LEICESTER CITIZEN THE JOURNAL OF LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY.

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1 LEICESTER CITIZEN THE JOURNAL OF LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY RESTORATION on the grand scale! The great nave of St. Marks Belgrave Gate, 53 feet from floor to ceiling, rescued from ruin by Ebrahim Sabat and winner of the 2005 Civic Society Award for Restoration. This landmark Victorian church by Euan Christian is now the Empire Banqueting and Conference Hall. See centre pages article on the success of our first awards scheme Photo: Derek Hollingworth No.9 April 2006 CIVIC SOCIETY AWARDS. THE RESTORATION OF SAINT MARKS. BBC LEICESTER BROADCAST CENTRE. OAKHAM. STAFFORD. JEWRY WALL MUSEUM 40 YEARS OLD. RETFORD AWAYDAY. OUR CHAIRMAN S FAIRWELL. COUNCILS MUST CLEAN UP. BUILDINGS TOO TALL. THE FRIENDS OF WELFORD ROAD CEMETERY. ANCIENT LEICESTER. OLD LONDON ROAD. HERITAGE WORKS. INTERVIEW WITH SIMON THURLEY. PLUS REGULAR FEATURES & MUCH MORE.

2 LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY Founded 1971 President J.B. JOSEPHS MA (Oxon.) Vice-President The Very Reverend Alan Warren MA Provost Emeritus of Leicester REGISTERED WITH THE CIVIC TRUST REGISTERED CHARITY No CHAIRMAN: MEMBER OF THE EAST MIDLANDS AMENITY SOCIETIES ASSOCIATION JOHN BURROWS, 4 Manor House Gardens, Humberstone, LE5 1AF chairman@leicestercivicsociety.org.uk HON. SECRETARY: STUART BAILEY, 48 Meadow Avenue, Loughborough, LE11 1JT secretary@leicestercivicsociety.org.uk HON. TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: GORDON GOODE 53 Cort Crescent Leicester, LE3 1QJ ARCHIVIST: EVENTS DIARY KEITH DICKENS, 13 Arreton Close, Leicester, LE2 3PP Saturday 22 nd April: EAST MIDLANDS AMENITY SOCIETIES ASSOCIATION : 5 th Annual General Meeting at OAKHAM CASTLE. Members welcome. Contact Stuart Bailey for details if you want to go. Saturday 6 th May: Guided Walk: ANCIENT LEICESTER: See advertisement and bookings page for full details. Tuesday 9 th May 7.00pm: General Meeting. Town Hall. Members welcome. Tuesday 16 th May pm: 35 th Annual General Meeting. Town Hall. Join your new committee for drinks at the Grand Hotel afterwards. Saturday 20 th May: SUMMER COACH TOUR: STAFFORD, STAFFORD CASTLE & VISITOR CENTRE and CANNOCK CHASE MUSEUM: Discounts for members. See advertisement and bookings page for full details. Tuesday 13 th June: General Meeting. Town Hall. Members welcome. Saturday 24 th June: East MASA: THE RETFORD AWAYDAY : See advertisement for details. Tuesday 11 th July: General Meeting. Town Hall. Members welcome. Saturday 15 th July: Guided Walk: OLD LONDON ROAD: See advertisement and bookings page for full details Saturday 22 nd July: East MASA meeting at Southwell. Lunch and afternoon tour of this historic Nottinghamshire town. Members welcome. Contact Stuart Bailey for details if you want to go. Tuesday 8 th August: General Meeting. Town Hall. Members welcome. THERE S A LOT HAPPENING IN LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY - IT PAYS TO BE A MEMBER. TELL YOUR FRIENDS! CREDITS: Derek Hollingworth, Phil Taylor, Regeneration & Renewal for the Interview with Simon Thurley, Building Design, Local Government News, NottsNet Web Site The editors would like to thank Mr. Simon Harris, without whose considerable desktop publishing skills this Journal would be infinitely the poorer. The opinions expressed in LEICESTER CITIZEN are not necessarily those of the editors or Leicester Civic Society.

3 A CHAIRMAN S VALEDICTION The year is New to Leicester, a new civil servant (That s me!) reads a letter in the Leicester Mercury. It warns of the damage to be done by a proposed multi-storey car park to be built in the heart of the old city. Some two weeks later a second letter from the same person appears. This time it speaks of considerable support received, and suggests a meeting. Curious to learn more I go along and find that so many have turned up in the vestry of St. John the Divine that the churchwarden has moved us unceremoniously into the nave of the church itself. The innocent letter writer is sat - somewhat self-consciously - at a table in front of the chancel steps. The discussion starts. Pleas are made for the formation of a Conservation Society. Various points are made. (Yes all right including at least one by me) The writer then seeks volunteers to form a steering group to set the ball rolling. A few hands are raised. Then into my ear a lady whispers: I think you d be good for this. The old serviceman s motto, Never volunteer for anything, was instantly forgotten and up went my hand. Thirty-five years later I am still the best of friends with the writer of that first letter - Stuart Bailey, and the Society we both helped form goes from strength to strength. Over those thirty-five years we have: Gained Listed Building protection for that same Church of St John the Divine where we were founded. Gained the same for the frontage of London Road Railway Station in the teeth of City Council opposition. Supported the City Council in its successful proposal to list the 1840 wooden warehouse on Butt Close Lane. Helped save the Blackfriars Mosaic from beneath the old Central Station. Launched and ran the Canal Clean-up Campaign that led on to the creation of the City s Riverside Park subsequent winner of a Europa Nostra Award. Conducted an exhaustive Central Leicester Buildings Survey of our architectural heritage. Appeared at the public enquiries that saved Joseph Goddard s Sun Alliance Building on Horsefair Street and the Georgian terraces on Princess Road. Planted trees in our city parks and supported Leicester In Bloom. Campaigned successfully for new conservation areas in Stoneygate, St, Georges, Evington Village and Church Gate. Joined the City Council s Conservation Advisory Panel to keep an eye on planning applications affecting our historic built environment. Written and ed literally thousands of letters on the above and lobbied both Councillors and Officers. Established and maintained good relations with the media. Organised tours, talks, walks, dinners, lunches and seemingly endless other events for our loyal members. Produced a regular newsletter, recently transforming this into the new-look journal LEICESTER CITIZEN. Become an active member of the East Midlands Amenity Societies Association, thereby forging good relations with the other 50 civic societies in the region and with the Civic Trust. Much to our mutual benefit.

4 Vigorously supported local Friends organisations including Friends of St. Mary de Castro, Abbey Park. Leicester s Riverside, Welford Road Cemetery and the Jewry Wall Museum. Also much to our mutual benefit. Launched an awards scheme aimed at rewarding restoration and enhancement of the historic built environment of the City. Created a website. Doubled our membership since And we have plans to double it again by 2009! I could go on and on (and indeed have been known to do so!) but I have now reached the grand old age of 65. So, in the words of the old Roman, Hail and Farewell! Or as they say in Leicester, Tarrah me duck! John Burrows (Fellow committee members would dearly like to speak to the lady whose whispering seems to have been responsible Ed) EVENTS PAST & FUTURE NEW YEAR DINNER 13 th January: Once again twelve members and friends had a very enjoyable evening at the Stoneycroft Hotel. Thanks to John for organizing. Once again those of you who didn t turn up missed a treat. We re looking for a new venue for So let s hear some bright ideas to improve the turn out. MR. GOODE S NIGHT OF ONE-HUNDRED- AND-ONE DELIGHTS 21 st March: By contrast this event saw a good turn out of members and some new members for a first rate entertainment by Gordon Goode, who achieved his stated aim of all 101 within 90 minutes. We all spotted things that were new to us, proof that Leicester really can surprise and delight. Thanks to the technical squad who made it all possible. This was so popular that we might repeat it next spring. Gordon now has but twelve months to find another 101 delights. EAST MASA AT OAKHAM 22 nd April: East MASA AGM at Oakham Castle. Contact Stuart Bailey for full details if you want to go. This is a fabulous venue not to be missed. East MASA are keen to launch a Civic Society for Oakham, so come along and perhaps be a part of history in the making. ANCIENT LEICESTER 6 th May: A welcome return for our very first guided walk. See advertisement and bookings page. Our last guided walk was over subscribed so book early to avoid disappointment. 35 th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 16 th May: Change is in the air. Don t miss our Chairman s retirement. Followed by a drink at the Grand Hotel. You ll probably need it! STAFFORD, STAFFORD CASTLE & VISITOR CENTRE and CANNOCK CHASE MUSEUM 20 th May: A bumper day out. Following our spring mail-drop bookings are already coming in thick and fast. So see the back page for full details and use our new bookings page now to avoid disappointment. THE RETFORD AWAYDAY 24 th June: Join East MASA for their annual Awayday. This year we are the guests of Retford Civic Society. See advertisement for booking details of a great day out that also coincides with a farmers market in this lovely old town.

5 OLD LONDON ROAD 15 th July: Our programme of guided walks is becoming increasingly popular so expansion is called for. This is a new walk organised in conjunction with Leicestershire Rural Community Council. Like New Walk & the Georgian New Town this leisurely stroll is packed with social history. Stuart reports that he launched it for a private party last Christmas and it was a big success, taking about 1hour 45 minutes to progress from the Barley Mow to the Old Horse. See advertisement and the bookings page. Numbers are limited so once again book early to avoid disappointment. WITLEY COURT - WORCESTERSHIRE 2 nd September: The ruins of this vast neoclassical palace sit in acres of luxurious parkland maintained by English Heritage. Yet another fantastic coach tour. Priority booking opens on the coach during the return from Cannock Chase Museum on 20 th May. See you all there! THE WALLS OF LEICESTER 23 rd September: Another new guided walk. Full details in our summer mail-drop and in LEICESTER CITIZEN No.10 to be published in early August. NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given of the 35 th Annual General Meeting of Leicester Civic Society to be held at the Town Hall Leicester on Tuesday 16 th May 2006 between 7.00pm and 8.15pm. In accordance with the Constitution of the Society, the purposes of the meeting will be: 1. To receive the Annual Reports of the Chairman & Public Relations Officer, Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer. 2. To elect a Chairman, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer and Public Relations Officer, together with not more than nine other society members, including a Vice-Chairman and an Archivist, to comprise the committee of the Society for The existing Hon. Treasurer Mr. G. Goode, Society Archivist Mr. K. Dickens and committee member Mr. B. Ravilious have indicated their willingness to stand. The positions of Chairman & Public Relations Officer, Vice-Chairman and Hon. Secretary are vacant. There are vacancies for up to seven other committee members. Any nominations for officers and other committee members must be received by the Hon. Secretary in writing with the supporting signatures of proposing and seconding members, no later than Monday 15th May Any other business proper to the meeting. Please inform the Hon. Secretary in advance of the meeting, if you wish to raise any items under this heading. Stuart Bailey Hon. Secretary 1 st April 2006

6 WELFORD ROAD CEMETERY and THE FRIENDS Welford Road Cemetery, covering some thirty acres, is not just a tranquil resting place for the dead. Here you will find over 150 years of Leicester s history written on stone. Whether it be one s own ancestors or some well-known politician, captain of industry, reformer, philanthropist, musician or artist, each memorial, each grave, has a story. The memorials themselves represent styles of architecture and fashion over 150 years and show the skill of the stonemasons and sculptors who created them. There is a wealth of mature trees, mosses, lichens, wild flowers, insects, birds and mammals in this protected open space that lies so close to the heart of Leicester. Leicester City Council is working to conserve and maintain the cemetery, not as a sterile monument to the past but as a living resource for the education and enjoyment of the people of Leicester. The FRIENDS OF WELFORD ROAD CEMETERY are working with the City Council and other interested groups, towards this end. They are also working to record the monumental inscriptions and create a computerised database for a web site. Join the FRIENDS now. Get on our mailing list for newsletters and come along to our talks and walks. If you are able, we will appreciate offers of help. Wherever your talents lie we need volunteers. Don t leave it to the few but help us to assure the future of the cemetery. Contact the Hon. Secretary, Friends of Welford Road Cemetery. C. E. John Aston, One B Cairnsford Road, Leicester LE2 6GG for details

7 LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY & LEICESTERSHIRE RURAL COMMUNITY COUNCIL SATURDAY 6 TH MAY ANCIENT LEICESTER A Guided walk by STUART BAILEY From Bow Bridge, St. Augustine Street at AM. Stroll through 2,000 years of history in the Castle Heritage Park. Richard III, Castle Gardens, The Newarke, The Castle, St. Mary de Castro, Jewry Wall, Roman Baths and Museum, High Cross, Elizabethan Grammar School and Medieval Guildhall per person per walk. ADVANCE BOOKING ESSENTIAL. TO: STUART BAILEY, 48 MEADOW AVENUE. LOUGHBOROUGH. LE11 1JT. CHEQUES PAYABLE TO LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY SEE BOOKINGS PAGE Other guided walks in the series include, Around the Walls of Leicester, Roman Leicester, Victorian Leicester or the Architect, the Inventor and the Travel Agent, New Walk and the Georgian New Town and Medieval Streets. All walks can be booked for groups from six to twenty-four. Telephone equanimity@simurg.co.uk LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY & LEICESTERSHIRE RURAL COMMUNITY COUNCIL SATURDAY 15 TH JULY OLD LONDON ROAD A Guided Walk by STUART BAILEY From the Barley Mow, Granby Street at AM. The railway comes to Leicester and the 19 th Century town with its elegant houses spreads up the hill. Meet Tanky Smith Leicester s real life Sherlock Holmes, explore an alleyway two thousand years old and visit a church modelled on a Venetian cathedral.

8 Leicester Civic Society 2005 CIVIC SOCIETY AWARDS Three buildings were nominated for the 2005 awards. The adjudication panel consisting of our Chairman John Burrows, Secretary Stuart Bailey and Treasurer Gordon Goode, together with committee members Derek Hollingworth, Liz Murphy and Jenny Westmoreland, made site visits on Saturday 25 th February. The only nomination in the New Build category was for the BBC Broadcast Centre on St. Nicholas Place, built as a new home for BBC Radio Leicester and the BBC Asian Network. The architect is Colin Bass of LST Architects. The panel was unanimous in making an award for excellence to this building. In particular commending: 1 The radical interior design, notably the use of colour in the design of rooms and their furnishings to trap and enhance natural light. 2. The sensitive scale of a building designed to respect its setting within the historic built environment of an important conservation area. 3. Display of the Norman undercroft using modern methods. 4. Display of tiling from the frontage of the 19 th Century cheesemongers previously on the site. Three nominations for two buildings were received in the Restoration category, one for the restoration of the listed former Church of St. Mark on Belgrave Gate as The Empire banqueting and conference hall, and two for the restoration of the listed former Odeon Cinema on Rutland Street, now The Athena entertainment and banqueting venue. The panel was unanimous in making the award to The Empire, praising the great vision, personal courage and financial risk taken by the owner Mr. Sabat and were particularly impressed that a member of the City s ethnic minority community had demonstrated so high a level of commitment to the historic built environment of the City. Graham Reddie MBE ARIBA MRTPI, President of the East Midlands Amenity Societies Association, presented the awards at a ceremony held at the Belmont House Hotel on Friday 7 th April. We shall report on this in the August edition of LEICESTER CITZEN.

9 Members of the adjudication panel dwarfed beneath the colossal chancel arch of St. Marks, whilst Mr. Sabat explains how, with the windows broken, he found the chancel knee deep in pigeon droppings and had to climb over 50 feet of scaffolding to clean the vast ceiling himself for fear of contractor s staff falling to the nave below. Earlier in the same day the team were to be found in the rather more intimate surroundings of the BBC Broadcast Centre, admiring a radical new design that fits in well with the historic built environment of the Cathedral and Guildhall. Photos: Derek Hollingworth

10 BUILDINGS TOO TALL by an old grumbler Leicester City Council s attempts at a tall buildings policy appear to be mired in confusion. Last November the Planning Department put together a reasonable draft and the Development Control Committee approved their progress. However the Scrutiny Committee then took exception to the common sense of such phrases as, Suggesting locations that would be generally suitable for tall buildings or otherwise appropriate could well be misleading; giving encouragement to unacceptable proposals by implying a presumption in favour. The result is that planners now have to re-visit the whole process whilst events overtake them. Developments are being considered and approved involving alarmingly tall buildings, without a policy in place, and redevelopment is being developer led without sufficient guidelines and safeguards. This is already having predictably horrid results. To placate the Scrutiny Committee the new document seeks to create a policy whereby nodal points are identified as suitable sites for tall buildings. These are where incoming major roads reach the Inner Ring. They include the area of Leicester Regeneration Co s proposed new business quarter, by the Railway Station, and St. Nicholas Circle, where De Montfort University are most keen to develop new student halls of residence. As a result it is already possible to discern a tall buildings policy emerging that is conveniently falling into line with developer s demands. In other words the tail is wagging the dog. Were we living in a sensible world, as opposed to the nightmare world this is going to create, we would of course be concerned with such matters as good architecture and urban design, rather than greedy developers demands for height. Examples are already with us. The West Bridge Wharf flats were a rather good design I think. However the site illustration, displayed for many months, showed buildings with different coloured cladding and apparently shorter than those actually constructed. Surely development control is all about controlling development? Either what has been built isn t what was approved or what was approved wasn t what was illustrated and seen by tens of thousands of people. Advice jointly published by English Heritage and the Housing Corporation, and actually quoted in the Draft Tall Buildings Policy, recommends that the maximum height of buildings should be no higher than the overall width of their street. This is nonsense applied to the relationship of these buildings to both the width of Bath Lane and the width of the River and only makes sense applied to the enormous open space between the River and Tudor Road. But this too is land ripe for riparian development. Will the then Council say no to developers wanting the same height of buildings on the west bank simply because the criterion of height in relationship to space has already been fulfilled by West Bridge Wharf? I think not. Furthermore the Conservation Area Panel and DC Committee both failed to address the impact of buildings so tall that they top the river terrace and the houses of Talbot Lane, thereby having a direct effect on the visual amenity of the sensitive Jewry Wall and St. Nicholas Church sites, with which they are totally out of scale, together with the all important view along High Street that they now dominate. The highjacking of the Castle Street block by DMU s halls of resident development is even worse. This badly designed tat looks as if the students were asked to have a go themselves, using ideas picked up during a visit to Legoland. Councillors and officers should go and look at the quality of workmanship along Castle Street and then ask themselves if this really is the sort of thing Leicester needs directly opposite St. Mary de Castro and the Castle. To make matters worse the design was rejected by the DC Committee on the recommendation of CAP but this decision was overturned by the our old friends the Scrutiny Committee, who seem determined to veto anything that gets in the way of developers wishes. The same sort of thing is now going up at the nodal point on the St, Nicholas Circle/Southgates Underpass corner - but to nearly double the height! As part of its 2006 Awards the Civic Society should seriously consider giving a booby prize. This appalling structure must be a prime contender.

11 The spread of this third rate rubbish won t stop here. DMU seem determined to ring their otherwise excellent campus and its environs with more of the same, and the council will of course let them. Once it has swept away the Bowstring Bridge and final remnants of the railway viaduct there will be nothing to stop this architectural trash sweeping to new heights along Narborough Road North yet another nodal point - thereby destroying what is left of Braunstone Gate and the old West End. It doesn t have to be like this. Nottingham actually has a tall buildings policy with teeth. It sets down a genuine policy, rather than trying to identify as many places as possible where tall buildings can be shoved up. The Nottingham City Centre Masterplan states that clearly identified views will be protected from intrusive development. The answer lies ultimately with yourselves. Do you want 21 st Century Leicester to look like a 1960 s industrial estate in the sky? Or do you demand first class urban design in a high quality built environment. They re your Councillors. Get lobbying! Vaughan College and Jewry Wall Museum in their setting of the Roman Baths. Photo: Phil Taylor JEWRY WALL MUSEUM CELEBRATES 40 th ANNIVERSARY Saturday 4 th March saw this important milestone and the Civic Society were out in force to support the Friends of Jewry Wall Museum. Tot Brill made a silly speech about how she realised some had concerns about reductions in opening hours but we should realise that this had saved the Museum Service 2.4 Million that had been spent on exciting new storage facilities. Being a politician Councillor Blackmore then made a much nicer speech, thanking the Archaeological & Historical Society, the Civic Society and the Friends for the support they had shown for the museum. Ms. Brill then left. AND WE CELEBRATE A WEDDING! Earlier the same day Civic Society and other glitterati were present in the splendid surroundings of the medieval Guildhall to celebrate the wedding of Ben and Kiran Ravilious. We wish the happy couple many years of joy. (Ben sent his apologies for not being able to make the museum event that evening!)

12 EAST MIDLANDS AMENITY SOCIETIES ASSOCIATION RETFORD AWAYDAY SATURDAY 24 th JUNE 2006 Contact Pauline Hudson, Hon. Secretary, Retford Civic Society, 5 Pennington Walk, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 6LR. pauline@penwalk.fsnet.co.uk FOR FULL DETAILS AND BOOKING

13 THE BOOKINGS PAGE Please photocopy this page if you do not want to cut your Journal. PLEASE RESERVE PLACES ON THE GUIDED WALK ANCIENT LEICESTER ON SATURDAY 6 th MAY 2006 I ENCLOSE IN FULL PAYMENT. NAME ADDRESS POSTCODE PLEASE RESERVE PLACES ON THE TOUR TO STAFFORD ON SAT. 20 th MAY 2006 I ENCLOSE IN FULL PAYMENT. I/WE WILL JOIN THE COACH AT NAME ADDRESS POSTCODE PLEASE RESERVE PLACES ON THE GUIDED WALK OLD LONDON ROAD ON SATURDAY 15 th JULY 2006 I ENCLOSE IN FULL PAYMENT. NAME ADDRESS POSTCODE GIFT VOUCHERS Make a gift of Civic Society full or concession membership to a friend or relative Send us the voucher below with your payment and we will write to them with the good news and the latest issue of LEICESTER CITIZEN. You can choose whether or not to make your gift anonymous. LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY - MEMBERSHIP BY GIFT VOUCHER Name.,,, Address..Post code.. To: G. Goode 53 Cort Crescent, Leicester LE3 0QJ. Please give one year of full membership at 5.00 or concession membership at 4.00 (Students, Senior Citizens, Unwaged) to: Name. Address..Post code.. I enclose cheque for the appropriate amount, payable to Leicester Civic Society. Please DO/DO NOT (Delete as applicable) give my name to the recipient of this gift.

14 THE LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY BOOKSHOP Looking for an old or out of print book on Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland or the surrounding area? Pass your wants list on to our Treasurer, Gordon Goode and we will get back to you with a no obligation quote if WE can find you a copy Belmont House dates from the 1860 s, part of the development of New Walk. 140 years later the excellent proportions & graceful elegance of the buildings form an integral part of this lovely Victorian Conservation Area. Originally known as Queen s Walk, New Walk was laid out in It is the most beautiful stretch of scenic walkway in Leicester and for over 200 years has been designated strictly for pedestrians. The Hotel has been owned by the Bowie family for over 70 years, following a tradition founded on the principles of great service, comfort and style qualities that have been maintained and built upon. Over the years many changes have been made in the fabric of the hotel but always with a sympathetic eye to the style and elegance of the building. The hotel now has 77 bedrooms all individually designed to offer our guests a touch of luxury. Good food is provided from our award wining kitchen in either the Cherry Restaurant or Bowies Bar Restaurant. But the heart of the Hotel is Jamie s Lounge Bar a relaxing rendezvous where guests & friends gather to wind down after the day s business. STONEYGATE SCHOOL 6 London Road, Great Glen, Leicestershire. LE8 9DJ Telephone: stoneygate@webleicester.co.uk Headmaster: J. H. Morris M.A. Phillips & Powell Solicitors Regulated by The Law Society ****************************************************************************** LEICESTER: 3 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GE. Telephone: WIGSTON: 158 Leicester Road, Wigston. Telephone: BLABY: 19B Leicester Road, Blaby. Telephone: /8388 OADBY: 22 The Parade, Oadby LE18 1DS. Telephone:

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16 LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY OUR POPULAR SERIES OF COACH TOURS CONTINUE SATURDAY 20 th MAY 2006 STAFFORD INCLUDING VISITS TO HISTORIC STAFFORD CASTLE & VISITOR CENTRE, SCENIC TOUR OF CANNOCK CHASE and CANNOCK CHASE MUSEUM COACH DEPARTS: HUMBERSTONE GATE (Secular Hall) 9.00am Return 6.15pm STATION ROAD, BIRSTALL 9.10am Return 6.25pm LOUGHBOROUGH (The Rushes) 9.30am Return 6.45pm FULL FARE: (MEMBERS 17.50) CONCESSION: (MEMBERS 16.50) Senior Citizens, Students or Unwaged ADVANCE BOOKING ESSENTIAL. TO: STUART BAILEY. 48 MEADOW AVENUE. LOUGHBOROUGH LE11 1JT. CHEQUES PAYABLE TO LEICESTER CIVIC SOCIETY ALL ADMISSIONS INCLUDED. DISCOUNTS FOR MEMBERS. JOIN NOW - SHOW THAT YOU CARE! SEE BOOKINGS PAGE