South Wigston
South Wigston photos (12 available)
South Wigston 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!
South Wigston books (9 available)
- 7 photos on South Wigston appear in 3 Frith books - View photos of South Wigston
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on South Wigston and Leicestershire
South Wigston memories
Read and share memories of South Wigston and Leicestershire inspired by Frith photos
Basset Street School
I remember this school so well, my first born went to this school in 1983 and so did my daughter, it's a shame they pulled part of it down. I remember walking the children over to what is now the infant school to use their swimming pool, later when they pulled some of the old school down the children were moved to the infant school in South Wigston, on the Countesthorpe Road, where all three of my children went, they then moved on to South Wigston High School where they had a real good head master, Mr Bothamy (sorry about the spelling).
Contributed by ruth carroll
Starting School and Pastimes post war
I remember starting infants school at Bassett Street School. Here there were 3 separate schools, one for infants, one for junior girls and one for junior boys all up to the age of 11 years. We had to drink milk from small bottles. In the winter the milk would freeze and push the bottle top off and in summer it would be luke warm (yuk). Favorite pastimes were collecting milk bottle tops and cigarette packets. We all liked train spotting from the railings on the bridge at Wigston Magna Station. British Rail was still in the wings and LMS ruled with frequent fast express trains.
Contributed by Richard Child
Happy childhood days
When I was about 6-7 years old we lived in Lansdowne Grove ( 1 mile approx) and Crow Mills was a favorite place to come and fish for minnows and frog spawn. The summers seemed endless and jam jars were a precious item to us as they were needed to bring home the results of the days exploits. I think the mill was still working then, I know the water wheel certainly was. All you needed was your jar of course a stick, some thin string or cotton, a few worms and a bent pin. We would spend hours there. Across the road were the 'Rally Banks' which was the railway embankment and bridges another favorite play ground; as there was ...read more here
Contributed by Richard Child
South Wigston, Gloucester Crescent
I moved to South Wigston in 1978 as a newly wed, I lived on Marstown Avenue which then was a two way road, and very busy, and I remember using these shops all the time. I used to do my shopping in what is now called Jacksons and is a Sainsburys shop. I notice looking at the picture of the 1960s that not a lot has changed but the end shop on the left of the picture is now a fish and chip shop, all that keeps changing is the type of shop. I no longer live in South Wigston but do get to visit it still, and even now in 2008 things are very much the same.
Contributed by ruth carroll
above shop flats
1963: We were so desperate for somewhere to live when we got married that we almost signed up for one of the upstairs flats above the shops. The flats were brand new and looked very attractive back then. The the reality set in that we couldn't afford it and we ended up renting a flat off the Narborough Road in the Westcotes area. SLCS must be 'The South Leicester Co-op Society'
Contributed by Richard Child
Blaby Road west end
This view is not much different from the forties. This photo has been taken from outside Rawlinsons butchers shop to the right and St Thomas's church to the left ( both out of shot). The first shop to the right is Eric Holmes Cycle shop. Eric Holmes Jnr was a school friend of mine and we both attended Basset Street Juniors(just round the corner). The road off to the right is Countesthorpe Road. The roof that appears to stick out of the line of roofs on the right is the 'Ritz' cinema (now a bingo hall)
Contributed by Richard Child
Extracts From South Wigston & Leicestershire books
No-one could pretend that this scene
is one of romantic beauty, but this long
row of late 19th-century terraced houses
with its excellent corner shop has a
well mannered charm. Bootscrapers,
timber-sashed windows and moulded
brick arched heads to the ground floor
windows and doors provide a quality so
often lacking in modern housing. Sadly,
every brick and tile has gone, to make
space in true Wigston style for
an open car park.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".
The three-storey framed building on the left must have been very new when this photograph was taken. As Alpha
House, it remains little changed, along with its close neighbour, St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. The major
change is confined to the introduction of industrial units on the semi-open ground to the right. As in almost every
other photograph, the lack of cars is striking.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".
Crow Mill on the River Sence was recorded around the mid 12th century; we see it here in a picturesque meadowland setting. Close to the canal, it was bought by the canal’s owners, and with the installation of a steam engine it worked until around 1900.
An extract from from"Leicestershire Photographic Memories".
Situated on the river Sence to the south of the town, the mill was first recorded around the mid 12th century, and
by the early 17th century a windmill had also been built a little to its north. The photograph shows a probably
18th-century brick shell in a setting of hawthorns and reedy water. The owners of the nearby Grand Union Canal
bought the mill around 1820, installing a steam engine, but after about 1900 all milling seems to have ceased. The
building was later converted to residential use.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".
A rather flowery title for a small shopping development of the late 1950s on the Fairfield Estate, away to the east
of the town’s main shopping street. As a range of handy local shops the group continues in business, although the
end unit, which was empty around 1960, continues to be empty some forty years later.
An extract from from"Leicester Photographic Memories".