City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

[davieG]

The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland  · 

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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE PALACE THEATRE

The Palace Theatre on Belgrave Gate, Leicester city centre, was built on the site of the former Floral Hall. The theatre itself opened on Monday 17th June 1901 with a variety bill headed by strongman The Great Sandow, and George Coburn.

With a seating capacity of 3,500, it was (at the time) the largest theatre outside of London. Seating was provided in orchestra stalls, pit, dress circle, balcony, gallery and boxes.

The Leicester Palace of Varieties was a No. 1 touring house, and big name stars appeared, including: Marie Lloyd, Little Tich, magician Chung Ling Soo, Fred Karno & Company (with Charlie Chaplin), W.C. Fields, Phillip Sousa & His Band, Harry Lauder, Florrie Ford and Vesta Tilley.

By 1929, British Movietone News was being screened as part of the programme in the Leicester Palace Theatre.

In 1931, the theatre was equipped with a Western Electric sound system and converted into a ‘talkie’ theatre, with seating reduced to 1,883 by closing off the gallery. It remained a full time cinema until 1937, when an ice rink was installed on the stage revolve and two ice productions were staged, with the full seating capacity re-instated. From 1938 until 1946, it returned to full time cinema use.

Variety and revue shows continued, with stars such as Max Miller, Joan Regan, Benny Hill, Frankie Vaughan Harry Worth, Roy Castle and Bill Maynard topped the bill, and shows like “Soldiers in Skirts” and the play “Dracula” staring Bela Lugosi retained a good audience.

By the mid-1950’s, productions such as “Les Nues de Paris (The Nudes of Paris), "Un Nuit d'Amour”, The Phyllis Dixie Show" and “Les Folies Parisiennes” followed in quick succession, and audiences began to dwindle.

The theatre was presenting “She Strips to Conquer” when it was announced that the theatre would close on 21st February 1959 after a weeks' run of the musical “The King and I”, which played to a packed house of 3,000 on closing night. The contents of the theatre were auctioned off, and it was demolished within weeks. A parade of shops was built on the site.

Pictures – the theatre as it was seen in its final weeks and some of the photos of stars of yesteryear that we hold at the Record Office.

If you find this interesting, please check out our online catalogue at www.recordoffice.org.uk for the collections of this theatre and others.

 

 

 

[davieG]

Winter 62/63

 

 

 I remember walking across the frozen Groby Pool with what seemed like 1000s of people skating and sledging

[davieG]

 

 

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Jan Smith  ·   · 

 

 

Leicester,Applegate Street in March 1955. The shops were demolished so that the Holiday Inn could be built.

[Grebfromgrebland]

This is not Leicester but fascinating old videos from over 100 years ago. 

I find it mesmerising to go back in time like this.

 

 

 

[davieG]

Born and Raised in Leicester  · 

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2 d  · 

 

 

GALLOWTREE GATE 1847

This is a photograph of a page from the book "Modern Leicester: Jottings of Personal Experience and Research" by Robert Read. Published 1881

[Paninistickers]

On 22/06/2024 at 00:35, Grebfromgrebland said:

This is not Leicester but fascinating old videos from over 100 years ago. 

I find it mesmerising to go back in time like this.

 

 

 

The kids look kinda sweet but you can imagine them giving the poor old Elephant Man a hard time if he shuffled past. 

[davieG]

When Leicester used to get a lot of '1st'

 

 

 

Leicester Memories

Kevin Crowe  · 6 m  · 

 

 

over 2000 people turned up to see Sid James open a new branch of Tesco in Leicester in 1961 and police had to control the crowds.

[davieG]

 

Leicester Memories

Kevin Crowe  · 27 m  · 

 

 

A photograph of Inmates sewing mailbags, in Welford Road Prison, Leicester taken in 1965

A photograph of a prisoner knocking lumps out of the Prison bed stuffing so that it can be reused.

Taken at Leicester Prison 1965.

[Rain King]

1 minute ago, davieG said:

 

Leicester Memories

Kevin Crowe  · 27 m  · 

 

 

A photograph of Inmates sewing mailbags, in Welford Road Prison, Leicester taken in 1965

A photograph of a prisoner knocking lumps out of the Prison bed stuffing so that it can be reused.

Taken at Leicester Prison 1965.

My Grandad was a prison officer/warden at Welford Road. 

 

He died after walking home from there on a winters day in 1969.

 

Always wondered if there was any photos of him around. Wonder where he was on that photo above.

[davieG]

Story of Leicester

4 d  · 

 

June 1959 but do you know what new road we're looking at here? Is there any places that you recognise? Some lovely looking cars and busses on the road plus we love the 'Buy Premium Savings Bonds' advert!

#StoryofLeicester

[davieG]

 

Leicester Memories

Graham Hulme  · 2 h  · 

 

 

Old postcard view of Hinckley Road in Leicester. The card was posted from Leicester to an address in Peterborough in April 1910.

[davieG]

 

Leicester Memories

Gail Scotney  · 5 h  · 

 

 

University Road, Leicester, 1952, a Coal delivery Lorry has crashed into a GPO Telegraph Pole breaking the arms off which would of carried the overhead copper wires.

[WarehamFox]

Uppingham Road, very different today ☹️

Edited 3 July by WarehamFox
Add text

[davieG]

 

Leicester Memories

Mervin Wallace  · 1 h  · 

 

 

A LITTLE LEICESTERSHIRE TRIVIA -

Both the 1960s 10/- and £1 banknotes were designed by Leicester artist,

Robert Sargent Austin RA PPRWS PPRE . He was was born in Leicester on the 23rd June 1895 and died on the 18th September 1973 in Burnham Overy. He was a noted artist, illustrator, engraver and currency designer and widely considered to be one of Britain's leading mid-twentieth century printmakers.

Austin studied at Leicester Municipal School or Art from 1909 to 1913.

Austin acted as an advisor on the design of banknotes to the Bank of England between 1956 and 1961.

[davieG]

Wigston In Photos 1950-2000 added a new photo.

Suggested for you  · 23 h  · 

 

 

Wigston Glen Parva Junction

British Railways Diesel Multiple Unit

12:52 Leicester - Birmingham

February 17th 1968

(Photo by Peter Green)

 

 

Oh how we could do with these stations now. I used to get the train from London Road Station to here to visit an Aunt & Uncle

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/bereaved-father-donates-huge-nature-9382703

 

Bereaved father donates huge nature reserve to Leicestershire in memory of son
Nature-lover James Adler died suddenly last year, aged 42

 

A Leicestershire father whose 42-year-old son died suddenly last year has donated 50 acres of pasture land to the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. The site, just outside Market Harborough, will become a nature reserve.

Michael Adler's son, James, passed away in May last year. The land, which Michael enjoyed exploring when he was younger, was to be left to him in Michael's will. Instead, the wildlife trust has announced it will be taking over ownership of Michael's land, and it will become "a beautiful legacy to his son".

The trust will aim to maximise the number of species of plants and animals on the land, which will be known as The James Adler Reserve, to boost biodiversity in the area and create a new nature reserve for local people. Michael said: “I had always intended to leave this land to James, but he died unexpectedly in May last year. Emotionally, I was extremely attached to the land.

 

 

"For much of my early childhood I had lived with my grandparents in Great Bowden and had the free run over acres of land. In summer I loved getting up early and going with the family’s Shetland collie to pick mushrooms and enjoy the quietness of my surroundings, punctuated only by the dawn chorus of many birds.

"James joined me on visits to the land on several occasions and was the obvious person to take over. With him gone it was clear that the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust should be approached to accept the land as a gift.”

Part of the land will be turned into wetland and new trees will be planted on the site
James died not long after becoming the chief executive officer of Ashdown Forest in East Sussex. Michael said: "He loved his job and looked after a large area with a variety of habitats, including heathland.

"From his pre-school days James was fascinated by nature. He would have loved to have been responsible for the land at Great Bowden, and it is most appropriate that the new reserve is to be named after him.” Part of the 50 acres will be turned into a wetland area to encourage amphibians and dragonflies, among other things, while new trees will also be planted.

Joe Davis, head of nature reserves at the trust, said: “The land has exciting possibilities for both wildlife and people. We hope to plant woodland to improve biodiversity and capture carbon where the upper parts of the reserve offer greatest potential for woodland expansion. Initially we will be studying the land to see what the best options are and to make plans for the land’s future.”

The 50 acres has been given to Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
The land is in two parts on either side of the A6 near Great Bowden. Anyone wishing to help develop the future of the James Adler Reserve is encouraged to get in touch with the trust by emailing [email protected]

[davieG]

 

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Mervin Wallace  · 53 m  · 

 

 

ON THE 5th JULY 1841

Thomas Cook began his international travel company in 1841, with a successful one-day rail excursion to Loughborough. It was from these humble roots that a whole new kind of travel business developed. The first railway excursion left Campbell Street Station in Leicester for Loughborough on the 5th July 1841 at the cost of one shilling per passenger. Amongst the 485 passengers was Thomas Cook's seven year old son John Mason Cook. The party travelled in open tub-style carriages and was accompanied by a band.

[davieG]

 

 

Born and Raised in Leicester  · 

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5 d  · 

 

ELIZABETH HEYRICK

Elizabeth Heyrick of Leicester (née Coltman; 4 December 1769 – 18 October 1831) was an English philanthropist and campaigner against the slave trade.

Her father John Coltman had been a manufacturer of worsted cloth and a Unitarian, her mother Elizabeth Cartwright a poet and writer. As a young woman, Elizabeth was exposed to radical politics and the writings of Thomas Paine, and showed a natural ability for painting landscapes. She met John Wesley when he visited the family house and soon after became a practicing Methodist. She became a schoolteacher and, in 1787 married John Heyrick, a lawyer and a descendant of Robert Herrick the poet. After his death whilst she was still in her mid-twenties, she became a Quaker, soon after devoting her life to social reform. Their Leicester home was a spacious house by Bow Bridge, and despite her family’s objections she successfully founded her own school at the house, becoming self-sufficient.

She became one of the most prominent radical women activists of the 1820s.

In 1823, the Anti-Slavery Society was founded of which she was a member.

In the early 19th century, the prominent leaders of the anti-slavery movement, William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, believed that when the slave trade was abolished in 1808, slavery itself would gradually die out. So slavery itself was allowed to continue in the British West Indies and elsewhere in the British Empire after the abolition of the slave trade. Campaigners such as Heyrick wanted complete and immediate abolition of the institution of slavery. A decade after the abolition of the trade, it was obvious that slavery itself would not gradually die out, and that Heyrick's view was the more accurate one. A strong supporter of complete emancipation, notably for enslaved Africans, she decided to take on the leaders of the abolitionist movement. In 1823 or 1824, Heyrick published a pamphlet entitled "Immediate, not Gradual Abolition", where she criticised leading anti-slavery campaigners, such as Wilberforce, for their "gradualist" approach, and for focusing too much of their energy on the slave trade itself. In her pamphlet, Heyrick said: "The West Indian planters, have occupied much too prominent a place in the discussion of this great question. The abolitionists have shown a great deal too much politeness and accommodation towards these gentlemen." As a result, "this pamphlet changed their view", and "they now attacked slavery as a sin to be forsaken immediately".

Aiming to promote public awareness of the issues of the slave trade and hit the profits of the planters and importers of slave-produced goods, Heyrick encouraged a social movement to boycott sugar from the West Indies, visiting grocers' shops in Leicester to persuade them not to stock it. Heyrick believed that women should be involved in these issues as they are particularly qualified to "not only to sympathise with suffering, but also to plead for the oppressed." Together with her close friend and fellow campaigner Susanna Watts, Elizabeth founded The Humming Bird in 1824 – the first anti-slavery journal and only one of its kind to be written by women. Elizabeth also acted as the representative of the Leicester branch of the Female Society for the Abolition of Slavery. This society was to form an extensive network across the UK.

Deeply concerned for the welfare of the long-term imprisoned, Elizabeth Heyrick was a prison visitor; in 1809 she prevented a bull-baiting contest by purchasing the bull. Elizabeth was the author of more than twenty pamphlets and other works on subjects as diverse as bull-baiting, prison reform, war, the plight of the poor, vagrancy, wages, corporal punishment and electoral reform. Towards the end of her life she became involved in the campaign against capital punishment.

Elizabeth Heyrick never lived to see the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. She died on 18 October 1831 in Rothley and is buried in Leicester, where she was born.

***********************

Information shared from https://www2.le.ac.uk/.../womens.../elizabeth-heyrick; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Heyrick

 

[Wolfox]

@davieG - if I haven’t caught up with this thread for a few days, your photos disappear…. I like this thread and read through it…. Anyway your pictures can hang around for a little longer?

[davieG]

28 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

@davieG - if I haven’t caught up with this thread for a few days, your photos disappear…. I like this thread and read through it…. Anyway your pictures can hang around for a little longer?

Not sure why they disappear I've tried copying image and image address but seemingly makes no difference. Maybe something to do with Facebook.

[Free Falling Foxes]

14 minutes ago, davieG said:

Not sure why they disappear I've tried copying image and image address but seemingly makes no difference. Maybe something to do with Facebook.

Could you do a screen shot of any image, then post it that way?

[davieG]

51 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Could you do a screen shot of any image, then post it that way?

Takes more time on my phone and the result is not great they also end up om my phone/pc

 

[davieG]

Graham Hulme

Level 1 contributor

  · 2 d  · 

 

An old colourised postcard view of Granby Street, early 1900s. The tower of the Grand Hotel can be faintly seen in the distance. The Britannia works and the Temperance Hall (later a cinema) are just seen on the extreme left.

[Wolfox]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

Takes more time on my phone and the result is not great they also end up om my phone/pc

 

I use Imgur …. Works nicely 

 

is that the lido in Knighton?

 

 

[Parafox]

On 05/07/2024 at 22:13, Wolfox said:

I use Imgur …. Works nicely 

 

is that the lido in Knighton?

 

 

 

That looks more like Humberstone park or Abbey park.

 

This is the Knighton Lido I remember.