Summary

 

Oadby Hill Top and Meadowcourt Conservation Area is an excellent example of an area developed for housing for the rich industrialists of a booming industrial town. Such people sought the space and fresh air which was in short supply in the town, often as a result of their own industrial concerns which manufactured bricks and machinery as well as hosiery and footwear. The availability of the land, mostly as a result of the sale of the Powys Keck estate, allowed the opportunity for the construction of large houses on the very large plots available.

 

Overview

 

The biggest plots were off Stoughton Drive South and to a lesser extent Glebe Road and Manor Road and it is on these roads that the finest houses with the most impressive gardens can be found. The houses were built by the leading local architects, with the father and son combination of Stockdale and Shirley Harrison pre eminent, and were constructed in fashionable Arts and Crafts styles. This style which had developed from the Victorian Gothic Revival allowed the use of elements from different periods of particularly vernacular architecture and gave scope for considerable freedom of expression for the owner and architect alike. Many of the earliest designs of the largest houses incorporate elements of Jacobethan architecture. This allowed the wealthy Leicester industrialists to build their own versions of the Elizabethan 'prodigy' houses as each sought to demonstrate his taste, wealth and standing in the town.

 

On the other streets, there are some equally impressive houses, though the plots tend to be smaller except where they were joined together. The houses show probably more variety than the larger houses and there are elements of Jacobethan, Vernacular Revival, Art Nouveau and Neo Georgian; the latter becoming particularly popular in the 1920s even for big houses such as Southmeade. The result is an area of exceptionally strong character. The only discordant notes are struck by the occasional 1960s bungalow or house, or more particularly by the large student accommodation blocks.Whilst many of these are sensitively positioned so as not to impact greatly on the streetscene, some are highly visible and their impact is often particularly.

 

In terms of building materials, the traditional houses in the area draw from a remarkably small palette. Walls are invariably of red brick or render, with architectural embellishment through the use of half timbering, brick noggin or tile hanging. Roofs are generally of brown clay tile, sometimes red or Swithland slate. Welsh slate is infrequently used and there is a single house which uses Collyweston slate. This limited palette of materials gives the area an even stronger sense of place.

 

Link to overview of Oadby Hill Top and Meadowcourt Conservation Area page 2 of 2