Leicester
To Mr. John Thorp of this town I am indebted for the following notes:
‘In 1756 Count Benville and 30 other French officers were on parole at Leicester. Most of them were men of high rank, and were all well received by the townpeople.[[18]] They were polite and agreeable in manner, and as they expended about £9,000 during their stay in the town it was of benefit to a large part of the inhabitants.
‘A number of French prisoners came from Tavistock in 1779, and remained in the town about six months. They behaved well and produced agreeable impressions upon the inhabitants by their light-hearted and amiable manners, and, in consequence, were very civilly treated. They were free from boasting, temperate, and even plain in living, and paid the debts they had contracted during their residence in the town.’