WHETSTONE & COSBY
Local employment, a varied mix of old and new homes and a semi rural setting present a wealth of living options in the neighbouring southwest Leicestershire villages of Whetstone and Cosby
Sliced apart by the relentless passage of the M1, these southwest Leicestershire villages offer strong contrasts in their make up.
Six miles from the city centre, Whetstone is a true working village with its own commercial and industrial estate off Cambridge Road.
Two miles west, Cosby is a traditional village noted for its timbered cottages and pretty brook winding through the heart of the settlement. More recent development has lent them the common purpose of satellite villages for commuters.
Residents of both have a full quota of local services and amenities, with excellent transport links and a broad choice of housing. Proximity to the larger townships of Blaby and Wigston provides an even broader range of local shopping and services, including doctors and dentists.
New development in Whetstone has boosted mid to late 20th Century settlement on the village outskirts. Four and five-bedroom homes on the recent Strata Homes Opulence residential scheme on Cambridge Road are now sold.
The old heart of Cosby around The Nook reflects the development of the original agricultural settlement, supplemented by Victorian homes and cottages.
In the 1960s large private housing estates made the village one of Leicestershire’s growing dormitory settlements.
According to Rightmove prices in Whetstone were 3% up on the previous year with most sales being detached homes selling for on average £344,954.
Semi-detached properties fetched an average £190,823, while terraced properties £168,969.
Sale prices in Cosby soared by 25% last year, with most sales again being detached properties, selling for an average £361,596. Semi-detached properties fetched an average £198,163 and terraced properties £188,500.
With an overall average price of £271,434 Whetstone was similar to Cosby, at £266,603, but more expensive than nearby Blaby, at £210,296, Littlethorpe £225,980 and Narborough £241,164.
A modern three-bedroom detached home in Charlton Close, Whetstone, fetched £285,000 in August, having sold for £230,000 in September 2015 and a three-bedroom end terrace in Croft Road Cosby achieved £219,950 in July, its previous sale price being £159,011 in March 2015.
Ofsted Rating
Primary
Cosby Primary School, ‘Good’ 2017; Badgerbrook Primary School, Whetstone, ‘Outstanding’ 2011; St Peters Church of England Primary School, Whetstone, ‘Requires Improvement’ 2017.
Secondary
Thomas Estley Community College, Broughton Astley (11 to 14) ‘Outstanding’ 2010; Countesthorpe Leysland Community College, (11 to 19) ‘Outstanding’ 2013; Lutterworth College, (11 to 19) ‘Good’ 2017 Independent
Brooke House, Rugby and Leicester Grammar schools.
Cosby is particularly well served by individual food outlets and services, including a popular farm shop, a butcher, mini supermarket, pharmacy, post office, hairdressers, fish and chip and Indian takeaways, a café and deli.
There’s also a highly rated Chinese restaurant at Winleys, in The Bull’s Head pub. Whetstone has a farm shop too, plus a convenience store and several pubs and takeaways, including pizza, Chinese, Indian and Thai.
There’s plenty to do in the locality, with rural footpaths and bridleways to explore and two leisure clubs within a ten-minute drive, plus all the leisure amenities of nearby Fosse and Meridian Parks.
The rural setting is verdantly bounded north and south by the cultivated landscape of golf courses at both Whetstone and Cosby, making it easy to get a round in.
Cosby is home to highly successful youth and adult football, rugby and cricket teams, with most home games aptly played at Victory Park. In 2017/18 Cosby rugby club won the Merit C league title and Cosby United FC the Leicester and District Premier Division title.
Whetstone hosts the Vipers Rugby Club and is well served for football, with Blaby and Whetstone Boys,’ Whetstone Juniors’ and Saffron Dynamo clubs to choose from. Holmes Park is the base of Leicester and Rutland County FA and also Leicester City Football Club Under 23s.
The A426 Lutterworth and Rugby road is a fast link to M1 Junction 21 four miles away. Frequent bus services run direct into Leicester and there is also a local rail link to Leicester and Birmingham from nearby Narborough.
The computer performance measurement the Whetstone was named after the Whetstone ALGOL compiler developed by English Electric at its Whetstone factory and thus takes its name from the village. The factory was the original location for Sir Frank Whittle’s jet engine and today’s thriving industrial estate on Cambridge Road is named after him.
The Great Central Railway ran east side of Cosby on an embankment.
Although there was never a station here, this section of the line was notable for the long curve which for northbound trains was to the right (east), coming out of which Leicester would be directly ahead and the route would be ruler straight the rest of the five-mile journey to the city. Railwaymen called the curve Cosby Corner.
After the line closed in 1969 rear gardens of many adjacent homes were extended over the embankment.