City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

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Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  · odnpoSrste05gu8f51flfm5magtmagm14h1uu1fct459g38hfl25la6hgc06  · 

 

 

Children playing with an experimental rubber bollard. Junction of Charles Street/ Belgrave Gate 1933. (colourised)

[davieG]

3 hours ago, davieG said:

 

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  · odnpoSrste05gu8f51flfm5magtmagm14h1uu1fct459g38hfl25la6hgc06  · 

 

 

Children playing with an experimental rubber bollard. Junction of Charles Street/ Belgrave Gate 1933. (colourised)

Made In Leicester

Neil Bell  ·   · 

Following is n from Roy Hubble’s fantastic photo of children mucking about with rubber bollards in Belgrave Gate, the following clippings come from the personal scrapbook of Leicester City Police Chief Constable OJB Cole.

Published in January 1934 (so it seems the bollards came in end of 33), Leicester became the first in the country to use safety rubber bollards, as they experimented with an alternate to the cast iron ones.

 

 

 

 

[davieG]

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  

Granby Avenue from Prospect Hill 1960s.

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History of Leicestershire in Images

Jan Smith  ·   · 

 

 

Leicester,taken from London Road,looking towards Granby Street with Charles Street on the right. Photo taken in 1958.

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Terry Garner  · srndooSpte2ctt9538tlciii8l3u83ic6ic38706mtcc3glm1032hlll17ui  · 

 

 

Who remembers Rum weather

[davieG]

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Brian Lockton  ·   · 

 

 

Abbey Park pavilion with trees and gardens around 1900, before the fire of 1959.

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History of Leicestershire in Images

Jan Smith  ·   · 

 

 

Leicester,St Margaret’s bus station in 1961.

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Some adverts

 

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Rob Hubble  ·   · 

 

 

A E Piggotts

( old rags )

Redcross Street 1950s.

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Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  · 3 m  · 

 

 

Building the Bowstring Bridge Braunstone Gate 1897.

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Tommy WallsRail Thing - REAL Trainspotting (1945-1968)

Tommy Walls  ·   · 

The Glenfield Line. Leicester.

[davieG]

 

 

Made In Leicester

Trevor Godfree  ·   · 

 

 

BRITANNIA, 247 BELGRAVE GATE, LEICESTER.

Photo circa 1920s, shows the Britannia on the corner of Belgrave Gate & Britannia St. The old pub is now or has been occupied by Pochin & Son.

The first licensee in JR records is in 1815 – William Hipwell. He was to be insolvent a year later.

Avery Craythorne was victualler in the 1820s through to1838. That year PC Hughes was called to a disturbance at the Britannia when some boatman were causing trouble, and after a severe struggle the PC managed to capture the ringleader, John Withers. During the mêlée landlord Avery Craythorne died of a heart attack.

In 1844, Robert Tyars held the licence. A year later six men were charged with robbing and assaulting William Field, who had called in the Britannia for a drink, only for six men who extinguished the gas lights, then pulled Mr. Field to the floor before beating and robbing him of £2/7/6. At court Field, said he called for assistance but landlord Tyars stood and watched, even letting some of the man out of the back before the police came. Tyars claimed he was too frightened to assist Mr. Field and couldn’t find any matches to relight the gas mantles. All men were remanded in custody.

In March 1847, a jury assembled at the beer house to inquire on the death of the infant daughter of landlord, Edward Porter. Elizabeth Porter, Edwards’s wife was sat by the fire with baby Sarah in her lap, a pan of hot water to wash the glasses was placed on a table nearby. Several drinkers were in the room including a young man who on suddenly being woken from a drunken sleep, caught the table with his foot tipping the boiling water over the poor child, causing its death. A verdict of accidental death was returned with a warning to Mrs. Porter not to allow drunken men in future to stay late as it encourages them to stay away from their wives (little sympathy for the poor infant there then).

William Orton transferred to Thomas Hallam in 1848. A year later the licence went to William Taylor, followed by John Flude in 1850.

John Flude fell foul of the law in 1858. PC Newell called in the Britannia one Sunday morning and finding no one there, he turned to go out again. As he did so he heard noises from upstairs and there found Flude and five others sitting on the landing around a table with beer and spirits.

April 1860, John Flude passed on the licence to Richard Cousins.

In 1868, William Kenny took over. In November of that year, John Hill ,an elderly man who was living at the Britannia wrote a letter to Lord Howe threatening to kill him. Hill had previously been imprisoned for the same offence some years earlier, he wrote to Lord Howe: ‘If you come to the Hustings I will redden it with your blood, you are not fit to make laws, I don’t care if they hang me on the nearest lamppost.’ He signed the letter ‘John Hill, Britannia Inn, 247 Belgrave Rd Leicester.’

The magistrates concluded no one in their right mind would sign such a letter with their name and address. He was sent to the assizes, where he was found insane and detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.

In January 1869, the licence passed back to John Flude from William Kenny. This was not before Kenny had fallen foul of the law by having eighteen people drinking and singing in the beerhouse on Christmas day. Mrs. Kenny claimed they were a Christmas Choir on their rounds but that didn’t wash. Kenny was fined £2 or fourteen days.

John Flude was badly beaten by a customer, Richard Sabin. Flude was bedridden for days, and Sabin was fined 2 guineas By now the pub seemed to be a Cock & Langmore house (Leicester brewery).

1874, John Flude again gave up the license, this time to John Goadby.

In 1878 Goadby employed a customer to paint the tap room of the Britannia. Henry Bull, the painter, who was working in nearby Foundry lane completed the job at nights. Bull’s boss, on calling in the Britannia, soon cottoned on that the tap room was the same colour of the job in Foundry Lane. Bull was sent to trial for stealing the paint.

In October 1872, William Procter, a ‘cripple’ lodging at the Britannia,was fined 2/6 for being drunk and incapable.

The Britannia was up for sale in 1880, described with large vaults, tap room, kitchen, scullery, six beds, cellar and three stables. The auction took place at the Craven Arms.

John Goadby was at the helm until c1894. Other licensees included: 1894, Thomas Duddle; 1896, Abigail Duddle; 1899, George Lewin; 1906, Joseph Lewin; 1912, Thomas Booth; 1916, Charles Sewards (all magistrates minute book)

The Britannia closed its doors on 31st of December 1919. Compensation of £3108 paid to the owners and £230 to tenant.

[davieG]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/buses-setting-leicester-heading-amsterdam-8545412

 

Buses setting off from Leicester heading to Amsterdam from £28
The quickest journey time between the two destinations is 13 hours and 55 minutes

BySam Moorhouse
11:40, 23 JUN 2023

 

Prices for the international coach ride start from £27.99 and will stop at other major European cities

A coach company is set to offer the people of Leicester a new direct service to Amsterdam next month - and tickets cost less than flying. FlixBus has recently announced that from July 13, people will be able to hop on a coach from Leicester all the way to the Dutch capital for less than 30 quid.

Prices for the international coach ride start from £27.99 and will stop at other major European cities. Starting in Leeds, the FlixBus route will offer travel between Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Cambridge, Stratford and North Greenwich.

The route will then continue on to the Belgian city of Antwerp before continuing through the Dutch border, stopping at Utrecht and then finally Amsterdam. The service will be operated by long-term partner Whippet Coaches.

 

Each ticket includes free wifi access on the coach, as well as onboard charging points and luggage storage. Travel times can vary on the coach but according to the FlixBus website, the quickest route sees a coach depart Fosse Park at 9pm and arrive into Amsterdam at midday, a journey time of 13 hours and 55 minutes.

Andreas Schorling, Managing Director of FlixBus UK said: "We’re building the largest coach network in the country and as part of our unique offering, we’ll become first coach provider offering regular scheduled services from Leicester into Amsterdam as one of the most popular travel destinations in the world. Summer travel just became more affordable and sustainable than ever thanks to our new international and domestic routes."

Luggage including one carry-on bag of up to 7kg and another of up to 20kg are included in the price. All bookings include a £1 service charge. Mr Schorling added: "Travelling with FlixBus is good for the wallet as well as the planet - just last year, passengers to avoid more than 800,000 tonnes of CO2 by choosing FlixBus services over cars or planes. What’s more, direct journeys like these offer city to city transport without the hassle of airports or driving, so it’s a really comfortable and enjoyable travel experience."

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Trevor Godfree  · pooSsterndfulgha8htm91l4l18mclgtcic39u1mtc5l572a13i6m3062uch  · 

 

 

Leicester Co-operative Society's department store on High Street in 1979. In its heyday, the Co-op was very much a community within itself. As well as its retail departments, it also boasted a lending library and reading room, a restaurant and even held sixpenny Saturday night concerts.

In the 1930s, its High Street cafe advertised its ability to provide either “a simple snack or a sumptuous banquet”, promising “good food efficiently served by a courteous staff”.This photo from our archive was taken in July 1979, more than 100 years after the society’s Leicester branch was formed.

It was launched in 1860 after a meeting of seven men at a house in Brook Street belonging to John Woodward, a glove hand and amateur musician. Mr Woodward and fellow co-operators S Wilford, T Norton, C Burrows, E Silverwood, G Sharpe and G Herbert agreed to form a committee to create a society based on the Co-operative principles and each put down three pence into their share account.

A small shop was taken at 15 Belgrave Gate, opposite the old Palace Theatre. By the time of the society’s golden jubilee in 1910, they had acquired magnificent premises in High Street, opened 62 branches throughout the city and county and were the owners of a flour mill, farm, laundry and bakery. Those 21 pennies had grown into a vast business, with a turnover in 1910 of £420,000 and a membership of more than 19,000 people.

The Shires development eventually took over the society’s elegant 1902 High Street building and the premises were demolished. However, the elegant facade was retained and incorporated into the new shopping centre, which opened in 1991.

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Made In Leicester

Trevor Godfree  · 7 m  · 

 

 

……. It was all that remained of the Elizabethan townhouse known as Lord's Place which belonged to the earls of Huntingdon. Originally the building had two towers and High Street was known as Swine’s Market. Lord Huntingdon bought the house from two brothers, John and Ralph Eaton when it was known as Reynold’s Place. Huntingdon changed its name and enlarged the house making it into a mansion with grounds stretching from East Bond Street to Union Street.

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History of Leicestershire in Images

Jane White  ·   · 

My paternal Granddad was, he told me, not a bad scholar and so at age 11 he was allowed legally to do half time at school, 8 - 12noon and then have a half time job, which for him was down a pit for 6 hours. He said this was really good because even though he was just 11 working half time he still took more money home than his mother who worked 65 hours a week full time. When he was 12 school was over, and he began 12 hour days and Saturday mornings down the pit.  Mind you, he said, the good times came to an end after four years, because then I had to go to the war.

His Dad, my Great Grandfather lived near Barnsley as a little lad and remembered the national furore about the deaths of some local miners in a sudden pit flood. 26 died. All of them under 12 years old. Shortly afterwards it was made illegal for under 9s to work below ground.

Olden golden days.. This is the history that we should be learning rather than stuff about kings and Queens.

 

Ron Gibson

My Granddad went down the pit aged 11, then they found out his age and he had to work on top until he was 12 at the Bug and Wink pit at Coleorton, he retired aged 70 from Lount pit.

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Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  · etordspnoS91hu5331690uh7hai4mm8h0gfc10u0cu90guli1i03f8c2m236  · 

 

 

The Clock Tower 1949.

From a Dennis Calow B/W photograph.

 

 

[davieG]

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Jan Smith  · 22 m  · 

 

 

Leicester,Abbey Park Road. Taken on a hot day in July 1976

[davieG]

 

Made In Leicester

Trevor Godfree  · 54 m  · 

 

 

The Town Hall Square when it was still a cattle market, c1870

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11 hours ago, davieG said:

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Jan Smith  · 22 m  · 

 

 

Leicester,Abbey Park Road. Taken on a hot day in July 1976

I used to go to Charles Keene College, which was next to that roundabout. I was there approx  75 to 78 and the worrying thing is, I have absolutely no recollection whatsoever of that pool in the middle.

I must have had my head buried in books all the time. 

[davieG]

 

Rob Hubble

peoSdrnostfcll8316ft9i8f0f6a70594mu0267f6l891t6auc4hi0018c36  · 

St Margaret's 1920s. (Colourised)

 

 

This would have been Lower Church Gate the extension of Churchgate and well before Burleys Way and St Margarets Way were built.

 

It was still similar to this in the early 60s as it was a simply way to get to Abbey Park from the town centre.

[davieG]

 

 

 

History of Leicestershire in Images

Mervin Wallace  ·   · 

 

 

ON THE 5th JULY 1841

When railway travel was still an adventure, 570 people climbed aboard a special train of open carriages for the return trip from Leicester to Loughborough at a fair of one-shilling per head. This was to be the first excursion organised by Thomas Cook and it marked the foundation of the world-wide travel business which still bears its name. The novelty of Mr Cook’s first excursion made an instant appeal and for the next year or two he was kept busy planning and conducting excursions in different parts of the Midlands for temperance societies and children’s welfare organisations.

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Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  ·   · 

Leicester.....back in the 1950s.

 

 

Made In Leicester

Rob Hubble  ·   · 

This is Russell Street Leicester......1955.