Heather Preceptory

Heather ( HEE-dhər) is a village west of Ibstock in North West Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 949 at the 2001 census reducing to 920 at the 2011 census. In the Domesday Book of 1086, its name is recorded as Hadre, meaning "the heathland".There was an Iron Age settlement immediately north west of the village. As part of an open cast coal mining application, this was excavated in 1990. It identified a settlement from the late 2nd century BC through to early second century A.D.

Heather St John's Football Club is a football club based in the village of Heather, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the Midland League Division One and play at St John's Park.

Heather and Ibstock railway station is a disused railway station on the former Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway. It served the village of Heather and town of Ibstock. It was originally named Heather, but with the industrial expansion of nearby Ibstock the request to have it renamed to include that town was accepted in 1894. It closed to passengers in 1931 but closed to parcel traffic in 1951. Goods continued to pass through until 1954 when the line was closed from Hugglescote to Shackerstone. The site has since been demolished and is now part of a housing estate which now occupies the entire former station site.

The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Wood (initially known as the Flagship Diamond Wood) is a woodland in Leicestershire, UK created in 2012. Covering 186 hectares (460 acres), it is the centrepiece of a wide-ranging Jubilee Project by the Woodland Trust to mark the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The site incorporates a former opencast coal mine which now has a newly created lake, as well as former arable land and 7 hectares (17 acres) of existing ancient woodland and old hedgerows. Situated between the villages of Normanton le Heath, Heather and Ravenstone, and close to Coalville and Ashby de la Zouch, it is in the middle of the National Forest.

Sence Valley Forest Park is located between Ibstock and Heather in North West Leicestershire, and within the National Forest, England. It is situated on the site of a former open cast mine where, between 1982 and 1996, eight million tonnes of coal were extracted by opencast mining. The 60-hectare site has since been transformed by tree planting and the creation of lakes and is now managed by Forestry England. The River Sence flows through the park. A series of paths provide access to a picnic area and the various fishing opportunities. There are also toilets and parking facilities for both the able bodied and the disabled. The park is also home to Sence Valley Forest Park parkrun, a free timed 5km running and walking event held every Saturday at 9am.

Newton Burgoland Marshes is an 8.7-hectare (21-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Newton Burgoland in Leicestershire.This site is in two areas, with the northern one having wet grassland and species rich marsh, while the southern one is well-drained grassland. Herbs in the marsh include ragged robin, marsh marigold, meadow thistle and southern marsh orchid.The site is private land with no public access.

Ibstock is a former coal mining town and civil parish about 3 miles (5 km) south of Coalville in North West Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 5,760 at the 2001 census increasing to 6,201 at the 2011 census and 7,615 at the 2021 census.The village is on the A447 road between Coalville and Hinckley.The toponym Ibstock could be a derivative of Ibestoche meaning the farmstead or hamlet of Ibba, which is an Old English personal name also found in other toponyms.

Newton Burgoland is a village in the civil parish of Swepstone and Newton Burgoland, in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The Swepstone parish used to include a small settlement named Newton-Nethercote, which formed part of the village, but that is now part of the rest of Newton Burgoland. The population is included in the civil parish of Swepstone. The place-name is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Neutone. It is referred to as Neuton Burgilon in 1390. The name "Newton" means "new homestead or village". The "Burgoland" element refers to the Burgilon family, the name meaning "Burgundian".The village contains a public house, "The Belper Arms", which is identified as the oldest pub in Leicestershire. The pub dates back to 1290 when which it was named "The Shepherd and the Shepherdess Inn". During the Second World War, the village was highly affected by German bombing which took place in surrounding villages such as Odstone, Measham and Heather. In 1940, evacuees were escorted to the village notably from Coventry, Birmingham and London to escape the bombing in such cities. Nearby Gopsall Hall was later requisitioned as a barracks for British soldiers during the war, who visited public houses in Newton Burgoland such as "The Belper Arms" and "The Spade Tree". The village contains a primary school situated on School Lane. Children attending the school typically transfer when aged 11 to Ibstock Community College, The Market Bosworth School or elsewhere. The famous cinema and church organ builder, John Compton, was born in Newton Burgoland.

Normanton le Heath is a village and civil parish situated between the parishes of Packington, Ravenstone and Heather in North West Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 131 at the 2001 census, rising to 165 at the 2011 census. It should not be confused with another Normanton in the county which is near Bottesford. The name, which in Old English means the settlement of Northmen on the heath, suggests that the current village was probably an English village taken over by a group of Norse or Danish settlers at the time of the original Viking settlement, and this fits well into the overall pattern of land occupation in the area. It lies on the edge of the great heath that once stretched Westwards from the edge of Charnwood Forest, something which is reflected in the names of a number of other settlements in the area, such as Heather and Donington le Heath. There are, however, signs of significant earlier land usage in the parish. Near to the boundary with Heather and Ravenstone an Iron Age settlement has been discovered. Equally, the newly discovered Roman road from Leicester to Chester has been discovered running through the centre of Normanton. Just over the parish boundary in the southern Ravenstone area there was a small Roman town. A track called the Swepstone Way can be traced running from the Iron Age settlement all the way to Tamworth. The Salt Way which ran through Measham can also be traced to Normanton. It is not totally implausible to suggest that a road/track ran through the centre from Ancaster to Wall. If this is correct it would suggest that this track was of Roman origin. However, this is very much a speculative road at the moment. The settlement is not mentioned in the Domesday Book and the first mention we have is in 1209. Much of the land in the early Middle Ages to the north was known to be woodland or heathland. Coal mining formed part of the economy of the area from a very early period and mines have been found at the abandoned village of Alton to the north of Normanton. To the east of the village was the Long Moor open cast coal mine managed by UK Coal. Over a three-year period from 2007 to 2010 this extracted 725,000 tons of coal. Following restoration, the 188 acres (76 ha) mine site has been acquired by the Woodland Trust. With adjoining agricultural land this will become the Flagship Diamond Wood, a 186 hectares (460 acres) new woodland to celebrate the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Ibstock Community College is a coeducational secondary school located in Ibstock in the English county of Leicestershire. Previously a community middle school administered by Leicestershire County Council, in September 2012 Ibstock Community College converted to academy status. The school is now sponsored by the LIFE Multi-Academy Trust. In September 2022 the school expanded its age range to 16, becoming a secondary school. Ibstock Leisure Complex forms part of the school campus, and is jointly run by the school and North West Leicestershire District Council. The leisure complex offers facilities such as a swimming pool, gym, sports hall, sports pitches, dance studio and meeting rooms. The facilities are open for public use outside of school hours.

Ibstock United Football Club was a football club based in the village of Ibstock, near Coalville in Leicestershire, England. They played at the Welfare Ground.

Kelham Bridge is a 8.1 hectares (20 acres) nature reserve north of Ibstock in Leicestershire. It is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.The conversion of this former sewage disposal site to a nature reserve was completed in 2002. The River Sence has been diverted to create meanders, extending flooded areas and reedbeds; 101 bird, 19 butterfly and 16 dragonfly species have been recorded.There is access from the A447 road.