Apparently named after the racehorse ‘Champion’ who won the Epsom Derby and St Ledger in the same year, 1800.
1844 Wm Knight landlord was fined 10/- for serving customers after time, his defense was they wouldn’t leave when he told them to.
The Champion was one of the fore runners for variety and musical entertainment in Leicester.
The temperance movement was not only against the selling of ale. but combined with music and variety was regard as proving too much temptation.
The 1950s and 1960s were perhaps the ‘Champs’ heyday. Work buses would pick up building workers from outside in the mornings and drop off in the evening. There could be twenty or thirty buses full of building workers, including many Irish navvies. The ‘Champ’ was one of the ‘Irish’ pubs in town and had quite a fierce reputation. Always busy, very often the only seat available was where ‘Jimmy Carey’ would be sitting, shouting and swearing at no one in particular: frightening sight for any unwary stranger entering, to be greeted with ‘You f*ck dog, You f*ck pig, I’ll strike you.’ Poor Jimmy was mentally unstable and could often see the ‘little people’ Everyone men gave him a wide berth when he was off on one, which was unfortunately all too often. An incident 1959 frank Duffy was charged with ABH and sent to the Quarter Sessions for slashing a man and women across the face, Frank Lundy landlord saw the women in the bar holding her face with blood oozing, he went outside saw Duffy holding another man pressed against the wall, he too had been slashed. The landlord called the police.
This was another world – you could feel the tension when entering – hard working, hard drinking, generous Irish. From the famines in the 1840s onwards, they had come to work in England, Leicester being a favourite city for them. They must have missed ‘home’. Throw in some ‘townies’ and ‘teds’ and this pub seemed ready to ignite, but as often is the case, it’s reputation was worse than its bite. The likes of the ‘Champ’ will be seen no more.’
Barry Lount
The Champion changed its name after a refurbishment in the late 1970s- early 1980s to the Hansom Cab, after Joseph Hansom who had developed the cab in Hinckley, Leicester. The pub is still open for business as of writing.