Leicester has been neglected by national historians. It is neither typical of industrial centres nor has it the charm of an ancient town that escaped the ravages of Victorian rebuilding. Yet it is both a market town of great antiquity and the scene of phenomenal industrial growth. This book is concerned with the transformation.
In the formative years of the industrial city, the Corporation of Leicester had the services of Samuel Stone, famous as author of the Justices’ Manual, as Town Clerk from 1836 to 1872. He was one of a liberal oligarchy that so dominated municipal affairs that division inevitably appeared within its ranks as supporters of civic improvement clashed with more cautious ‘economists’.
The book forms a useful corrective to the tendency of some historians to view social reform from the standpoint of Westminster and particularly through the eyes of Edwin Chadwick. Not all the local authorities that opposed him were enemies of progress. In Leicester, we see centralisation opposed not by provincial parsimony but by a determination to face social problems boldly without waiting for initiatives from London. In matters of public health, particularly, the Leicester example is instructive. It was here that the first Medical Officers in Britain were appointed, in 1846, and problems of sanitation and housing were tackled with a vigour far in advance of most other towns. In many respects, Leicester was in the vanguard of municipal growth.
The book is specially revealing for students of urban history and of great interest to all historians of life in Victorian Britain. But, most of all, it will fascinate all those present-day inhabitants of Leicester with an interest in the making of the city that forms their daily environment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Malcolm Elliott is a well-known and respected author. He was educated at Sutton County Grammar School and at Nottingham University, where he studied Economic and Social History. In 1978 he was appointed to the Leicester City bench of magistrates.
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| Publication: |
November 2010 |
Extent: |
128 pages |
| Availability: |
In stock |
Images Mono: |
80 |
| Format: |
234 x 156 mm |
Images Colour: |
28 |
| Binding: |
Paperback |
