Leicester

Leicester's Chronology

Pre Twentieth Century

Leicester's roots stretch back before the Roman invasion of Britain and it is likely that there has been a settlement in the area ever since. Have a look at the University of Leicester Archaeological Services website for maps and pictures of Roman, Saxon & Medieval Leicester. The Wandering Through Old Leicester on-line tour is one place to start an examination of the city's pre-modern past and some of the legends and stories associated with the city. Many aspects of Leicester and its history can be found on Wikipedia, such as this page about St Mary de Castro Church.

Leicester's workhouses are looked at in Peter Higgenbotham's excellent website. Leicester Sound & Vision has a section on Victorian terraced houses. Leicester City Council's 'Ernest Gimson and the Arts & Crafts Movement in Leicester' looks at the history of Arts and Crafts in Leicester.

Twentieth Century

In the twentieth century the letters sent between Leicester couple Olive and Eric show both what it was like to be in Leicester during the Second World War and to be posted in North Africa and Italy. The Wartime Leicestershire site also has a lot of interesting Leicester material for people researching this period.

Various aspects of life in Leicester, such as housing and work, are looked at in EMOHA's online exhibitions.

After the Second World War waves of immigration transformed the culture of the city. A brief history of refugee settlement in Leicester can be found at this ICAR site. One family's story of migration from South Asia can be found on the BBC Legacies site and the Ugandan Asian experience in Leicester is talked about on this Migration Stories video on You Tube.

Family history websites often provide snapshots of life in Leicester, as on the Craxford Family website: http://www.craxford-family.co.uk/themered/pagemyfamily.php which looks particularly at the area around Fosse Road North.

The Media Archive for Central England has film, video and TV programmes relating to Leicester.

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