Whetstone, Leicestershire
| Whetstone | |
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 Whetstone
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| Whetstone shown within Leicestershire | |
| Population | 6,556 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SP556974 |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEICESTER |
| Postcode district | LE8 |
| Dialling code | 0116 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Whetstone is a village and civil parish in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. It has a population of 12,000 and largely acts as a commuter village for Leicester, five miles to the north. The population at the 2011 census was 6,556. Its proximity to Leicester causes Whetstone to form part of the Leicester Urban Area.
The village is bounded on the east by the A426 (on the other side of which is Blaby village), to the north by the railway line from Nuneaton to Leicester, and to the west by the M1. It is well connected to Leicester town centre, with a very frequent bus service direct to Leicester. From 1899 to 1963 the village was served by Whetstone railway station.
Whetstone was the site of Frank Whittle's factory, where jet engines were developed. Babcock Services, ITP Engines Ltd and Converteam now occupy the site, with smaller companies renting space (mainly for storing commercial vehicles). Until 2002 the site still sounded an air raid siren at 8am once a week on a Wednesday.
The site of the Whittle factory became the English Electric Company (Later GEC) a significant part of several Nuclear power stations were made there in the 1960s and 70s. English Electric was one of the largest Engineering Companies in the Leicester area, employing thousands of workers and training hundreds of apprentices each year. At one point more than 4,000 workers had to be shipped in from Middlesex to help labour shortages and many settled permanently causing a boom in the late 60s.
The computer performance measurement called the "Whetstone" was named for the Whetstone ALGOL compiler, developed by English Electric at the factory; it thus takes its name from the village.
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