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Published: September 18th 2018
The approaches to Leicester city centre were all quiet on a very mild Sunday morning. I ignored the directional signs that take you round by London and carried on down Belgrave Road. Belgrave Road is often referred to as the Golden Mile. The area is the centre of the Asian community and has a high density of jewellery shops, We skirted the railway station, headed up London Road and parked in De Montfort Square. The parking meters were conveniently not required and only requiring to be fed between Monday to Saturday. This part of the city centre is characterised by the residences built by the rich in the Georgian and early Victorian era. A statue of a Robert Hall stands at the south end of De Montfort Square. He was a 19th-century Baptist minister, who campaigned for better conditions for the hosiery workers in the local mills. The walkway was laid out in 1785 and originally intended to connect Welford Square with the racecourse which at the time was in Victoria Park at the top of the hill. New Walk was adopted as a name, after the previous title Queens Walk was dropped. There were strict rules – house had to
be built at least 10 yards from the Walk and there was no access to carriages so as not to ruin the public enjoyment of the open spaces. We strolled down towards the city. The majority of the original buildings remain, although the modern concrete block of the IBM headquarters isn’t exactly in keeping with the rest of the surroundings. The main inner city ring road now rushes underneath New Walk, next to the Council operated New Walk Museum & Art Gallery. The white pillars glistened in the morning sun. It was open until 5 pm, so we decided to visit on our return walk.
Hot on the heels of my Roman "discovery" in South Shields, we find outselves looking at the ruins of a Roman baths. St Nicholas Circle is hardly what you would describe as trhe most scenic part of town. A Holiday Inn - now refurbished - stands isolated in the middle of a traffic island on the inner city ring road. The oldest place of worship in the city - St Nicholas Church - lies across from the hotel. The wall next to the church forms part of the baths complex and at
9 metres high is one of the tallest pieces of Roman masonry still standing. It has survived since AD160, which is all the more amazing given the concrete jungle that predominates in this section of the centre. The wall is still accessible, but the ruins of the baths complex well below pavement level are a part of the Jewry Museum. The museum house Roman artefacts, but a sign states closed for a "major refurbishment". The refurb has being going on since July 2017!! The River Soar runs close by and on a building as you approach the city centre is a more recent Roman who came to these parts. It is the mural of an Emperer. This is Emperor Claudio. He came, he saw and against all the odds, he conquered. He didn't build walls like that Hadrian guy, he built a football team. Claudio Ranieri was a surprise appointment to be manager of Leicester City. He had previously worked in the UK with moderate success, but the moderate bit wasn't good enough for another Roman - Abramovich - who quickly dispatched him from the SW6 gang. He would come back to haunt all in English football. They ridculed him
as a Tinker Man, long vefore squad rotation was fashionable. Claudio took his Leciester team to the top of the Premier League. They would fade after Christmas. They didn't. The lack of depth will catch them out by Easter. It didn't. They became the unlikely wiinners of the league. The big spenders from Manchester and London were left in shock, along with half the country. The reward was a lack of loyalty. When things went against plan in the following campaign, he was sacked. He smiled, kept his dignity and will be forever remembered. The clamour goes on for a stand to be named after him or a statue to be put up. In the meantime, the smiling face bears down from a red brick wall portraying the man as a conquering Roman emporer. A tiny blue Fox - the symbol ofthe club - peeks out from his shield. An advert above highlights a Leicester stalwart since 1937 - Brucciani. A family run bakery and cafe. A home from home in the city for the Italian manager. We checked it out, but being Sunday it was closed.
Leicester has seen a resurgence in visitor numbers in the
last couple of years. It is all down to a KIng. A dead King. Richard III was the last Yorkist King of England. He died in battle at Bosworth - some 14 miles west south west of Leicester - a decisive battle that effectively saw the end of the War of the Roses. The end of the war between the Yorks and the Lancastrians ushered in the new Tudor age. He was the last English king to die in battle. The death at Bosworth in 1485 saw him relegated to villan status - his nephews disappeared after being held in the Tower of London and a less than favourable picture was painted of him in a play by William Shakespeare. Richard's body was brought back to Leicester and buried with ceremony in Greyfriars Priory. Greyfriars was torn down in the reformation of the church that followed the matrimonial spat Henry VIII had with the Roman Catholic church in the 1530s. What became of the body and the original tomb? Was it thrown into the River Soar? The mystery last for centuries, but with the modern technology, carbon dating and DNA matches Richard turned up under a Council car park in
2012 opposite what is now the Leicester Cathedral. After an extensive search to identify the most favoured location, Richard's remains were discovered - minus his feet - a few feet down under the adjacent car park and reburied with a service befitting of a royal in the Cathedral. The missing feet were acredited to over zealous Victorian builders, who weren't interested in looking for royal remains during their construction endeavours. The discovery site is now incorporated into the Richard III Visitor Centre. It offers a comprehensive tour of the history, the discovery and the Richard III play. It leads eventually to a covered area standing above the actual original burial spot in the car park. A visitor from Canberra - "well near Canberra where the real people live ... we aren't all overpaid politicians" - snapped away from various angles at the grave site. "My sister told me to come. She wants the photos. She is a history teacher", he added to explain the copious photographs. £8.95 secures you a year membership to revisit at your leisure. The Other Half and I both concluded interesting, but could have been better. We might revisit another time within the year, when time
is more available. We wandered out to the refurbished Cathedral Square and ate our lunch. The unusually warm English summer continued and the plaque of wasps that has flourished buzzed around in pursuit of a share of our quiche. The Sunday morning service had finished, so we gained entry into the Cathedral where Richard's new tomb awaits. Free entry. Donations encouraged. The tomb lies flanked by a royal standard and the standard of Richard. A white boar stands out. A Dean is on hand to add flavour and colour to the visit. He highlighted the modern stain glass window above. In a premonition of the great Leicester City achievement in winning the Premier League, he pointed out the football that had been added in one panel........ confidence being the title had been earned. Leicester Cathedral is quite small. A group of figures form part of the main entrance - known as the Vaughan Porch. It isn't unusual to see gargoyles on a Cathedral. If you study the 2 closely in this exterior section of the Cathedral, you will see a Fox and a Tiger. The Fox represents Leicester City Football Club and the Tiger represents the Leicester Rugby Union Football
Club. The Fox is snaffling a chicken for his Sunday dinner.
Leicester Guildhall is just round the corner. It is described as "one of the best preserved timber frame halls in the country".The hall was built around 1390 and after use in civil life was opened to the public in 1926. the old Town Library is housed upstairs with some of the original volumes still on display in glass cabinets. A potted history of Leicester is added on various display boards within, including the life of Simon De Montfort - the name De Montfort crops up everywhere in the city. We walked across Jubille Square - home of the HIgh Cross - now immortalised as a place of retail therapy a few paces away. The new BBC Leicester offices watched over the scene. Highcross is one of the better shopping centres in the East Midlands. The Other Half steered us towards John Lewis. On the adjacent High Street, there are some impressive buildings. The former Butler Chemists is one. I was taken by the building that was once the midland headquarters and main showroom of the Singer Sewing Machine Co from 1904 to 1965. An Art Nouveau
building from the early 1900s, the decorations include references to the Empire with carvings of animals above union jacks. The countries represented include Australia with a Kangaroo, Egypt with a camel, Canada with a mountain lion, India and a tiger for Burmah (spelt with an H). India gets an elephant and Africa an ostrich.
We cut back through the Lanes - the more independent retail section and one to Leicester Market - once home to the Lineker family business (before it moved into TV and bars in sunshine lands). The Town Hall is quite an impressive building with a quirk. Check out the date on the building - 1875. The date on the gates below - after a delayed opening - 1876. The Town Hall Square is dominated by a fountain - apparently replicated in Porto of all places. The Leicester one is the original and Porto copied it a few years later. When Leicester City played in the Champions League after their Premier League triumph, who should they play in their Group? FC Porto, no less! We headed back up New Walk to the museum. A wedding group were taking pictures outside. The Victorian gallery had been closed
for a civil ceremony. I never realised that Richard Attenborough grew up in Leciester. He donated his collection of Picasso ceramics to the museum in rememberance of his daughter - killed in the Indian Ocean Tsunami on Boxing Day 2004.
Richard Hall had done a good job watching over the car in De Montfort Square. I first came to Leicester on a cold October Friday evening in 1981. Leicester Rugby were apparently playing the Australians and that prompted a change of date to the Friday. After a difficult evening out watching football - the SW6 gang escaped with a 1-1 draw. The local boy Lineker failed to score, but the midfield magician Micky Fillery slotted home. We "escaped" too, but I understandably never held fond memories for the place. I decided I liked Leicester a whole lot more after today.
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Looks like an interesting place to vist. Thanks for sharing!