Leicester Landmarks
I'm guilty like most people, and often take my surroundings for granted, sometimes when we busy ourselves in city centres, our eyes are focussed on what's straight ahead or drawn to elaborate shop window displays, it's difficult sometimes to find the time to stop for a while and look up, or take a look around us to fully appreciate what we have.
In or around Leicester city centre beautiful architecture can be found with significant history, so from a break from the norm of portrait painting, I thought I'd give landscape painting a go, so, being born and bred in Leicester, I've painted and following some our very own iconic (well at least to Leicester folk) landmarks.
All of these paintings are available as a unique limited edition print. (see pricing page & step by step page for details.)
Leicester Guildhall
Started life in 1390 when its Great Hall was built as a meeting place and banquet hall for the Guild of Corpus Christi. Over the next 600 years, it was extended and, amongst various uses, found a niche as the perfect host for performances and celebrations, William Shakespeare, is believed to have performed here in 1632.
Leicester Town Hall Clock
Stands in the town hall square in the city centre, the building, which is the meeting place of Leicester City Council is a Grade II listed building.
Old John
Old John is the highest hill in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire. On the southern edge of Charnwood Forest. It gives its name to the folly that stands at its top. The hill stands at 212 metres high, and is a prominent landmark across Leicester and Leicestershire.
The King Richard III Statue
The remains of Richard III, the last English king killed in battle and last king of the House of York, were discovered within the site of the former Grey Friars Priory in Leicester city centre.
Bradgate Park
Originally Bradgate Park was first mentioned circa 1241, as a medieval deer park. Laid out as a hunting land either side of the banks of the River Lin, it was rather smaller than the current boundary. Today it covers 850 acres of publicly accessible countryside in Charnwood Forest.
The Jewry Wall
A substantial ruined wall of 2nd-century Roman masonry with two large archways, It stands alongside St Nicholas' Circle and St Nicholas' Church. It formed the west wall of a public building in Roman Leicester.
The Clock Tower
The Clock Tower was built originally as a solution to traffic congestion on the site of the town´s former hay and straw market in 1868. Horse drawn vehicles all converged on the area known as the Haymarket from six streets, causing chaos. It was decided that “The Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower” would be constructed as the first traffic island in the Kingdom.
HM Prison Leicester
The prison was designed by Leicester county surveyor William Parsons to resemble a castle and cost £20,000.The oldest part dates from 1825, and it was opened in 1828. The gatehouse including the adjoining building to north and south and the perimeter wall are grade II listed.
The Original Four Building
A striking piece of architecture in Leicester City Centre.
It stands on the corner of King Street and Wellington Street,
Built in the black and white style usually called Tudor, it is often taken to be a house from five centuries ago.
In fact it was built in 1930 by G. P. K. Young, an architect from Perth, and was originally an insurance office for General Accident.
The Turkey Cafe
A Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) facade in Granby Street, was built in 1900 and is now a Grade II listed building, once again used as a café. The facade puns on two meanings of "turkey", with a vaguely Eastern exotic style of architecture and three large turkey birds on the facade, one sculpted on each side of the ground floor shopfront and another forming a large coloured panel of Royal Doulton tiles right at the top.
The National Space Centre
Museum and educational resource covering the fields of space science and astronomy, along with a space research programme in partnership with the University of Leicester. Many of the exhibits, including upright rockets, are and has become one of Leicester's most recognisable landmarks.
Leicester Railway Station
Leicester was one of the first cities (though then a town) to be served by a railway, when the Leicester and Swannington Railway built its terminus station at West Bridge on the western side of Leicester in 1832.The Leicester and Swannington Railway was later absorbed by the Midland Railway.
The Town Hall Square Fountain
One of the best-loved sights in the City Centre.
It is situated in the middle of Town Hall Square, between Horsefair Street and Bishop Street, outside the Town Hall. It was designed by Francis Hames, a local architect who had won the competition to design the new Town Hall, which in 1875 replaced the ancient Guildhall.
The Corn Exchange
Known locally as the Rialto Bridge, the staircase sits outside the Corn Exchange in the Market Place in Leicester city centre.
The Corn Exchange dates back to 1851 and was designed by architect William Flint as a single-storey market trading hall.
The Leicester Museum & Art Gallery
Museum on New Walk in Leicester, England, not far from the city centre. It opened in 1849 as one of the first public museums in the United Kingdom. Leicester Museum & Art Gallery contains displays of science, history and art, both international and local.
Leicester Cathedral
Near the centre of Leicester's medieval Old Town. The Cathedral famously houses King Richard III's tomb.
The church was built on the site of Roman ruins and is dedicated to St Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman officer who became a Bishop. It is almost certainly one of six churches referred to in the Domesday Book .
Curve Theatre
Opened in 2008 by Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, the Curve Theatre is based in the cultural quarter in Leicester City Centre the award-winning building was designed by acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly.
ISKCON Centre
Hare Krishna temple located in central Leicester, the temple is one of sixteen religious and cultural centers run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the United Kingdom.
Arch of Remembrance
Located in Victoria park near the city centre was built as a memorial to those who died during the Great War and was orientated to view the sunrise between the arches on the 11th November each year. The cost of the Arch was £27,000, of which £10,000 was provided by the people of Leicester. The Arch was officially unveiled by two war widows on July 3rd 1925.
Abbey Park
Hugging the banks of the River Soar in the north of the city is Abbey Park, it houses the remains of the twelfth century Leicester Abbey and the ruins of Cavendish House, a 17th century mansion.
The Magazine Gateway
Also called Newarke Gateway) is a Grade I listed building in Leicester. Now a solitary landmark alongside Leicester ringroad, it was originally the main gateway of a walled enclosure built around 1400, giving access to the religious precinct of The Newarke.
Prince Rupert's Gateway
Gives access to Castle View, the cobbled road linking the castle yard, the gateway is named for King Charles I's cousin and military leader, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, it dates to several centuries before the Civil War and Rupert's role in the bloody siege of Leicester.
St Matthew's Church, Normanton
St Matthew’s stands on foundations of a building dating back to the 14th century, This iconic church gives an illusion of being afloat on Rutland Water. But when water levels are low, a different perspective occurs as the church appears to sink into the reservoir under its own weight. The church was de-consecrated in 1970, and was to have been demolished as part of the reservoir construction, as its floor was below the proposed water level. Following a public outcry, the lower half was filled with stone and rubble, and a concrete cap constructed just below the level of the windows.
The hall was built by the Corporation of Leicester in 1912 and 1913, and was opened to the public on 21 July 1913,De Montfort Hall is the largest music and performance venue in Leicester, England. It is situated adjacent to Victoria Park and is named after the Father of Parliament, Simon de Montfort, the 6th Earl of Leicester.
De Montfort Hall
