Braunstone, United Kingdom

Two socmen abiding in Braunstone had five oxgangs of land in Lubbesthorpe; and jointly with ten villains and six borders in that lordship had two ploughs and five ploughing oxen.

The above lands were held by Robert Burdet under Hugh de Grandmesnil, one of William I's most powerful barons.

A ploughland or carucate = about 80 to 120 acres (0.32 to 0.49 km2) of land.

A copy of the Domesday Book is displayed at Braunstone Civic Centre.

The first Lord of the Manor was de Grandmesnil. At this time the village consisted of 8 households and was worth about 60 shillings.

The Harcourt or Horecut family held the over-riding interest in the estate from the 13th to the 16th centuries. A survey taken in 1299 showed a growth to 24 households in the village.

The 14th century saw several outbreaks of the Black Death in the area. Its effect on Braunstone is not recorded, but nearby Glenfield was seriously affected. At this time the Leicester Forest extended into Braunstone as far as Bendbow Spinney.

Several portions of Braunstone were sold off in the late 16th century. 150 acres (0.61 km2) of arable land were sold to the Manners family in 1579 and a further 100 acres (0.40 km2) went to the Bennett family ten years later. 240 acres (0.97 km2) of land were converted to pasture in 1596 by the Hastings family, who owned the estate at that time.

Woodlands were gradually converted to pastures, mainly for sheep – being then the more profitable husbandry. Leicester Forest was fully enclosed in 1628. Villagers of Braunstone were compensated for the loss of Forestry Rights.

The 18th century was a period of prosperity for Braunstone. The largest estate of the time was owned by Abraham Compton and comprised 68 ewes, 25 lambs, 14 cows, 6 heifers, 4 calves and 6 pigs.

In 1750 James Winstanley III tried to sink a pit on the manor. His attempts were thwarted when his bore hole was filled with stones by intruders, thought to be from local mining districts.

In the 1820s Braunstone was known as a place to go fox-hunting. Charles Loraine Smith painted a set of parodies known as the "Smoking Hunt" which pokes fun at the fashionable sport of hunting here.

Braunstone remained a village with various tenanted farmsteads until, in 1925, the Leicester Corporation compulsorily purchased the bulk of the Winstanley Braunstone Hall estate for £116,500.

Braunstone's population rose from 238 in 1921 to 6,997 in 1931.

In 1935 the part of Braunstone on the city side of Braunstone Lane became the North Braunstone Ward of the City of Leicester, and the parish of Braunstone in compensation had part of Lubbesthorpe added to its boundary. It mostly consists of council housing built between 1925 and 1940.

During World War Two Braunstone Park was put to agricultural use. Wheat, barley, and potatoes were grown, and sheep allowed to graze. What is now the Memorial Gardens was used as a military camp, occupied first by the British Army and later by the American 82nd Airborne Division troops. After the war, due to the severe housing shortage, people were allowed to occupy the camp until they found homes of their own.

By the 1990s, however, Braunstone was perhaps the most troubled part of Leicester, with crime rates and unemployment among the highest in the city. In April 1994, The Independent newspaper reported that unemployment on the estate was above 25% and was blighted by youth gangs engaging in anti-social behaviour.

The area is also known for housing the head office of British Shoe Corporation on Sunningdale Road, from 1965 to 1999. A plaque on the corner of Sunningdale Road shows the site's history and connection with British Shoe Corporation (BSC as it was known) and the founder of BSC, Charles Clore.