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Leicester is an old town with a long history reaching back across
two thousand years of human activity and experience. Historically,
it is a very well-documented town. Leicester has a rich antiquarian
record with plenty of other writings and documents that add to our
knowledge of how our predecessors lived and, just as importantly,
what they experienced during their lives. This book details the
various hauntings and lore of Leicester; from the malevolent Black
Annis to the debated involvement of medium Robert James Lees in the
case of Jack the Ripper. It concludes with a guided tour of all the
mentioned locations.
There is a history of Leicester that is hidden from view, or simply
not recognised today because it is so familiar. There are Norman
and medieval arches below landmark buildings, mosaics beneath the
Central Ring Road and the remains of the town's first railway
station just minutes away from a major hotel. 'Secret Leicester'
goes behind the facades of the familiar to discover the
lesser-known artefacts of Leicester's fascinating past, brought to
life through revealing images of the past and the present.
From its origins as a major Roman settlement to its current status
as one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the UK, Leicester
has a proud and distinctive identity. This extraordinary history is
embodied in the buildings that have shaped the city. Leicester in
50 Buildings explores the history of this rich and vibrant
community through a selection of its greatest architectural
treasures. From the ancient Jewry Wall to the shiny and modern
National Space Centre, this unique study celebrates the city's
architectural heritage in a new and accessible way. Well-known
local author Stephen Butt guides the reader on a tour of the city's
historic buildings and modern architectural marvels. The churches,
theatres, pubs and factories of Leicester's industrial heyday are
examined alongside the innovative buildings of a
twenty-first-century city.
Leicester History Tour is a unique insight into the illustrious
history of this East Midlands city. Local author Stephen Butt
guides us through the streets and alleyways, showing how its famous
landmarks used to look and how they've changed over the years, as
well as exploring its lesser-known places and hidden corners. With
the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to follow a
timeline of events and discover for themselves the changing face of
Leicester.
Leicester is built upon the work of the innovators, entrepreneurs
and pioneers of past centuries. Henry Walker looked for a meat
substitute during rationing after the Second World War and created
the world-famous potato crisp brand. Another local man, Henry
Curry, used metalworking skills acquired maintaining steam engines
to construct bicycles, and his business would later become Curry's
PC World. In this book, author Stephen Butt celebrates the
heritage, culture and identity of the city. Leicester is the home
of the UK's first mainland local radio station. It's where Gary
Lineker first kicked a ball, and Thomas Cook envisaged worldwide
holidays. It's where composer Sir Michael Tippett decided upon a
musical career and Sir David Attenborough found his calling as a
naturalist. The city's universities are at the forefront of
research. Dr Alec Jeffries pioneered DNA fingerprinting in the
1980s, and many technologies combined to verify the remains of
Richard III, discovered under one of the city's car parks. The
National Space Centre is at the heart of the brand-new Leicester
Space Park, which will be home to the Leicester Institute for Space
and Earth Observation. From Roman engineering to space travel,
there is much to celebrate in Leicester's two-thousand-year
history. Illustrated throughout, this engaging and informative book
will be of interest to residents, visitors and all those with links
to the city.
This illustrated history portrays one of England's finest major
cities and some of its county towns and villages. It provides a
nostalgic look at Leicester's past and highlights the special
character of some of its most important historic sites. The
photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique
collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and
documents covering England's archaeology, architecture, social and
local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography
to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and
medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts. Historic England:
Leicester shows the city as it once was, from its churches, parks,
streets and alleyways to its Victorian mills and textile factories.
Leicester has been at the very heart of the country's political and
economic development for over two millennia. Evidence of Roman
occupation remains at the Jewry Wall, Cardinal Wolsey lies buried
in Leicester Abbey and, in 2012, the skeleton of Richard III was
discovered lying beneath a car park. The city grew rapidly in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the construction of the
Grand Union Canal and the arrival of the railway. These
developments encouraged and accompanied a process of
industrialisation which intensified throughout the Victorian era;
hosiery, textiles, and footwear became the major industrial
employers. Today, Leicester is a major distribution centre and has
attracted new service and manufacturing businesses through its
academic-industrial connections with the engineering departments at
Leicester University, De Montfort University and nearby
Loughborough University. Leicester remains one of the country's
most important cities and this book will help you discover its
colourful and fascinating history.
At the beginning of the 1950s, Leicester was an industrial city
picking itself up from the debris of the Second World War. Compared
with nearby Coventry, Leicester has been a relatively safe place,
but the effects of the Blitz were still very evident in New Walk
and in the residential areas of Highfields and Stoneygate. After
years of operating on a wartime economy, Leicester's major
industries - textiles, hosiery and machine tools - faced the
challenge of returning to domestic production, and in assimilating
a large male workforce returning from the battlefields of Europe
and beyond to civilian life. In Leicester in the 1950s, Stephen
Butt traces the vibrant lives of those recovering from the
destruction of the Second World War.
The 1970s was a decade of change. Supermarkets began to take over
from traditional stores, high-rise office blocks appeared on the
skyline, and Leicester's first shopping centre replaced familiar
Victorian shops and hotels. It was a time of industrial unrest. The
lights went out as coal stocks diminished. Pay packets were
depleted as Leicester's workers faced a three-day week, prices in
the shops began to soar, and we all shivered during the 'winter of
discontent'. It was a turning point in the way we viewed ourselves
and the world. Social attitudes to mental health, homosexuality and
feminism were still rooted in the past, but the world was changing.
People took to Leicester's streets to support anti-racism, and we
began to clean up our environment. In Leicester in the 1950s
Stephen Butt remembers what made the decade so special for so many,
but also the events which were to change significantly the course
of Leicester's future.
For the people of Leicester, the 1960s was a decade of great social
and economic change. It was to see a revolution in social attitudes
reflected in the popular music of the time, in fashion, and in the
print and broadcast media. Life changed for everyone. Railway
stations closed as the motor vehicle grew in popularity. National
Service ended, the pirate radio stations were scuppered, colour
television became available, and the fashion garments manufactured
by Leicester's giant textile companies were very different and
sometimes extreme as hemlines rose dramatically. Changing attitudes
led to social conflict between parents and children, teachers and
pupils. Meanwhile, the teenagers danced at Il Rondo to The Who and
Fleetwood Mac, and swooned to The Beatles at the De Montfort Hall.
In Leicester in the 1960s, Stephen Butt charts the excitement and
vibrancy of the 'Swinging Sixties' and reflects also on the
economic and social problems that were just beneath the surface.
A collection of approximately 200 archive images of Central
Leicester, accompanied by captions.
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