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.

It is not known how the name originated, and it is first recorded as "Cossebi" in the Domesday Book. It was described as a "considerable village" in 1810 by historian John Nicholls. In 1991 it had a population of 3,400 and in 2001 a population of 3,489. The parish church is St Michael and All Angels'. It also has a Methodist and Baptist church. Cosby has a brook which runs through the village and eventually serves as a tributary to the River Soar. Cosby has two schools - Cosby Primary School and Brooke House Day Nursery. Cosby has football, rugby and cricket teams which all participate in Leicestershire's sporting leagues. The teams play their home games at Victory Park and has a website at www.cosbyrfc.co.uk. Cosby also has a barn that dates to 1766.

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.

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.

In September 2011, Cosby's Lucy Garner sprinted to a superb victory in Copenhagen to claim the Junior Women's World Championship.

External links

• Parish council
• Cosby United F.C. results 1951-1978
• Cosby Big LoVE
• Cosby Rugby Football Club
• Map sources for Cosby, Leicestershire

Coordinates: 52°33.1′N 1°11.6′W / 52.5517°N 1.1933°W / 52.5517; -1.1933