WHITE HORSE, 27 BELGRAVE GATE

Photo above: 1960s photo of the White Horse, the ground floor alteration at odds with the Georgian upper floors.

1880s map showing White Horse and nearby Fleur de Lis. White Horse yard and the adjoining court C was a bleak place to live many of the tenements one up, one down, as shown on map. lots of crime, high mortality, Its perhaps worth mentioning one particular family that resided there, The Frays, Thomas Fray as he was listed in White Horse Yard in 1841 census, Thomas like his father was a gunmaker, Father John 23 married Mary Ann Russell aged 16 in Dublin, they had two boys Denis and Thomas, moving to London John trained as a gunsmith, then moving to Leicester c1820, where he set up his own gunmakers shop, John apparently remarried, but in 1822 Mary Ann Fray from Dublin turned up at Johns shop claiming she was his rightful wife, by refusing to leave she was escorted to Goal. This seemed to preempt a disastrous chain of events, we next come across Mary Ann running a boarding-shop-beershop in Thornton Lane, where she is twice taken to court for running a disorderly house, Friday 23rd July 1830 Mary Ann Fray is ordered to leave town by the Mayor, a week later she is found slumped in Church Gate, crying ‘Oh Fray, Oh Fray’, she had taken arsenic, she died shortly after. Meanwhile John Fray had his own problems, having been defrauded (he claimed) by Mr Hobhill of some sovereigns, Fray confronted Hobhill in the Black Lion Belgrave Gate, where Fray drew a pistol trying to shoot Hobhill, Fray was restrained, but the dispute played on is mind. Later that year John Fray sat in his chair and shot himself with his own pistol. the inquest verdict ” the deceased destroyed himself with a pistol whilst in a state of temporary derangement” His present wife also Mary posted an ad in the Leicester Newspaper saying she would carry on the profession of gunsmith, we know that both Thomas and his brother Dennis were to do this.Although both were to cross the law.

Above John Frays newspaper report of his suicide .1832. John Fry was known to supply the Royal family.and he displayed the Royal Coat of Arms on his ads (see 1971 below)

Above Mary Fray carrying on business after Johns suicide.

Below Mary Ann Fray Johns first wife from Dublin, who seemed to have been a problem to him and the authorities. 1822.

Mary Ann Fray June 1822

Below Thomas who had carried on the business in trouble 1836

Michelle Evans a direct descendant of the Frays has kindly let me copy some of John Frays guns from her impressive comprehensive family tree.

 1839 Ancient Orders of Druids opened a lodge here called ‘Hope & Charity’.

Two families seem to dominate as licensees for the first hundred years.

1840 Joseph Brown was the owner. Mary Fray had left her estate to the Brown family-Simon

June 1844, Henry Staines was landlord as he transferred the licence to John Sawbridge. 

Circa 1854 William  Brown was the owner. 1871 George Caswell, Caswell was robed by Micheal Flinn, after serving Flinn Caswell was followed into the yard where Flinn knocked him down and robbed him, Flinn was sentenced to 6 months hard labour.

1878, Charlotte Brown. 1881, Robert Monk, back to Charlotte Brown, 1892. William  Brown, 1907.

, Arthur Sturgess. 1908, Arthur would own the White Horse, he died in 1921. Cecil Sturgess until circa 1938. Cecil would play football for the Corinthian Casuals also scouting for Leicester City. In 1937 the whole site including White Horse adjoing saddles shop and courts including Court C was put up for auction, under the executive of the late Arthur Sturgess.

Horace Webb was then licensee, 1940. Arthur Farren, 1944. Leslie York, and in the early 1950s Frank Ashton. 1957 John Byrne manager, 1960 Leonard Arnold, 1960s Raymond Corrall, in 68 Landlord Corrall was assaulted by Maureen Knox when she head butted him also threw a bottle breaking glasses and ornaments, sentence to the assizes.

1971 Leicester Museums were alerted that a pair of flintlock pistols made by Fray of Leicester were coming up for sale at Sotherbys, they duly purchased them as the only surviving officers pistols made in Leicester to knowingly survive, (see above)

We often have rose tinted glasses when reminiscing of the ‘old days’ but the town centre pubs have always had a ‘reputation’ and the 1960s were no different. Many of the ‘townies’ lived in the nearby Victorian terraces, soon to be called ‘slums’ such as the Wharf St. area, it didn’t take much for a ‘ruck’ to start. 

I know. I used and lived in the town a lot late 50s -60s. I had my share of fat lips and black eyes. Happy days.

Closed and ready for demo c1969 to fall in the Haymarket development