It's often said that Leicester used to be the second wealthiest city in Europe, and that its many industries were so vibrant you could walk out of a job in the morning and walk into another one in the afternoon.

The city could make virtually anything, from knitting machines, typewriters and shoes to precision lenses, tyres and sweets. Its hosiery and knitwear factories were legendary: "Leicester clothes the world" was the slogan.

All this was a long time ago, of course, and the past 40 years have seen the decimation of Leicester's industrial base.

We still have many of the old factories – some now turned into flats for city centre living – and we also have many of the fine houses that the wealthy Leicester businessmen built for themselves in the prosperous suburb of Stoneygate.

Many but not all, as during the second half of the 20th century, changing attitudes and the departure of the very wealthy consigned several magnificent houses to the bulldozer.

In the 1950s and 60s no-one wanted these enormous homes. The days of staffing them with an army of servants and gardeners had long gone.

So the inevitable happened and at least 30 huge houses in London Road between the Victoria Park and Oadby roundabouts have been lost. Many more went in nearby roads.

The grand houses were replaced by blocks of 20, 30 or even 60 flats – occupying the same amount of land.

In some cases a whole road now stands on land once occupied by a single dwelling!

Much of Stoneygate is now a Conservation Area, guarded by the lively Stoneygate Conservation Area Society.

But it all came too late for some huge mansions. Here is just a small selection of what has been lost.

1THE STONEY GATE. The original farmhouse dated from the time of Charles II and was known as Stone-a-Gate. The house was added to in the 1820s and 30s.

This mansion sat where the Dukes Drive flats are now and the grounds extended to Clarendon Park Road.

Highland cattle grazed in a field at the front, that could be seen from the tops of trams.

The Stoney Gate was owned by Major William Jesse Freer whose family lived there from 1846-1945.

He was a solicitor who worked for Freer, Bouskell & Co.

He gave four acres of his land for a new cathedral but it was never built and St John's School was erected in its place.

The house was later sold to Tony and Kathleen D'Offay.

He was a distinguished surgeon and doctor and she was a well-known antique dealer.

The D'Offays put the house on the market in the early 60s, but it was demolished in 1962, when the Dukes Drive flats were built in its place.

2THE SHRUBBERY. This was a very fine house dating from 1846 and standing in several acres of grounds, which are reputed to have been laid out by Joseph Paxton, designer of the Crystal Palace.

It was built for Charles Robinson, manager and lessee of the Leicester Gas Light and Coal Co. Belgrave.

Its next owner was George Wilson boot and tennis shoe manufacturer whose factory was in Bruin Street off Belgrave Road.

Then it passed to William Jennings a boot manufacturer with premises on Harrison Road. He was also a director of Leicester Fosse Football Club.

The house eventually became the home of the physician and surgeon Dr Charles Coyne Elliott who was a former medical missionary in China.

Wonderful parties were held there, and there were rumours of gambling where fortunes were won and lost.

After Dr Coyne Elliott and his wife died, the house was sold to the Norwich Union who, in around 1934, built the Stoneygate Court flats on the land.

3TYTHORNE. This handsome house was built for Charles Bream, a successful corn merchant with premises in Humberstone Gate.

In the late 1930s it was bought by Harry Barnett Page who ran a school at the next-door property, Woodbank.

He lived at Tythorne until it was demolished – along with Woodbank – in the 1970s.

4WOODBANK. This magnificent house, built in 1878 was the home of Thomas Downing, a hosiery manufacturer with a grand factory on Newarke Street.

Later it became the home of the elastic web manufacturer, Joseph Burgess, before being bought by Harry Barnett Page for use as a school.

Its magnificent interior was recalled to me by local man John Murray.

He said grand rooms including a ballroom with sprung floor and a mirrored wall.

On the top floor was a billiard room with viewing gallery.

Both Tythorne and Woodbank were replaced by Oliver Court flats.

5ELMSLEIGH HALL A vast mansion, just beyond Stoughton Road, its grand entrance flanked by stone lions holding lamp standards.

It was built in 1874 to a design by Liverpool architects Picton, Chambers and Bradley and was for many years the home of John Stafford and his family.

Stafford was a cheese and provisions merchant, cigar manufacturer and tobacco cutter (his factory is pictured, inset).

He was also a JP, a town councillor and an alderman, and was twice mayor of Leicester.

John's son Percy also lived at the hall and followed his father into the business. Percy was heavily involved in philanthropic and temperance work and was Superintendent of the Clarendon Park Congregational Church. He was also a founder member of the Leicester Lawn Tennis Club.

The hall was sold in 1929 and became the Minerva College a boarding school for Jewish girls. It was demolished in 1935 and the land is now occupied by Elmsleigh Avenue

6ASHLEIGH. A magnificent Georgian style house set in huge grounds between Guildford road and Morland Avenue.

It was the home of two very prominent Leicester men.

First was Sir Israel Hart a wealthy worsted suit manufacturer and partner in the large firm of Hart and Levy.

Hart was also a local Liberal politician, alderman, JP and the town's High Bailiff from 1878-1884.

He was the first Jewish Mayor of Leicester and held the office in 1884, 1885, 1886 and 1893.

He gave the city the lion fountain in Town Hall Square.

Hart was followed into Ashleigh by a political opponent, the Conservative Sir Herbert Marshall a musician and piano dealer with the largest music business in the town.

He was the founder of the Leicester Philharmonic choir – still going strong today.

Ashleigh was later the home of Charles Alonzo Gaines – vice chairman and director of the Gillette Safety Razor Co.

The house then became the county police headquarters and astoundingly, was demolished in the late 1980s and replaced by Hendon Grange.

7KNIGHTON FRITH. This was a tremendously grand house which, in a 1920s sale brochure, was described as of "a most superior character, its situation being one of the most splendid in Stoneygate".

Its features included a large hall, a panelled drawing room and a "spacious library".

The garden had tennis courts, pleasure lawns, shrubbery and chauffeur's house and a gardener's cottage.

The house was owned for 40 years by Harry Simpson Gee of the vast Stead and Simpson shoe company, and became a centre for Stoneygate social life.

It stood between Avenue Road and Toller Road and its grand entrance gate post can still be seen just past the turn to Avenue Road.

Sadly the house was demolished after Gee's death and a number of attractive smaller detached houses were built in its grounds, both on London Road and Avenue Road.

8THE CEDARS. This was another very grand house occupying ground that is now covered by The Cedars flats complex.

It was built on land once owned by John Biggs and had magnificent grounds that included many fine cedar trees. Its first known occupier was Mrs Hannah Corah. Later it was occupied by the Frisby family, Miss Elizabeth Frisby becoming Lord Mayor of Leicester in 1946.

It was occupied by the Air Force reservists in 1938-9 and the War Dept of the Royal engineers during the war.

It was de-requisitioned in 1955, bought by Cox the builders and demolished to build Cedars Court flats.

9HOLLYBANK. Another very grand house with 10 bedrooms and a 100 yard long drive to its entrance.

It was the first house beyond the Victoria Park Road roundabout. Its grounds originally stretched down to St Mary's Road.

In 1877 it was occupied by Mrs Elizabeth Hunt, who lived there for around 20 years.

It then became the home of Samuel Laxton Hames of Hames and Son, job masters and dealers in horses, with premises in South Bond Street, East Bond Street and Freeschool Lane.

The picture shows a garden party held at the house during Hames's time there.

In 1915 Hollybank became the first Leicester home for the Minerva College for Jewish girls. It then became a hotel and lodging house.

It became known as Broadway and a Mrs Hilda Rawson put it up for sale in 1953, saying "houses like this have had their day. Too expensive to run and too cold."

Sure enough, the house was demolished to make way for Hollybank Court.

10ALLANDALE. This rather jolly neo-Regency looking edifice stood on a three acre estate off Stoughton Road with the entrance approximately facing Stoneygate Road.

It gave its name to the nearby shopping road.

The estate agents described it in 1938 as having distinctive elevations of the old-fashioned type, occupying a pleasantly retired situation.

It had four large reception rooms, five principal and secondary bedrooms reached from a galleried landing and a lodge for servants. The gardens included a tennis lawn, orchard and small paddock.

11RATCLIFFE HOUSE. An astoundingly large house much the same size as the nearby Knighton Hayes and Knighton Spinneys (both still standing).

It was built in 1892-3 to a design by Mr Amos Hall architect of the Grand Hotel and Silver Arcade, for Mr Richard Taylor, JP.

It was constructed of Luton brick and Darley Dale stone and was conceived in "the 15th century style of domestic architecture."

Mr Taylor was a director of Archibald Turner and Son, elastic web manufacturers of the huge Bow Bridge Works, then situated on King Richard's Road.

Sadly this magnificent pile was demolished in the late 1930s to make way for housing.

Some idea of the size of the house and grounds can be had from the fact that a street of 42 houses called Sackville Gardens was eventually built in its place in the 1960s.

All the houses had gardens of a generous size.

12HUGHENDON. This palatial residence stood on Knighton Park Road.

It was built in 1892 for Colonel Charles Frederick Oliver a member of the boot and shoe manufacturing family.

Sadly the Olivers were, it seems the only occupiers of Hughendon, as it went in the 1930s to make way for Knighton Court flats.