Transport

Fowke Street, photographed in 2003.

Interviewer: What about transport to the village then, what sort of transport did you have as a child?

Mrs Barnes: Well, there was just the trains. Then Boyes started their buses.

Interviewer: Do you know when that was?

Mrs Barnes: I’m not really sure but I think it was about 1911, something like that, but they used to run the odd one to Leicester, perhaps about three a day, Leicester to Loughborough. And then later on they did a few more and used to do outings, you know, to Matlock and all like that, and of course that was marvellous. There was a Mr Fern, he had some cabs and a brougham, which we used to hire this brougham sometimes to go to Bradgate Park and places like that.

Interviewer: What’s a brougham, can you explain what it is?

Mrs Barnes: An open thing, you sat about six each side of it, it was open.

Interviewer: Like a charabanc?

Mrs Barnes: That style, yes, only horse drawn, yes. It’d hold about 12 people I should think.

Interviewer: And that was used to take people to Bradgate Park, for outings?

Mrs Barnes: Anywhere like that, yes.

Interviewer: Can you remember how much it would have cost?

Mrs Barnes: I’ve no idea.

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