A Brief History of Cosby

Another early 17^th century building, situated near the north end of the Nook is Cosby House. Adjacent to this is a large late 15^th century timber-framed barn, which is one of the more striking buildings in the village. Originally the barn would have been thatched and the walls infilled with wattle and daub. At a later date the infill was replaced with brick and the building re-roofed with Swithland slate. This probably occurred in 1766, the date featured on the south gable end of the barn.

In 1767 the medieval open fields of the village were enclosed by Act of Parliament, bringing to an end the system of agriculture, which had been practiced in Cosby from before the Norman Conquest in 1066. The post enclosure revolution in farming resulted in Cosby becoming a more industrial village with framework knitting followed by boot and shoe manufacture dominating the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. During this period the population of the village more than doubled from 555 in 1801 to 1351 in 1901.

Council houses were built along Park Road and in Lady Leys during the 1920s and 1930s, while the Settlement was established in 1938 when 48 houses each with a third of an acre to house out of work families from Wales and the North East of England. By 1951 the population had risen to 1533, five times that of the village in the 17^th century. In the 1960s large private housing estates were also built making the village one of Leicestershire's increasing number of dormitory settlements. Today the village has a population of around 3750 and is a thriving community with a growing interest in its heritage and historic roots.