Leicester City Centre
|
The Shires, as seen from near the Clock Tower, seen to the right. |
|
The pedestrianised section of Humberstone Gate. The Haymarket Centre is to the left. |
The modern
City Centre of
Leicester is roughly delineated by Leicester's inner ring-road, designated the
A594. This area incorporates most of Leicester's shopping, with
The Shires and the
Haymarket Centre and the historic core of Leicester including
Leicester Cathedral and
the market. Politically, the city centre is split between the city council
wards of Abbey and Castle.
The historic city of Leicester was founded by the
Romans at the crossing of the
River Soar by the
Fosse Way, between the current path of the river and the modern Gallowtree Gate.
It is thought that the later medieval walls and gates were in approximately the same positions as the Roman ones, with the
forum being where the modern inner ring road meets St Nicholas Circle. The Roman baths are nearby and are preserved at
Jewry Wall. [
1] The east gate was at the eastern end of High Street (preserved in the street name Eastgates), the north gate was at the northern end of Highcross Street, the west gate was on the town side of West Bridge, and the south gate was in the modern Friar Lane area - the city walls ran along the current Millstone Lane, Horsefair Street, Gallowtree Gate, Church Gate, Sanvey Gate and Soar Lane, with the western wall possibly running along the river Soar (there is some doubt as to whether the western wall existed). The city centre was the High Cross, at the junction of the current High Street and Highcross Street (in mediaeval times, High Street ran between the north and south gates along the line of the current Highcross Street, while the current High Street was called Swinesmarket).
Leicester Cathedral and the
Guildhall occupy this old area of town.
Leicester Castle lay on the south-western corner of the walls, and the Newarke was a separate walled area nearby. The Newarke Gateway (now known as the Magazine) is the only medieval gateway remaining. A small section of the town wall can be seen in the churchyard of
St Mary de Castro. The town's main gates were sold and demolished in the late
18th century, being an impediment to the flow of traffic (the city's hay market was outside the walls for this reason, the main market being situated within the southeast corner of the walls).
With increasing development, particularly in the
19th century, the focal point moved eastwards, with the
Clock Tower roundabout seeing the five-way junction of the
London to Manchester,
Birmingham to Yarmouth and
Fosse Way roads. This was influenced by the replacement of the
Welford Road (now the A5199) by the
Market Harborough road (the Harborough Turnpike, now the
A6), as the main route to London, because the Welford Road terminated in the tiny streets of the old town, and was therefore a hindrance for vehicles, while the London Road went past the East Gates of the city.
Meanwhile the civic centre moved southwards, with the Corporation of Leicester moving to a new
town hall building in
1876 in the Market Street area, facing onto a new Town Hall Square, and just outside of the walled town. Between these areas is the modern market, based to the south-west of the Clock Tower area, which features the permanent outdoor covered
Leicester Market (the largest in
Europe), alongside an indoor market building selling fish, dairy produce, meat, etc, and the old
Cornmarket building. Much of this old area of town is now in various
conservation areas.
Outside of the ringroad, but close by, are the main campus of
De Montfort University,
Leicester Royal Infirmary, the
Leicester Tigers'
Welford Road stadium and
the prison.
Leicester railway station is just on the outer side of the ringroad, on the A6. The
University of Leicester is further away to the south-east, linked by the pedestrian-only path New Walk. When this was laid out in
1785, on the route of an ancient footpath, it passed through open land, but soon saw development of large private houses on both sides of it. It is now largely offices, although the
New Walk Museum makes a strong impact.
The area inside the ringroad has two large shopping malls -
The Shires (built in the 1980s on the northern side of High Street and opening in
1991), and the
Haymarket Centre (opened in
1974, on the site of the old hay market), both facing onto the Clock Tower area. On the opposite side of Humberstone Gate to the Haymarket is a new building, with no communal space, occupied by a variety of retailers, that incorporates the famous
Lewis's tower from the previous
department store on the site.
Major chain stores can also be found on the pedestrianised Gallowtree Gate, running south-east from the clock tower, and which continues to the railway station as Granby Street. To the south of the Shires and west of Gallowtree Gate is an area known as
The Lanes consisting mostly of small independent shops. This area's centrepiece is the
St Martin's Square development (dating from the
1980s), and also features various smaller arcades, the
Odeon Arcade, the
Royal Arcade and the
Malcolm Arcade. Of particular interest is the now mainly disused
Silver Arcade, dating from
1899. Further south than this is the market, and then the civic centre (as mentioned above), which also features the main lending and reference libraries, and a number of shops, both chain and independent.
Gallowtree Gate and Humberstone Gate west of Charles Street are fully pedestrianised. Private cars (but not buses and taxis) are forbidden at certain times from a larger area. Plans exist to fully pedestrianise High Street also, which will involve routing buses via Mansfield Street. [
2]
The area around the junction of Humberstone Gate and the ring-road is the site of two
strip malls - the larger of which is on the south-east side of the roundabout and called 'St George's Retail Park', the smaller being on the south-west side.
Shopping streets
*Belgrave Gate - Runs from the Clock Tower north-east to the ringroad. Chain stores especially at the south-west end. In the middle, near the junction of Charles Street, many disused units.
*Belvoir Street - Runs south-west from junction of Granby Street with Rutland Street, until it becomes Welford Place and then hits Welford Road. Retail. Site of the Central Lending Library.
*Bishop Street - Small street linking Granby Street and Bowling Green Street. Includes Leicester's main
post office, and the Reference Library.
*Bowling Green Street - Road linking Horsefair Street and Belvoir Street.
*Carts Lane/Loseby Lane/Grey Friars/Berridge Street/Pocklingtons Walk form a road from High Street, near the western end of the Shires, south to Welford Place. Generally independent shops.
*Charles Street - Runs from Belgrave Gate, south crossing Humberstone Gate, then past Halford Street and south-east to the ringroad. Originally built as by-pass for what is now the A6, and since bypassed itself by the ring-road. Opened in
1932. Mainly independent stores with a few chains. Disused units especially at the southern end.
*Cheapside - Runs from the junction of Eastgate and High Street southwards to the
Market and Market Place.
*Church Gate - Runs from Clock Tower north. Home generally to independent stores, though has an exit of The Shires.
*East Bond Street - A small road round the back of the shires. NO ENTRY to car park. Some shops.
*Eastgates - A small stretch of road between the Clock Tower and High Street.
*Gallowtree Gate - Runs south-east from the Clock Tower to the crossroads with Rutland Street (east) and Belvoir Street (west), and continues as Granby Street. Fully pedestrianised. Now generally regarded as Leicester's main 'high street'.
*Granby Street - Runs from southern end of Gallowtree Gate to the railway station, where it becomes London Road.
*Halford Street - Small road linking Humberstone Gate and Rutland Street. This street gives its name to
Halfords.
*High Cross Street - This was originally known as High Street. Few shops now. There are two sections, one south of the ringroad and one north of it.
*High Street - Runs west from Eastgates to High Cross Street and beyond. Open for traffic with restrictions. Some major stores, but less towards the west. Originally known as Swinesmarket.
*Horsefair Street - Named for the horse fairs that were held here whilst it was still outside the city walls. Runs from Gallowtree Gate/Halford Street/Granby Street insection south-west, until it becomes Millstone Lane. Site of Town Hall Square.
*Humberstone Gate - Runs east from the Clock Tower, and then crosses Charles Street. Becomes Humberstone Road soon before the ring-road. Eastern stretch mainly institutions and independents, western stretch has the Haymarket to the north and various chain stores (including a large
Marks and Spencers) on the south side, and is fully pedestrianised.
*Market Place - This surrounds the market on the north and east sides (the shops on the east are the backs of those fronting onto Gallowtree Gate). On the south side is Market Place South.
*Market Street - Road linking Horsefair Street and Belvoir Street.
*Rutland Street - Links Humberstone Gate and Granby Street. Continues west of Granby Street as Belvoir Street, and north of Humberstone Gate as Wharf Street South. The Rutland Street/Halford Street/Charles Street/Granby Street area has a large concentration of
estate agents,
building societies, and banks.
*Silver Street - Small road linking High Street with Carts Lane/Loseby Lane junction. Continues west as Guildhall Lane.
*St Peter's Lane - Behind the Shires, linking Church Gate east-west with High Cross Street (section between East Bond Street and the Ring Road - CLOSED due to Shires extension).
*Welford Place - Extension westward of Belvoir Street. Site of New Walk Centre, the main council offices.
The main bus station in the city centre is on Charles Street, a number of buses also terminate on Humberstone Gate. Bus companies to serve the city centre are
First Leicester,
Arriva Fox County and
CentreBus. Regional and national coaches depart from the nearby St Margaret's Bus Station.
Leicester London Road, mentioned above, is now the only station in the city centre, after the closure of
Leicester Belgrave Road and
Leicester Central in the
1960s.
Leicester used to have a
tram network — this ceased operation in 1949, being replaced with buses.
According to the council, Leicester has 7,500 off-street parking spaces available near the city centre. [
3]
Although home to a variety of theatres, such as the
Haymarket Theatre, Little Theatre and
Phoenix Arts, there is currently no major mainstream
cinema left in the city centre (although there is a small cinema showing mainstream films on Abbey Street, and Phoenix Arts has a regular programme of art-house and world cinema), the nearest being the Odeon at Freemen's Common, some way to the south. The old Odeon was refurbished and opened in
2005 as the
Leicester Athena, a conferencing and banqueting venue. Another cinema sits derelict on Belgrave Gate, used only by pigeons.
Since the closure of St Margaret's baths, there is no municipal swimming pool in the city centre. Its replacement, the Braunstone Leisure Centre, is some miles away in
Braunstone.
The area in the inside of the ring-road is nearly entirely built up, with only Nelson Mandela Park (at the extreme south, in
Southfields, and Town Hall Square being considerable open spaces. Outside the ring road are
Castle Gardens by
Leicester Castle, and
Victoria and
Abbey Park.
Musical venues in the city are somewhat limited - the largest two venues,
De Montfort Hall (mentioned above) and
University of Leicester's union, are both in
Southfields, some way from the city centre. In the city centre the largest venue holding regular events is
The Charlotte on Oxford Street, with other venues being the pub-sized
The Musician,
The Shed and
The Attik.
Several old
Anglican churches are based in or around the city centre. St Martin's is now
Leicester Cathedral. The other four historic parishes were St. Margaret's, St. Mary de Castro, All Saints, and St. Nicholas. The first Anglican Church to be built in the city after the medieval period was St George's - this is now used as an
Orthodox church.
The city centre is covered by an extensive system of
CCTV cameras, supplemented by CCTV vans. Now that the main police station on Charles Street has closed, City Centre policing is based in a building off Belgrave Gate.
Work has now started on the expansion of the Shires Shopping Centre, details of which can be found on their website. [
4] Plans include several flagship stores, including a
John Lewis, a multiplex cinema, apartments, 2 public squares and al-fresco dining. It has been announced that it is to rename itself the
Highcross Quarter.
To the east of Charles Street the city centre is dominated by disused factories and warehouses (which also have some presence in the other outer areas of the city centre). Conversion of these to residential accommodation is ongoing, particularly in the area east of Charles Street and around Humberstone Gate, which has been dubbed 'St George's' by the council, and was made a conservation area in
1989.
St George's South has been designated Leicester's new cultural quarter, and is already the site of the Leicester Creative Business Depot (built on the old
Leicester City Bus depot and keeping the initials) and the Athena. The LCB Depot opened in September
2004, and by the time of its first birthday had let 37 of 55 units, with talk starting of finding an additional site. [
5]
Opposite the Athena, a new flagship £51 million Leicester Performing Arts Centre, designed by
Rafael Vinoly Architects, started construction in
2005, on a site that has been long-disused. It is planned to be ready for handover
2007 to the Haymarket company, who will then vacate their existing building. The first productions would be in
2008. [
6] The centre is being funded by the various sources including the City Council, the
Arts Council, the
European Regional Development Fund and the
East Midlands Development Agency. [
7]
Further to the south of St George's are plans to create a new business area, near the railway station, including re-use of the old police station, and renovation of the
Leicester Mercury building. [
8]
St George's North has been proposed for a residential community by the Leicester Regeneration Company. [
9] Development has also started on waterfront properties, with a plan to re-use the
Great Central station site. [
10]
There are a few Grade I
listed buildings.
*
Abbey Park ruins and wall, remains of Cavendish House
*
Jewry Wall*
Castle, Turret Gateway, Castle Hall, and
St Mary de Castro*
The Guildhall*The
Assembly Rooms on Hotel Street
*The Newarke
Magazine Gateway*
St Margaret's church
*
St Nicholas's church
*The
Victoria Park war memorial
A few of these are also
Scheduled Ancient Monuments. There are many Grade II
listed buildings, including
*the Charles Street police building
*the
Clock Tower*
St Martin's Cathedral (II star)
*
31 Granby Street (HSBC bank)
All Saints is Grade B.
Leicester has the tallest buildings in the
East Midlands region. The tallest buildings are: [
11]
*Cardinal Telephone Exchange, on Humberstone Road, 84m
*St George's Tower, St George's Way, 82m
*Leicester Cathedral, 67m
*Thames Tower, 58m
*New Walk Centre, 55m
The Telephone Exchange building is currently in use by
BT. After a few years standing empty, work is finally underway to convert St George's Tower into a mixed use development of retail, commercial and residential units [
12]. Thames Tower is due to be converted into flats and retail [
13]. The New Walk Centre is the main base for the City Council.
The
postal district LE1 is close to the area covered inside ring-road, but is somewhat larger. The only area inside the ring-road but not part of LE1 is the section of Humberstone Road inside the ring-road.
LE1 includes the
St Matthew's estate, and extends as far north as the
River Soar, thus including
Abbey Park. Where the
A50 crosses the Soar, the boundary runs south, including
Great Central Street in LE1, but not the waterfront. It then broadly follows the path of the ring-road until it reaches Waterloo Way, where the border diverges substantially, to include the swathe of land between London Road, Victoria Park Road and Waterloo Way in the LE1 postcode, including the
University of Leicester, the
De Montfort Hall,
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College,
Regent College, the
Welford Road cemetery, and
Victoria Park. However,
London Road station remains outside LE1.
The boundary then includes several streets west of the railway line but east of the ring-road as part of LE1, before meeting up with the roundabout again and then going inwards to exclude Humberstone Road from LE1 (as above).
To the west, the city centre borders the river, on the other side of this is the
West End of Leicester. To the south-east it borders
Highfields, to the east,
St Matthew's, and to the north-east,
Belgrave.
*
Map of Medieval Leicester*
The Big Build at Leicester City Council*
The Leicester Regeneration Company*
Photos of Leicester Regeneration Projects*
Leicester City Centre boundaries map from ODPM*
Pictures of Leicester*
Leicester photo gallery
