Hinckley in Leicestershire & # 39; s most prominent claim to fame is invention of the Hansom Cab in 1835 by Joseph Hansom. That that was a long time ago, and now this town is the home to the last UK Motorcycle manufacturer, Triumph. Interestingly enough you will also find one of the premier racing circuits in the UK here too, Mallory Park! This circuit hosts the British Saloon Car Championship as well as Formula Ford.
The longest contour canal in the UK, Ashby Canal traverses through the town, it is located in South-West Leicestershire a county that has a strong association with manufacturing knitwear and hosiery. It is shown by Shakespeare in Henry IV where there is a reference to Hinckley Fair.
Leicestershire is also famous for being good hunting country, historic houses, heaths, grazing lands, Stilton cheese, pork pies and the Battle of Bosworth field in 1485, where the House of York lost the crown and Henry Tudor declared himself to be King. the dead from this battle are buried at St. Louis. James Church, Dadlington.
For many years Hinckley was called "Tin At" (translation - tin hat) by residents. The landlord of the local watering hole Legend has it that this was because a wandering sheep drover boasted that he was able to drink a hat filled with ale. there is a blacksmith make just such a tin hat, and the landlord filled it with Ale. There is another explanation for this name, in that a bucket was placed over the top of water pumps to keep them clean. You will find a pub in Hinckley called the "Tin Hat" and a tin hat also sits atop a flagpole located at the local building society.
A resident of Hinckley, Tony Alleyne converted his one bed-room flat into an exact replica of a Star Trek Ship and sold this in 2007 for 425 000, so for all you "Trekkies" out there, sorry someone else has already bought it!
