Introduction
I first cycled along Lubbesthorpe Bridle Road in 1985. It was a narrow lane with a poorly maintained tarmac surface, gates and cattle grids. It emerged from under the M1 motorway near Braunstone, and extended one and a half miles to Beggars Lane, close by to Leicester Forest East. In 2001 I moved to Leicester Forest East and was looking for a new photographic challenge. I set out to document the lane for a period of a year. I did not know how I was going to do this as the project represented a major deviation from my normal type of photography. There would be none of the vistas or wilderness landscapes that are my usual subjects. I did however, feel attracted to the lane, which despite being close to suburbia and a motorway remains surprisingly rural.
On 1st January 1 began to take photographs of anything that I saw, whether attractive or not. I decided to limit myself to the stretch of road between the motorway and Beggars Lane, and to take pictures from the road or verge. Themes began to emerge, the effects of the seasons, weather and people were all evident. Almost all of the pictures were taken on my daily commute to and from work, and virtually all using a small fixed lens compact camera.Topography
Ordnance Survey Series 1, surveyed 1814, printing plates engraved 1866. Abbey Farm is not shown on this map and field boundaries were also omitted.The tarmac surface runs from Beggars lane in the west, to the M1 motorway bridge in the east. Here it becomes Watergate Lane. However, a narrow bridleway track leaves Watergate Lane and runs north to old Braunstone village, where it is still signposted “Lubbesthorpe Bridle Road”.
The surrounding landscape is relatively flat but the lane rises almost 100 feet near to the western end. It has a fairly severe double bend at it’s half way point. A number of footpaths either cross or meet the lane. A stream has it’s source between New House Farm and Warren Farm. It then runs east along the lane to the motorway, crossing under the lane’s lowest point where floods occasionally occur. The lane has fences, hedgerows (hawthorn, blackthorn, elder) and open verges. Woodland also runs along a short length. There is a man-made pond towards the west but this is quite overgrown. Whilst the lane originally had at least three cattle grids and their attendant gates, there is now just one cattle grid in use. 
Ordance Survey Map 1889, Abbey Farm has appeared and Enderby Lodge has become New House
There are five farms that use the lane, Abbey Farm, Hopyard Farm, New House Farm, Old Warren Farm, and Lawn Farm. The neighbouring fields are used for either pasture, hay or arable crops. In addition the farms exploit the shooting community by maintaining coppices to provide habitats for pheasant and partridge. Without this “sport” the woodland would probably not exist, and it does serve to attract other wildlife. There is a good rook and jackdaw community along with a family of buzzards too. In spring and summer there are skylarks and yellowhammers along with all the other normal birds. Autumn sees lapwings and geese using the fields as a resting place on their journeys south. Grey squirrels, hares, rabbits and rats abound, and weasles can occasionally be seen.
History
Lubbesthorpe is a name of Scandinavian origins. “Lubbe” being a person’s name and “thorpe” means land usually managed rather than owned. Lubbesthorpe would mean “the land that is pertaining to Lubbe”
Lubbesthorpe was mentioned in the Domesday Book and swine were kept in the area. There was a medieval hamlet but this disappeared and is today classed as a “shrunken village”. Early maps show an abbey on the site of what is today Abbey Farm. It is said that beggars would have walked to the abbey for sustenance, hence Beggars Lane at Leicester Forest East.
During the early 14th century and onwards, the influential 
Breton “La Zouch” family of Ashby (De La Zouch) had interests in Lubbesthorpe. In 1304 Roger La Zouche held the manor of Lubbesthorpe “by the service of the third part of a knight’s fee” (he was 11 years old). One of his relatives was, amongst other things, the Constable of the Tower Of London.
The Normans introduced rabbits into England and in order for their survival created sand warrens. Today of course, rabbits have learnt to be more adaptable. However there is a Warren Farm in the vicinity and it is said that there is such an ancient warren in the area. Even closer, to the south of Abbey Farm, the early Ordnance Survey series 1 map shows Enderby Warren and Fishpool. Enderby is also a name with Scandinavian origin and in addition to rabbit, fish was staple food during the medieval period.
Breton “La Zouch” family of Ashby (De La Zouch) had interests in Lubbesthorpe. In 1304 Roger La Zouche held the manor of Lubbesthorpe “by the service of the third part of a knight’s fee” (he was 11 years old). One of his relatives was, amongst other things, the Constable of the Tower Of London.The Normans introduced rabbits into England and in order for their survival created sand warrens. Today of course, rabbits have learnt to be more adaptable. However there is a Warren Farm in the vicinity and it is said that there is such an ancient warren in the area. Even closer, to the south of Abbey Farm, the early Ordnance Survey series 1 map shows Enderby Warren and Fishpool. Enderby is also a name with Scandinavian origin and in addition to rabbit, fish was staple food during the medieval period.
Much of the surrounding land was hunting ground known as the Royal Leicester Forest. Early maps detail “Kings Stand” just to the north of the lane. The medieval landscape consisted of scrub, heath and open fields. From around 1500, and until the Enclosure Act of 1771, todays regular field boundaries emerged. The area is typical of a post Enclosure landscape, but the lane would have been a much older right of way. The lane follows the stream from near it’s source and this would have made sense to medieval farmers. Better
that the right of way should follow farmed land at it’s edge, rather than directly cut across it. However, at it’s lowest point, the lane leaves the stream and leads directly up to Abbey Farm (formerly the medieval abbey and village), then again, away in another direction to Braunstone village. Near the source of the stream the lane has some severe bends and this is often indicative of Enclosure Officials choosing to follow the older furrow system rather than re-direct the right of way.
The three farm houses built on the land nearby vary in age. Abbey Farm is the oldest and was built in the 19th century. It comprises of quite a large house and a collection of out buildings, all erected in the same style as many other farms in the area. It also has a more modern cattle shed. After the enclosure act, it was quite normal for the new farm owners to continue living in a village until they could afford to build on their own land. In recent years, New House has been demolished and is now a pile of overgrown rubble.
that the right of way should follow farmed land at it’s edge, rather than directly cut across it. However, at it’s lowest point, the lane leaves the stream and leads directly up to Abbey Farm (formerly the medieval abbey and village), then again, away in another direction to Braunstone village. Near the source of the stream the lane has some severe bends and this is often indicative of Enclosure Officials choosing to follow the older furrow system rather than re-direct the right of way.The three farm houses built on the land nearby vary in age. Abbey Farm is the oldest and was built in the 19th century. It comprises of quite a large house and a collection of out buildings, all erected in the same style as many other farms in the area. It also has a more modern cattle shed. After the enclosure act, it was quite normal for the new farm owners to continue living in a village until they could afford to build on their own land. In recent years, New House has been demolished and is now a pile of overgrown rubble.
The hedgerows, and remains of posts, suggest that at one time there were a number of gates across the lane. More recently the lane had 3 cattle grids but today only one near the motorway is in use, the other two having fallen into disrepair.
In more recent years, the largest impact on the area has been the construction of the motorway. The maps show how this has bisected fields and there is a constant roar of traffic. The lane has grown busier too. In addition to the local farm traffic, the lane is used as a “cut through” by many vehicles. This increased further after the resurfacing that took place during the period that these pictures were made. The lane is also used by shooting parties, ramblers, joggers and cyclists. Most concerning is the number of incidents of fly-tipping. Despite the nearness of the municipal refuse tip and the district council’s “Clean Streets Initiative” the problem is rife. To have recorded all the occasions of tipping would have been a project in itself. Monday mornings are worst, with garden waste, building rubble, old kitchens, bathrooms, televisions, freezers, batteries and asbestos sheets being frequently left. People have cleaned their cars out whilst parked up and left piles of cigarette ends and other rubbish. There have been a number of burnt out cars. One car was dumped in broad daylight in the middle of the lane another was set on fire next to a field of dry straw. On Monday mornings, a “Clean Streets Initiative” pick-up truck drives along the lane, and some of the more obvious rubbish is loaded up. Sometimes, other articles remain for weeks. One large sheet of polythene was used to dump a large pile of branches, it had obviously been used to pull the pile out of a trailer onto the road. The next day, the branches had been removed, but the polythene sheet lay in the hedgerow for four months.
In more recent years, the largest impact on the area has been the construction of the motorway. The maps show how this has bisected fields and there is a constant roar of traffic. The lane has grown busier too. In addition to the local farm traffic, the lane is used as a “cut through” by many vehicles. This increased further after the resurfacing that took place during the period that these pictures were made. The lane is also used by shooting parties, ramblers, joggers and cyclists. Most concerning is the number of incidents of fly-tipping. Despite the nearness of the municipal refuse tip and the district council’s “Clean Streets Initiative” the problem is rife. To have recorded all the occasions of tipping would have been a project in itself. Monday mornings are worst, with garden waste, building rubble, old kitchens, bathrooms, televisions, freezers, batteries and asbestos sheets being frequently left. People have cleaned their cars out whilst parked up and left piles of cigarette ends and other rubbish. There have been a number of burnt out cars. One car was dumped in broad daylight in the middle of the lane another was set on fire next to a field of dry straw. On Monday mornings, a “Clean Streets Initiative” pick-up truck drives along the lane, and some of the more obvious rubbish is loaded up. Sometimes, other articles remain for weeks. One large sheet of polythene was used to dump a large pile of branches, it had obviously been used to pull the pile out of a trailer onto the road. The next day, the branches had been removed, but the polythene sheet lay in the hedgerow for four months.
Ornance Survey 1:25,000 map 2000, the motorway and urban areas have changed it all, but the field boundaries remain much the same
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