Back In Leicester Again Part 8 — Time To Go
After having done the lap to take the black and white photos, it was time to change and pack and head back to the train station for the journey home. And again trying to find a slightly different way to go to the station compared to the multiple journeys past it over the weekend.
I head to the visitor centre in the former Alderman Newton’s school building. Looking to see if there are any little pieces of ‘tat’ that I haven’t already got. One item that certainly isn’t tat as far as I’m concerned is the A4 booklet — The Leicester Heritage Trail. They didn’t have any of these when I was here last year as they were updating them. But it has the details of all the information boards that are in the city. They are up to 300 in the booklet, and I think on this visit and my week here last year I’ve managed to find about 200 of them, so still lots to go and find on future trips.
After picking up a bit of shopping in the visitor centre it is back to the streets and I turned into Grey Friars, which has grand buildings either side of the road, even if half the road is fenced off.
I carry on up Berridge Street and turn onto Millstone Lane past Firebug in what was the Gas Offices.
And then I go up Market Street, where some of the shops are just about thinking about opening. It is a typical shopping street in that the ground level is all glass and metal and homogenous. And as in a lot of streets in Leicester, it is well worth looking up to see some of the glorious buildings along here. Such as above the Roman store,
Or the Midland Auction Mart.
The front of Distillery.
There is Kate O’Brien’s, I couldn’t possibly guess what the theme is they are going for here.
And although it is gone, the sign is still there and it is not forgotten, Wilkies.
I’ve taken a few pictures of the old Fenwick’s building previously, but have ignored the grand building on the other corner here.
After crossing Belvoir Street I head up a deserted looking Wellington Street with some old factory units on both sides.
The Barker’s sign looks as if it could do with being reprinted.
People are coming out of Holy Cross, so I will assume a service will have just finished.
And I get some non-burry pictures of the Pick’s building.
Just before Wellington Street comes to a dead end at Waterloo Way and the railway is the huge Leicester Crown and County Court building.
Opposite it are more old painted wall signs. At first glance I though it was Barker’s again, but no, it’s Baker’s this time.
I can see the train station from here, but I have time to kill before my train, so I get as far South Albion Street and turn along there and past the former St John the Divine church, a mid-nineteenth century Sir George Gilbert Scott build, which was converted into flats in the nineties.
It is now a meander up and down the themed named side streets between Wellington Street and Granby Street, as I cross over or walk upon Arnhem, Calais, Dunkirk, Dover, and Chatham.
There is a little cluster of interest halfway up Dover Street. The Little Theatre is here,
And on its wall is a blue plaque to Lord Richard Attenborough.
Opposite it is the Dover Castle, by the look of it, still thriving, and massively proud after all these years.
I turn on to Albion Street and on the corner of York Street is the York Street Gospel Hall, a building I consistently ignored despite going into the staff entrance of the building opposite it for two years.
At Chatham Street there is a little flurry of locally listed buildings. There is the Black Boy. Just showing that even if something is locally listed it can still be allowed to go to shit.
On the other corner is the Art Deco substation building, one of several around the city.
And on the corner of Stamford Street is this well-presented building.
Most of the building on that side of Stamford Street are locally listed. I used to frequent one of them when it was a snooker club, the only one at the time where you didn’t have to be a member to be able to book a table and play.
Not for the first time I find myself back on Granby Street amongst the whole host of buildings I’ve already written about.
Back In Leicester Again Part 2 — Granby Street
My Leicester trip pieces continue
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I turn into Northampton Street and then into Newport Place and the open space behind the buildings of Northampton Street, Charles Street, St George’s Way, and Granby Street.
There is some interesting brick work on the back of Minster House.
And with that I am done, I cross over the road, and head back up to the station, work is going on with the Art Deco building next to the station.
I nod to Thomas Cook as I walk past and make my way down onto the platform.
I do get a surprise once on the train. The train is going to London, but it pulls out of the station and heads north. And so I pass through areas I would have been as a kid. Once over the Barkby Road bridge I look at the banks either side. There is no way we’d be able to play on the tracks nowadays (not a bad thing). We rattle under Troon Way and through Thurmaston, and then Syston station before taking the Melton branch. It is doing a loop; I get a brief trip through Rutland as well before it gets to Corby and gets back on the route south.
It was a good trip for me, I did pretty much everything I planned to, the only thing I didn’t get to do (again) was get to see inside St James the Greater. I’ve mentioned the Heritage Trail booklet, but there is a whole host of good information available for finding historic buildings in Leicester. There is the Local Heritage Asset Register, which lists all the locally listed buildings in the city. This page gives the whole list and maps to where they all are.
There are twenty-five conservation areas in the city, details of each are available as downloads at
And a full list of listed buildings in Leicester, with interactive map is available at
Have a look, you may be surprised as to what you find.
All the other pieces relating to my 2024 Leicester trip are in this library.
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