Mr. Foister …. some socks …… and a heap of history

So, this weekend we got our own bit of Leicester’s history, which started with a swish apartment in a former factory.

As a conversion the place worked well, and apart from a little tender care and attention the apartment was all that was promised.

Added to which just outside the door was a central atrium laid out with a variety of large plants and an equally impressive glass roof.

Now as a curious historian I wondered about the origins of the building, and the clue was in a large sign in the entrance which offered up the name Arthur Foister & Sons Ltd Hosiery Manufacturers.

The firm specialised in children’s clothing and traded under the name of “Cherub for Children”.

According to one source the business spanned the last century, starting up in 1903 and only closing at the beginning of this century.*

The firm may have moved into our building in the 1930s, and after its closure the property was converted into apartments in 2001.

And as you do, I went looking for more information and came up with two pictures of the building from 1953.**

So that is pretty much it.

Location; Charles Street

Pictures; the apartment, and the sign, 2023, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and the factory in 1953, from Britain From Above, https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW052684

* Cherub Ltd Knitting Together,  The Heritage of East Midlands Knitting Industry, https://www.knittingtogether.org.uk/behind-the-scenes/the-companies/cherub-ltd/

** EAW052684 ENGLAND (1953). Arthur Foister & Sons Ltd (Cherub Ltd) Factory on Charles Street, Leicester, 1953. This image was marked by Aerofilms Ltd for photo editing. Britain From Above, https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW052684