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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. [1] 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 West End of Leicester, England is an inner city area just west of the city centre, on the opposite side of the River Soar (past the West Bridge). The main roads in the area are Braunstone Gate, Hinckley Road and Narborough Road.
The proximity to De Montfort University makes it a popular student area. Further to the south is the Braunstone estate, and to the west is the Dane Hills area.
The area was developed quite late, because the land remained part of two privately held estates until the 1870s. [2] and therefore is somewhat less dense than other inner city areas like Highfields and Belgrave.
Two Roman roads crossed the West End. Both of these roads crossed the River Soar at a place close to where the West Bridge stands today. One of these roads headed in a south-westerly direction, which was the Fosse Way. 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 Mancetter in Warwickshire.
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 can still be seen at the Jewry Wall Museum.
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 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.
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. [2] 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 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.
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 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.
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 undertaken by small enterprise, leading to considerable diversity in building design and form, even over relatively narrow geographical scales. [3] The area to this day still mainly consists of Victorian housing stock.
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 Liberty Shoes and N. Corah and Sons nearby, and with the manufacturing centres of Woodgate and Frog Island 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. [4] [5]
Following the end of World War II, there were changes in the make up of the population in the West End. The 1951 Census recorded 1,029 people born in the USSR, mainly Ukrainians, in the City. The older terraced houses in the West End provided rented accommodation. [6]
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 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.
The condition of housing much of central Leicester was, by post-war standards, very poor. [7] From 1970 to 1971 a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) was made under the Housing Act 1957 to allow "outworn terraces" to be cleared. This allowed road works for an improved western approach to the city along the A47 and King Richards Road. 1,084 houses were cleared in total under the CPO. [8]
Westcotes Gardens
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.
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 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.
For comparison, also attached is a picture taken from an equivalent position in Westcotes Gardens in March 2020.
Leicester is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National Forest. It is to the north-east of Birmingham and Coventry, south of Nottingham, and west of Peterborough.
The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Exeter in the southwest and Lincoln to the northeast, via Ilchester, Bath, Cirencester and Leicester.
Blaby is a local government district in Leicestershire, England.
Belgrave is an area, suburb, electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. Belgrave is the location of and known for the National Space Centre, Space Park Leicester, the Golden Mile and Belgrave Hall.
This article is intended to give an overview of the history of Leicestershire.
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Leicester West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Liz Kendall of the Labour Party. Along with the other two Leicester seats, it was held by Labour at the 2017 general election. Since its creation in 1918 the seat has sided with parties from the left wing of politics. It is among the small minority of net Labour-favouring English seats not siding with the Conservatives in part of the 1930s when they co-governed with the National Labour Organisation including Sir Ramsay MacDonald.
Leicester City Centre is Leicester's historical commercial, cultural and transport hub and is home to its central business district. Its inner core is roughly delineated by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road, although the various central campuses of the University of Leicester, De Monfort University and Leicester College are adjacent to the inner ring road and could be considered to be a continuation of the City centre. In a similar way, the Leicester Royal Infirmary precinct, the New Walk business district (Southfields), the Welford Road Stadium of Leicester Tigers' RUFC and the King Power Stadium of Premier League Leicester City to the south, and the Golden Mile to the north could also be deemed to be extensions to the central core.
Cosby is a village in the English county of Leicestershire. Cosby is located in the south of the county near the larger villages and towns of Whetstone, Blaby and Wigston. Its proximity to the city of Leicester means it is part of the Leicester Urban Area. The village is administered by Blaby District Council. Cosby has a brook which runs through the village and eventually serves as a tributary to the River Soar.
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.
Braunstone is a civil parish and is the largest parish within the district of Blaby in Leicestershire, England, now known as the Town of Braunstone or more commonly, Braunstone Town. In 2007 the population was around 15,000. There are around 7,500 households including Thorpe Astley. At the 2011 census the population of the civil parish had increased to 16,850.
Enderby is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, on the southwest outskirts of the city of Leicester. The parish includes the neighbourhood of St John's, which is east of the village separated from it by the M1 motorway. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 6,314.
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.
Thorpe Astley is a suburban settlement on the southwestern edge of the city of Leicester, England. It is part of the civil parish of Braunstone Town, although a small part of the development, around Goodheart Way, extends into Leicester Forest East civil parish. Both Braunstone Town and Leicester Forest East are within the district of Blaby, Leicestershire.
The Domesday manor of Bromkinsthorpe was situated outside the West Gate of Leicester, on the alluvial west bank of the River Soar. Its location is now covered by the area around Braunstone Gate, Leicester, and for much of the medieval period was a liberty within the parish of St Mary de Castro, Leicester, and hence, part of the Borough of Leicester.
Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields is an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. It comprises the western Leicester suburbs of Braunstone Frith, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields.
Aylestone Meadows is an 8.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Leicester. It is owned and managed by Leicester City Council.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Leicester, England.