Broadgate, or Bradgate

BROADGATE, or Bradgate, an extra-parochial liberty, in the hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 5 miles (N. W.) from Leicester; containing 7 inhabitants. Here are the ruins of a mansion once the property of the noble family of Grey of Groby, of which was the accomplished and unfortunate Lady Jane Grey, who was born here in 1537. The ruins are small, chiefly composed of brick, and exhibit no signs of architectural grandeur, the house having been a large but low building in the form of a square, and turreted at each corner; it was built in the early part of the 16th century, by Thomas, Lord Grey, second Marquess of Dorset. Situated on the verge of Charnwood forest, it combined the variety of rocky and mountainous scenery on one side, and a rich and fertilized plain on the other. The grounds of which the park is formed, are about six miles in circumference, and surrounded and intersected by walls; they are well stocked with deer, and an extensive rabbit-warren supplies the neighbouring town of Leicester. A small stream, abounding in trout, enters the park near the church of Newtown-Linford, and, working its way amidst the rock and wood with which this part of the demesne is overspread, adds materially to the romantic beauty of the scenery. The Earl of Stamford and Warrington is the proprietor of Broadgate, which consists of about 1200 acres.