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Frog Island is an inner city area of Leicester, England, so named because it lies between the River Soar and the Soar Navigation (a continuation of the original Grand Union Canal). Frog Island is adjacent to the Woodgate area to the north, and Northgates to the South. The population of the island was at the 2011 census in the Abbey ward of Leicester City Council.
Frog Island lies to the north of central Leicester, and to the south of the River Soar and Leicester Abbey. The site was not an island before the late-eighteenth century, but was created as such upon the completion of the improved Soar Navigation between Loughborough and Leicester in 1794. [1] The navigation involved constructing a new section of canal to by-pass a meander in the River Soar. The area enclosed by the River Soar and the canal is Frog Island. The road which crosses the island is also named 'Frog Island'.
The island lies immediately to the south of Leicester Abbey, and historically was partly covered by the Abbey Meadows, which were too marshy for construction. In 1877, the meadows were drained and incorporated into Abbey Park. [2]
The purpose of the Leicester Navigation was to make the River Soar navigable to commercial traffic, and particularly to allow the transportation of coal produced in the Leicestershire region. Upon the completion of the navigation in 1794, goods could be taken by boat down the Soar to the River Trent. Moreover, the opening of the Leicester to Swannington Railway in 1832 meant that the coal fields of Leicestershire were even better linked with the Soar and the Grand Union Canal, which extends as far as London. [1] Frog Island is located at the epicentre of this connection, and as a result much of the island became highly industrialised in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
By the mid-twentieth century, there were several large mills on Frog Island. These manufactured clothing, machinery (particularly for the production of textiles) and materials demanded by the city's hosiery trade, such as spun wool and dyes. Frog Island had easy access to water from the river and canal, which was particularly important in the dyeing industry. It was also provided water for the operation of steam- and water-powered milling equipment.
The western tip of the island was crossed by the Great Central Main Line, which linked Leicester with Sheffield and Nottingham in the north, and Marylebone station in the south. The line was closed as part of the Beeching Axe reorganisation in the 1960s. Some railway arches remain and are now used by a number of small businesses. The arches are constructed from the distinctive Staffordshire Blue bricks, and were part of the immense north viaduct which brought the line into central Leicester. [3] [4] Before the construction of St Margaret's Way, Slater Street provided easy access to St Margaret's Pastures and thence to Abbey Park.
The island's prime location at the intersection of several transport routes made it an important location for industrial activity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Several large factories were constructed, some of which still survive. However, after the second world war the city experienced a period of deindustrialisation, and many of the businesses which occupied the island have closed. [5] Consequently, many of the large mills have become derelict, and have been damaged by vandals and by fire. Some manufacturing activity does still occur on the island, however, and some of the island's industrial features – such as the railway arches – have been repurposed for commercial use.
St Leonard's Works were opened in 1867 and extended in 1881. [6] [7] The mill originally spun worsted, and was constructed in the Italian palazzo style. On both occasions, the building work was completed by Shenton and Baker, a local architectural practice. [6] The quality of the mill's architecture is evidenced by the building materials employed in its construction: colour tile, dressed stone, wrought iron and extensive glazing. The effect was to produce an imposing and 'monumental' building that became an important local landmark. In 1922, the mill was taken over by Frisby, Jarvis & Co. [8] The company was a major employer in the area. Upon the closure of Frisby Jarvis in 1992, the mill was taken over by Martins Ltd – a company which also subsequently closed.
Despite being listed in 2003, the building fell into major disrepair, and was badly damaged by fire in 2005. [9]
The Farben Works was another worsted spinning mill. It was opened in 1914, and was designed by Harding and Toppott in a classical style. It is grade II listed and, with the Slater Street School and Frisby Jarvis works, forms part of a significant group of historic buildings. [10]
Hitchcock's Flour Mill was constructed in the nineteenth century. It employed water power to drive its equipment, and the mill race – which is crossed by a distinctive Victorian iron bridge – still survives on the island. [11] In 1888, it was converted to steam power. [12] The mill was badly damaged by fire in 2011, leading to its partial demolition. [13]
The island was also the location of Stephenson's Lifting Bridge, which carried the Swannington Railway over the Soar Navigation. The bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson, [14] and careful counterbalancing allowed it to be operated by hand from a booth at the side of the canal. [15] It was removed in the mid-twentieth century, became an exhibit at Snibston Discovery Museum [16] until that museum's closure and is now at the Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage Centre where it is being rebuilt. [17]
Next to the canal is 'Stayfree Music' – band rehearsal rooms and 'Lock 42' – a live music venue and bar. The Foresters Public House continues to operate. The North Bridge Tavern is currently in private residence.
A disability arts charity, 27a Access Artspace, moved into an unused car showroom on Northgate Street at the beginning of 2008. The West End Gallery also moved to Highcross Street, and an old mill building just by the canal is occasionally used by artists to host exhibitions and art events.
Slater Primary School stands in the centre of Frog Island. It serves the Woodgate and Tudor Road areas: there is little or no residential accommodation on Frog Island itself. Leicester City Council's street lighting depot is situated on Slater Street.
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks from London. The Birmingham line has a number of short branches to places including Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover, and Northampton. The Leicester line has two short arms of its own, to Market Harborough and Welford.
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.
The River Soar is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leicester, where it is joined by the Grand Union Canal. Continuing on through the Leicestershire Soar Valley, it passes Loughborough and Kegworth until it reaches the Trent at the county boundary. In the 18th century, the Soar was made navigable, initially between Loughborough and the Trent, and then through to Leicester. It was not until the early 19th century that it was linked by the Grand Union Canal to the wider network to the south and to London.
Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Leicester. It borders the upland area of Charnwood Forest to the east of the town.
Glenfield is a large village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Glenfields, in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England. At the 2011 Census, Glenfields had a population of 9,643.
Abbey Park is a public park in Leicester, England, through which the River Soar flows. It is owned and managed by Leicester City Council. It opened in 1882 on the flood plain of the River Soar, and expanded in 1932 to include the area west of the river that had formerly been the medieval St Mary's Abbey, still bounded by large medieval walls. The park includes the archaeological sites of the Abbey and the ruins of Cavendish House, along with a wide range of decorative and recreational parkland features.
Frisby on the Wreake is a village and civil parish on the River Wreake about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 557.
The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&SR) was one of England's first railways, built to bring coal from West Leicestershire collieries to Leicester, where there was great industrial demand for coal. The line opened in 1832, and included a tunnel over a mile in length, and two rope-worked inclined planes; elsewhere it was locomotive-operated, and it carried passengers.
The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794
South Wigston is a large village to the south of Leicester, England. It is outside the city boundary, forming part of the Oadby and Wigston district of Leicestershire. The population of the ward rose slightly from 7,471 at the 2001 census to 7,490 at the 2011 census.
Osney or Osney Island is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. In modern times the name is applied to a community also known as Osney Town astride Botley Road, just west of the city's main railway station, on an island surrounded by the River Thames, Osney Ditch and another backwater connecting the Thames to Osney Ditch.
Woodgate is an area in Leicester in Fosse Ward. It lies west of the River Soar and is an important entrance to the city leading on to Frog Island. A busy junction, its northern end lies at the intersection of Fosse Road North, Groby Road, Blackbird Road and Buckminster Road. To the south is the Rally Park, which was formerly the goods yard of the London Midland Railway, which was originally the Leicester to Swannington Railway built by Robert Stephenson in 1832. To the west is Fosse Road North. At its eastern end Woodgate terminates at the North Bridge over the old River Soar.
Snibston is an area and former civil parish east of Ravenstone, now in the parish of Ravenstone with Snibstone, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. Originally rural, part of Snibston was transformed into a coal mining village by the opening of coal mines by the Snibston Colliery Company in the early 1830s. This industrial part of Snibston was subsequently subsumed into the developing town of Coalville, though small rural areas of Snibston survive within the civil parishes of Ravenstone with Snibston and Hugglescote and Donington le Heath. In the part of Snibston within the latter civil parish stands the 13th-century church of St Mary, noted as the smallest church still in use for regular worship in England. The main Snibston Colliery was sunk in 1831, and after its closure the Snibston Country Park with the Snibston Discovery Museum was built on part of the colliery site. Part of the park is Snibston Grange Local Nature Reserve.
The Melton Mowbray Navigation was formed when the River Wreake in Leicestershire, England, was made navigable upstream from its junction with the River Soar and the Leicester Navigation near Syston to Melton Mowbray, opening in 1797. Largely river navigation, there were numerous lock cuts, to accommodate the 12 broad locks built along its length, many of which were built at sites where it was necessary to maintain the water levels for an adjacent mill.
The Leicester–Burton upon Trent line is a freight-only railway line in England linking the Midland Main Line near Leicester to the Derby to Birmingham line at Burton upon Trent. The line was built by the Midland Railway, which had acquired the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1847, improving it and extending it. It opened throughout in 1849. The line connected an exceptional number of collieries and industrial premises, and several industrial branch lines were built radiating from it. Swadlincote was already an established community engaged in industry and there was a complex of branch lines there. The passenger service on the line was discontinued in 1964, and much of the mining-based industry has closed down; quarrying is the dominant residual originating traffic. There are proposals to reopen the passenger service, and these are under review at present (2022).
The River Sence is a river which flows in Leicestershire, England. The tributaries of the Sence, including the Saint and Tweed, fan out over much of western Leicestershire from Charnwood Forest and Coalville in the north-east to Hinckley and almost to Watling Street in the south and south-west. Its watershed almost coincides with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough of Leicestershire, which was formed in 1974 by amalgamation of Market Bosworth Rural District and Hinckley Urban District. It flows into the Anker, which in turn flows into the River Tame. It is part of the wider River Trent catchment, which covers much of central England. In 1881, Sebastian Evans wrote that the usual names for this river were Shenton Brook and Sibson Brook.
Westcotes is an area to the west of the city of Leicester. 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 West End 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.
The Mountsorrel Railway was a network of industrial railway lines that served the granite quarries which dominate the Leicestershire village of Mountsorrel. After being closed in the 1950s, a section was reopened in 2015 as a heritage line run by the Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage Centre.
Frog Island is a main focus of the Jisc-funded digitisation project Manufacturing Pasts, a joint venture between the University of Leicester and the Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. The project has produced a number of photographs, Ordnance Survey maps, and various other learning materials pertaining to Frog Island and licensed under the Creative Commons – Attribution – NonCommercial licence. *http://www2.le.ac.uk/library/manufacturingpasts/de-industrialisation-1
