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Road. This allowed the canalisation of the River Soar into the "Mile
Straight" and allowed the draining of the marshy land to the west of the river. This permitted the development of land to the west of the river. More new streets were laid out towards the end of the 19th century, and much of the area to the east was built up by 1900. In the next 40 years the area was to become completely built up. The street pattern laid down in these times remains to this day.
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Hall (which belonged to the Danet family from the 15th to the late 17th centuries), located "between Bow Bridge and Fosse Road on a wooded lane known as Watt’s
Causeway, later to become King Richards Road". In 1850, the owner (Dr Noble), on finding the possibility that there may be Roman remains on his property, donated any finds to the Town Hall and a dig was commenced. Finds can now be seen at the Jewry Wall Museum.
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picture shows what appears to be a detached stable block to the rear of 171 Upperton Road which no longer exists. It seems likely that the block was demolished to make way for 167-169 Upperton Road. The picture also appears to show a detached (possibly agricultural?) building to the north of
Westcotes Gardens, now occupied by the 1920s houses and their gardens of Upperton Road and Ashleigh Road.
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In the 1970s the remains of a Roman villa were discovered close to the course of the
Mancetter road on Saxon Street. The dwelling included many features that were characteristic of life throughout the Roman Empire; including under-floor heating and painted wall-plaster. The remains of the decorations
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Due to the nature of the migration, the
Ukrainian men were separated from the women and twice as many males than women arrived in Leicester. As a consequence many single men married local girls and a close-knit community was formed. Orthodox Ukrainians held services at the Church of the Martyrs on
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The attached historic picture of
Westcotes Gardens shows in the background the terrace of houses forming nos. 36-46 (evens), 132 Beaconsfield Rd (originally Bismark Street) and 171 Upperton Road. According to the Asset Register, this terrace was designed by local firm Pick Everard circa 1906. The
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During the latter half of the 19th century industry in
Leicester grew at a great pace, principally in its already well established knitting, hosiery and boot and shoe industries. The increase in the workforce created a need for more housing. Much of the house construction in the West End area was
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According to the
Domesday book of 1086, the West End formed part of what was known as Bromkinsthorpe. The land was then divided into two areas under the Enclosure Acts during the reign of Charles I in 1626. In the early 1780s, some Roman mosaics were found amongst the cherry tree roots at Danet's
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In 1861, Dr Noble died of cholera in Spain. The Danet's Hall estate passed to the
Leicester Freehold Land Society, and building soon followed. As the Leicester Improvement Act of 1881 was passed in Parliament, a long straight cut was made from the Burton Railway Bridge north to the King Richards
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Much of the area belonged to the
Westcotes Estate (from where the area derives its name), formerly in the possession of the Ruding family since 1558, was sold, in 1821, to Thomas Freer, Clerk of the Peace, with office in New Street. His son sold it in 1843 to Joseph Harris, the last owner. The
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According to Leicester City Council's Local Heritage Asset Register, the land for Westcotes Gardens was gifted to the city by Westcotes Estates Ltd. as part of their development of surrounding residential streets. The Register indicates that the Gardens were laid out and opened circa 1905.
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in adjacent districts, the West End was home to many of the employees of Leicester's dominant industries. As a consequence, these areas had a vibrant community based around factory life, and around other social institution such as sports clubs and churches.
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Westcotes Drive. This helped maintain Ukrainian culture in the area. This group amassed enough capital and later bought its own church on the corner of Hinckley road and Fosse Road South which they bought from the Methodists.
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The West End area, together with the Walnut Street district on the other side of the River Soar, was an important residential area in the early twentieth century. With textile, clothing and shoe-making employers such as
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undertaken by small enterprise, leading to considerable diversity in building design and form, even over relatively narrow geographical scales. The area to this day still mainly consists of Victorian housing stock.
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of Leicester. The area is quite small in comparison with other areas of the city, but it is well known as it has many shops, bars and restaurants and is a popular choice for students and young professionals.
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mansion, known as Westcotes, was sited in the area now occupied by Cranmer Street, and it was the home of Joseph Harris until 1886 when much of the estate was sold and the house demolished.
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In the boot and shoe manufacturers' lock-out of 1895, for instance, it was the vicar of St Andrew's in Westcotes who acted as arbitrator between workers and employees: Simmons 1974, p. 34.
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226:. The Fosse Way ran from the vicinity of Exeter to Lincolnshire, passing through Leicester. A second road ran directly westwards to join Watling Street, another important Roman Road, at
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The area was developed quite late, because the land remained part of two privately held estates until the 1870s. and therefore is somewhat less dense than other inner city areas like
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at a place close to where the West Bridge stands today. One of these roads headed in a south-westerly direction, which was the
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to allow "outworn terraces" to be cleared. This allowed road works for an improved western approach to the city along the
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139:. It is also a ward of the City of Leicester whose population at the 2011 census was 11,644. It is also known as the
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For comparison, also attached is a picture taken from an equivalent position in Westcotes Gardens in March 2020.
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The area is known for its diverse communities and shops serving cultural food from around the world mainly in
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The condition of housing much of central Leicester was, by post-war standards, very poor. From 1970 to 1971 a
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descent including Istanbul restaurant, the area has a large variety of Mosques and Churches.
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Family & Community strand of University of Leicester's Manufacturing Pasts project
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and King Richards Road. 1,084 houses were cleared in total under the CPO.
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Two Roman roads crossed the West End. Both of these roads crossed the
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464:"Change and Development of the West End of Leicester from 1881"
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Leicester Past and Present: volume 2, Modern City 1860-1974
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167:(past the West Bridge). The main roads in the area are
489:"Interview with Johnny Wesson on the factory community"
545:. My Leicestershire ( Manufacturing Pasts collection)
491:. My Leicestershire (Manufacturing Pasts collection)
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60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
590:Historical information from Leicester City Council
27:Area in the west of the city of Leicester, England
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608:Oral History interviews with West End residents
332:in the West End provided rented accommodation.
469:. Manufacturing Pasts, University of Leicester
304:nearby, and with the manufacturing centres of
291:The Hindu temple and the Church of the Martyrs
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328:, mainly Ukrainians, in the city. The older
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120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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421:"City of Leicester ward population 2011"
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363:Westcotes Gardens, Leicester, c. 1910
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680:Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields
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543:"Utilities and Housing- Grace Fox"
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324:recorded 1,029 people born in the
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246:Medieval and early modern periods
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540:For a discussion of this, see:
520:"Ukrainians after World War II"
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565:"Postwar Slum Clearance"
522:. Leicester City Council
425:Neighbourhood Statistics
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598:, at My Leicestershire.
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452:(London, 1974), p. 7
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302:N. Corah and Sons
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1016:Western Park
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881:Horston Hill
786:Ashton Green
765:Western Park
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569:. Retrieved
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52:Please help
47:verification
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961:Southfields
951:Rushey Mead
936:Northfields
896:Kirby Frith
886:Humberstone
856:Frog Island
831:Crown Hills
821:City Centre
811:Blackfriars
801:Bede Island
740:Rushey Mead
644:Suburbs of
322:1951 Census
310:Frog Island
182:makes it a
161:city centre
69:"Westcotes"
1038:52°37′48″N
996:St. Peters
991:St. Mark's
981:Stoneygate
916:Netherhall
876:Highfields
836:Dane Hills
781:Abbey Rise
755:Thurncourt
750:Stoneygate
571:14 January
549:14 January
526:14 January
495:14 January
473:14 January
407:References
220:River Soar
199:Highfields
192:Dane Hills
188:Braunstone
165:River Soar
157:inner city
80:newspapers
1041:1°09′22″W
926:New Parks
861:Gilmorton
791:Aylestone
760:Westcotes
735:New Parks
690:Charnwood
665:Aylestone
646:Leicester
387:Diversity
228:Mancetter
224:Fosse Way
137:Leicester
133:Westcotes
1068:Category
1021:Woodgate
1006:West End
906:Montrose
901:Knighton
871:Hamilton
866:Goodwood
841:Evington
806:Belgrave
725:Knighton
700:Evington
675:Belgrave
306:Woodgate
203:Belgrave
149:West End
141:West End
956:Saffron
730:Latimer
715:Freemen
695:Coleman
397:Turkish
209:History
153:England
94:scholar
685:Castle
431:5 June
194:area.
155:is an
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774:Areas
710:Fosse
660:Abbey
653:Wards
467:(PDF)
214:Roman
101:JSTOR
87:books
573:2013
551:2013
528:2013
497:2013
475:2013
433:2016
399:and
326:USSR
308:and
300:and
201:and
147:The
73:news
349:A47
230:in
56:by
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