Böcker av Stephen Butt

Leicester is built upon the work of the innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers of past centuries. Henry Walker looked for a meat substitute during rationing after the Second World War and created the world-famous potato crisp brand. Another local man, Henry Curry, used metalworking skills acquired maintaining steam engines to construct bicycles, and his business would later become Curry's PC World. In this book, author Stephen Butt celebrates the heritage, culture and identity of the city. Leicester is the home of the UK's first mainland local radio station. It's where Gary Lineker first kicked a ball, and Thomas Cook envisaged worldwide holidays. It's where composer Sir Michael Tippett decided upon a musical career and Sir David Attenborough found his calling as a naturalist. The city's universities are at the forefront of research. Dr Alec Jeffries pioneered DNA fingerprinting in the 1980s, and many technologies combined to verify the remains of Richard III, discovered under one of the city's car parks. The National Space Centre is at the heart of the brand-new Leicester Space Park, which will be home to the Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation. From Roman engineering to space travel, there is much to celebrate in Leicester's two-thousand-year history. Illustrated throughout, this engaging and informative book will be of interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the city.

At the beginning of the 1950s, Leicester was an industrial city picking itself up from the debris of the Second World War. Compared with nearby Coventry, Leicester has been a relatively safe place, but the effects of the Blitz were still very evident in New Walk and in the residential areas of Highfields and Stoneygate. After years of operating on a wartime economy, Leicester's major industries - textiles, hosiery and machine tools - faced the challenge of returning to domestic production, and in assimilating a large male workforce returning from the battlefields of Europe and beyond to civilian life. In Leicester in the 1950s, Stephen Butt traces the vibrant lives of those recovering from the destruction of the Second World War.

This illustrated history portrays one of England's finest cities - Leicester. Using photographs taken from the unique Historic England Archive.

Explores the lives of the people who changed the way we shop and helped develop Britain's high streets.

Loughborough is more than a market town, although the market is still held, twice-weekly, in the heart of the town, and is over seven hundred years old. The town's university is a world leader in sport with many of the most celebrated names in sport having studied here, including Sebastian Coe, Paula Radcliffe and Steve Backley. Loughborough was the destination of the world's first railway excursion, organised by Thomas Cook, and steam trains still bring tourists here on the Great Central Railway. Many locomotives from steam to Eurostar power cars have been built in the town, but its greatest export is undoubtedly bells. John Taylor's bell foundry is the largest in the world and is where Great Paul in St Paul's Cathedral, the bells in York Minster, and even the bell heard on the Australian rock band AC/DC's song, 'Hells Bells', were cast. This unique selection of old and new images and informative captions is a must read for anyone who knows and loves this town.

The famous seaside resort of Weston-Super-Mare has long been a popular destination for holidaying families. Ever since Isambard Kingdom Brunel's railway was opened in 1841, visitors have flocked to the town from Bristol, the Midlands and further afield, while mining families from South Wales crossed the Bristol Channel by paddle steamer to enjoy the resort's numerous attractions. Through the reproduction of many old photographs, readers are invited to share in those memories, from the architectural splendour of Birnbeck Pier to the elegant Victorian villas on the southern slopes of Worlebury Hill, as well as the fine buildings designed by notable architect, Hans Price. Discover Weston-Super-Mare's history in this wonderfully revised edition illustrated book compiled by well-known historian, Stephen Butt.

For the people of Leicester, the 1960s was a decade of great social and economic change. It was to see a revolution in social attitudes reflected in the popular music of the time, in fashion, and in the print and broadcast media. Life changed for everyone. Railway stations closed as the motor vehicle grew in popularity. National Service ended, the pirate radio stations were scuppered, colour television became available, and the fashion garments manufactured by Leicester's giant textile companies were very different and sometimes extreme as hemlines rose dramatically. Changing attitudes led to social conflict between parents and children, teachers and pupils. Meanwhile, the teenagers danced at Il Rondo to The Who and Fleetwood Mac, and swooned to The Beatles at the De Montfort Hall. In Leicester in the 1960s, Stephen Butt charts the excitement and vibrancy of the 'Swinging Sixties' and reflects also on the economic and social problems that were just beneath the surface.

Tourism was born in Market Harborough in 1841 when Thomas Cook, a local cabinetmaker, set off towards Leicester and had his dream of worldwide working-class travel. The town was born to serve travellers. Centuries before, the town had been built to provide a market place for trades-people near to the 'new' highway connecting Northampton and Leicester. Eight hundred years later, the market is still busy, though now indoors, and the original Square is still bustling with shoppers. As a boy on the playing fields of the local school, former England team captain Martin Johnson discovered his finesse in Rugby. In the nineteenth century, William Symington and his family put Market Harborough on the manufacturing map by creating pea flour and a range of tempting sauces. In the last century the town could claim to be a 'crisp capital' of England, being the home of Golden Wonder crisps.

Leicester Through Time is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this part of the country. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of Leicester, the famous streets and the famous faces, and what they meant to the people of Leicester throughout the 19th and into the 20th Century. Looking beyond the exquisite exterior of these well-kept photos, readers can see the historical context in which they are set. Through the author's factual captions for every picture, and carefully-selected choice of images, the reader can achieve a reliable view of the city's history. Readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and watch the changing face of Leicester, as the author guides us through the city's streets. There is something for everyone here, whether they have lived in Leicester all their lives, or whether they are just visiting this vibrant city. It also shows how photography has continually evolved to keep up with an ever changing society.