Goddard in Leicester City Centre

The Goddard Trail - in the city

The northmost point in this trail is in Churchgate. Rebuilt by Henry Goddard in 1832, this nightclub is the earliest surviving building of the practice. Currently being refurbished, this was the Fish and Quart pub until the 1980s and had been well known for its stables which, earlier in the century, often housed animals from visiting circuses.

A short journey south is Leicester's Clocktower. Erected in 1868, it was the winning entry in a competition and was designed in a sort of High Victorian Gothic - a popular taste at the time - and established Joseph Goddard's reputation in Leicester.

Close by is the Irish Mens shop on the High St/Silver St corner. Built in 1896 this is a forerunner of the larger General News Room of 1898 (see below), and the similarities are clear. This has a Queen Anne-style influence in the roof and upper windows, with Baroque and Classical touches beneath.

A few metres away on Gallowtree Gate is the Thomas Cook office, 1894. The reliefs which cross the building are shown here stacked on top of each other and represent, from top to bottom: Thomas Cook's first excursion to Loughborough; a trip to the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace; Egypt, where the company helped to transfer troops; the trip to Newcastle to celebrate the company's jubilee and the opening of the Forth Bridge.

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Move south into Granby St for the HSBC bank 1872-74.

Slightly further south on Granby St is the General News Room, 1898, which again shows Baroque style with touches of Classical architecture. The statues and friezes represent the Fates and Muses, and they gaze down on an area which was being developed in this period to reflect the growing confidence and prosperity of turn of the century Leicester. Buildings in a similar vein followed in Peterborough, Birmingham, and Sheffield.

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