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Free weekly eight-page pull-out every Monday, looking at City decade-by-decade from the ‘60 s tot he‘90s

1 This dramatic action shot looks like the climatic scene in an old Gothic horror movie - and I suppose, from a heritage point of view, it is horrific. Taken in November 1978, we see the sad demise of Emmanuel Baptist Church, which stood in Leamington Street, Leicester.

This huge building originally dominated the area of terraced houses that made way for Narborough Road North and a modern estate, not far from where the Tesco store, just off Braunstone Gate, now stands. Emmanuel Church had a very distinctive profile, with an octagonal lantern roof that was visible from afar.

It had not been used as a church for many years prior to its demolition as, no doubt, it had become too expensive to maintain for its shrinking congregation. It finished its days as a warehouse. Emmanuel was one of two churches in the district that fell victim to development, the other being St Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, which was rebuilt in contemporary style just inside Hinckley Road.

The original caption to this photo stated: “The demolition contractors found the disused Emmanuel Baptist Church, a tough old building to pull down.”

Had this fine piece of Victorian architecture survived another 10 years, it might have been spared the bulldozer and found a new use. 2 The demolition site at the corner of Albion Hill and Dunkirk Street in Leicester... it became a car park.

3 This picture from June 1957 shows the demolition of the Wharf Street area of Leicester in progress. The Willow Bridge Street post office has almost gone.

4 The last thatched cottage in Groby being demolished in 1952