The Low-Down on the Local History Group!

Peer supporter Steve held his first Local History group on January 8. This group was set up with the aim of engaging the local community in Leicester’s rich history, whilst having a friendly face to chat to. Steve has kindly written a post telling us all about what happened on his first day out:

For our first meeting, we all met by the fountain at the Town Hall, a very historical place to start; full of tranquillity in a busy city. We then visited  the City Library which is adjacent to Bishop street and is surrounded with many buildings of history, such as former local banks and the post office which are now  sadly empty, but are full of amazing architecture.

We also looked at some of the oldest parts of the city around Jubilee Square, St Nicolas Circle, the high street and Guildhall Lane.

The Cathedral was our first location to visit, as we all know is was the resting place of King Richard III, so we headed there to explore and walk around the grounds of the Cathedral.

Next, we ventured onto Guildhall Lane, where we found the Guild Hall which is around 600 years old and one of the oldest buildings in the city, previously used as  a Jail in its distant past. We then headed to St Nicholas Circle to take a look at the Jewry Wall Museum which is currently closed for refurbishment but is easily viewed from the main road. The site was discovered in the 1960s when the city was building modern swimming baths, however around this time the roman baths were found when the ground was excavated and so the work on the swimming baths was ceased. Nevertheless, this discovery proved Leicester was in fact a major Roman city as the uncover of the Shires and High Street had suggested. The city was then known as Ratae.

To end our walk, we walked along the high street which has many shops, but look up and you will see old historic buildings, so remember to take a look up next time you pass!

Thank you to everyone who joined us, our first meeting of many to come. Remember, this is your group so please let us know your thoughts about our first meeting and suggest places you would like to see and explore!

The group will be meeting on the second Tuesday of each month, so please get in contact if you’d like to attend our next session. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 12 February 1:30pm – 3pm and we will be meeting by the fountain at the Town Hall.

We look forward to seeing many of you then!