Clarendon Park, Leicester

Last updated

The Guru Amar Das Gurdwara on Clarendon Park Road: one of the most prominent buildings in the area Guru Amar Das Gurdwara Leicester.jpg
The Guru Amar Das Gurdwara on Clarendon Park Road: one of the most prominent buildings in the area

Clarendon Park is an area in the south of the city of Leicester. It is bordered by Welford Road to the west, London Road to the east, Victoria Park to the north and Avenue Road/Avenue Road Extension to the south. It is part of Castle Ward [1] and the constituency of Leicester South. There are two major shopping streets; Queens Road and Clarendon Park Road. These two roads intersect near the centre of Clarendon Park, with Queens Road running north–south, and Clarendon Park Road running east–west.

Contents

History

It is often said that, until the nineteenth century, much of the land now covered by Clarendon Park was owned by the Society of Friends, whose meeting house is still situated in the area. It is believed that it was the Society's opposition to the consumption of alcohol that led to there at one time being very few pubs in the area, although several bars have opened in recent years along Queens Road. In fact, the land was owned by the Cradock family of Knighton. It remained undeveloped until the 1870s until Edward Hartopp Cradock sold it (120 acres) to Samuel Francis Stone, Charles Smith and Alfred Donisthorpe, three local businessmen operating under the name the `Clarendon Park Company', and it is much more likely that they, as nonconformists, made it a binding condition of any future land sale that developed properties should not be used to sell alcoholic beverages.

The origin of the name 'Clarendon Park' is unknown, but it has been suggested that it was chosen because it "bestowed an appropriate dignity on what was intended to be a good class residential district". [2]

Building work began immediately and the streets west of Queens Road were laid out and developed very quickly by local builders such as Harry Orton or architect/builders such as James Bird. East of Queens Road, development was slower and more sporadic, with some larger plots in Clarendon Park Road, North, East and Central Avenues being bought as investments. The better-known architects active in Clarendon Park during the 1880s included James Tait, Isaac Barradale (6-12 Clarendon Park Road) and Stockdale Harrison (East Avenue). In the 1890s Springfield Road provided a showcase for Goddard & Co (nos 6-8 and 45–55), Draper & Walters (no27), Arthur Wakerley (no3) and Redfern & Sawday while Ernest Gimson built a house for his half-brother, Arthur, in North Avenue in 1897. [3]

Clarendon Park today

An important influence on Clarendon Park is its proximity to the University of Leicester. A large number of university students live in the area, something that has led to it being described as "a redbrick uni nirvana". [4]

Leicester Squash Club and Leicestershire Lawn Tennis Club are both a short walk away in nearby Stoneygate and Knighton.

Clarendon Park is known as a centre for small independent businesses, with cafés and vintage and second-hand shops particularly well represented.

Notable people

Joe Orton lived at 261 Avenue Road Extension between 1933 and 1936.[ citation needed ]

Schools

St. John The Baptist Church of England Infant and Junior School is situated on East Avenue and Clarendon Park Road, was officially opened in 1974. [5]

Avenue Primary School is located on Avenue Road Extension.

Places of Worship

Coordinates: 52°36′58″N1°06′58″W / 52.616°N 1.116°W / 52.616; -1.116

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester</span> City and unitary authority area in England

Leicester is a city, unitary authority area, unparished area and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands. Its population was 368,600 in 2021, increased by 38,800 from around 329,800 in 2011. The greater Leicester urban area had a population of 559,017 in 2021, making it the 11th most populous in England, and the 13th most populous in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hounslow</span> Town in the west of London, England

Hounslow is a large suburban district of West London, 10+3⁄4 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylestone</span> Human settlement in England

Aylestone is a suburb of Leicester, England, southwest of the city centre and to the east of the River Soar. It was formerly a separate village, but the growth of the city since the Leicester Extension Act of 1891 incorporated Aylestone into the Borough of Leicester and it is now part of the suburban area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knighton, Leicester</span> Area of Leicester, England

Knighton is a residential suburban area of Leicester, in the Leicester district, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. It situated between Clarendon Park to the north, Stoneygate to the east, Oadby and Wigston to the south and the Saffron Lane estate to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoneygate</span>

Stoneygate is part of the City of Leicester, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leicester South (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

Leicester South is a constituency, recreated in 1974, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2011 by Jonathan Ashworth of the Labour Co-op Party. A previous version of the seat existed between 1918 and 1950. Except for a 2004 by-election when it was won by the Liberal Democrats, Leicester South has been held by the Labour Party since 1987.

Great Glen is a village and civil parish in the Harborough District, in Leicestershire, 2 miles south of Oadby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 3,662. Leicester city centre is about seven miles north west. Its name comes from the original Iron Age settlers who used the Celtic word glennos meaning valley, and comes from the fact that Great Glen lies in part of the valley of the River Sence. The 'great' part is to distinguish the village from Glen Parva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highfields, Leicester</span>

Highfields is an inner city area of Leicester, England. It is one of the highest areas in the city, on high ground southeast of the city centre. To the west the area is bounded by the Midland Main Line, to the south by London Road (A6), and to the east by East Park Road. To the north is Spinney Hills, though there is no clear boundary between the two areas, and Spinney Hills is often considered to be part of Highfields. The neighbourhood is within walking distance of the city centre of Leicester and offers many amenities for religious, social, cultural and commercial activities. The population is split between the Spinney Hills, Wycliffe and Stoneygate wards of the Leicester City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens Park, Bedford</span> Human settlement in England

Queens Park is an electoral ward and area in Bedford, England. The area's borders are approximately Bromham Road and Beverley Crescent to the north, the Midland Main Line railway line to the east, and the River Great Ouse to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sikhism in England</span>

English Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.92% of England's population in 2021, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. In 2006 there were 352 gurdwaras in England. The largest Sikh populations in the U.K. are in the West Midlands and Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockdale Harrison</span>

Stockdale Harrison FRIBA was an architect based in Leicester best known for Usher Hall, Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Walk, Leicester</span>

New Walk is a promenade in the city of Leicester, which connects the areas around Victoria Park to the city centre. The promenade is a rare surviving example of a Georgian promenade. The walk is just under a mile long. A number of buildings sit along New Walk, including office buildings for the Leicester Mercury, Leicester Museum & Art Gallery and Holy Cross Priory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarendon Park Congregational Church</span> Church in England, UK

The Clarendon Park Congregational Church is a Congregational church in Leicester, Leicestershire, UK. It is located on London Road in the Stoneygate district near Clarendon Park.

References

  1. ↑ "Document Castle Ward Map". Leicester City Council.
  2. ↑ Thornton, Philip (1991). A Look at Clarendon Park. ISBN   1873227051.
  3. ↑ Jordan, Christine (2003). An Illustrated History of Leicester's Suburbs. Breedon Books. ISBN   9781859836620.
  4. ↑ Dyckhoff, Tom (12 August 2011). "Let's move to Clarendon Park and Stoneygate, Leicester". Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Official opening of the new infant and junior schools, East Avenue, Clarendon Park Road, Leicester on ... 24th June, 1974". David Wilson Library, University of Leicester.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ "Christchurch Clarendon Park – A Baptist-Methodist Ecumenical Church in Leicester". Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "The first ninety years: Clarendon Park Congregational Church Leicester". David Wilson Library, University of Leicester.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ "Guru Amardas Gurdwara - Leicester Sikh Centre". sikhdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Leicester Chinese Christian Church". leicesterccc.org. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "Geeta Bhavan, Leicester". geetabhavanleicester. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "St John the Baptist Church, Leicester". stjohnthebaptistleicester.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "Avenue Community Church". avenue.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  13. ↑ "Teshuvah - Home". www.teshuvah.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Quakers - Leicester Area Meeting". leicesterquaker.org.uk. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "RCCG Amazing Grace Parish Leicester". amazinggraceleicester.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 April 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.