Frog Island is an inner city area of
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, England, so named because it lies between the
River Soar
The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leicest ...
and the Soar Navigation (a continuation of the original
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...
). Frog Island is adjacent to the
Woodgate area to the north, and Northgates to the South. The population of the island was at the 2011 census in the Abbey ward of Leicester City Council.
Topography
![Leicester 1804 Map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Leicester_1804_Map.jpg)
Frog Island lies to the north of central Leicester, and to the south of the
River Soar
The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leicest ...
and
Leicester Abbey
The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinians, Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the Robert de Be ...
. The site was not an island before the late-eighteenth century, but was created as such upon the completion of the improved
Soar Navigation between Loughborough and Leicester in 1794.
The Navigation involved constructing a new section of canal to by-pass a meander in the
River Soar
The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leicest ...
. The area enclosed by the River Soar and the canal is Frog Island. The road which crosses the island is also named 'Frog Island'.
History
The island lies immediately to the south of Leicester Abbey, and historically was partly covered by the Abbey Meadows, which were too marshy for construction. In 1877, the meadows were drained and incorporated into
Abbey Park.
The purpose of the Leicester Navigation was to make the River Soar navigable to commercial traffic, and particularly to allow the transportation of coal produced in the Leicestershire region. Upon the completion of the Navigation in 1794, goods could be taken by boat down the Soar to the River Trent. Moreover, the opening of the Leicester to Swannington Railway in 1832 meant that the coal fields of Leicestershire were even better linked with the Soar and the Grand Union Canal, which extends as far as London.
Frog Island is located at the epicentre of this connection, and as a result much of the island became highly industrialised in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
By the mid-twentieth century there were several large mills on Frog Island. These manufactured clothing, machinery (particularly for the production of textiles) and materials demanded by the city's hosiery trade, such as spun wool and dyes. Frog Island had easy access to water from the river and canal, which was particularly important in the dyeing industry. It was also provided water for the operation of steam- and water-powered milling equipment.
The western tip of the island was crossed by the
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...
, which linked Leicester with Sheffield and Nottingham in the north, and
Marylebone station
Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern ter ...
in the south. The line was closed as part of the
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
reorganisation in the 1960s. Some railway arches remain and are now used by a number of small businesses. The arches are constructed from the distinctive
Staffordshire Blue
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Coun ...
bricks, and were part of the immense north viaduct which brought the line into central Leicester. Before the construction of St Margaret's Way, Slater Street provided easy access to St Margaret's Pastures and thence to Abbey Park.
Lost industries and architecture
![North Lock and North Bridge on the Grand Union Canal in Leicester](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/North_Lock_and_North_Bridge_on_the_Grand_Union_Canal_in_Leicester._-_geograph.org.uk_-_377478.jpg)
The island's prime location at the intersection of several transport routes made it an important location for industrial activity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Several large factories were constructed, some of which still survive. However, after the second world war the city experienced a period of deindustrialisation, and many of the businesses which occupied the island have closed. Consequently, many of the large mills have become derelict, and have been damaged by vandals and by fire. Some manufacturing activity does still occur on the island, however, and some of the island's industrial features – such as the railway arches – have been repurposed for commercial use.
St Leonard's Works (Frisby Jarvis Building)
![Former Frisby-Jarvis building on Frog Island, Leicester](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Former_Frisby-Jarvis_building_on_Frog_Island%2C_Leicester.JPG)
St Leonard's Works were opened in 1867 and extended in 1881.
The mill originally spun
worsted
Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead, a village in the English county of Norfolk. That village, together with North Walsham and Aylsham, for ...
, and was constructed in the
Italian palazzo style. On both occasions, the building work was completed by Shenton and Baker, a local architectural practice.
The quality of the mill's architecture is evidenced by the building materials employed in its construction: colour tile, dressed stone, wrought iron and extensive glazing. The effect was to produce an imposing and 'monumental' building that became an important local landmark. In 1922, the mill was taken over by Frisby, Jarvis & Co. The company was a major employer in the area. Upon the closure of Frisby Jarvis in 1992, the mill was taken over by Martins Ltd – a company which also subsequently closed.
Despite being listed in 2003, the building fell into major disrepair, and was badly damaged by fire in 2005.
Farben Works
The Farben Works was another worsted spinning mill. It was opened in 1914, and was designed by Harding and Toppott in a classical style. It is grade II listed and, with the Slater Street School and Frisby Jarvis works, forms part of a significant group of historic buildings.
Hitchcock's Flour Mill
Hitchcock's Flour Mill was constructed in the nineteenth century. It employed
water power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a wa ...
to drive its equipment, and the mill race – which is crossed by a distinctive Victorian iron bridge – still survives on the island. In 1888, it was converted to steam power. The mill was badly damaged by fire in 2011, leading to its partial demolition.
Stephenson's lifting bridge
![LeicesterSwanningtonBridge01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/LeicesterSwanningtonBridge01.jpg)
The island was also the location of Stephenson's Lifting Bridge, which carried the Swannington Railway over the Soar Navigation. The bridge was designed by
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE FRSA Doctor of Civil Law, DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railway ...
, and careful counterbalancing allowed it to be operated by hand from a booth at the side of the canal. It was removed in the mid-twentieth century, became an exhibit at
Snibston Discovery Museum
Snibston is an area and former civil parish east of Ravenstone, now in the parish of Ravenstone with Snibstone, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. Originally rural, part of Snibston was transfor ...
until that museum's closure and is now at the Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage Centre where it is being rebuilt.
Leisure and culture
Next to the canal is 'Stayfree Music' – band rehearsal rooms and 'Lock 42' – a live music venue and bar. The Foresters Public House continues to operate. The North Bridge Tavern is currently in private residence.
Disability arts charity, 27a Access Artspace, moved into an unused car showroom on Northgate Street at the beginning of 2008. The West End Gallery also moved to Highcross Street and an old mill building just by the canal is occasionally used by artists to host exhibitions and art events.
Education
Slater Primary School stands in the centre of Frog Island. It serves the Woodgate and Tudor Road areas: there is little or no residential accommodation on Frog Island itself. Leicester City Council's street lighting depot is situated on Slater Street.
References
External links
Frog Island is a main focus of the
Jisc
Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit company that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education institutions and research as well as not-for-profits and the public sector.
History
T ...
-funded digitisation projec
Manufacturing Pasts a joint venture between th
University of Leicesterand th
The project has produced a number of photographs, Ordnance Survey maps, and various other learning materials pertaining to Frog Island and licensed under the Creative Commons – Attribution – NonCommercial licence. *http://www2.le.ac.uk/library/manufacturingpasts/de-industrialisation-1
{{Areas of Leicester
Areas of Leicester
Leicester