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Sileby
Sileby maps
Historic maps of Sileby and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Sileby maps
Sileby area books
Displaying 1 of 9 books about Sileby and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Sileby
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Sileby.
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Lawson And Wards Shoe Factory
I lived in Barrow upon Soar. I left school in about July 1966 and in September 1966 I turned 15 and started work at Lawson and Wards. My grandma Violet Smith also worked there. My grandma and grandad, Violet and Wilf (Kip) Smith, lived up Wellbrook Avenue. There were also a few people I knew at school who started at Lawsons at the same time as me, some I remember were myself Linda Clarke, Jennifer Forryan, Ruth Richardson, Doreen Sanders, Karen Hadfield, Wendy Bunce and Christine Bulmer. I remember Rose Dickens was the forewoman. My starting wage was 5 2/6d per week. I worked near Irene Bowman and Deirdre Lewis, Freda Clarke, Elsie Webb, Ann Whykes, Bridie Barker. My Grandma Violet gave the work out. Happy days.
Sileby my Early Life
I was born in Mountsorrel 1938 and soon moved to Sileby 10, Mountsorrel Lane with my mother Mabel Foukes [nee Burton]. My father Thomas was in the army and my mum worked at Newbold Burton and Lawson Ward. I remember convoys of American lorries coming into the village from Sorrel, slowly to make the turn at the Horse & Trumpet, it was the first time I ever got and saw chewing gum. Midway down the lane lived Jimmy Hull, at the botton the Wells family, Norrman, Beryl, Janice. Round the jitty at the side of the church were 2 farms, Tommy Newbold who wore a built up boot, and next door another farm, the name of Smith. On the next corner a girl Mary Trasler then Roger Antill whose mum had a ladies shop on High Street. School in Sileby was 100 yards left hand side on Barrow Road opposite Botts bus garage, then onto big school in King Street opposite the Co-op, corner of Swan Street. A Mr Harrington... Read more
Leicestershire memories
Barn Croft.
The house in the middle is where I lived from 1972. The address is 62 Main Street and the house was called Barn Croft. The house on the right was a farm and the house that the middle house was built on was part of the farmyard. When the farm closed, one of the daughters had this built c1930. She lived there until she died c1970. Her name was Olive Clarke and was one of three girls I believe. The house had a barn at the bottom of the garden, converted in 1990 after my father sold the property in 1985. I have some belongings of Olive's like an autograph book and a booklet on cruises dated 1909.
Bob Day's Shop
On the other side of the road from this photo (Barncroft) was a shop known as Bob Day's.
A tiny shop with a thatch roof and still standing but unused for many years.
As a young school boy I would buy penny sweets with pocket money from Bobs on a Saturday morning with other friends.
Growing up in Rothley
Rothley is and always will be my home no matter where in the world i live, It is 36 Years since i resided on Woodgate my father is George Hunt, he owned the Barbers shop at no 19 untill his retirement almost 25 years ago.
When i lived on Woodgate we had Betty Smith the chemist on one side of us and Dick Elkington and his wife on the other running the sweet shop, which later i believe became the Candy Store. and next to that was George Hutchins the Newsagent.
I especially used to love the time leading up to Christmas, when all the shop windows on Woodgate were decorated with Fairy lights and false snow, coming home from work in the dark and walking up Woodgate seeing all the beautiful christmas lights in the shop windows made me feel a sense of belonging, something i have never truly experienced since.
I remember going up tp my grandparents house in Town Green St, on my bicycle decked... Read more
Woodgate
I too was brought up in Rothley. I lived at 72, Woodgate. At the time it was the local telephone exchange, operated manually, my mother being the night operator. I remember George Hunt well, along with the Elkingtons, I used to get my sweets and collect Archie Andrews lollypop sticks! There was Mr Brewin who sold bicycles and all sorts of electrical things. At the bottom of the village opposite the Green there was Goodalls sores. Mum would send me down with her order book, then they would deliver, early days of shopping on line! It was full of wonderful smells. Bacon on the slicer, sugar would be weighed and put into blue paper bags, butter would be in pats. On the other side of the Green was Mr Ward who repaired boots and shoes, I can see him now with nails in his mouth, repairing them, I wondered if he nearly swallowed any. Coming back along Woodgate there was Mr and Mrs Chamberlin, who ran the village bakery. I... Read more
Working on The Boats.
The wooden boats in the picture belong to the riverside restaurant, out of shot to the right. As a teenager, in 1974, it was my job on a Sunday afternoon to hire these out. We did have a few people fall out of the boats, but no one complained. A warm brew and some towels was all it took to make things right.
