Heritage Panels Celebrate Leicester's Diversity

Among the panels most recently installed is one outside Leicester’s African Caribbean Centre, on Maidstone Road in Highfields. It tells the story of the centre’s inception in the 1980s and the first Caribbean Carnival in Leicester in 1985, as well as recounting some of the famous visitors to the centre over the years.

Also, in Highfields, the development of St Peters’ estate is reflected by the Highfields Centre panel. The panel has an image of the HMT Windrush on it and focuses on how the Highfields Centre provided a community space for the Windrush generation. This centre also allowed South Asian immigrants to develop numerous groups which went onto flourish throughout the city. These add to the existing panels exploring race relations of which also include the Imperial Typewriter Building, Bow Bridge House and the Development of Highfields.

 

 

Additionally, another 7 panels have been installed. Two cover the development of farmhouses at Beaumont Leys entitled, Beaumont Lodge Farm and Beaumont Leys House. Green Dragon Square also has a panel highlighting the infamous murder that took place at the Green Dragon Inn. Other areas of Leicester have been represented with the following panels: Pork Pie Library, Leicester Central Railway Station, St Peter’s Church and Evington Cinema.

 

 

The panels are part of the city council’s Story of Leicester project, run by the museums service. The project celebrates the city’s 2,000-year history by remembering the people, places, and events of Leicester’s recent and distant past.