Cossington, Leicestershire

Cossington is a village and parish within the Soar Valley in Leicestershire. It lies between Sileby, Rothley, Ratcliffe-on-the-Wreake and Syston. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 598.^[1]

Although there is no railway service to Cossington, the Ivanhoe Line runs along the Midland Main Line between Leicester and Loughborough, passing close to the village. Many years ago there was a Cossington Gate railway station which has long since gone, the only evidence remaining on old maps, The nearest stations now being at Syston and Sileby.

Cossington was once home to Lady Isobel Barnett, a radio and television personality from the mid-20th century, where she committed suicide amidst shoplifting charges. A short new road, Barnett Close, has been named in her memory.

The village is home to three small businesses: two garden centres and a pub, The Royal Oak

In the early 1990s there were plans to expand the village, which were strongly opposed by the residents at the time, who formed the protest group 'Cossington In Distress'. The residents were successful in bringing about the cessation of the work and the village remains a peaceful community to this day.

Every alternate Easter the residents of Cossington open their gardens to the public for two days for the 'Secret Gardens of Cossington' in which the village's willing gardeners show off their talents, with all the proceeds of ticket sales going to charity.

The church of All Saints dates from the 13th century. A 'Grant of Arms' of the Fisher family is displayed on the tower wall above the arch. There are memorial tablets to the Fisher family of which Geoffrey Fisher became Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1950s.^[2]

To the south of the village lies Platts Lane Recreation Ground (more simply know as just 'Platts Lane') which is owned by the Platts Lane Charitable Trust and run by a volunteer committee made up of mostly village residents. Platts Lane is a large playing field that plays host to football, cricket and rugby matches - most notably being the home of Sileby Town Rugby Football Club who are also known as 'The Vikings' and play all their home fixtures at Platts Lane.

Nearby is Ratcliffe College.

A famous native of Cossington was John Webster, governor of Connecticut Colony in 1656.

The Australian artist Grace Cossington Smith's mother (also Grace, née Fisher) was the daughter of a rector of Cossington from the Fisher family.