Goddard in the suburbs

The Goddard Trail - the Southern Suburbs

As the London Rd leaves the central city area it passes through affluent suburbs. The first photo is of Brookfield (1876-8). This is currently part of De Montfort University, but when built it was the first house in Leicester to use the revival of half-timbering that later became prevalent all over the city. The second photo is of houses further south built in 1888-9 in the style of a Jacobean country house - there are a few other similar examples also on London Rd.

Nearby, these houses were built on Springfield Rd in 1897. Although similar to shops built on London Rd a few years later, this style for houses was soon to become less fashionable.

Joseph Goddard built Knighton Spinneys on Ratcliffe Rd for himself in 1886. This is a good example of the Domestic Revival in Leicester and a sketch of the house won a silver medal at an exhibition in Paris in 1889. Typical features are tile hanging, decorative leadwork and carpentry. Indeed, tiles hung vertically on walls are a feature of many of the houses in Leicester's suburbs and they sometimes appear as roof tiles.

A further development in style can be seen in the new partner Walter Catlow's 'Red House' in Stoneygate Avenue, 1900. This is in a more Arts & Crafts/Vernacular style than the houses above, and resembles the farmhouse-type buildings in Horninghold more than other Goddard designs in Leicester.

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