, H.L., 1971, Town Defences in England and Wales (London) p119
Billson, 1920, Mediaeval Leicester (Leicester) p1, 205-6, 222
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co) p200, 224

Journal Articles

Lucas, J.N., 1978-9, ‘The town walls of Leicester: evidence for a west wall' Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol54 p61-6
Goodchild, 1953, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol29 p15-29
Clarke, 1952, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Vol28 p17-21
1899-1904, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society p179

Guidebooks

Chinnery, G.A., 1981, Leicester Castle and the Newarke (Leicester Museums)

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/huntseng.html#leics5]
Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p277

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Leicester Town Wall

No remains of medieval town wall based on and extended from Roman wall. Said to be raised in 1174. Murage grants in 1286, 1293 and 1316. Walls were ruinous by 1587 and are now entirely buried. The walls were built with some reused Roman masonry.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK585040

Sources of information, references and further reading