High Street, Leicester

High Street is a main pedestrian street in the center of Leicester. It is lined with numerous shops and boutiques selling high-end jewelry, clothing, stationery and even groceries. There are also varied restaurants and cafes to be found here, whose patrons can enjoy anything from beer on tap to a kebab to Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Though mostly known for shopping, High Street also has some entertainment venues and interesting architecture. The grand mansion known as Lord’s Place (43-51 High Street), nowadays a residential and office space with boutique shopping on the street level, was once home of Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, from 1569. It is also said that Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed there in 1586, followed by King James I in 1612 and Charles I in 1642. A plaque on No. 45 High Street records the site’s history.

High Street follows a route that existed in Roman times, connecting East Gate to the Forum and Basilica (now Jubilee Square). In medieval times it was known as Forum Porcorum (‘pig market’) or Swinesmarket, but was renamed High Street in 1524 to reflect its increased importance.

In 1899 the construction of the Great Central Railway further increased the importance of High Street, which linked the commercial heart of Leicester with the new station. The street had to be widened to accommodate Leicester’s new electric tram system and many of its buildings were demolished and replaced. Replacement buildings that have survived include No. 7, a classical style bank (1904), No. 40, Leicester’s first cinema, the Electric Theatre (1910), Nos. 58-60, Butler’s Chemist’s Shop and Nos. 76-88, the Coronation Buildings (1904).