A SERIES of 10 new heritage panels have been installed to tell the stories behind key historic and cultural sites across the city.
The colourful information panels have been installed to give residents and visitors to the city the chance to find out more about Leicester’s extensive history from Roman times, through the Middle Ages, to the manufacturing, engineering and transport the Victorian era and beyond.
The panels are all part of the city council’s Story of Leicester project, which brings to life the city’s colourful 2,000-year history by remembering the people, places and events of Leicester’s recent and distant past.
The latest additions include:
Monk’s Rest Gardens, in Humberstone, outlining its connection to Leicester Abbey and Launde Abbey, along with stories of ancient tunnels linking various locations.
St Mary’s Triangle, in Clarendon Park, including information about five nearby historic houses built by renowned architects including Ernest Gimson, Isaac Barradale and John Breedon Everard.
Fish Markets and Leicester Market in the city centre, with a double panel at Dolphin Square telling the story of their development.
The Blitz in Knighton Road, focusing on the hero William John Higgott who saved a number of people after a bombing raid in 1940.
The development of the city centre’s fire stations is outlined in panels at Rutland Street and Bowling Green Street, which explore changing technology and the population changes which created a greater demand for better fire stations.
Braunstone Gate Bridge, known as Bowstring Bridge, in Western Boulevard, which carried the Great Central Railway’s London to Sheffield line over the River Soar.
A panel at the Pavilion in Western Park telling the story of the development of the New Parks estate and the changing role of the Pavilion.
Red Hill Circle / Loughborough Road, including the history of the Talbot Pub where condemned men would have their last meal before being executed at the gallows at Red Hill. It also notes Red Hill Petrol Station, whose futuristic design has seen it designated as a protected building.
The Magazine Gateway. The panel focuses on the development of the medieval Magazine gateway, the prisoners held within its walls and its use as an ammunition depot during the English Civil War, along with its use during the First World War as a recruiting station.
So far 165 heritage panels have been installed throughout the city since 2014 as part of the Story of Leicester project.
Leicester deputy city mayor for culture, leisure and sport, Cllr Piara Singh Clair, said: “The Story of Leicester heritage panels bring to life the city’s history in a colourful, easily-understandable way.
“These latest panels continue that work, shedding light on the stories behind some well-known, and some less well-known locations across Leicester.”
For more information visit www.storyofleicester.info.
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