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Kilby
Kilby maps
Historic maps of Kilby and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Kilby maps
Kilby area books
Displaying 1 of 9 books about Kilby and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Kilby
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memories of Kilby.
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Kilby
I was born in Kilby in 1943 in the house across from the Dog and Gun (I think it was called the Swan or maybe Black Swan?). When I was about a year or so old my parents moved to Foston (Great Peatling Lodge) and that is where I grew up and went to school in Countesthorpe and then on to Guthlaxton. Now living in the States and get homesick for Leicestershire.
Leicestershire memories
Countesthorpe
My name is Marlis Franz. I am German. In 1952, I was 15 years old, I visited my English penfriend in Countesthorpe together with my mother. We spent a wonderful time there. Going on holiday was not normal at this time and something special - particularly going to England.
My English girl-friend lived together with her parents in Countesthorpe, Station Road. When we visited her there was a post office in this house and a little shop. What a surprise when I saw the Countesthorpe photos and there was a photo "Countesthorpe, Station Road". I think it must be the house where the Fletcher family lived in when we visited them. I cannot forget the wonderful weeks we spent there and since then I like England and its people.
Best wishes
Marlis Franz
Happy Days
The corner shop was Tyler's, a sweet and grocers shop. They sold 1d iced lollies made from a juice drink similar to Ribena. You were allowed out to play all day except Sundays, and we would very often go around in a little gang. We especially enjoyed going over the fields (the hills and hollows) behind Church Nook, to two little ponds to fish for tadpoles and further along to Rally Bridge, which was a footbridge across the railway line. Memories come back of running through the steam of the trains across the bridge for a dare.
Bell Street
I remember going to Bell Street around 1967/8 to see Michael Aspel open "Key Markets" which was a supermarket of sorts, and would be on the left-hand-side of this picture (I think either next door to the Co-op, or may have occupied the same space for a while until it closed down.
Also Foryan's (not sure of the spelling) bicycle and toy shop on the other side of the road (now the cancer charity shop). The old chap who owned it, sold bikes (Raleighs) but knew absolutely nothing about them, so a popular school-boy prank, which was a great source of amusement to me and my friends, was to go into the shop and ask for something like a pair of cotter-pins, or a cone-spanner. We were always highly amused by his totally blank-look, and standard answer that they weren't in stock.
The Bank Chippy Bell Street
My friend lived at the Queens Head pub shown in the Bell Street photo, when we were cold and hungry we used to go to the Bank Chip shop (just out of shot at the top right of the picture, on the curve of the road opposite the pub), we never bought anything, we had a portion of scratchings (batter bits) in newspaper with lots of salt and vinegar for free!
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'
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 lots of undergrowth to play Cowboys and Indians in. In the winter when it snowed they were used as mini sledge runs. Seasonal treats were bunches of 'pussy willow' in the spring and blackberry's in the late summer both of which could be guaranteed to pacify your Mum if... Read more
