'The Saff' estate was 'paradise' for first tenants

A new exhibition that looks back at the history of a city centre estate has been compiled to commemorate 100 years since its first residents moved in.

Leicester's Saffron Lane estate, known locally as "The Saff", was the first large-scale housing development built in the city after World War One and welcomed its first residents in 1925.

The exhibition at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery features oral histories which tell the story of the estate in the words of the people who lived there.

They include one tenant who likened their home to paradise, with running water, a bath and a separate bedroom for the children.

Another resident who moved to The Fairway in 1926 remembered churned-up mud surrounding the houses before roads were built and the Midland Red bus stop being a long walk away at the top of Saffron Lane.

The exhibition shows residents had little in the way of amenities when they first moved in.

However, the oral histories do recall a milkman who travelled in from Countesthorpe, a dairy in Cyprus Road, a mobile greengrocer, a baker with a basket of hot cross buns and Tommy Newby's, the grocer - where a cat sat on the bacon slicer.

Businesses that serve the community today are also featured in the exhibition, including a locksmith that has been trading in Leicester since 1717.

Assistant city mayor Vi Dempster said: "This brilliant new exhibition shines a light on the people and businesses that help to give Saffron Lane its strong sense of identity and community.

"I'm very grateful to everyone who has donated items to the exhibition and given their support to this project.

"Thanks to their generosity, our museum staff have been able to bring the story of The Saff to life in an exhibition that I'm sure will be popular with visitors."

Popping to the Shops: Saffron Lane opens at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday and runs until 31 August. Admission is free.

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