City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

[davieG]

1 hour ago, WarehamFox said:

West of the Clock Tower is High Street or Silver Street? 

Sorry that should have been East 

[Parafox]

On 25/04/2024 at 15:15, davieG said:

 

Guess this City Centre Street from the 50's

Wharf Street?

 

Where there never was a wharf.

 

 

Edited 26 April by Parafox

[davieG]

 

 

 

Leicester Mercury local history and nostalgia

7 August 2013  ·   · 

Leicester's Wholesale Fruit and Veg Market stood in a fine building between Halford Street and Rutland Street. Just look at that nice decorative brickwork. It was hailed as the city's miniature version of London's Covent Garden. But you guessed it. The Halford Street building was knocked down at the start of the 1970s. Now its place is occupied by a multi-storey car park. Nice. Not.

 

 

 

 

 

Leicester’s old wholesale market was a real ‘looker’

ByAustin J Ruddy
12:35, 12 JUL 2017

Leicester’s elegant Edwardian wholesale market building may be long gone, but thousands of locals and visitors to the city pass by one of its most impressive surviving features every day.

This photo, top, sent in by reader Mr B Henze, shows how smart and well-designed the former wholesale market was – its box-like Freemen’s Common replacement might be more functional, but it ain’t a looker!

Leicester wholesale market was designed by Walter Brand and built in 1902 at a cost of £60,000. The Edwardians made their building a smart and pleasant working environment: elegant cast iron, carved pillars, terracotta tiling with red and white bricks, indoor arcades for traders and offices overhead, were all features of the hall, which provided 26 stands for traders and cold storage around the corner in Wigston Street.

Survivor: The elegant archway frieze on West Bridge, Leicester, that used to adorn the entrance to the city's wholesale market on Rutland Street.
After a busy working life of 71 years, despite attempts by individuals and heritage groups to save it, during 1973, the bulldozers moved in.

The fine-detailed market building was replaced by the basic concrete brutalist of a multi-storey car park.

However, not all was lost. Saved and kept in storage after the building’s demolition, in 1981, the market’s entrance panels were re-erected on an arch as a feature and talking point.

“The enclosed photograph may be of interest. This elegant frieze was displayed over the main entrance to the old wholesale market in Halford Street, Leicester,” explains Mr B Henze, of Leicester.

“It could have met its swansong under the demolition hammer, but this icon was removed with dexterity to a prominent position by West Bridge, spanning the hole in the wall structure.”

[davieG]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

 

 

 

Leicester Mercury local history and nostalgia

7 August 2013  ·   · 

Leicester's Wholesale Fruit and Veg Market stood in a fine building between Halford Street and Rutland Street. Just look at that nice decorative brickwork. It was hailed as the city's miniature version of London's Covent Garden. But you guessed it. The Halford Street building was knocked down at the start of the 1970s. Now its place is occupied by a multi-storey car park. Nice. Not.

 

 

 

 

 

Leicester’s old wholesale market was a real ‘looker’

ByAustin J Ruddy
12:35, 12 JUL 2017

Leicester’s elegant Edwardian wholesale market building may be long gone, but thousands of locals and visitors to the city pass by one of its most impressive surviving features every day.

This photo, top, sent in by reader Mr B Henze, shows how smart and well-designed the former wholesale market was – its box-like Freemen’s Common replacement might be more functional, but it ain’t a looker!

Leicester wholesale market was designed by Walter Brand and built in 1902 at a cost of £60,000. The Edwardians made their building a smart and pleasant working environment: elegant cast iron, carved pillars, terracotta tiling with red and white bricks, indoor arcades for traders and offices overhead, were all features of the hall, which provided 26 stands for traders and cold storage around the corner in Wigston Street.

Survivor: The elegant archway frieze on West Bridge, Leicester, that used to adorn the entrance to the city's wholesale market on Rutland Street.
After a busy working life of 71 years, despite attempts by individuals and heritage groups to save it, during 1973, the bulldozers moved in.

The fine-detailed market building was replaced by the basic concrete brutalist of a multi-storey car park.

However, not all was lost. Saved and kept in storage after the building’s demolition, in 1981, the market’s entrance panels were re-erected on an arch as a feature and talking point.

“The enclosed photograph may be of interest. This elegant frieze was displayed over the main entrance to the old wholesale market in Halford Street, Leicester,” explains Mr B Henze, of Leicester.

“It could have met its swansong under the demolition hammer, but this icon was removed with dexterity to a prominent position by West Bridge, spanning the hole in the wall structure.”

What fantastic Mall/Arcade for specialists shops that would have made.

[Wolfox]

On 25/04/2024 at 09:51, davieG said:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/big-second-hand-record-fair-9240115

 

Big second-hand record fair coming to Leicester this weekend
Hundreds of music fans will be at Aylestone Leisure Centre for the event on Sunday

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Comments
4
NEWS
ByTom MackSenior Reporter
04:00, 25 APR 2024

Enter your postcode for local news and info
Enter your postcode
A record fair is coming to Leicester this weekend – and entry is free.
A record fair is coming to Leicester this weekend (Image: Getty)

Music fans will be flocking to a free record fair that takes place at Aylestone Leisure Centre in Saffron Lane, Leicester, this weekend. The event takes place from 9am until 3.30pm with store-holders selling second-hand records to collectors.

The stalls are all booked for the event, which has been organised by VIP Records in Whetstone, near Leicester. The fair is one of two the company is holding this weekend, with the other on Saturday at the Horticultural Halls in London's Victoria.

Entry costs £3 for regular tickets for entry at 9.55am or £6 to get in an hour earlier at 8.55am. The events are attended by professional dealers and local people selling their collections.

As well as records, there will be CDs and memorabilia on sale. Click here to book tickets.

 

It was really good…. Picked up some very nice and some unexpected bits!  Loads of stalls and pretty busy…

[davieG]

[Paninistickers]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

Frog Island is only a whisker away from being redeveloped into a really funky cheaper urban suburb (if that makes sense) 

 

New builds are already under away (tho I fear it'll be eaten up all by social housing and the balance for a prosperous area won't be right)  ...Some lovely buildings ripe for renovation. Riverside walks. Walkable to both town and abbey park. Just needs a couple of daytime cafes (as opposed to just Aldi and Turkish barbers) and evening bars and it'd be set. 

[davieG]

Leicester Memories

Peter Taylor  ·   · 

Glen Parva Station .

Winner of the best kept Station 1951

 

 

How we could do with local stations like this now. You look at the towns across the South Coast and they have 2,3 and even 4 stations for relatively small places. You can tell where Beeching's 'mates' all lived.

[davieG]

[AlexFT]

This is always an interesting thread, and as a side note to this, really like how Union FS champion/promote Leicester culture. 

 

Edited Friday at 15:05 by AlexFT

[davieG]

Born and Raised in Leicester

Sotoerdpsnfagu011g1ugl0gg89t6t44g96af39ht87m57l5l3mt5fu934tt  · 

Plenty of choice:

Leicester Market Place in around 1930. Beyond Pearce and Sons can be seen the sign for Page's Wine Lodge (later Yates'). To the right is Winn's Oriental Cafe. The Austin Seven van parked outside belongs to chocolate makers, Terry's of York. In the left-hand corner is the entrance to the Corridor, a shop-lined public passageway.

C Leicester Mercury

[Paninistickers]

29 minutes ago, davieG said:

Born and Raised in Leicester

Sotoerdpsnfagu011g1ugl0gg89t6t44g96af39ht87m57l5l3mt5fu934tt  · 

Plenty of choice:

Leicester Market Place in around 1930. Beyond Pearce and Sons can be seen the sign for Page's Wine Lodge (later Yates'). To the right is Winn's Oriental Cafe. The Austin Seven van parked outside belongs to chocolate makers, Terry's of York. In the left-hand corner is the entrance to the Corridor, a shop-lined public passageway.

C Leicester Mercury

I know this is any tradition, but I walked past the bulldozed market today. What a boon it'd be to the city if it was left razed to the ground and created an open piazza instead with the corn exchange as the focal point. 

 

Hopefully the new design somehow creates a feeling of openness and space rather than that hideous roof

 

 

[davieG]

34 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

I know this is any tradition, but I walked past the bulldozed market today. What a boon it'd be to the city if it was left razed to the ground and created an open piazza instead with the corn exchange as the focal point. 

 

Hopefully the new design somehow creates a feeling of openness and space rather than that hideous roof

 

 

In the past there were suggestions to move it as a put up take down market in Gallowtree or Humberstone Gate but I believe it’s known as the largest permanent covered outside market in Europe, well something like that.

[davieG]

Wigston In Photos 1950-2000

tnoepSrdosat0u30hh972625m98l1837c2g99a0t7utag0f82hh67l281tii  · 

Wigston
c.mid 1960s
(Photo previously posted by Brenda Slaney on "Wigston - Remembering the Past")