Thomas Cook - 200th anniversary celebrations 
The Leicester Group of the Victorian Society marked the 200th anniversary of Thomas Cook's birth by wreath-laying ceremonies at his statue outside London Road Station, and at the family grave in Welford Road Cemetery.
Thomas Cook was born in Melbourne, a few miles north of Leicester and just over the county boundary in Derbyshire, on 22nd November 1808. However his name will always be associated with Leicester, where he spent most of his working life and where he built up the business that has made his name synonymous with international travel. This association is commemorated by the fine bronze statue of Thomas Cook erected outside Leicester Railway Station by the City Council.
To mark the bicentenary of his birth, the Leicester Group of the Victorian Society organised celebrations and wreath-laying at the statue, and at the Cook family grave in Welford Road Cemetery on 22 November 2008.
The ceremonies were attended by the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Mrs Manjula Sood, and by Paul Smith, Press Officer of Thomas Cook International.
Despite the recognition given to Thomas Cook by the City Council, the same body has recently given permission for the demolition of the last building in the city with which he was intimately associated. The former Thomas Cook Hotel on Granby Street (now Millett’s stores), adjoined the now-demolished Temperance Hall, and contained Cook’s offices as well as a hotel. The Victorian Society is campaigning for the retention, and if possible the reinstatement, of the facade of this building which is a prominent feature in the Granby Street Conservation Area.
(note - The Thomas Cook Building facing the Clock Tower at the Gallowtree Gate - Haymarket junction, was built by Cook’s son several years after his father’s death in 1892)
