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111-year-old Leicester City stadium.
Pride of place in Gallery One goes to the stunning collection of evocative pictures that documents the final season at the ground. The rest of the show is a
treasure trove of Leicester City history, supplied by the club, featuring a selection of shirts from across the years including a rare 1893 Leicester Boys top and
the dreaded green and yellow Burton Albion FA Cup
match shirt plus mementoes from the club's various
jaunts to Wembley including rattles, programmes and
photographs.
There are international caps, a collection of
footballs - including one from the late 1940s -
players boots and the blue and white top hat and cane
used by the club's mascot in 1947, an earlier
incarnation of today's Filbert Fox.
Also included are a variety of press cuttings
including an intriguing piece from the LA Times dated
May 15 1963 detailing the furore caused by the club
finding FA Cup Final tickets for Liz Taylor and
Richard Burton when there were none left for the
supporters.
The rich photographs of Filbert Street that line the
exhibition were taken by Leicester Mercury
photographers Andy Baker, Sarah Melton and Jason
Senior and explore the nooks and crannies of the
ground to catch a genuine flavour of Leicester life.
The photographs were taken in the Kop, the players'
tunnel, the nurses' flats that overlook the ground, on
the Bentley building and on the Filbert Street roof.
The images are culled from a handsome book of
black-and-white photography entitled 'Leicester 'Til
We Die: The Final Season At Filbert Street', which
goes on sale in June.
Jason Senior, deputy picture editor at the Leicester
Mercury, said: "Even though the new stadium looks very
impressive, there can't be a Leicester City fan on the
face of the planet who didn't feel a real sadness at
the end of Filbert Street. We set out to capture a
real sense of what it was like to be there in that
last season, and I'm pretty sure we did just that."
Both the photography and the collection of Filbert
Street memorabilia blend superbly, said Museums
Marketing Officer, Shaun Knapp. "While the photography
fully encapsulates the drama of this season, the
collection of items from the clubs museum remind us of
the highs and lows of Filbert Street from Leicester
Fosse to the present day. It really is a magnificent
testimonial to one of the most charismatic grounds in
the football league".
A Farewell To Filbert Street is on at New Walk Museum,
New Walk, Leicester from Saturday May 25th to Sunday
August 11th 2002. The museum is open from 10.00a.m. -
5.00p.m. Monday to Saturday and Sundays from 1.00p.m.
to 5.00p.m. For further information, telephone 0116
255 4100. Admission is free.
Leicester 'Til We Die costs £14.99 and will be
available from New Walk Museum Shop, Mercury News
Shops, Leicester City's club shop and all good
bookstores from late June 2002.
For more updates about Leicester City and English football visit The Cunning Fox and The Soccerengine