Smeeton Westerby
Smeeton Westerby maps (2 available)
Map of Leicestershire
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
See this old map of Leicestershire
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Smeeton Westerby books (11 available)
- 3 photos on Smeeton Westerby appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Smeeton Westerby
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Smeeton Westerby and Leicestershire
Smeeton Westerby memories
Read and share memories of Smeeton Westerby and Leicestershire inspired by Frith photos
Alma Friston nee Oldfield
I was born in Smeeton on April 23rd 1935. I remember staying with a Mr and Mrs Webb. As you approached Smeeton there were cottages on the left hand side, we stayed in the last one next to a lane. The cows came up this lane everyday for milking, quite often straying on to the garden, it was our job to shoo them away. Down this lane was a chapel which was on the left hand side, I remember singing here. We lived in Leicester during the war, having moved from Smeeton and Kibworth Harcourt.
I remember the grocery shop run by Miss Terry, we bought Jelly Dummies to suck on.
Lots of memories walking in the fields and smelling violets ...read more here
Contributed by Alma Friston
Leicestershire memories
Alma Friston nee Oldfield
I was born in Smeeton on April 23rd 1935. I remember staying with a Mr and Mrs Webb. As you approached Smeeton there were cottages on the left hand side, we stayed in the last one next to a lane. The cows came up this lane everyday for milking, quite often straying on to the garden, it was our job to shoo them away. Down this lane was a chapel which was on the left hand side, I remember singing here. We lived in Leicester during the war, having moved from Smeeton and Kibworth Harcourt.
I remember the grocery shop run by Miss Terry, we bought Jelly Dummies to suck on.
Lots of memories walking in the fields and smelling violets ...read more here
A memory of Smeeton Westerby contributed by Alma Friston
School uniform
When I passed the 11 plus exam I was selected to attend Kibworth Grammar School. The only place that you could get the uniform was the little shop in the photo to the right of the monument in the Square. This meant a trip by train from Wigston to Kibworth. This was quite feasible in the days before Dr Beeching closed all the railway stations. I remember the uniform cost my Mum a fortune and I only attended for one term as my Dad who was in the army was posted to Germany for 3 years. There I went to another school requiring yet another uniform.
A memory of Kibworth contributed by Richard Child
George Lynns grocers
My dad, Maurice Marsden, started work at the age of 14 in Lynns shop in 1937, after serving in the RAF and Fleet Air Arm during the war. He returned to the shop to work and finished up as manager. The shop closed in the 70s.
A memory of Kibworth contributed by graham marsden
Extracts From Smeeton Westerby & Leicestershire books
The village, which in parochial terms was originally bracketed together with Kibworth Beauchamp and Kibworth
Harcourt, which share the mother church of St Wilfred, lies some eight miles to the south of the city. Sited on
the southern edge of the village, the small church of 1849 was designed by Henry Woodyer in a 14th-century
manner; whilst quite pretty, it cannot be said to be of great architectural moment. In fact, its west end, seen in
the photograph, gives the false impression that the grand nave arch has been blocked following the demolition
of more elaborate fabric.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".
This attractive village retains its quiet rural atmosphere; it is ranged along its north-south street about a mile to the south of
Kibworth Beauchamp. A semi-detached house of little architectural merit dominates the view here, but beyond is a glimpse
of the Gumley Hills as the road swings right towards Saddington.
An extract from from"Leicestershire Villages Photographic Memories".
This is an attractive village ranged along its north-south street about a mile to the south of Kibworth Beauchamp.
Prior to its being enclosed, a more complicated street pattern was in place, with Mill Lane linking to Fleckney
and Debdale Lane to Foxton. The photograph exudes a quiet rural atmosphere which is little changed. The fine
house closing the view and the cottages in general remain readily recognisable. A single regret is the free importa-
tion of plastic windows, which strike a discordant note.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".
The pinnacled and canopied Clock Tower, designed by Joseph
Goddard in 1868, dominates the forefront of the photograph,
while its four stoney local worthies, Simon de Montfort, William
Wyggeston, Alderman Gabriel Newton and Sir Thomas White,
Mayor of Leicester and mine host at the nearby Horse and
Trumpet, gaze down. Beyond Corts Limited can be seen the
dominant dome of the Opera House, demolished in 1960,
where each year the Christmas pantomime was staged and
appreciated with thunderous applause
by generations of children.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".
The link between London Road and Gallowtree Gate, this
short north-south road is visually of the later 19th century. The
Grand Hotel of 1898 by Cecil Ogden (1858-1944) dominates
its southern end, while the rather exuberant Turkey Cafe of
1901 by Arthur Wakerley and the Victoria Coffee House of 1888
by Edward Burgess (fl.1886-1915) add that longed-for touch
of eccentricity and quality to an otherwise undistinguished
townscape. The shops to the left of the photograph retain their
excellent fronts with stall-boards and timber frames, a sight
which has become a rarity in a plate-glass world.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".