LEI Country

West Leicester Parks

Location plan for West Leicester Parks car park - SK557047 - view in Multimap or Streetmap format.
(includes Western and Braunstone Parks)

History of Braunstone Park
History of Western Park

Braunstone Park

The park covers 168 acres of beautiful open parkland, ancient spinneys, wooded areas and meadow land with evidence of ridge and furrow cultivation. Two lakes on the southern boundary attract migrating birds and a wide variety of wildlife. Braunstone Hall stands proudly in the centre of the park along side the refurbished stable block part of which still retains many period features including hefty wooden stalls, hay troughs and the original stone flooring. The Hall and stable block are a Grade 11 listed building.

The first records of Braunstone are found in the Doomsday Book of 1086 where it is referred to as Brantestone or Brant's Tun. Braunstone was a daughter settlement of nearby Glenfield and was established in the late 8th or early 9th Century, sited at the southern edge of Leicester Forest.

After the Norman Conquest much of England was parcelled up amongst William the Conqueror's noblemen and Braunstone was awarded to Hugh de Grantemesnil, one of his most trusted Barons.

Over the centuries many noble families were connected with the Manor and lands of Braunstone, a far cry from today. In 1246 Roger de Queney is named as owning the land but on his death it passed through the female line to the de Ferres family of Groby and at one time the Greys. More recently the Winstanleys' came to Braunstone in the mid 17th century. They played a vital role in determining the future economic and social history of their properties in and around Braunstone and Kirby Muxloe for the next 275 years. They had a reputation for being fair-minded and judicious, holding important roles as leading dignitaries in The Leicester Corporation. Their decisions influenced the lives of the communities of both Braunstone and Leicester. James Winstanley was a puritan and a lawyer by profession in the service of the Duchy of Lancaster before taking up residence in Braunstone. He was succeeded by his son Clement and in 1775 he commissioned the local architect and builder William Oldham (who later became the Lord Mayor of Leicester) to construct the present hall, built on a rise with views overlooking Charnwood Forest.

At the end of the First World War demand for land to build new houses to replace the squalid and cramped conditions many of the working class lived in brought about compulsory purchase of most of the estates and the remnant surrounding Braunstone Hall itself was opened as a public park in the early 1930s.

In 1932, after refurbishment, Braunstone Hall opened as a 'Senior School'. However as younger families moved into the new housing estate the need for a Junior School was more essential and in 1933 The Braunstone Hall Junior School was opened. It served the community as a school until it was closed in 1996.

During WW2, the Local Home Guard was based in Braunstone Hall and in 1944 the park was the home of the HQ of the US 82 Airborne Division. The tented encampment and Nissan huts were laid out in exactly the same pattern as the neighbouring streets so as to blend in and hopefully not attract the attention of any over-flying bombers. The rest of the park was put to agricultural use. Wheat, barley and potatoes were some of the crops grown while sheep grazed the remaining pastureland.

Between 1943 and 1945 the 168 Battery of the Royal Artillery and the 52nd/53rd Field Regiment Royal Artillery were also stationed on the park. Throughout this period Braunstone Hall School remained open coping with the many difficulties that arose from being surrounded by a "friendly invasion".

For our purposes we have the park mapped with the neighbouring Western Park and use them together for small events although crossing the busy A47 causes some problems.

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Western Park

The Hinckley Road site was purchased for the development of a park in 1897 and is the largest park in Leicester offering 178 acres to explore. The main drive features a wide avenue of trees which were laid out for the inaugural opening in 1899. Within easy access from here are the children's play areas, bowls greens, tennis courts and woodland walk.

The park is a mix of meadows, mature woods and hedgerows, interspersed with newly established shrub and wooded areas. Overall this creates an ecological environment where wildlife abounds despite being surrounded by development.

Within the park is the Eco House , a show house demonstrating ways of making your home more environmentally friendly and making it work in today's throw away society. Set up and managed by Environ (Groundwork Leicester & Leicestershire), with financial support from Leicester City Council, this Trust also organises teams of volunteers helping with maintenance at many of the city parks.

For our purposes this park is mapped with Braunstone Park just across the busy A47, a park covering 168 acres of beautiful open parkland, ancient spinneys, wooded areas and meadow land with two lakes. The combined parks provide a sizable 'green' oasis near the borders of the city of Leicester.

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