Twycross
Encyclopedia
Twycross is a small village and civil parish in Leicestershire
, England
on the A444 road
. Parts of it are called Norton juxta — Latin
for 'next to' — Twycross or Little Twycross. The civil parish includes the hamlet
called Little Orton
, as well as Twycross Zoo
, and the selective, private Twycross House School.
Administratively, Twycross forms part of the Hinckley and Bosworth
district. It is named 'Twycross' because its centre lies at the intersection of three roads. The A444 connects it to Burton-on-Trent
and Coventry
and the B4116/B4114 to Birmingham
.
It also contains the Twycross Cricket Club, a village club with a 1st and 2nd XI who play in the Leicestershire Senior League. It also has a Sunday XI which plays many friendly games throughout the season.
Twycross also has great youth sides at under 10s, 11s, 13s, and 15s level, each providing for the future of the men's team.
The 1st team XI play regularly in the Premier division, whilst the 2nd team XI play in division 3, which hosts a 1st team and 2nd teams while also holding a Sunday friendly team. It has a youth set-up with under-15, under-13, and under-11 teams.
Twycross is also home to world-famous video game developer
Rare, who has developed games and series such as GoldenEye 007, Viva Piñata
, Banjo-Kazooie, Killer Instinct, Conker, Perfect Dark
, and many of the Donkey Kong games from as early as Donkey Kong Country
in 1994 to as recent as Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007 (despite them having become a Microsoft
first-party since 2003, when their contract with Nintendo
was bought out).
The church of St. James contains the oldest stained glass in England. Originally from Sainte-Chapelle
, Saint-Denis
, and Le Mans Cathedral. The earliest glass is c1145 from Saint-Denis
, the panels having been presented to William IV who gave them to Earl Howe, who got the glazier Thomas Willement
to arrange and installed them the church during its restoration in the 1840s.
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, 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...
on the A444 road
A444 road
The A444 is a primary road running between Coventry and Burton on Trent in England, usually referred to as the "A treble four".-Route:Starting on the A4600 Sky Blue Way in Coventry, the road heads north on a dual carriageway road, crossing the M6 at junction 3. It bypasses Bedworth to the west and...
. Parts of it are called Norton juxta — Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for 'next to' — Twycross or Little Twycross. The civil parish includes the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
called Little Orton
Little Orton, Leicestershire
Little Orton is a hamlet in the English county of Leicestershire.Little Orton is part of the civil parish of Twycross; it is located southwest of the main village being divided from it by the A444 road and Twycross Zoo....
, as well as Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo
Twycross Zoo is an zoo near the village of Twycross in Leicestershire, close to the border of Warwickshire . The zoo claims the largest collections of monkeys and apes in the World, and in 2006 re-launched itself as "Twycross Zoo – The World Primate Centre."The zoo attracts around 500,000 visitors...
, and the selective, private Twycross House School.
Administratively, Twycross forms part of the Hinckley and Bosworth
Hinckley and Bosworth
Hinckley and Bosworth is a local government district with borough status in south-western Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Its only towns are Hinckley, Earl Shilton and Market Bosworth...
district. It is named 'Twycross' because its centre lies at the intersection of three roads. The A444 connects it to Burton-on-Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
and Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
and the B4116/B4114 to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
It also contains the Twycross Cricket Club, a village club with a 1st and 2nd XI who play in the Leicestershire Senior League. It also has a Sunday XI which plays many friendly games throughout the season.
Twycross also has great youth sides at under 10s, 11s, 13s, and 15s level, each providing for the future of the men's team.
The 1st team XI play regularly in the Premier division, whilst the 2nd team XI play in division 3, which hosts a 1st team and 2nd teams while also holding a Sunday friendly team. It has a youth set-up with under-15, under-13, and under-11 teams.
Twycross is also home to world-famous video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
Rare, who has developed games and series such as GoldenEye 007, Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360 video game console. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series, based on an idea from Tim Stamper. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was...
, Banjo-Kazooie, Killer Instinct, Conker, Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark (series)
Perfect Dark is a science fiction video game franchise created and developed by Rare. The series debuted with the Nintendo 64 video game Perfect Dark in 2000, which received strong acclaim from critics and players, leading to the franchise's expansion. In 2002, Rare was acquired by Microsoft Game...
, and many of the Donkey Kong games from as early as Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making...
in 1994 to as recent as Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007 (despite them having become a Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
first-party since 2003, when their contract with Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
was bought out).
The church of St. James contains the oldest stained glass in England. Originally from Sainte-Chapelle
Sainte-Chapelle
La Sainte-Chapelle is the only surviving building of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including the Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval...
, Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, and Le Mans Cathedral. The earliest glass is c1145 from Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, the panels having been presented to William IV who gave them to Earl Howe, who got the glazier Thomas Willement
Thomas Willement
Thomas Willement, 1786–1871, was a British stained glass artist, called “the Father of Victorian Stained Glass”, active from 1811 to 1865.-Biographical:Willement was born on the 18th July 1786 at St Marylebone, London....
to arrange and installed them the church during its restoration in the 1840s.