The national charity campaigning for the Victorian and Edwardian historic environment AUTUMN 2015 Jon Goodall — 1948-2015

This dummy page has been inserted to ensure that the following pages appear correctly as double spreads Jon Goodall in March 2010 If your version of Acrobat allows,outside select the “View” Lodge from off University the top menu, then “Page Display”,Road then “Two-up” which the or University “Two-up Continuous”.subsequently demolished. Photo courtesy Leicester Mercury As many of you know, Jon Goodall, Chairman of the Leicester Group of the Victorian Society, died in Leicester Royal Infirmary on 22nd May 2015, just after the previous issue of this newsletter had been posted. Jon was a native of Derby, and studied economics at University. After graduation he joined the East Midlands Gas Board, and after a brief spell in Sheffield he was transferred to Leicester where he settled for the rest of his life. Jon’s interests in Victorian architecture, transport and industrial history were wide-ranging and his knowledge of these subjects was impressive. Although outwardly unassuming, he cared deeply about the city's Victorian heritage and sat on a number of committees and advisory panels where his knowledge and judgement were valued and appreciated. He was a member of the Industrial History Society, the Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society, the Leicester Transport Trust and the Friends of Welford Road Cemetery, where he was a regular volunteer. He was a long-standing member of the Victorian Society and one of the early members of the Leicester Group, of which he became Chairman about 15 years ago. The national charity campaigning for the Victorian and Edwardian historic environment AUTUMN 2015 Jon Goodall — 1948-2015

Jon Goodall in March 2010 outside the Lodge off University Road which the University subsequently demolished. Photo courtesy Leicester Mercury As many of you know, Jon Goodall, Chairman of the Leicester Group of the Victorian Society, died in Leicester Royal Infirmary on 22nd May 2015, just after the previous issue of this newsletter had been posted. Jon was a native of Derby, and studied economics at Leeds University. After graduation he joined the East Midlands Gas Board, and after a brief spell in Sheffield he was transferred to Leicester where he settled for the rest of his life. Jon’s interests in Victorian architecture, transport and industrial history were wide-ranging and his knowledge of these subjects was impressive. Although outwardly unassuming, he cared deeply about the city's Victorian heritage and sat on a number of committees and advisory panels where his knowledge and judgement were valued and appreciated. He was a member of the Leicestershire Industrial History Society, the Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society, the Leicester Transport Trust and the Friends of Welford Road Cemetery, where he was a regular volunteer. He was a long-standing member of the Victorian Society and one of the early members of the Leicester Group, of which he became Chairman about 15 years ago. Jon was also a keen follower of sport, particularly cricket and football - there were more Wisdens than Pevsners on his bookshelves - and he remained loyal to his Derby origins to the end of his life. He is reputed to have played a mean game of croquet! He underwent major surgery at the beginning of March, a few days before his 67th birthday, and had seemed to be making a very good recovery. Jon, who lived alone, spent a couple of weeks convalescing in a nursing home after discharge from hospital, and was out and about in April when he was very optimistic about his future. He attended the Leicester Group meeting in April, and a committee meeting a week later, but then complications set in, and he was re-admitted to hospital where his condition deteriorated rapidly. His funeral took place at Gilroes Crematorium, Leicester, on 18th June, and was attended by many of his friends and colleagues from the organisations he supported. Jon is survived by his brother Richard.

Chairmen’s Report Following Jon’s death, the committee agreed that Neil Crutchley and Peter Ellis should act as Joint Chairmen for the time being. Neither wishes to assume the role in the long term, and it hoped that a more permanent solution can be found by the time of the Group AGM in February 2016. For the moment, Neil is chairing meetings and introducing our speakers, and Peter has taken on some of Jon’s other roles including representing the Group on the City Council Conservation Advisory Panel (CAP). Peter also attended the national AGM in in July, where the Society’s victory in the campaign to prevent demolition of large parts of Smithfield Market was a major cause of celebration, and was followed by the withdrawal of London University’s plans to demolish a row of historic buildings on The Strand, close to House. This scheme, approved by English Heritage (as it then was) provoked outrage in the press, and the Victorian Society was in the forefront of successfully mobilising public opinion against it. We were delighted to see that Michael Hall, who spoke to the Leicester Group in March 2015, was this year’s winner of the prestigious Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion, awarded by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, for his superb book on George Frederick Bodley. This award is given annually to the author of a literary work which, in the opinion of the SAHGB award committee, provides an outstanding contribution to the study or knowledge of architectural history. Previous winners have included Andrew Saint, whose talk on got our 2015-16 meeting series off to such a splendid start in October (see review on page 10). A fascinating talk on ‘Joseph Carey Merrick, Leicester’s Elephant Man’ followed in November. We have recently opened a Twitter account - @LeicVicSoc - so that members and others can be more easily informed of topical issues as they arise.

2 Buildings Sub-Committee Report 53 Street - architect and date unknown This modest un-listed building is now almost the only remnant of Oxford Street’s industrial past. Plans had been submitted to demolish and replace it with a block of student flats of almost unimaginable dreariness. The Conservation Advisory Panel, supported by the Society, asked the developers to think again, and new proposals have now been submitted incorporating most of the existing building, including its facade, into the new structure, with the old cart opening to be used as the main entrance to the block.

Former hosiery factory - 53 Oxford Street. Former Savings Bank - Grey Friars / St Martins This building has been empty for some time, but plans have been submitted (and approved) for conversion into a restaurant and delicatessen. The only external alteration will be the lowering of the ground floor window sills to facilitate pedestrian ‘window shopping’, and assurances have been given that this will be done in keeping with the existing fabric.

Former Savings Bank Grey Friars / St Martin’s. St Peter’s, Highfields The Leicester Mercury recently reported that St Peter's is to receive a development grant of £29,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This will, apparently, enable it “to apply for a further grant ... to undertake urgent structural repairs to the church tower and tower roofs, stabilising the stonework and removing the risk of further damage. The grant will also enable the church to develop heritage education work with children and families.”

3 A Leicestershire Victorian Alphabet Zachary Merton Zachary Merton was born in Germany in 1843, into a family of Anglo- German industrialists and philanthropists. By 1881 he had become a British subject and was described as a General Merchant. He married Rosalie Antoine in 1899 and the 1901 census shows him living in Westminster, by then a Metal Merchant. He was also a mine owner, his businesses flourished and he became a wealthy man. It is said that Zachary and another wealthy man were in the Middlesex Hospital London, awaiting serious operations. Zachary vowed that if he recovered, he would build six convalescent homes and his fellow patient said that he would furnish them. This probably happened around 1911 when Zachary made a will and set up a trust fund of £350,000. He died in 1915 and six homes were built after the death of his wife in 1930. The other patient reneged on his part of the agreement! The Leicestershire Zachary Merton Convalescent Home was built in the peaceful and healthy setting of Woodhouse Eaves. World War I veterans and post-operative patients from Leicester hospitals were cared for by the trust. In 1987 the home was taken over by the NHS, but by the end of the century it was closed and the building sold to a care home company. It re-opened as Bradgate Nursing Home, but was closed and abandoned in 2006. This fine functional building was badly vandalised and finally demolished in 2014 to make way for luxury homes. The site developers were contacted, and given a brief history of Zachary Merton, with the suggestion that his name might be remembered in some way. However, it appears that the name ‘Lady Martin Drive’ had already been chosen by the parish council. At least one of Merton’s endowments does still survive - The Zachary Merton Hospital at Littlehampton, West . Former patients who enjoyed their convalescence in the peace and tranquillity of Woodhouse Eaves, can only remember with gratitude their generous benefactor, the Victorian philanthropist Zachary Merton. Carole Face Further to my article ‘Y is for YMCA’ in the summer newsletter, I omitted to mention that grade II status was only awarded to the YMCA building in 2001 due to the hard work and perseverance of Rowan Roenisch. This award was made in spite of some windows not being original. CF

4 Recent Leicester Group Activities Visit to Burton-upon-Trent Tuesday 19th May 2015 Beer and the Bass family were ever present themes on our day trip to Burton. As our guided tour of the National Brewery Centre demonstrated, beer was central to the growth of Burton such that by the end of the 19th century, the town could boast some 30 breweries and a population of over 50,000. The key to its success, we were told, was water containing gypsum drawn from wells beneath the town, coupled with good transport links, which the brewers were quick to exploit. The day started at St Chad’s Church, aptly described by John Betjeman as “a cathedral set in a dull street” (certainly not one designed for 39 seater coaches!). It is a late work by George Frederick Bodley, built at the expense of Michael A Bass, the first Lord Burton. Elegant, dark and mysterious, it is little changed since its consecration in 1910. The cleaning volunteers were hard at work when we arrived, illustrating just how much the building is loved by its current (small) congregation. Bodley also had a hand in St Paul’s Church, notably in a spectacular design for the organ case. In 1874, the original architects, JM Teale and Lord Grimthorpe, commissioned by Michael T Bass, created a massive cruciform church with a central tower, able to seat a congregation of a thousand. It was later modified by Bodley and today wears an Organ case - St Paul’s, Burton air of faded splendour. GF Bodley (1895). Alongside St Paul’s stands Burton Town Hall, a striking and lively example of the Gothic Revival style in civic use, designed by Reginald Churchill. It began life as the St Paul’s Church Institute and Liberal Club which was extended and given to Burton as a Town Hall by the first Lord Burton in 1894. We were entertained by the present Mayor, Councillor Ron Clarke, who described the history of the building and the civic regalia. Early mayors, he explained, had their coats of arms displayed in the stained glass windows in the Council chamber Later mayors, who lacked a coat of arms, were invited to create their own shields based on their experiences and interests, hence the references to beekeeping, engine driving and the co-operative movement! We are indebted to Carl Klan for organising a varied and well paced day which was full of interest. It was a good example of just how much can be found in a seemingly ordinary industrial town. 5 Ratcliffe Road and Swallowcroft Evening walk - Thursday 11th June 2015 Writing this report with the rain teeming down, I realise how lucky we were that Thursday 11th June was a true summer evening. Thirty members of the Leicester Group met Richard Gill and Neil Crutchley at the Lodge House on Ratcliffe Road. The Lodge had originally served Knighton Hayes, one of four very large properties which filled the land on one side of Ratcliffe Road between London Road and Elms Road. Next came Knighton Spinney, built in 1885 by Joseph Goddard for his own use. The house is now divided into flats, one of which, including the former Billiard Room, was vacant at the time of our visit. Thanks to the kindness of the owner, Julia Forman, whose family bought the property in 1930, we were able to see this room, with some fine de Morgan tiles and an interesting Arabic ‘Mushrabiyyah’ screen. There is still a ballroom with a sprung floor at the Knighton Spinney - the garden front. top of the house. Mapledean and Burnham House were the two remaining properties, the latter once the home of Percy Gee, a great benefactor of Leicester. Opposite is Knighton House, originally set in eight acres of land, again stretching down to Elms Road, and still with a fine conservatory built by Messengers of Loughborough. After crossing Elms Road we reached Inglewood, designed by Ernest Gimson, and a little further along is Swallowcroft, built in 1892 by Amos Hall; Stockdale Harrison, John Humberstone Lorrimer and W Percy Main were some of the previous owners. In 1971 it was bought by Leicester Group members, Peter and Pat Carr, who have spent many years renovating and enhancing the house. The group was free to tour the house and enjoy a glass of wine in the secluded garden, rounding off a highly enjoyable evening.

Turkey Café and Hare Krishna Centre, formerly Midland Bank, Granby Street Evening visit - Tuesday 7th July 2015 Thirty people from the Victorian Society made a visit to the Art Nouveau Turkey Café on Granby Street. Designed by Arthur Wakerley in 1901, this fanciful building is decorated with Doulton terracotta designed by WJ Neatby. A lot of work has been done by the present tenants to restore the café to its former glory. 6 The tenants are architectural students, who, with the help of family and friends, are now keen to restore the inside. A first floor room, with oak panelling, also has original features which were covered up by previous tenants. This room is now being brought back into use. It was a joy to see such enthusiasm from the tenants, and they deserve our encouragement. We understand that the building is still owned by the Wakerley family. (Note: The Turkey Café has been advertised for sale by auction on 25th November - we hope this does not impact on the good work being done by the tenants.) For our second visit of the evening we crossed Granby Street to Goddard’s gothic style bank of 1872-74, built by local company Henry Herbert and Sons, as the head office of the Leicestershire Banking Company. It is now the new home of The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). This large building occupies a prominent corner site. The former banking hall, which the Krishna group are using as their meditation hall, can only be described as spectacular. The stained glass windows, depicting all the counties where the bank had branches, flood the hall with light and colour. The stonework is by Samuel Barfield, who also carved the stone figures on the Clock Tower. Also impressive is the timberwork in the roof of the banking hall. There is still a lot of work to be done, and money is in short supply. However, it is clear that ISKCON are doing their utmost to make the building their own whilst retaining its character. They have plans to add a restaurant opening onto Every Street and a Goddard Room, with Goddard plans and archives on show. The next stage is to start on the first floor as soon as possible. We are pleased to see that the new occupants are keeping the building’s Grade II* listed status in mind, despite the difficulties this presents. They clearly appreciate and cherish the fine building they have as their new Spiritual Centre.

Walk around the Manor Road area – led by Richard Gill and Neil Crutchley Evening walk - Tuesday 11th August A fine evening saw an excellent turnout for a very pleasant and informative walk around one of Leicester’s wealthiest suburbs – Manor Road being described as “the wealthiest road in Europe” in the 1920s! The evening followed the popular format of Richard giving a history of the selected house and architect with Neil providing the social history of notable owners of the property. An overview of the late Victorian/Edwardian development of the area stressed the large size of the plots, giving a much more spacious feel compared to earlier upper middle class developments such as St James Road. We started with The Knoll, described as being in a “free Elizabethan” style featuring large gables and bays, with a loggia and stable block. Built by the Birmingham architect WH Bidlake in 1907 for local brick manufacturer William Winterton; later owners included ES Fox of Glacier Mints fame. Moving on we came to the first house built on Glebe Road, Glebe Mount, by Pick Everard, built for Marshall Pearson, who was Charles Bennion’s partner in the shoe machinery business that was to become British United. The next owner was Sir

7 Jonathan North, Mayor of Leicester throughout World War I and a notable benefactor to the city (the War Memorial and YMCA building included). The house was requisitioned for the US army in World War II, when some of the planning of the D-Day landings took place there. After the war it became the home of Sir John and Lady Corah whose large clothing business formerly supplied much of Marks and Spencer’s merchandise, and was a major employer in the city. The evening continued with many more fine examples of properties designed by leading, mostly local, architects of the day including WK Bedingfield, G Lawton Brown and Stockdale Harrison, built for wealthy industrialists with still familiar names such as Goddard, Ellis, Stibbe and Lorrimer. We were also treated to a few anecdotes: Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen’s Music, composed an anthem for the Queen Mother whilst staying at Springwood House in 1980, and the owner of Highgrove, the knitting machinery manufacturer TS Grieve, used to walk down London Road on stilts much to the alarm of passengers on the top decks of passing buses. Another well thought out, informative and entertaining evening!

Roman Catholic Harborough - an afternoon visit by private car to two contrasting Gothic Revival churches Tuesday 22nd September This was an afternoon to remember - both for the generous hospitality shown to our group by our hosts and for the capricious weather. Having gathered in a sun- bathed field adjacent to our first port of call, we were met by Robert Constable-Maxwell, the owner of the Bosworth Hall estate, who told us a little of the estate’s history before showing us into the enchanting Victorian Gothic chapel, built in 1873, where his wife Susan was waiting to St Mary’s Chapel, Husbands Bosworth. welcome us. Beautifully cared-for and still well attended by the local Roman Catholic community, this jewelled casket of a building, designed by GR Blount and featuring an exquisite painted chancel, (by Romaine Walker, c1900) complete with tiny stained glass roof lights, was a revelation. A west gallery, a striking rose window (in the north chapel) and an impressive stone reredos containing four statues, were just some of the chapel’s appealing features.

8 Due to a sudden cloudburst, we were not able to visit the estate’s kitchen gardens, but (as an added and unexpected bonus) we were invited into the house. Bosworth Hall is a dwelling of two halves: a ‘Tudorised’ medieval Old Hall, now used for B&B, ‘back-to-back’ with a south-west facing Georgian hall (with Victorian additions). It was the latter; the Constable-Maxwell home, that we were shown around to enjoy the family portraits, the period furniture and that timeless country house atmosphere. The sun was out again by the time we got to our second destination: the Church of Our Lady of Victories, Market Harborough. Here we were welcomed by Bernard Bowen who gave us a very comprehensive history of the church; which is clearly thriving as it has been extended more than once, the last occasion being as recently as 2005. This extension, which added side aisles, a choir and organ loft and a new entrance area, has been done with a remarkable sensitivity that enhances CG Wray’s original design of 1876 whilst supplementing it with much needed extra space. Outstanding amongst the church’s features are the magnificent Stations of the Cross made by the De Beale brothers of Ghent and many impressive stained glass windows. Thanks to Paul Griffiths for arranging this memorable trip.

St Mary’s Chapel - Detail of the painted Chancel vault. u

Published by the Leicester Group of the Victorian Society Acting Joint Chairmen: Neil Crutchley and Peter Ellis Membership: Peter Ellis - 01455 291694 - [email protected] Events Bookings: Grahame Lees - 0116 238 7760 Website: http://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/leicester/

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9 Richard Norman Shaw A talk by Andrew Saint – Tuesday 6th October 2015 We were fortunate indeed to open the 2015-16 lecture season with a visit from Andrew Saint, Norman Shaw’s biographer and a national authority on his work. Much of Shaw’s work was in London and the home counties, although his most famous house, ‘Cragside’ is set among ornamental trees high on a Northumberland hillside. We were soon admiring Shaw’s houses in Surrey and Sussex, along the Thames at Chelsea and in London’s Bedford Park. We traced the development of his whimsical ‘Old English’ and ‘Queen Anne’ styles through to his later classically inspired buildings, such as Bryanston in , and offices at New Scotland Yard and Liverpool waterfront. Shaw’s reputation was largely spread by the spectacular perspective drawings of his work which he exhibited at the Royal Academy and which were widely published. These influenced many provincial architects, so Shaw’s style seems familiar even where there are no actual examples of his work. Leicestershire has just a solitary pulpit by Shaw in the parish church at Shepshed. There were also unexecuted plans for Exton Old Hall in Rutland, but the nearest actual examples of Shaw’s work are the impressive church of All Saints, Compton (visited by the Leicester Group in 2013) and the delightful Spout Hall, both at Leek in . Suddenly, there was a picture of Leicester Town Hall – admittedly Queen Anne in style but surely designed by the young Francis Hames in 1873? We discovered that Hames had worked in the offices which Norman Shaw shared with his one-time partner William Nesfield. We were shown a gable at Bodrhyddan Hall, a Nesfield house in north Wales which looked remarkably like the ornamental gable in the centre of the Leicester Town Hall frontage. Bodrhyddan was built in 1872-73 at a time when Hames was known to be working with Nesfield, and entering the Town Hall competition. So, after all, it seems that the spirit of Norman Shaw can even be enjoyed in the centre of Leicester! u We were then shown pictures of one of the very few buildings known to have been designed by Hames later in his career - premises at St John Street for the eccentric William Harris, ‘the sausage king’ facing London’s Smithfield Market. 3-5 St John Street, Clerkenwell, London, (centre), Francis Hames - 1897.

10 Meetings Programme - Winter 2015-16 All lectures take place in the Small Hall (Room 3) of The Leicester Adult Education College, Wellington Street, Leicester LE1 6HL at 7.30 pm. Our meetings are open to all, but we ask all attendees, whether or not they are members, to register in order to comply with Fire Regulations, and to make a contribution of £2.50 per person towards the costs of room hire and other expenses.

Tuesday 1st December 2015 Christmas meeting - seasonal refreshments will be available - please arrive by 7.15 if possible Joseph Paxton, the busiest man in England Danny Wells Gardener, hydraulic engineer, architect of the Crystal Palace and of Mentmore Towers, Director of the Midland Railway, magazine publisher and Member of Parliament for Coventry - there seemed to be nothing that Paxton could not turn his hand to, usually with stunning success. ‘Ask Paxton’ was the advice given to anyone in any kind of difficulty following his remarkable design of the Crystal Palace for the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. But there is a lot more to the man described by Charles Dickens as a workaholic ‘whose very leisure would kill a man of leisure with its hard work’. Come and hear more about his incredible life. Danny Wells is a freelance lecturer, specialising in celebrating the history of Victorian and early 20th century Britain. Tuesday 5th January 2016 Queen Victoria's Navy Nick Marshall During Victoria’s reign, the Royal Navy was transformed out of all recognition, from sail to steam and from wood to iron. Local historian and lecturer Nick Marshall draws on a variety of sources to bring to life this fascinating period of change. Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Annual General Meeting Followed by What The Edwardians Did For Leicester Cynthia Brown At the death of Queen Victoria, Britain was still at war in South Africa and was wrestling at home with political unrest and social problems. These included persistently high infant mortality and long-term unemployment, both of them central to suffragette activity in Leicester later in the decade, and the election in 1906 of Ramsay MacDonald as one of the town’s MPs. This illustrated talk will consider what the Edwardians did for Leicester in terms of social and political reform, along with the landscape of the town, and the lighter side of life in the early 20th century. Cynthia Brown is a local historian, author and adult tutor, and an Honorary Vice President of the Leicester Group of the Victorian Society.

11 Meetings Programme - Winter 2015-16 - continued Tuesday 1st March 2016 Crematoria to Die For The Victorian and Edwardian Expression of Cremation Dr Hilary Grainger Today seven out of ten deaths in Britain are followed by cremation. The majority of the 271 crematoria in UK have been built between 1950 and 1970, but, following the first at Woking (1889) some of the most interesting examples date from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. As cremation slowly gained acceptance in Britain, this progress was reflected in its architectural expression and each crematorium can therefore be seen as a ‘symbol of social change’. The crematorium and its surrounding gardens present a series of challenges to the architect. At once utilitarian and symbolic, religious and secular, crematoria are fraught with complexity. From the outset, the lack of a shared and clear expectation of what is required from a crematorium gave rise to the cultural ambivalence lying at the heart of many designs. Not surprisingly, architectural responses have often been ambiguous and evasive. This lecture places Leicester Crematorium (1902) in its architectural context. Professor Hilary Grainger is a Dean of the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, London, having taught the history of architecture and design for over 30 years at various universities. She is a leading authority on the architect Sir Ernest George and also on the architecture of British crematoria. Her book Death Redesigned: British Crematoria, History, Architecture and Landscape was published in 2005 and her monograph, The Architecture of Sir Ernest George, was published by Spire Books in 2011; both have been widely reviewed. Hilary is the Chair of The Victorian Society and a council member and Trustee of The Cremation Society of Great Britain.

Tuesday 5th April 2016 Decorative Arts in Leicestershire from 1850 Will Gilding

A talk exploring the close association Leicester had with the leading art movements of the mid-to-late 19th century and their wider impact on the British art scene. Looking at examples of pottery, glassware, metalwork and furniture from celebrated designers in the Gothic Revival, Aesthetic, and Arts and Crafts movements. Will began his career with Bonhams Auctioneers in London, spending eight years in the department of Decorative Art and Design. This experience cemented his interests in the art movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With the opportunity to join the family firm of auctioneers in 2014, Will has established twice-yearly specialist sales of Decorative Arts at Gildings Market Harborough salerooms, where he is now Director (Decorative Arts from 1860).

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