New digital map remembers Vanished Leicester

Leicester researchers have developed a new digital map of ‘Vanished Leicester’ which shows the transformation of the city in recent decades.

The digital map, developed by the University’s Special Collections, uses a collection of photographs taken by retired architect Dennis Calow which show a number of buildings demolished in the post-war slum clearance programmes in Leicestershire.

The map, produced using Historic Digimap, the British Geological Survey website and Google’s Fusion Tables, allows users to interact with Calow’s collection of photographs.

The University is now encouraging the public to get in touch with their memories to build up a history of the under-recorded buildings.

Dr Simon Dixon, Archives and Special Collections Manager, explained: “Recent years have seen an increase in the popularity of historical images of this type, which is reflected in the number of popular local ‘nostalgia’ pages on Facebook which regularly post historic images. These also allow users to record their personal memories of place through lively discussions about the images posted.”

• Press release
• View the digital map ‘Vanished Leicester’ here
• View the ‘Vanished Leicester’ collection here
• BBC feature: Leicester buildings cleared after WWII

To share your memories of historic Leicester get in touch with the University of Leicester Special Collections on 0116 252 2056 or email specialcollections@le.ac.uk

BBC East Midlands clip: