Recently I visited the Cultural Quarter in Leicester. Even though I grew up near this city and visited often, this is an area with which I’m not that familiar. The things I do remember are the Moderne former Odeon cinema and the flat-iron corner of The Exchange Building, with its original shop fronts.
In its heyday, this was an industrial area full of factories and warehouses, many of which, by the time of my childhood, were disused or even derelict.
On the corner of Rutland Street and Southampton Street is this stunning building which was designed by Edward Burgess and built between 1895–1898 for the Faire Brothers as an elastic web factory.
The facade is decorated with buff terracotta above a marble plinth. The ironwork gate is very ornate …
… as are the grills over the windows.
And the sign for Southampton Street is also formed from terracotta.
Now walk down Southampton Street to the corner with Wimbledon Street and you will see Wimbledon House designed by William Jackson, circa 1870. This red brick and terracotta building was a cloth warehouse.
Return to Rutland Street. Next to Curve theatre is the former leather warehouse for Pfister & Vogel, designed by Fosbrook and Bedingfield and built between 1922–1923.
This has another stunning entrance!
Next door is a collection of three buildings, which have over time housed a framework knitters’ workshop and warehouse, a leather workshop, an engravers’ and a modern hosiery factory. These were refurbished recently. They are now called Makers’ Yard. I shall be writing about this in my next post.
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