The Illustrated History of Leicester’s Suburbs

The Illustrated History of Leicester’s Suburbs shows, through a fine selection of photographs from the Leicester Mercury and Leicestershire Record Office, how the countryside, farms and villages developed into the urban streets, residential areas, shopping districts and industrial estates that are so familiar today. In the course of the last 150 years, the outskirts of the city have been transformed, and they would have expanded in a way that would astonish Leicester residents of just a few generations ago.In this detailed and fully-illustrated account of the suburbs, Christine Jordan offers a concise history of each district, but she also features local anecdotes, myths and folklore, and she remembers remarkable, sometimes bizarre, episodes and notable individuals who played their part in the story. Her survey will be essential reading and reference for everyone who takes an interest in their neighbourhood and in the complex, surprising history of the city itself.Leicester evolved over the centuries, gradually at first, then swiftly during the 19th and 20th centuries. In the space of a few generations, small villages on the periphery were absorbed by the city’s expansion. But Christine Jordan shows how these villages retained an identity, and their names have lived on in the urban areas that surround the centre. The origins and development of districts as diverse as Aylestone, Braunstone, Stoneygate, Evington, Spinney Hills and Clarendon Park are recalled in her account, as are the stories of the many other communities that make up the modern city.