Archived Report - Scraptoft Hall, Leicestershire

[Goldie87]

Scraptoft Hall is a Queen Anne mansion that stands in its own grounds and adjoins the church. It was sold in 1954 to the Leicester Education Committee and in 1962 work commenced on the internal demolition of the hall in preparation for a complete renovation scheme to provide residential accommodation for the new Teachers Training College. Although it was known that the Wigley family had resided at Scraptoft since the sixteenth century the site of their original house was uncertain.
Demolition work revealed that when they re-built the Hall in its present form in 1723 they incorporated part of an older house which had existed on the same site. Eventually the hall was taken over by Leicester Polytechnic and became 'Scraptoft Campus'. This in turn later became De Montfort University, but closed in 2003. I first visited around 2004/05 when the whole campus was still standing. Unfortunately I never did take any photos, and most buildings were later demolished for housing. It seems that the stuck up locals think it is ok for them to walk their dogs in the grounds and to smash the place up. However they are constatly harassing and calling the police on strangers seen in the grounds (even people who have landowners permission to fish in the lake!) it seems. As we left the grounds a mobile CCTV van turned up and a load of cops stood there lol