Bøker 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.

Rutland is at the very heart of England. It is England's smallest historic county, less than twenty miles in distance from north to south or east to west, a patchwork of incredibly picturesque and peaceful villages. At its centre is Rutland Water, by surface area the largest reservoir in the country covering more than 3000 acres of land, which has matured over the past thirty years into a sanctuary for wildlife and a major tourist attraction. From hilltop stately homes to clusters of thatched cottages nestling the valleys; from the quiet dignity of the medieval Lyddington Bede House to the Victorian grandeur of the Harringworth Viaduct. Old photographs from the Jack Hart Collection in Rutland County Museum are paired with modern views of the same locations today. They invite the reader to enjoy, explore and value the unique charm and the long history of this special part of England.

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

Leicester History Tour is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this East Midlands city. Local author Stephen Butt guides us through the streets and alleyways, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they've changed over the years, as well as exploring its lesser-known places and hidden corners. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and discover for themselves the changing face of Leicester.

The 1970s was a decade of change. Supermarkets began to take over from traditional stores, high-rise office blocks appeared on the skyline, and Leicester's first shopping centre replaced familiar Victorian shops and hotels. It was a time of industrial unrest. The lights went out as coal stocks diminished. Pay packets were depleted as Leicester's workers faced a three-day week, prices in the shops began to soar, and we all shivered during the 'winter of discontent'. It was a turning point in the way we viewed ourselves and the world. Social attitudes to mental health, homosexuality and feminism were still rooted in the past, but the world was changing. People took to Leicester's streets to support anti-racism, and we began to clean up our environment. In Leicester in the 1950s Stephen Butt remembers what made the decade so special for so many, but also the events which were to change significantly the course of Leicester's future.

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.