Tell your Grandfathers about this. bike storage Filbert Street

[Electricity Sports 1960]

A letter of mine was published in the Leicester Mercury on Nov 7th 2013. Almost certainly most readers of this Forum won't remeber what it concerns but your Granfather might. The letter reads:

 

In the 1950's Leicester City FC played at Filbert Street and many fans travelled to the game by bicycle. I remember houses in Brazil Street in particular which stored fans' bikes in their front gardens for a small fee. Does anyone remember this, have any photographs or remember how much was charged by the owners of the houses concerned?

 

 

 

I received many, many comments and memories and I have collated these and intend to submit the following to the Mercury:

 

 

 

My letter ("Fans' bikes were kept in gardens", Mailbox November 7) concerning bicycles being stored in houses near to the old Filbert Street ground elicited many answers to the questions I posed.

I've been told that the price for storing a bike whilst the game went on ranged from 1d (old pence) in 1950 and up to 3d later, that's about 1p today.

Bikes were stored on trust, no tickets were issued. Houses offering this service had signs attached to the gate or the front fence. One lady told me that her sign said "Store your bike here Sir".

Many bikes were in the corridors or "entries" as they were known in Leicester.

Several other people kindly contacted me with their reminiscences. One man's father regularly cycled from Woodhouse Eaves. The prize however must go to a man who cycled from Ketton, near Stamford, parked his bike in a house in Brazil Street, and after the game, collected it, together with a cup if tea and a jam sandwich for the sum of 2 or 3 old pence (1p today). He then cycled home to Ketton. That's a round trip of over 50 miles.

The same man also cycled to Leicester to watch a boxing match at the Granby Halls. This was in the evening and he cycled home and went straight to work. The man's son told me this story and that his father had died recently at the age of 91.

May I say thank you to all who contacted me and I must apologise for not being able to answer all the many phone calls that I received.

Mike Stevens

[Out Foxed]

very cool

[Vlad the Fox]

I can remember my dad telling me about this.

[Carl the Llama]

And here I am using the car to make the 1.5km journey whenever I'm out of milk or ham... 

[notnow john]

And here I am using the car to make the 1.5km journey whenever I'm out of milk or ham... 

Yes,but all that cycling must have knackered him,he only lived to 91! You'll probably

go on for ever.

[Alexikokopops]

Haha, that's awesome! Maybe I should cycle to a game one day and see if I can park up in someone's garden for 3p.

 

Actually, just had a look and it's 108 miles to cycle. Might give that a miss....

[wigstonexile]

Cycled from South Wigston with my friend, for both 1st team and reserve matches, cost 3d to park the bike in a back garden and something like 9d to get in a programme cost 6d. (3d = 1P, 9d = just over 3P, 6d = 21/2P) , at the end of a match the surrounding roads where just full of cyclists, those were the days!!!  

[davieG]

Was still happening in the 1960's I often made used to cycle from work Saturday mornings, compulsory overtime for apprentices   and park my bike, evening matches as well although i thought it was still a penny    but then if you didn't live nearby everyone came on a bike.

[Raj]

Great read...love these old time stories...Im about dead cycling 15miles round trip to work!

[Spudulike]

My dad used to be a milkman for Filbert Street and surrounding roads after the war. He actually had a horse to pull the float

[dynamark]

My uncle lived on the corner of filbert st opposite the turnstiles so bike was free parking.Drank every night in the black dog nr dover street(obviously didn't go in the dover castle)was a roofer and when his eyesight packed up he specialised in bungalows.

On the downside the toilets were horrid,queue round the block,and fights galore.Upside few cup finals,beating top sides at home.Alan Wollett.Birch.len Glover.Crossy,Puffer Riley,Stringy,Gibbo,has anyone ever seen a peter Rodrigues sliding tackle-thing of beauty.

Good days but now we have sky and internet and no cold war.