Gone but not forgotten, places we miss in Leicester.

[hairy]

Revolver Records

[Guest]

I was going to mention a certain young lady's name but then I realised that wasn't the type of place you were talking about missing.

[Rincewind]

Van Damms

[RonnieTodger]

Filbert Street

Holmfield Primary School - Closed due to poor exam results, so they closed the school instead of changing teachers. Disgrace.

Also, the Birstall Social Club will be closing but it's not gone yet.

Beeches Pub was a shithole but it was a local shithole.

[Zingari]

Van Damms

Van Damme ( formerly Great Central Hotel)was brilliant , as was The Carousel ( formerly Bakers Arms)at the rear of the police station on Charles Street

FT poster "Parafox" used to be one of the entertainment team in them if i remember rightly.

great nights in both anyway

edit;

nice pic here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisdpyrah/6915384579/lightbox/

[rico]

Gourmet Express - used to always had a chilli pizza after a night on the ale

[SemperEadem]

LIFE Nightclub. It was generic and the music not my thing but had some great nights in there with mates back in my school years.

[Zingari]

Van Damme ( formerly Great Central Hotel)was brilliant , as was The Carousel ( formerly Bakers Arms)at the rear of the police station on Charles Street

FT poster "Parafox" used to be one of the entertainment team in them if i remember rightly.(I think he was a DJ at Granny's too )

some great nights in all of them anyway

edit;

nice pic here

http://www.flickr.co...84579/lightbox/

edit;

i pressed quote instead of edit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisdpyrah/6895821333/in/set-72157629355978785/lightbox/

Windmill at Humberstone

I think that might be my Austin 1100 on the car park

[FoxesAreBlue]

LIFE Nightclub. It was generic and the music not my thing but had some great nights in there with mates back in my school years.

It's still there ain't it?

[Parafox]

Van Damme ( formerly Great Central Hotel)was brilliant , as was The Carousel ( formerly Bakers Arms)at the rear of the police station on Charles Street

FT poster "Parafox" used to be one of the entertainment team in them if i remember rightly.

great nights in both anyway

edit;

nice pic here

http://www.flickr.co...84579/lightbox/

Yep I was DJ/front man in The Carousel http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisdpyrah/tags/carousel/ and in Grannys and in what used to be "The George" where the Red Room is now under what used to be Baileys. Had some great nights in Baileys.. saw Paul Daniels there when he was just getting started. He was on because Tommy Cooper was ill. Also The Three Degrees, Slade, Mud, Showaddywaddy, Les Dawson.. showing my age

Also the hotel, I think it was the White Hart, and shops that used to be where the Haymarket is now. I was only a kid but I can remember them well, (and Lewis's). I got my first ever pair of long trousers for school from Cheatle's, which used to be there. Irish Clothing Store (now just Irish) used to be among the shops that were there as well. I can still remember the smell of cordouroy in that place!

The Great Central station in its last days.

The bridge on Catherine Street that used to cross the railway (the line ran to Skegness and the East coast) where the Horse and Jockey pub is now. It still features in a few of my dreams even now... going over it on a double decker bus feeling as if I was thousand feet high.

Look through the photos on the link Zingari put up... loads of old favourite haunts

[Nick]

I miss the mag and the Charlotte how it used to be, before it became solely a venue. I also miss the pump and tap.

CAMRA should have far more political clout and I'd like a minister for communities and sustainable business. Free houses that serve the community and engage and support as a hub should get tax breaks.

Freehouses in the uk represent what being British is all about and without them we lose identity and will end up like every bloody shopping centre in England the choice of beverage will be Wetherspoons or Starbucks.

[accessory]

The Firkin pubs were just part of a chain that sprung up in the 80s so I don't really see any great lose in them. The Wyvern has gone though? Wasn't that the one with the flagstone floor? Quite a character pub.

In my youth I used to help clean The Black Boy.

They did sell some quality ales though, at least until Bass took them over and eventually shut them down.

The Physio had a decent atmosphere on matchdays and was also a renowned music venue.

[Parafox]

Topic expanded to Places... and things we miss

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/3151101947/

[Trav Le Bleu]

I miss the mag and the Charlotte how it used to be, before it became solely a venue. I also miss the pump and tap.

Agree entirely. The Charlotte was much better when it was a pub out front with a small gig venue out back. Knocking it through was pointless as you couldn't really watch the performers from the area of the Charlotte that used to be the pub.

[SemperEadem]

It's still there ain't it?

No apparently went the other week after various of failed offers (1p entry and £1 pound drinks every night).

[FoxesAreBlue]

God now I feel old now and I'm only 23! Not been life for ages and I rip my mum for calling it "Le Palais de Dance"

When it re-opens under I'll be a member of the old bastard crowd forever now

[Rincewind]

Just come back from a News community meeting. A woman and me were talking on how we could contribute to a new magazine Down Not Out and she mentioned a place up London Road. To be honest I rarely look at the top half of buildings so cannot remember noticing this before. Top Hat Terrace. It is where Leicester's first private detective was based.

Fount this article and I am going to try and adapt it for the magazine. Obviously I can't copy word for word. May need other suggestions to research. I have taken some photos as well.

Top Hat Terrace is an unusual building in Leicester, situated in London Road opposite Saxby Street.

Originally known as Victoria Terrace when built in 1864, it acquired the name Top Hat Terrace because of the sixteen heads, carved in stone, that adorn the front of the building.

These are all of Francis "Tanky" Smith, a former policeman who became Leicester's first private detective. A master of disguise, he is believed to have been one of the men on whom Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character was based.

He made his reputation and fortune when he was hired by the Winstanley family of Braunstone Hall to find James Beaumont Winstanley, the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, and discovered that he had drowned in Germany.

Top Hat Terrace was designed by his son James Francis Smith, who became a well known local architect.

I've written a draft article on this and printed off a couple of things. Quite interesting. It is thought that Arthur Conan Doyle based Sherlock Holmes disguising methods on him. Got a couple of photos I can use. Not great but there is time to take more or ask some one I know that has a better camera to take a couple. I only used my phone and never zoomed in.

Just done an article. Opinions please before I submit it. I don't want it to look as if I have copied.

[foxfanazer]

The hogs head that is now slug and lettuce. Used to be great for the footy . Oh and the quay

[davieG]

Merc

A family business is leaving Leicester after almost 100 years following a fall in trade.

The owners of Mays TV and Computer Centre, brothers David and Alan May, say the business in Churchgate has been badly hit by the recession and cannot compete with online retailers.

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They also blame the drop in business on the "shabby" appearance of Churchgate, which they said was due to a lack of investment in the area.

The brothers, who have both worked for the company for more than 40 years, said they were "devastated" to be closing.

Alan said: "We are upset for our staff and our loyal customers, but at the end of the day we need to close the business while we can still hold our heads up high.

"We would like to thank enormously our loyal base of customers who have supported us and made it a privilege for us to serve Leicester for so many years.

"We have had great pleasure in being part of Leicester's history.

"We asked our staff for ideas to save the business, but we know we cannot turn it around now."

Mays was opened in Churchgate in 1920 by David and Alan's grandfather, Samuel, who was the first retailer in Leicester to sell radios and then televisions.

Samuel's son, Dr Frank May, a communications expert who advised the Army and police, took up the reins after the Second World War, when his father became too ill to run the business.

At one time, the company had three shops in Churchgate, selling hi-fis, TVs and computers and carrying out repairs.

Eventually, the company closed its other stores to trade solely from the one premises.

The business, which employs eight people, some of whom have worked for Mays for more than 25 years, is to close by the end of the week.

David said: "The recession has made things difficult, but it's no good just saying it's the economic climate.

"Parking is so expensive and fewer people are coming here to shop.

"We haven't had hanging baskets here, the benches and pavements are in a state – there's nothing to attract people down here.

"There are too many independent retailers down here and it's a similar situation for them, too."

[Guest MattP]

The hogs head that is now slug and lettuce. Used to be great for the footy . Oh and the quay

Litten tree was fairly decent as well, used to get a lot of scumbags in but was decent for the early kick off before heading to the footy.