Leicester - Quadrant to Abbey Park

This inner city walk has a number of busy roads, please take care when crossing these and use pedestrian crossings where possible

Some of the pavements and paths are uneven in places - take care.

[1]  From the Quadrant main entrance, exit the gate and turn right along the green metal fence. Soon, turn left by the garages (caution: look out for cars) to exit onto Anchor Street.

[2] Cross the road and head along Rose Street. At the end, turn left along Corporation Street (unsigned). Turn right onto Wallingford Road and continue past the Abbey Pumping station to the Space Centre

[3]   Turn left just before the Centre (B) and take the path to the River Soar (A).  Turn right and continue with the river on your left.  Cross Abbey Park Road to enter Abbey Park (C)  and continue forward on the path by the riverside

Take care on this riverside path it is very steep at the entrance to the park.  Keep away from the river edge and beware of cyclists.

[4]  At the Pavilion Cafe turn right and pass by its  right hand side.   Turn first right and continue to the top of the Oval passing the Abbey ruins (D) on the right.

[5]  At the top of the Oval turn right and continue forward passing through the ruins of Cavendish House and Abbey Gateway (E).  Continue to Abbey Park Road

[6]  Turn left and walk along Abbey Park Road with Abbey Park on your left. At the junction with Abbey Lane cross over Abbey Park Road at the pedestrian crossing.  (Take care crossing this very busy road).  Continue ahead along Abbey Lane

[7]  Turn first right onto Pioneer Close passing an area of re-development and then new houses on the left.  Watch out for an area rich in blackberries on both sides of this old road. Turn first left onto Discovery Road (no road sign).

[8]  At the T- junction turn right onto Exploration Drive. Continue past the car parks for the Space Centre and Abbey Pumping Station to Corporation Road.  This area provides parking for visitors to the local attractions.  (Watch out for cars and coaches entering and exiting the area)

[9]  At the end of Exploration Drive turn right onto Corporation Road and then first left onto Rose Street, turn right along Anchor Street and immediately left by the garages and then turn right to return to the Quadrant main entrance.

(A) Now called the River Soar, many centuries ago, it was known as the River Legro.  It seems 'Leicester' was named for both the river and the people who lived nearby. In the 10th century the city's name was recorded as Ligeraceaster ("the town of the Ligor people) and later in the Domesday book as Ledecestre. 

(B) The National Space Centre, by the river, is a Millennium Project which opened in 2001. It is the UK's largest visitor attraction devoted to space and space exploration. It is a registered charity and receives no government funding.

(C)   Abbey Park was purchased for a flood alleviation scheme in 1876.  It was opened as a public park on 29th May 1882 by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The decorative Victorian park contains lakes, trees, shrubberies and  has many sporting facilities.  On the west side of the River Soar lies the ruins of the Abbey. To the east of the river lies the decorative Victorian part of the park with its formally planted flower displays

(D) Leicester Abbey was founded around 1140, by the second Earl of Leicester who was called Robert le Bossu. The Abbey was known as the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis (St Mary of the Meadows). The Abbey grew to become one of the wealthiest religious establishments in Leicester and one of the largest landowners. However, by the late 1300s the Abbey began to experience financial difficulty and was forced to lease out its estates. Over the following century, poor management and corruption by several Abbots led to further debt.  The Abbey was closed in 1538 by King Henry VIII, and was soon demolished. The stone was later re-used as building materials for other structures, including a mansion built on this site (see Cavendish House, later).  

The abbey is famously connected with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who died at the abbey in 1530.  Wolsey was for a time the most powerful man in England, second only to the King. He was both a political and religious figure, achieving the position of Lord Chancellor - the king's chief advisor, and also a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Wolsey fell out of the King's favour in 1529 and he left to visit York (he was Archbishop of York). A year later he was accused of high treason and ordered to return to London to face trial. On his way, he stopped at Leicester Abbey, where he later died. A monument stands on his supposed resting place.

The Leicester clothes manufacturer Wolsey was named in honour of Cardinal Wolsey and the remains of the old Wolsey factories can be seen North of the park (old chimneys c.1910 visible from the river, and the 1920 factory buildings on Abbey Park Road have been converted into flats).

(E) Cavendish House was built  with stone from the disused abbey. The house passed through many aristocratic families and was acquired by William Cavendish (first Earl of Devonshire) in 1613, and became known as Cavendish House. The house was eventually looted and destroyed by fire in 1645 , following the capture of Leicester during the English Civil War.  

Martin Ward for point of interest information