It’s the little bits of history that are fascinating ……

So, if you want your own bit of history there can be nothing better than a splendid inscription on the side of your house.

We were in Knighton in Leicester, and on the Sunday stroll ambled down to Stonegate and one of those little interesting pockets of shops, bars and cafes that is Allande Road and Francis Street.

Once they would have been a mundane but essential collection including a grocers, a butchers and a green grocers along with an iron mongers, chemist and perhaps hairdresser.

But the passage of time and the advance of the café society have transformed the two streets and now there are a succession of wine bars, “interesting” cafes, and two restaurants, all of which nestle between an art gallery, gift shop, various clothes shops and a mix of other retail outlet all catering for the well-heeled professional residents.

And if that wasn’t enough Francis Street boasts its own pub, which goes under the name of The Local and has been going since 2019.

What caught my eye however was the street furniture, in the form of those inscriptions set high up in the walls of the houses, announcing the names of the terraced properties with a date when they were built.

So, starting at the top of the road there was Cecil Cottages, 1882, Hope Cottages, Coodes Cottages, and Retrieved Cottages 1887.

Most impressive of all was the terracotta tablet, dated 1897, commemorating Queen Victoria’s 60 years on the throne.

I suspect this was an addition after the houses were built, but to be sure I will have to trawl the directories.

It is the sort of thing you might miss, or ignore.

And mirrors the cast iron street cover made by Dudley & Dowell Ltd of Gradley Heath in Stafforshire.

I went looking for the company but so far have only discovered that they merged with the Brickhouse Company of Dudley in 1967.

In time I will find out more about them, but for now I shall just let you share my fascination of these neglected bits of our street furniture.  

That said I have come across several sites dedicated to recording them, which rather suggests I am not alone in taking pictures of coal hole covers, and all manner of street furniture.

Which just brings me back to another of the house names, this time above the door sandwiched between two shop fronts on Allande Road.  Clearly Woodbine Villa pre dates the shops which may have came along later.

All of which was two years ago, so next time we are down visiting our Josh and Polly we will go back and see how the place has changed.

Location; Leicester

Pictures; street furniture in Stonegate 2021 from the collection of Andrew Simpson.

In celebration of the Co-op …… London Road ….. and a little bit more

I doubt many of the customers of the London Road Co-op in Leicester give much thought to the history of the building.

It is pretty much what you would expect of one of their shops, with its corporate blue logo, and grey paintwork.

What marks it out as slightly different is that it is not a new build, and appears to have a bit of a history.

That history includes a hotel which closed sometime in 2008 if not earlier.

It was called the Gable Hotel, and part of it is now the Flexistay Leicester Gables Aparthotel, whose website announces that “The former Gables Hotel is now the Flexistay Gables Aparthotel Leicester, offering you flexible long or short-term accommodation at an affordable price.

The aparthotel is designed to give you a comfortable and convenient stay. Every room is well appointed with a large en-suite, tea and coffee making facilities, flat screen Freeview TV and hairdryer”.*

And as you do I wonder what Mr. and Mrs Cadell or their immediate neighbour,  the Wooley’s would have thought of their two fine homes being transformed into a hotel and Co-op store.

The two fine homes were called Glenwood and Holmdate and both contained eleven rooms with extensive rear gardens. 

On one level I suppose both families might have seen the logic of a commercial use for their homes.  

In 1911 Mr. Cadell described himself as a draper with premises at 17 High Street in the centre of Leicester, while Mr. Wooley was a “Chemist and Dentist”.

As you would expect from their occupations andstatus, both families employed a servant, one of whom was local while the cook and housemaid who worked for the Wooleys’ came from Warrington and Batley.

In time I will explore the history of those two properties, seeking to uncover the date of their construction and that moment when they became a hotel.

And once that has been done I might explore the stories of some of their close neighbours who included The Independent Order of Rechabites, and the Leicester Citizens Social Reform and Vigilance Association.

For now, I know that The Independent Order of Rechabites also known as the Sons and Daughters of Rechab, is a fraternal organisation and friendly society founded in England in 1835 as part of the wider temperance movement to promote total abstinence from alcoholic beverages”.**

Pictures; London Road Co-op, Leicester, 2021, Leicester, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and a postcard of The Independent Order of Rechabites, 1910, from Independent Order of Rechabites, wikipedia

* Flexistay Leicester Gables Aparthotel, https://www.flexistay.com/H-1063-Flexistay-Leicester-Gables-Aparthotel.aspx

** Independent Order of Rechabites, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Order_of_Rechabites