The Southfields of Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 consisted of common land

Common land

Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...

 south of the city, and now refers to the mostly-developed area immediately south of the city centre

Leicester City Centre

Leicester City Centre is an area covering the core inner city area and central business district of the city of Leicester, England. It is roughly delineated from Leicester's suburbs by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road....

.

It is one of three such large fields that survive as placenames, the others being the Highfields

Highfields, Leicestershire

Highfields is an inner city area of Leicester, England. As the name suggests, it is one of the highest areas in the city, on high ground southeast of the city centre. To the west the area is bounded by the Midland Main Line, to the south by London Road, and to the east by East Park Road...

 and the Northfields. The field remained as common land until 1804 when it was controversially enclosed

Enclosure

Enclosure or inclosure is the process which ends traditional rights such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on common land. Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner, and it ceases to be common land. In England and Wales the term is also used for the...

 by the Corporation of Leicester, setting aside a part of the field as 'Freemen's Common' for the use of freemen of the city. The Southfields were then developed in the 19th century, although some large open spaces still exist in the area - particularly Victoria Park

Victoria Park, Leicester

Victoria Park in Leicester, England is a public park of 69 acres . It is in the south-east, just outside the city centre, backing on to the University of Leicester and close to the Leicester railway station....

, the Welford Road Cemetery

Welford Road Cemetery

Welford Road Cemetery is a public cemetery in Leicester.The Leicester General Cemetery Company was founded in 1845, and the cemetery itself opened in 1849. The buildings and plan of the cemetery were designed by J. R. Hamilton and J. M. Medland, who also designed cemeteries for Birmingham and...

, and Nelson Mandela Park.

The Southfields area also includes HMP Leicester, the former Southfields College (now part of Leicester College

Leicester College

Leicester College is a further education College in Leicester, England. It is one of the largest and most successful colleges in the UK, with more than 26,000 learners, 1,600 staff, plus an annual budget of £51million....

), and the University of Leicester

University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....

.