The village of Leire lies in the county of Leicestershire, near to the geographic centre of England and has easy access to the A5, M1, M6, M69 and the nearby towns of Leicester, Rugby, Coventry and Hinkley.

The name of Leire is thought to originate from the old British name for the river Soar - which was at different times Leir, Leyre and Legre - a tributary of which has its source to the south of the village.

On this stretch of the river, the village has two water mills: the one at the northern end being Stemborough Mill and on the southern boundary is Leire Mill.

At the time of Domesday, the number of households totalled 20.  Multiplying this by five, which was the average household, it is estimated the population of Leire was approximately 100.  In 1831 there were 90 houses and the population was at a high of 485. It then fell to 239 in 1901 and has since increased steadily.

It now has a population of over 500 and consists of about 220 houses dating mainly from the late 19th century onwards.

Today the village possesses two public houses, namely the Queen's Arms and The White Horse.

In the nineteenth century, the village possessed a butcher, baker, grocer, greengrocer, haberdasher, cobbler, bootmaker, wheelwright, blacksmith, village carrier and three public houses (the additional hostelry being The Bull's Head).

To see more information about the village, please have a look at http://www.leire.net