City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

[filthyfox]

22 minutes ago, DennisNedry said:

Indeed.

 

What the City Council did to Leicester in the 60s is the architectural equivalent of drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa with a marker pen. 

Apparently my Great Grandfather was born in Arundel Road... Now a social housing estate. I was looking forward to seeing an Edwardian style terrace.

 

BUT a direct familial connection the home of the Foxes.

[davieG]

3 hours ago, Parafox said:

 

Lovely buildings, most bulldozed for "development". Leicester could have been the Chester of today if only some one had true insight into keeping the esoteric and historic buildings we had, now gone forever. Such a shame.

I think those in the Council had illusions of Leicester wanting to be a big City rather than a small Town not just in name but with big new buildings. I think Leicester City has always been progressive and first in many areas but they got this totally wrong and sadly are still doing so.

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/history/gallery/the-slums-of-leicester-541382?fbclid=IwAR1fFrSWujei-xslUDhsQvmtEbMcYGu5SclktByzUj5DZ0DESfy64rgaThM

 

The slums of Leicester.

 

Getting rid of these probably created the mindset for them to allow the demolition  of buildings in the city centre and elsewhere.

[davieG]

Plans to put 1k homes on run-down former Corah factory site in Leicester revealed

 

Plans for 1,000 new homes on the huge former Corah site in Leicester city centre have been revealed.

Shops and leisure facilities are also part of the plans, as well as a footbridge across the Grand Union Canal to Abbey Park.

A team of developers, investors and architects have put together the scheme to redevelop the run-down area, which sits opposite St Margaret's Bus Station, next to the city's inner ring road.

Read more of the latest Leicester city centre news here

Much of the 7.7 acre site has lain derelict and vandalised since the hosiery and textiles factory - once a big Marks and Spencer supplier - closed at the end of the 20th century.

A public consultation on he plans is underway. It will include Zoom meetings and displays in St Margaret's Church.

The Burleys Way site sits in the city’s Waterside Regeneration area which is in the middle of £250-million plus of investment.

Work carried out in the wider area so far includes the new 152-bed Novotel hotel and 100 bed Adagio "aparthotel", thousands of new executive and student flats, new office blocks and the transformation of the formerly semi-derelict Leicester Central Station into a bowling and leisure complex.

A Wigston-based company called Cityregen Leicester is working on the plans along with Galliford Try Investments, which puts together infrastructure funding packages. According to Companies House, Cityregen is registered in Wigston to Dinesh Kotak and James Dinesh Kotak.

A masterplan has been put together by the Leicester offices of Maber Architects, which has worked on major projects in the city including the King Richard III Visitor Centre, the Dock tech hub, Leicester Castle Business School and a new Waterside Primary School for Leicester City Council.

The former Corah area of the city is seen as one of Leicester’s most prominent brownfield sites.

Despite much of it being in a poor state, the ornate remains of the old Corah factory, and the industrial heritage they represent, have become a treasured landmark for many people in the city. The plans state that the remains would be retained and added to as part of the scheme.

 

More here and a fly though of the proposed site.

 

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/plans-put-1k-homes-run-6026826

 

 

[Langston]

The Corah development actually looks, dare I say it, alright?

[Parafox]

35 minutes ago, Langston said:

The Corah development actually looks, dare I say it, alright?

Maybe it does but it's not exactly an area of architectural appeal right now and it's not in the same bracket as the photo of the city centre buildings posted by @davieG earlier. Most of the area around is old, decrepit factories, some of which have been set fire to so really, anything would be an improvement. It's not like we're losing real architectural heritage in this case.

[Langston]

19 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Maybe it does but it's not exactly an area of architectural appeal right now and it's not in the same bracket as the photo of the city centre buildings posted by @davieG earlier. Most of the area around is old, decrepit factories, some of which have been set fire to so really, anything would be an improvement. It's not like we're losing real architectural heritage in this case.

 

Yeah I get that, I mean when put alongside any development of any worth recently proposed in Leicester. This looks heaps better than the Keepmoat suburbs by the canal job they've done near Woodgate, for example.

Edited 7 October 2021 by Langston

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/history/gallery/demolition-plan-33-times-wrecking-5504496.amp?fbclid=IwAR1Oe5mw_Z6PEgdyJRfKsaWYKN0eISxuwmU-suCEpGS2FxlN7YuHqRLyLYA

Demolition plan: 33 times wrecking crews moved in and tore down Leicester landmarks

 

 

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/history/gallery/27-nostalgic-archive-leicestershire-pictures-6031881.amp?fbclid=IwAR3U45Vm_TjbMihyaqji27eeC2HhGERRK612IjanksJicQh92Uwy05LDbxc

27 nostalgic archive Leicestershire pictures from the month of October

 

 

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/history/gallery/12-now-aerial-pictures-completely-5992749

12 then and now aerial pictures of a completely transformed Leicester

[davieG]

 

It was a hard knock life.

 

The outside tap at the rear of Eaton Street. It looks absolutely freezing, but that beautiful young lady is so nicely dressed.  Those cobbles must have been so slippy in the snow but look at her shoes! Did women always use to dress like that whilst doing the daily chores,  or was it because Grandpa was taking her photo?

[davieG]

Thurmaston Bypass 1960s.

[davieG]

Story of Leicester

 

Do you remember going shopping on Charnwood Street?

Popularly known as 'Charny', it was built in the early 1870s and demolished in 1970 when the area was redeveloped. It ran from Kent Street to Spinney Hill Road to the east of the city centre, parallel with Humberstone Road.

There were around 100 small shops in the street, including butchers, bakers, grocers and sweetshops, those selling new or second hand belongings, and the famous ‘Paddy’s Swag Shop’ which sold almost anything you can imagine.

The national shop chain of Wilkinson’s also started in a small shop in Charnwood Street, pictured here, which attracted customers and ‘window-shoppers’ from other parts of Leicester and beyond.

[Wolfox]

@davieG - I really appreciate all these posts

 

its fascinating, and I always click on here when I see a new contribution 

 

Thanks 

Edited 11 October 2021 by Wolfox

[davieG]

 

Anyone remember this.......

 

.....must remember this

 

 

[davieG]

 

Mountsorrel,public houses in the village in 1884.

No shortage of pubs back then, a pub crawl would definitely end as a crawl.

[Wrighty22]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

 

Mountsorrel,public houses in the village in 1884.

No shortage of pubs back then, a pub crawl would definitely end as a crawl.

Think there are only 4 pubs left in the village now. Used to be a great pub crawl, especially on Christmas Eve. 

[davieG]

Belvoir Street 1930s.

[davieG]

On October 30, 1946, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a royal visit to Leicester to thank the city for taking in 30,000 evacuees and recognise the part our war industry played in winning the war...................

 

[Spudulike]

On 11/10/2021 at 18:34, davieG said:

Story of Leicester

 

Do you remember going shopping on Charnwood Street?

Popularly known as 'Charny', it was built in the early 1870s and demolished in 1970 when the area was redeveloped. It ran from Kent Street to Spinney Hill Road to the east of the city centre, parallel with Humberstone Road.

There were around 100 small shops in the street, including butchers, bakers, grocers and sweetshops, those selling new or second hand belongings, and the famous ‘Paddy’s Swag Shop’ which sold almost anything you can imagine.

The national shop chain of Wilkinson’s also started in a small shop in Charnwood Street, pictured here, which attracted customers and ‘window-shoppers’ from other parts of Leicester and beyond.

Remember it? I lived just off there (Flint Street) until I was six and went to Charnwood Street school. My grandparents lived there until the demolition and were sadly moved out to Thurnby Lodge. 

[Solihullfox]

3 hours ago, davieG said:

On October 30, 1946, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made a royal visit to Leicester to thank the city for taking in 30,000 evacuees and recognise the part our war industry played in winning the war...................

 

I know he manages to get in a lot of parades but that can’t be The Birch in the second car, is it ?

[davieG]

Looking down Humberstone Gate.Clock Tower over to the left and Gallowtree Gate to the right..

 

 

Colourised

 

[davieG]

Looking up High St 1953..

[Phil Bowman]

On 14/10/2021 at 16:52, davieG said:

 

Mountsorrel,public houses in the village in 1884.

No shortage of pubs back then, a pub crawl would definitely end as a crawl.

I’m always amazed how many pubs there used to be around the place!

How were there enough people in somewhere the size of Mountsorrel to go to so many pubs? Was it just that without phones, tv etc, more people went out for a drink?

[davieG]

17 minutes ago, Phil Bowman said:

I’m always amazed how many pubs there used to be around the place!

How were there enough people in somewhere the size of Mountsorrel to go to so many pubs? Was it just that without phones, tv etc, more people went out for a drink?

Free lighting and heating, plusher surroundings in the lounges and probably some of the bars. Washing away the industrial dirt from their throats. Cards, dominoes, darts and shove ha'penny to entertain them.

 

Pubs were also open pretty much all day and anyone over the age of 12/13 (I think this is what I heard on a recent TV programme)  at the time could drink alcohol.

[The Fox Covert]

On 11/10/2021 at 18:32, davieG said:

 

It was a hard knock life.

 

The outside tap at the rear of Eaton Street. It looks absolutely freezing, but that beautiful young lady is so nicely dressed.  Those cobbles must have been so slippy in the snow but look at her shoes! Did women always use to dress like that whilst doing the daily chores,  or was it because Grandpa was taking her photo?

I have a book called The Slums of Leicester by Ned Newitt. It is full of pictures like this. My mum, who still lives near Leicester said that when I lent it to her anyone who visited her home, who was from a Leicester family, wanted to see it because it is such a powerful graphic illustration of how thousands of people lived before slum clearance removed cramped and unsanitary Victorian 'properties' (can't help emphasising the 'properties') from the districts around the city centre. Many of the pictures are exactly that, of people trying to look their best despite the grim conditions in which they lived.

[davieG]

Hinckley Road corner with Mostyn Street 1956.