Leicester at Work (People and Industries Through the Years)

Leicester is rightly proud of its industrial heritage. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the city's population grow rapidly with the construction of the Grand Union Canal and the arrival of the railway which not only provided a supply of coal to the town from nearby collieries but also linked the town to the national network. These developments encouraged and accompanied a process of industrialisation which intensified throughout the Victorian era; hosiery, textiles, and footwear became the major industrial employers.Leicester At Work explores the life of the East Midland's largest city and its people, from pre-industrial beginnings through to the present day. In a fascinating series of contemporary photographs and illustrations it takes us through the city's dramatic industrial growth, the steady decline in Leicester's traditional manufacturing industries during the postwar years and their replacement by new jobs in the service sector, particularly in retail. It takes us into the technologically advanced world of today, showing how Leicester has reinvented itself as a major distribution centre and how the city has managed to attract new service and manufacturing businesses through its academic-industrial connections with the engineering departments at Leicester University, De Montfort University and nearby Loughborough University.