A STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT Off URBAN SPHERES OP INFLUENCE IN LEICESTERSHIRE, PETER R. ODELL, B.A. A Thesis presented for the Degree of Ph. D. in the Department of Geography at the University of Birmingham, May, University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. V. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The completion of this study would have been impossible without the kind co-operation of numerous individuals in many parts of the country. The writer would wish to express his thanks to the assistants in the Birmingham reference library, the Leicester reference library, the library, newspaper library, and map library of the British Museum, the Public Record Office, and the Leicestershire County Record Office: thtis co-operation in producing books, papers, documents, and the like greatly facilitated the collation of various items of evidence. Representatives of Local Government Authorities and National Government Departments have willingly made information available and have clarified many points in discussion and correspondence with the author. In particular, thanks must be extended to Mr. A. G. Powell, the North Midland regional research officer of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (formerly the Ministry of Town and Country Planning). His comments and suggestions made in the initial stages of this study proved invaluable, and the information pertaining to town-country relationships collated through his office, and which was very willingly made available to the writer for analysis, formed a sure foundation on which to base the present-day investigations. Throughout Leicestershire people in many walks of life have spent much time and trouble in endeavouring to meet the requests vi. sometimes, no doubt, seemingly obscure ones - of the writer for facts and figures. The people who have helped are too numerous to mention individually "but thanks are especially due to firms of auctioneers in Leicester, Melton Mowbray and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, to the retail co-operative societies of the towns of the county, to retailers} cinema managements, newspaper proprietors, public transport operators, and many others who gave considerable assistance in the examination of the contemporary functions of the towns. Finally, it remains to express the writer f s appreciation to the staff of the Department of Geography at the University of Birmingham: to the members of the academic staff for their help and advice in matters of research technique: to Mr. D.W. Oliver and Mr. R. Swift, of the technical staff, for their co-operation in photographing the numerous maps and diagrams: and to the Head of the Department, Professor R. H. Kinvig, who, as supervisor of this thesis, has always been ready and willing to discuss, at length, matters concerning it, and to give such help and encouragement as was essential for its completion. P.R.O. vli CONTENTS* Page. Acknowledgments. *** List of Maps and Diagrams. «» List of Tables. xv. List of Photographs. xlx. INTRODUCTION. 1* SECTION ONE. THE MARKET TOWNS AND THEIR HINTERLANDS UP TO 1800. Chapter One* Urban-Rural Relationships in Medieval Leicestershire. Chapter Two. The Development of Service Function in the Leicestershire Market Towns. Chapter Three. The Market Towns and their Spheres of Influence at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. 91» SECTION TWO. THE URBAN HIERARCHY AND URBAN SPHERES OF INFLUENCE IN LEICESTERSHIRE IN THE MID- 19TH. CENTURY. Chapter One. The Mid-Nineteenth Century Background to Urban-Rural Relationships, 109. Chapter Two. Mid-Nineteenth Century Service Centres in Leicestershire. lllu Chapter Three. The Hinterlands of the Market Towns based on an examination of the Mid- Nineteenth Century Transport Facilities. 135. Chapter Four. The Hinterlands of the Market Towns based on their Provision of Administrative Services. 167* Chapter Five. The Urban Spheres of Influence in the Mid-19th. Century. 200. Chapter Six. The Market Towns in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, 229. Till Page, SECTION THREE. URBAN SPHERES OF INFLUENCE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH. CENTURY. Chapter One. Changing Conditions since the Mid-Nineteenth Century. 270. Chapter Two. Service Provision in 1900. 282. Chapter Three. Determination of the Hinterlands of the Market Towns in 1900. 300. Chapter Four. The Market Towns and their Spheres of Influence in 1900. 326. SECTION FOUR. CONTEMPORARY TJRMN SPHERES OP INFLUENCE. Chapter One. A Revolution in Town-Country Relations. 348. Chapter Two. The Urban Hierarchy in Leicestershire. 373* Chapter Three. Transport Facilities and Urban Spheres Of Influence in Leicestershire. 1952-53. 418. Chapter Four. Functional Hinterlands Defined by the Daily Journey to Work. 448. Chapter Five. The Hinterlands of the Market Towns based on their Provision of Administrative Services. 473. Chapter Six. Spheres of Influence based on the Provision of Weekly Services. 498. Chapter Seven. The towns and their Hinterlands. 529. Chapter Eight. The Hinterlands of the City of Leicester. 583,,, CONCLUSION. 605. Appendix One. The Index of Service Provision for 1851- 611. Appendix Two» The Index of Concentration of Service Facilities. 1851. 613. Appendix Three. The Index of Central ity, 614 Page, Bibliography. A. General Works of Reference. 620. B. Local Works of Reference. 624. C. Directories. 628. D. Newspapers. 630. E, Official Returns and Documents. 632. m LIST OF MAPS AND DIAGRAMS. Following Figure, Page, no. X* Leicestershire in its Regional Setting. 39. 2. Leicestershire : Some indications of relative importance of Settlements before 1800, 57. Leicestershire: Distribution of Population. 156U. 63. Leicestershire: Distribution and Size of Settlements. 156U. 65. 5. Leicestershire; The Physical Background. 73. 6. Leicestershire Road Network. 1801. 92. 7* Market Harborough in 1776. 95. 8. Hinckley in 1782. 98. 9. Spheres of Influence of Leicestershire Market Towns in 1800. 100. 10. The Hinterlands of Leicester, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and Market Harborough at the 101. beginning of the 19th Century* XI* Leicestershire: Distribution of Population, 1801. 103. 12. Hinterlands of Leicester at the beginning of the 19th. Century. 108, 13. Leicestershire: Service Centres. 1831« 116. III-. Leicestershire: Service Centres. 1851. 122. 15. Leicestershire: Mid-Nineteenth Centres for Administrative Services. 133. 16. Leicestershire: Turnpike Traffic. 1829, 136. 17* Leicestershire: Diagrams showing Accessibility to Means of Transport. 139. 18* Daily Routes of Carriers' Carts to Leicester­ shire and Peripheral Centres in the Mid-Nineteenth Century. XI Following Figure. Page.no. 19. Mid-Nineteenth Century Accessibility to Leicestershire Centres. 20. Mid-Nineteenth Century Accessibility to Leicestershire Centres. 21. Mid-19th. Century Hinterlands of Leicestershire Centres based on Market Day Transport Facilities. 152. 22. Leicestershire: Mid-Nineteenth Century Administrative Divisions. 173* 23. Leicestershire: Mid-Nineteenth Century Administrative Divisions. 187* 2k. Mid-19th Century Hinterlands of Leicestershire Centres based on the Provision of Administrative Services. 191* 25. Spheres of Influence of Leicestershire Market Towns in the Mid-19th Century. 200. 26. Distribution of Service Facilities in the Settlements of Leicestershire 1851. 201* 27« Leicestershire: Distribution of Settlements 1850.212. 28. Leicestershire: Distribution of Population 1851. 213. 29. Mid-19th Century Newspapers of Leicestershire and Peripheral Towns. 221. 30. Source of Advertisements in the Leicester Journal. 1831. 226. 31» Mid-Nineteenth Century Circulation Area of the Leicester Journal, 226. 32. Mid-19th. Century Morphology of Two Leicester­ shire Market Towns. Z5J* 33. Leicestershire Towns in the National Transport System of the Mid-19th Century. 255. 3k* Leicestershire: Eailway Network in 1900. 270. 35» Leicestershire: Distribution of Population 1901. 272. 56. Leicestershire: Service Centres. 1900. 286. 37. Accessibility to Leicestershire Centres in 1900, 30*4., xli Following Figure, Page, no, 38. Accessibility to Leicestershire Centres in 1900. 307. Hinterlands of Leicestershire Centres based on Market day Transport Facilities. 308. Rail Facilities and Hinterland Boundaries. 1900. 309. Administrative Divisions in Leicestershire in 1900. 320. The Market Towns and their Spheres of Influence in 1900. 326. Leicestershire: Wool Sales. June 1900. 32?. 44. Circulation Areas of Newspapers in Leicestershire. 1900. 327. 45. Leicestershire: Present Day Service Centres. 379. 46. Leicestershire: Shopping Facilities. 1941* 381. 47« Diagrams showing Accessibility to Leicestershire Centres. 1952-53. 420. 48. Diagrams showing Accessibility to Leicestershire Centres. 1952. 53. 420. 49. Transport Facilities from Leicestershire Settlements. 1953. 422. 5Q« Leicestershire Bus Centres and their Hinterlands: Normal Weekday Services 1952-53. 429. 51* Leicestershire Bus Centres and their Hinterlands: Market day or Saturday services. 1952-53. 429. 52. Early Morning Transport Facilities to Leicestershire Centres. 1952-53. 454. 53* Early Morning Transport