Thurnby Lodge

Thurnby Lodge is an estate in eastern Leicester, England. Roughly, it consists of the area inside the city boundary which is north of the Uppingham Road, east of the A563 outer ringroad, and south of the Scraptoft Lane. Since the core area around Thurncourt Road is a council estate with an average reputation, many, particular those around the western and southern fringe, would disassociate their area from Thurnby Lodge.

It is near but not part of Thurnby (to the south-east), after which it is named. Other nearby places are Humberstone (north and west), Scraptoft (east), Evington (south) and Goodwood, Leicestershire (south).

History

Thurnby Lodge is a council estate built from the early 1950's onwards to facilitate the central Leicester slum clearance until the 1960's. The area west of Bowhill Grove was the last phase of the estate stretching to Nursery Road at its most westerly point. Two, three and four bedroomed council houses were built in brick and concrete block, terraced with large rear and smaller front gardens.

Many of the houses on the estate have transfered to private ownership under the right to buy, resulting in a large variety of upgrades and extensions to the original council properties.

Education

Children on the estate attended Thurnby lodge school, Willowbrook junior school who's sister and identical architectural school, Scraptoft Valley junior school was on the adjoining Netherhall Estate. The local and only public house was the Stirrup Cup on Thurncourt Road (now the Manor and soon to be changing back to The Stirrup Cup) although the estate at its northerly point had a gated access to the White House Inn on Scraptoft Lane.

Transport

The estate was serviced by Midland Red buses, routes L37 and L38 who's termini were on Thurncourt Road opposite the shops, with the L89 passing through along Thurcourt Road to Somerby Road beyond the eastern edges of the estate.

When the estate was first built, it had a functioning railway station (Thurnby and Scraptoft) at the southernmost corner of the estate on Kinross Avenue. Steam trains and excursions to the east coast were still running until the 1960's, the line running through the notable Ingarsby railway tunnel several miles further on to the east. Ellis's coal merchants also had a depot adjoining the station, no doubt for steam trains to refuel as well as for domestic supplies.

The Beeching Axe closed this local branch line and the station fell derelict, finally being demolished in the late 1960's, houses being built on the site and much of the old line route.

Environment

The area south of the main shops on Thurncourt Road, towards the parallel railway embankment, was originally mainly unlandscaped country land with a natural stream running through it. The stream divides at a point opposite Thurncourt Road shops into two further tributaries, one which continues on towards the city and the other taking a route southwards under tunnels beneath the railway embankment. This natural area was extensively landscaped in several phases by the Leicester City Council and a floodplain added up until the present day, destroying a natural fertile habitat for the then common water voles and small fresh water fish found within the habitat.