The picture opposite shows the Old House when it was offered for sale in 1954. The quality of the picture is not good however, it does demonstrate the appearance of the property at the time of sale. The article below is taken from the description of the house in the estate agents advertisement when the property was for sale. The house was described as dating back to Georgian times and standing in 2 acres of ground. The accommodation consists of 9 bedrooms, a cellar with a vaulted ceiling, a stable block, previously used as a chapel and splendid gardens. The History of the House as told by Patrick Lovell Green. This was the first house on Kirby Fields. In fact the house itself was called that when it was built -sometime between 1799 and 1801. It was a farmhouse and the first known occupant was William Moore in 1821. The census of 1841 tells us that George Hale. a grazier, and his wife Mary were living there. Up until about 1851, it appears to have been a working farm, but by then Edward Pares Miles, a surveyor. bought it as a country residence. He and his wife Elizabeth, lived there until 1877 and his 2 children, Edith and Edward were born and brought up there. Apparently there are at least 3 Mayors of Leicester among his ancestors. He sold the house to John Brady, a boot and shoe manufacturer, who named it Lara House. He also formed the Kirby Fields Estate Company with John May Thornton, William Collin and Edward Richmond. The farm (just over 85 acres) was divided into building plots, which were sold to Victorian business men from Leicester. John Brady died in 1880, his wife, Mary in 1884 and they were buried at Mount St. Bernard's Abbey. Their son, Matthew kept one of the plots and built Mayfield, to which he moved to in 1892. He sold the farmhouse to Mr Herbert William Wilshere of T. Wilshere and Sons, Stock and Share Brokers and Accountants in Leicester. Mr Wilshere renamed the farmhouse 'The Old House' , which it remains to this day. The telephone number was then 'Kirby Muxloe 1'! The Wilshere's were firm supporters of the Kirby Muxloe Free Church and the 2 sons, Owen and E.E. (Teddie') founded the cub and scout pack in 1911. Ernest .Edward died in the First Great War. Owen's son was Jonathan Wilshere, the well-known local historian, and I am indebted to his records and those of the present owners, Mr and Mrs Christopher Coverley, for the information. Mr Herbert Wilshere died in 1921, and within 2 years his wife Margo died also. In 1934, Mr Leslie Lovell Green took a lease of the property for 3 years from 25th March, 1935 at an annual rent of £125. The lease contained an option to buy the house and in February 1938, the house was bought for £2,250. I am Patrick Lovell Green, the youngest of four children, and I was just 4 years old when we went to the Old House. My twin sisters Eileen and May were away at Convent School and my brother John was also away at Douai Abbey School. I spent a lot of time with William Hutchinson. the gardener who lived at 30, Castle road. William spent most of his working life looking after the garden at 'The Old House ' until he retired in the early '50's. He taught me much about life, from gardening to how to skin a rabbit. His philosophy in the garden was 'you can't eat flowers'; this established the priorities. I shared a governess, Miss Lakin, with the children of about 6 other families until I went to Fosse High School in 1939. Our lessons took place in a room above the wash house, which later became a playroom. The top floor of the house had 4 bedrooms, each with a fireplace which had been converted to gas - one for my brother, another for my sisters and 2 for the 'staff'. There was no other form of heating and this part of the house was called the 'fridge'! There was no running water up there and the staff had a jug of water and a basin on a wash stand for their ablutions. On the first floor there were 2 double bedrooms, one guest room and the other for my parents. Above the kitchen and therefore the warmest room in the house, there was a small single room for me. Apart from the playroom, bathroom and toilet there was also a small sitting room on this floor, which was called the 'snug'. It had an open coal fire and was used regularly during the cold winter months. Close to the bathroom was the 'housemaid's cupboard' (source of their water for washing). The rear hallway gave access to the kitchen, the indoor stairs down to the cellar, the larder and the principal back door. The kitchen had a flat roofed extension as a breakfast area cum sitting room and also leading from the kitchen was the 'scullery'. This in latter years became the working part of the kitchen. It had an Aga and a gas stove as well as a double sink draining board and working surface. Another 'back door led from the scullery and gave access to the 'side garden', the coal house and the yard, which was bounded by the house on the south side, the coal house, the garage and tool shed on the east and the stables on the north. There is a well in the yard, some 40ft deep and brick lined which is now sealed off. had 4 bedrooms