Heritage Open Day Exhibition & Guided Tours

About

Secular Hall: exhibition & guided tour - Come and see this unique building rooted in Leicester's radical past.

The Hall was built for the Leicester Secular Society and has been in continuous use by the Society since it opened in 1881. The Hall is rooted in Leicester’s radical history, playing host to numerous organisations seeking a place to meet. It was built to embody the principle that that “human destiny is shaped not on the knees of the gods but in the hearts and brains of men and women.”

The upper floors of the façade feature cut and moulded brickwork which is typical of the Queen Anne style. The hall was originally conceived as a ‘Church without God’ and this is reflected in its architecture and stained glass. The first floor contained a lecture hall, with galleries at each end. The ground floor featured a club room and bar, a reading room and library, a committee room and a freethought bookshop.

The five busts on the front of the Secular Hall were sculpted by Ambrose Louis Vago and depict Socrates, Jesus, Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and Robert Owen, who were seen as standing against ‘priestly pretensions.’ Above them are panels which symbolise the values of the Secular Society and Hall: Justicia and Veritas (Liberty, Justice and Truth). The Hall is now a Grade II listed building.