City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

[davieG]

51 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

I wonder how many of those terraces you could buy back then for the ~£250k you’d need to shell out for one now?!!

I get the feeling they were mostly rented properties back then; even at what must seem to us to be really cheap people living at that level wouldn't have the income to buy.

[Wolfox]

2 hours ago, davieG said:

I get the feeling they were mostly rented properties back then; even at what must seem to us to be really cheap people living at that level wouldn't have the income to buy.

Suspect you’re right…. I know the area really well…. I went to Avenue Road Junior school…. Some nice houses,  but Highfields is better architecturally 

[davieG]

35 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

Suspect you’re right…. I know the area really well…. I went to Avenue Road Junior school…. Some nice houses,  but Highfields is better architecturally 

Went there as well, lived around there from 7 to 16 then back again from 18 to 21.

 

[Wolfox]

9 hours ago, davieG said:

Went there as well, lived around there from 7 to 16 then back again from 18 to 21.

 

Alumni of Avenue Road then?

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Graham Hulme  · 16 m  · 

 

 

Postcard of Leicester Market Place and the old Corn Exchange, from about the mid to late 1920s. The statue of the 5th Duke of Rutland can clearly be seen rising over the market stalls. The bronze statue was placed on that spot in 1872 after having been moved from near the market end of Cheapside where it had originally been unveiled in April 1852. The statue was Leicester's first public sculpture, made by the sculptor Edward Davis (1813-78), and was displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London before being brought to Leicester. The statue was moved in 1931 to gardens at Everard Place which was situated where St Nicholas Circle now exists (not everyone was happy with its new site and the Leicester historian S. H. Skillington had an indignant letter objecting to the move published in the Leicester Evening Mail of 1st June 1931 pointing out that the gardens were already occupied by a “ludicrously ornate public convenience” whose designer “seems to have drawn his artistic inspiration from Hollywood” and went on that it would in future be “impossible to dissociate the Duke from this ridiculous erection, of which he will seem to be the presiding genius”, adding that the juxtaposition appeared to be “not at all in accordance with the fitness of things…[and] the combination will be a disgrace to Leicester, and the laughing stock of visitors from other towns, where they do not usually do such things” harrumph! lol). In 1967 the statue was moved from Everard Place Gardens and put into storage when the new road system was built and only came back to the Market Place, after restoration, in 1971. Once again it was placed in front of the Corn Exchange, though set facing south rather than east as previously.

Behind the statue, on the far side of the Market Place, is the City Cinema, the name can be seen displayed on the frontage. Later this was named the Gaumont Cinema and after that it became the Odeon Market Place. The City Cinema was quite new at the time of this picture and had opened on 3rd November 1924 when films were still silent. The opening film was “The Covered Wagon”, a Western which had been released by Paramount Pictures in 1923. The cinema was designed by the architects Burdwood & Mitchell of London and was given a wide frontage in a simple classical Greek Revival style with giant brick pilasters dividing the bays of the upper storeys. There was originally seating in the auditorium for over 3,000 people (according to contemporary newspapers) with stalls on the ground floor and an overhanging balcony above. The cinema was equipped with an Apollo organ supplied by Rushworth & Dreaper of Liverpool. The auditorium was decorated in cream, gold and mauve and had a domed ceiling and flood lighting concealed in the walls. It was a so-called ‘reverse’ cinema where the audience entered at the screen end of the auditorium. There was also a cafe inside. The Neon light sign on the front of the building was the only one in Leicester at the time of opening. The main contractor for the construction of the cinema was Ashford Builders Co. of London though Leicester firms were used for some of the structural work and fittings, including: Phoenix Iron Works (W. Richards & Son), Martin Street, for the constructional steelwork; John Ellis & Sons, Pocklingtons Walk (later in Welford Place), for fireproof staircases, Terrazzo paving and marble; Dryad Metal Works, St. Nicholas Street, for canopies and metal work; Woodfield Bros., Belgrave Gate, for carpets; F. Webb Ltd., Cank Street, for shades and electrical fittings; and Taylor, Taylor & Hobson, Stoughton Street, for lenses (source: Kinematograph Weekly November 6th 1924). The cinema was established as a private company with mostly local business people as shareholders, the chairman of the company being Edmund D. Tyler who was a prominent financial backer and director of Leicester’s theatres and early cinemas and was also chairman and managing director of the boot manufacturers H. P. Tyler Ltd., which was founded by his father. The first manager of the City Cinema was Reginald Lowndes Salmon who had previously been manager of the Picture House which was situated on Granby Street (this had a rear frontage which still exists on Every Street, facing Town Hall Square). In the days of silent pictures the City Cinema, like many other large picture houses at that time, had an orchestra which was under the direction of the local pianist and musician William Henry Carter who had also conducted his orchestra at the Granby Street Picture House. After silent pictures gave way to talkies many cinema musicians were put out of work but Carter and his Orchestra switched to giving light orchestral concerts at various venues in the city, particularly at the Corn Exchange in the Market Place and the Prince’s Theatre and Picture House on Granby Street which was the former Temperance Hall and in the 1950s became an Essoldo cinema. Carter’s Sunday evening concerts were also popular in the late 1930s at the new Savoy Cinema which could also be used as a theatre, built in 1937 in Belgrave Gate (later named the ABC and then the Cannon, now demolished).

In November 1929 the City Cinema was taken over by the Gaumont British Theatres/Provincial Cinematograph Theatres chain and a new Wurlitzer organ was installed at a cost of £5,000 in January 1930 replacing the Apollo organ. The opening performances on the new organ were played by Leslie James, a well-known organist in Britain who made many recordings and radio broadcasts and did lots of opening recitals on new cinema organs across the country. The cinema’s regular organist at the time was George Hunt but in January 1931 Frances Ross was appointed organist, one of only two women Wurlitzer solo organists then in the country. Miss Ross had made a name for herself as a cinema organist in America, playing in many of the Paramount cinemas and was appointed guest solo organist to the Paramount Corporation, visiting many of their largest theatres across the United States. She was originally from Leicester, having been born in the Spinney Hill area and received her early education at Melbourne Road School before moving with her parents to Boston, Massachusetts. When she returned to Britain from the US in the late 1920s she played in some of London’s leading cinemas and then became solo organist at the Nottingham Hippodrome for a time before coming to the City Cinema. Following the decline in its use, the Wurlitzer organ was removed from the cinema in 1957 when it was bought for private use by an amateur organ enthusiast and installed at a house in Sedgley in the West Midlands, where it was played by Brian Sharp for BBC Radio 2 broadcasts. The organ was acquired by the Isle of Man government in 1989 and installed at the Summerland Entertainment Complex at Douglas to be played for the entertainment of tourists. Summerland closed in 2004 and, following a full restoration by the organist Len Rawle, the Wurlitzer has now become the focal point of the Villa Marina Arcade, Douglas, Isle of Man.

The City Cinema had been officially re-named the Gaumont City Cinema in about 1947 and after becoming part of the Rank Organisation it was closed in April 1964 for major rebuilding work and an extensive modernisation. The last film shown was The Leather Boys, starring Rita Tushingham. The new cinema was to be called the Odeon Market Place, Odeon being a title used by the Rank Organisation for its new or redesigned cinemas at the time. The £94,000 modernisation involved the building of an arcade of shops and a restaurant on the ground floor, occupying the site of the old stalls, with the new auditorium on the upper floor only. The cinema’s seating capacity was reduced to 822 but more space was provided for individual seats to give greater comfort. A spacious lounge area was also provided. The new auditorium was built with a large screen at the Cank Street end of the cinema, the opposite end to the old cinema auditorium, and the new projection equipment was capable of showing films made in 70mm Todd-AO. The modernised cinema was to show only specialised films of the ‘Roadshow’ variety, which would play for a season and for which seats would be bookable (The Sound of Music had a two years run here in 1965-67). The new Odeon was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Alderman Kimberlin, who was accompanied by his wife, the Lady Mayoress, on the morning of Monday 12th October 1964. The actress Honor Blackman also attended the opening. She was starring with Sean Connery in the new James Bond movie ‘Goldfinger’ which was the first film to be shown at the new cinema that evening. Entering into the spirit of things for the opening, the Lord Mayor used a pair of gold scissors to cut a gold-coloured silk ribbon in front of the cinema’s main Market Place entrance. In 1969 further alterations were made to the Odeon for a new Cinerama system. A huge, deeply curved wall-to-wall screen, about 70 feet wide, was installed, giving a “wrap-around” experience, together with stereophonic sound. One hundred seats needed to be removed from the stadium-type auditorium, reducing the seating to about 725. The cinema re-opened on Friday 1st August 1969 showing the Cold War thriller Ice Station Zebra, starring Rock Hudson. Despite all these improvements the cinema was making a loss by the mid-1970s and the Odeon Market Place was closed by the Rank Organisation at the end of May 1975. One of the last films shown was the Disney fantasy sci-fi feature Escape to Witch Mountain. Rank leased the cinema to an independent operator and it was re-named the Liberty Cinema, screening Bollywood films. The new Liberty Cinema was opened with a party on 6th June 1975 and clips of Indian films were shown. Welcoming guests at the cinema was Mr T. K. Mukherjee who was president of the Leicester branch of the India Film Society. The first film was shown the following week. This was Deewaar, an epic Indian Hindi-language action crime film, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor, which had been released in India in January that year. Unfortunately, the Liberty Cinema lasted only a few years and in the 1980s the building’s interior was gutted and converted into a Cascade Bingo Club and amusement arcade which itself is now closed (Cascade also had a venue in the old Cameo Cinema on High Street).

 

 

 

 

[davieG]

[davieG]

Story of Leicester

tdoprsSeonlag0h1ai79453f00agaliiu1492g35g287a056fh56lt6ct1m1  · 

Parking advice from traffic warden Beryl Dring in 1961.
Can any of our local history fans work out exactly where this photo was taken?

Modern traffic wardens were first deployed in London in September 1960 to help control increasing congestion from vehicles in the streets. Leicester was the first city outside London to follow this example, under a scheme initiated by its Chief Constable, Robert Mark. The first nine traffic wardens, five women and four men were selected from 300 applicants and began patrolling the area around the Clock Tower in March 1961. By September that year there were 32 wardens, each receiving a starting salary of £11.16s a week, and wearing a uniform with distinctive yellow hat bands and arm flashes.

The traffic wardens' efficiency was measured by how free their patrol areas were of illegally parked vehicles, rather than the number of prosecutions they initiated, or how many fixed penalty tickets they issued. In the first six months, 1,241 fixed penalty tickets were issued, an average of only one or two a week for each warden.

Image from the Leicester & Leicestershire Record Office.

 

Dave Smith

Pocklington’s Walk, looking towards Welford Place

 

[davieG]

Just now, davieG said:

Story of Leicester

tdoprsSeonlag0h1ai79453f00agaliiu1492g35g287a056fh56lt6ct1m1  · 

Parking advice from traffic warden Beryl Dring in 1961.
Can any of our local history fans work out exactly where this photo was taken?

Modern traffic wardens were first deployed in London in September 1960 to help control increasing congestion from vehicles in the streets. Leicester was the first city outside London to follow this example, under a scheme initiated by its Chief Constable, Robert Mark. The first nine traffic wardens, five women and four men were selected from 300 applicants and began patrolling the area around the Clock Tower in March 1961. By September that year there were 32 wardens, each receiving a starting salary of £11.16s a week, and wearing a uniform with distinctive yellow hat bands and arm flashes.

The traffic wardens' efficiency was measured by how free their patrol areas were of illegally parked vehicles, rather than the number of prosecutions they initiated, or how many fixed penalty tickets they issued. In the first six months, 1,241 fixed penalty tickets were issued, an average of only one or two a week for each warden.

Image from the Leicester & Leicestershire Record Office.

 

Dave Smith

Pocklington’s Walk, looking towards Welford Place

 

My Sister was a traffic Warden in the mid 60s but was forced to resign for not getting enough bookings. She used to go into all the shops to find the car owners and tell them to move and not book them.

[davieG]

 

 

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  · tdooeSsrpn28f8l6539ul163ag037c707i48hu08g97ft77uc5f3f47m7i11  · 

 

 

Kenwood Lido Knighton

[davieG]

Rob Hubble

 

 

  · dnsStepoorh4cil059hlhc620004h36amil830fa4ai420a60ma1144834ah  · 

 

Abbey Park Pool 1969.

[Paninistickers]

17 minutes ago, davieG said:

 

 

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  · tdooeSsrpn28f8l6539ul163ag037c707i48hu08g97ft77uc5f3f47m7i11  · 

 

 

Kenwood Lido Knighton

If I won the euromillions I'd go full on philanthropic and fund 4 x City lidos. No dialysis machines or incubators  from me I'm afraid. 

 

Big, art deco fck off loss making Lidos dotted around Leicester 

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Terry Garner  ·   · 

 

AN OLD PHOTO OF GALLOWTREE GATEBACK IN THE DAY

[davieG]

Born and Raised in Leicester

  · 

Gallowtree Gate was open to traffic! This view from 1972

[davieG]

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Jan Smith  · pSnosrdeot7f7ua9lt77400ui4hf10a7uut29gf971544c64uthu81a012c1  · 

 

 

Leicester, Applegate Street in 1955. These shops were demolished to make way for The Holiday Inn.

[davieG]

 

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Matt Allen  ·   · 

 

 

An old sign and advert from 1902

 

[davieG]

Story of Leicester

neSpsdrootgmh116198405la1m3t42ah0m33h851m8258lu120faa7h5f501  · 

A great photo of the Silver Arcade in its heyday. Silver Street has often been the focus point of counterculture fashion. The Silver Arcade and The Very Bazaar played a key role in supplying alternative punk clothing in the 1970s, and clothes could be purchased from second hand shops and embellished to the DIY ethos of that time.

The photo is featured in PUNK: Rage & Revolution, open every day this summer at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery. This exciting new exhibition tells the story of rebellion and creative energy of 1970s UK Punk. There's a section all about the Leicester Punk Scene, with local punks recalling the city's pubs, market stalls and shops...

Go visit! https://www.leicestermuseums.org/Punk

[Stadt]

Started the Leicestershire Round on Monday. Enjoyed it, I’d never have walked along the Bradgate to Woodhouse Eaces stretch otherwise and Swithland reservoir is always lovely.

[davieG]

James Greig

  · 

Leicesters engineering in the 20th Century was unrivaled. We made machines for knitting for making shoes ( BUSM) and all manner of things. We made lenses and camera's ( Taylor Hobson and Reid) and lots more to numerous to mention. In the 50s Charles Street was the richest street in Europe. This shot was taken @ National Trusts Upton House where during the second world war the bankers were kept together to help the nation fund the war effort. Imperial typewriters on East Park Road helped with this cause. I am very pleased to have met workers in these industries that taught me their skills when I was young. For this I am eternally grateful to them.

 

 

[davieG]

History of Leicestershire in Images

Charlotte Victoria Hubbard  · 24 m  · 

This is Burbridges on Humberstone Road taken in the late 1920s.

 

 

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  ·   · 

 

 

Charles Street 1920s - Colourised.

[davieG]

Rail Thing - REAL Trainspotting (1945-1968)  · 

Join

 

Kevin Blair  ·   · 

B12 61547 at Leicester in May 1952. Photo R. Buckley.

 

 

London Road Station

 

 

[WarehamFox]

On 03/06/2023 at 10:56, davieG said:

History of Leicestershire in Images

Charlotte Victoria Hubbard  · 24 m  · 

This is Burbridges on Humberstone Road taken in the late 1920s.

 

 

Where on Humberstone Road was this?

[davieG]

7 minutes ago, WarehamFox said:

Where on Humberstone Road was this?

If you click on that links there's a few people discussing it.

[The Syrup]

 

[Parafox]

Brilliant parody. So funny. And so much of what I experienced.

 

It's "Phoenix Nights". OMG. Spot on.

 

@The Syrup

Edited 4 June 2023 by Parafox