City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

[davieG]

Story of Leicester

 

We have an amazing photo to share with you today - New Parks, looking towards Aikman Avenue shops, taken from one of the top flats circa early 1950s.

Did you know that New Parks was it's own civil parish from 1858 until 1935, when it merged with Leicester? In 1931 the residential population was just 701 - it was recorded as 16,594 during the last census in 2021.

Some things to notice in the photo; the sapling in the foreground is now a mature willow tree, and just look at those cars on the road and in the pub car park - beautiful designs!

#StoryofLeicester

[Libertine]

Don't know if this has been posted before.

 

 

[Paninistickers]

11 hours ago, davieG said:

Story of Leicester

 

We have an amazing photo to share with you today - New Parks, looking towards Aikman Avenue shops, taken from one of the top flats circa early 1950s.

Did you know that New Parks was it's own civil parish from 1858 until 1935, when it merged with Leicester? In 1931 the residential population was just 701 - it was recorded as 16,594 during the last census in 2021.

Some things to notice in the photo; the sapling in the foreground is now a mature willow tree, and just look at those cars on the road and in the pub car park - beautiful designs!

#StoryofLeicester

Absolutely beautiful in its way. 

[davieG]

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble

Essex Road 1940.

[davieG]

On 24/02/2026 at 20:49, Paninistickers said:

Absolutely beautiful in its way. 

No cars or street furniture/signs

[davieG]

 

John Ghent Leicester Estate Agent

 

Leicester Cinemas – September 1940…

On 30 September 1940, Leicester’s cinemas advertised a wide selection of films despite the escalating air raids of the Blitz.

Venues such as the Odeon, Palace, De Montfort Hall and others formed part of a thriving entertainment scene. Cinema-going was actively encouraged during wartime as a way to sustain morale, offering newsreels, propaganda pieces and popular features to audiences living under blackout conditions and the threat of attack.

[davieG]

John Ghent Leicester Estate Agent

The Old Borough Gaol – Highcross Street

A gaol has stood on or near Highcross Street since at least the 13th century. The Borough Gaol built in 1791 replaced earlier structures and reflected changing ideas about prison design in the Georgian period.

Among its early inmates was its own architect, George Moneypenny, imprisoned for debt. The gaol operated until the 19th century, after which it was demolished. Today, small sections of surviving walling are all that remain of a site used for confinement for over 500 years.

[davieG]

[Paninistickers]

34 minutes ago, davieG said:

 Ever knew until very recently why it was called the airman's 

[davieG]

[davieG]

Another lost station

 

 

Humberstone Station - It was sited on an embankment facing the junction of Uppingham Road and St Barnabas’ Road, opposite the Provincial Garag

[kenny]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

Another lost station

 

 

Humberstone Station - It was sited on an embankment facing the junction of Uppingham Road and St Barnabas’ Road, opposite the Provincial Garag

I don't think that's the station. The station building was moved to the battlefield line at shackerstone.

 

 

 

[davieG]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

I don't think that's the station. The station building was moved to the battlefield line at shackerstone.

 

 

 

I was aware of that maybe it's a view of it from the Uppingham Road but the actual trackside was your picture.

 

From the Merc  -  https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/history/railway-station-gateway-east-coast-2556571

 

Railway station was gateway to the East Coast seaside resorts for generations of Leicester children
Summer weekend specials ended in 1962
Comments
0
News
Jane Goddard Bygones and Feature Writer
10:00, 19 Feb 2019

Humberstone railway station in the late 1950s

We feel certain this photograph of Humberstone station will bring back lots of memories for some of our readers.

It was taken in the late 1950s and features what was the first stop on the Great Northern Railway out of Leicester’s Belgrave Road station.

It was sited on an embankment facing the junction of Uppingham Road and St Barnabas’ Road, opposite the Provincial Garage.

Its wooden platforms were reached from street-level entrance doors, which are obscured in this picture by a railway poster board.

The safest UK towns to live in if WW3 breaks out including one in the East Midlands

Heavy traffic towards M1 after serious crash with police at scene

It is interesting to note what is being advertised on the boards next to the station.

The three we can make out from the photo are for Lyons Maid ice cream and ice lollies, Kodak film and Vespa scooters.

 

The other one visible, to the right, appears to have the words “Bear Up!” and a bear clinging on to a bottle. Any ideas, folks?

The station, serving the eastern side of the city, was opened in 1882 and closed to regular passenger traffic in 1953 but remained open for summer weekend specials to the seaside until September 1962.

For generations of Leicester children, taking a railway journey from Humberstone meant only one thing – an outing to the seaside.

The special route that connected Leicester to the east coast was known as the Tilton to Leicester Railway, and even the very first passenger train from Belgrave Road, on October 2, 1882, was one bound for Skegness.

Want to read more Leicestershire nostalgia?

On leaving Humberstone station, the train crossed a bridge in Uppingham Road, near Kitchener Road, crossed Coleman Road, went along the rear of Humberstone Park, crossed over Ambassador Road and went under the junction of Uppingham Road with Goodwood and Colchester roads.

From here it travelled through east Leicestershire, via Thurnby and Scraptoft station, Ingarsby station and Marefield Junction, where it joined a line from Market Harborough en route to Melton Mowbray and, ultimately, the east coast and Skegness.

 

In this article on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnghentleicesterestateagent/posts/once-standing-proudly-on-an-embankment-along-uppingham-road-humberstone-station-/1422577156542766/ plenty of people in the comments remember it.

[davieG]

Looks like there was 2 'Humberstone' stations

 

These are results for Was there 2 Humberstone Railway stations in Leicester one on the Midland line and one on the Northern Line

Yes, historically there were two distinct stations with "Humberstone" in their name in Leicester: Humberstone Road station on the Midland main line and Humberstone station on the Great Northern Railway (GNR) branch line. 

Humberstone Road Railway Station (Midland Line): Opened in 1864 on the main Midland Railway line north of the main Leicester station, serving local traffic.
Humberstone Railway Station (GNR Line): Opened in 1883 on the Great Northern Railway’s Leicester-to-Grantham line, located further east near the modern-day Humberstone area. 

Both stations closed in the 1950s/60s

[davieG]

Where did it all go wrong?

 

 

Joanne Vigor-Mungovin - Author Hidden Leicester ·

Follow

 

In an article published on March 10, 1936, the Daily Telegraph referred to Leicester as "a progressive city," and cited statistics from the League of Nations Bureau of Statistics, which ranked it as the second most prosperous city in the world.

So how did it earn this accolade?

According to the United Nations, Leicester was praised for its positive employment prospects, quality education, modern facilities, beautiful surroundings, and the progressive mindset of its residents as the factors that contributed to its favourable evaluation.

It is estimated that approximately 1,000 unique trades were operating in the bustling city of Leicester during this time period. Notably, the production of knitwear and shoes, which were among the leading industries responsible for maintaining low unemployment rates within the city.

Additionally, it is worth noting that Leicester had a pioneering record of promoting positive industrial relations, setting an example for other cities to follow.

These industries also restricted unpleasant emissions by increasing the use of gas in manufacturing, making Leicester ‘a healthy place to live and do business’.

Leicester was one of the healthiest cities due to new housing and slum clearance, and the mortality rate of 12.4 per 1,000 and 64 per 1,000 for infants was well below the national UK average of 13.1 and 77 respectively.

It was also a ‘clean, bright city’, with pleasant residential areas.

Its streets were free of litter, neat, well lit and provided ample transport, seven secondary schools, colleges of art and technology, a university college and a police headquarters that was ‘believed to be the most up to date in the country' – all paid for by some of the lowest rates in the country.

Below is an advert from Leicester Chronicle - Saturday 16 December 1933 advertising local businesses....

 

[davieG]

 

John Ghent Leicester Estate Agent

 

Freeman, Hardy & Willis Calendar

When Leicester shod the world.

In the late 1800s, Freeman, Hardy & Willis became one of the largest boot and shoe retailers on the planet — with hundreds of branches across Britain.

Their headquarters stood proudly on Rutland Street, right in the heart of Leicester’s thriving shoe industry.

At its peak, the city wasn’t just famous for hosiery — it was known worldwide for footwear craftsmanship.

Today the factories are gone, but the story remains stitched into Leicester’s industrial heritage.

Did anyone in your family work in Leicester’s shoe factories?

 

 

I remember there being at least 6 shoe shops on Granby St / Gallowtree Gate.

#Leicester #IndustrialHistory #BootsAndShoes #LeicesterHeritage

[davieG]

John Ghent Leicester Estate Agent

The strangest parliament in English history.

In 1426, Leicester briefly became the centre of national politics.

King Henry VI, just a boy, held parliament at Leicester Castle — but tensions were so high that weapons were banned.

Instead of swords, many nobles arrived carrying wooden bats for protection.

The meeting became known as the “Parliament of Bats.”

A chaotic moment in history… and proof that Leicester has always been at the heart of the action.

#Leicester #MedievalHistory #ParliamentOfBats #britishhistoryexplorer

[Free Falling Foxes]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

John Ghent Leicester Estate Agent

The strangest parliament in English history.

In 1426, Leicester briefly became the centre of national politics.

King Henry VI, just a boy, held parliament at Leicester Castle — but tensions were so high that weapons were banned.

Instead of swords, many nobles arrived carrying wooden bats for protection.

The meeting became known as the “Parliament of Bats.”

A chaotic moment in history… and proof that Leicester has always been at the heart of the action.

#Leicester #MedievalHistory #ParliamentOfBats #britishhistoryexplorer

Probably the first time in Leicester somebody young and totally out of their depth, inherited a major role.

Fast forward 600 years.........

[davieG]

 

 

 

 

[davieG]

Not sure ripping out the original stairs and balcony in a museum is something to brag about.

 

 

Story of Leicester

 

New exhibition 'You Are Here' tells the story of the evolution of Leicester Museum & Art Gallery over the past 176 years. Go on a journey through time and explore the story of the New Walk Area and the Museum.

Did you visit 'New Walk Museum' when you were younger? Tell us what you remember about the Museum or any fond memories, and your comment might feature in the exhibition itself!

The exhibition is now open:

[davieG]

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble 

High Street 1956.

[davieG]

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble

Humberstone Gate.

Date unknown.

[davieG]

Braunstone History Group  · 

Molly Storer

This is how I remember Hand Avenue

[Paninistickers]

22 minutes ago, davieG said:

Braunstone History Group  · 

Molly Storer

This is how I remember Hand Avenue

I wonder when the council estates turned from Truman Show style idyll to rough? 

 

Certainly in the 80s hand avenue/cort crescent the saff, monsell were places that felt rough and ready 

[davieG]

John Ghent Leicester Estate Agent

 

Leicester from above… 1935

Before the ring roads, before the sprawl—this is Leicester as you’ve never seen it. Fields still edging the city, streets just beginning to stretch outward… a place on the cusp of change.

But look closer

At the bottom right, a site that would soon play its part in history. The British Thomson-Houston factory—where, just a few years later, women worked tirelessly building radar equipment that helped change the course of the war.

By 1943, this quiet corner of Leicester was linked to one of the most daring missions of WWII—the Dambusters raid. The technology built here helped guide those low-flying Lancaster bombers through the night.

From peaceful rooftops… to a role in global history.

Next time you pass Blackbird Road or Anstey Lane, remember—this ground once helped shape the world.

#Leicester #StoryOfLeicester #WW2History #ThenAndNo