AN EXHIBITION at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery that tells the story of Leicester’s Saffron Lane estate in the words of the people who live and work there will close at the end of the month.
Popping to the Shops: Saffron Lane describes life on the estate from its development in the 1920s to the present day, offering a fascinating glimpse into its history, its people and its community spirit.
Oral histories, recorded with past tenants, capture residents’ first impressions of their new homes on the estate – which welcomed its first residents in 1925 and was the first large-scale housing development to be built in Leicester after the First World War.
The exhibition remembers the working men’s clubs that provided entertainment for the new community and the enterprising locals who converted their front rooms into mini convenience stores and hair salons, and highlights the Saffron Lane shops that are thriving today, such as Fix My Bike, The Bread Basket, and Millennium Fish Bar.
Much of the historical information in the exhibition has been drawn from ‘The Story of the Saff’, which was published in 1998 and features the memories of the Saffron Past & Present Group.
Popping to the Shops: Saffron Lane continues in Gallery 12 at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery on New Walk until Sunday 31 August. Admission is free.
Picture caption: Shops on Saffron Lane in 1980