Category: Culture

[osm_map lat="52.654764" lon="-1.1307766" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting on Corporation Road on the north side of Leicester, alongside the River Soar and next to the National Space Centre, the Abbey Pumping Station is a museum of science and technology that preserves one of the city's most striking Victorian industrial buildings. Designed in 1890 by Leicester architect Stockdale Harrison and completed in 1891 by Leicester Corporation, the grand structure houses four Woolf compound beam engines built by Gimson and Company of Leicester - all retained and gradually restored to full working order.From Sewage to ScienceThe building was originally constructed to solve a serious sanitation problem. Leicester's first attempt at sewage disposal came in 1850, when Thomas Wicksteed designed sewers leading to a treatment works on the northern edge of the town. Limited…

[osm_map lat="52.6594502" lon="-1.1250805" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Belgrave Hall Museum sits in the Belgrave area of Leicester, a northern neighbourhood with a strong community identity and a mix of residential streets and cultural sites. The museum occupies a late seventeenth-century Queen Anne-style house, one of the more complete examples of its period surviving in the city, set within walled gardens that have been maintained in a period-appropriate style.What to See at Belgrave HallThe hall and its grounds give visitors a sense of domestic life across several centuries. The interior is arranged with period furnishings and household objects, tracing how the building and its occupants changed from the early eighteenth century onward. The walled gardens adjoining the hall are kept in a traditional manner and are open to the public, making them…

[osm_map lat="52.6355473" lon="-1.1274937" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Situated on Rutland Street in Leicester's designated Cultural Quarter, Curve Theatre is one of the city centre's most architecturally distinctive buildings. The theatre sits adjacent to the Leicester Athena conference and banqueting centre, and its glass façade opens the interior to street level in a way that few theatres manage. When two 18-tonne steel walls separating the stage from the foyer are raised, passers-by can see straight through to the stage from outside - an unusual feature that reflects the building's design philosophy.Architecture and DesignThe building was designed by architect Rafael Viñoly, working alongside scenographers ducks scéno and Charcoalblue, acousticians Kahle Acoustics, and structural engineers Adams Kara Taylor. Mechanical and electrical systems, including environmental control of the theatre and foyer, were handled by Arup.…

[osm_map lat="52.6250266" lon="-1.1220186" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] De Montfort Hall sits alongside Victoria Park in Leicester, occupying a prominent place in the city's cultural life as its largest music and performance venue. The hall takes its name from Simon de Montfort, the 6th Earl of Leicester, widely regarded as the Father of Parliament. Built by the Corporation of Leicester at a cost of £21,000, it opened to the public on 21 July 1913. The architect was Shirley Harrison (1876-1961), who also designed the Usher Hall in Edinburgh and was the son of Stockdale Harrison, architect of Vaughan College.The Building and Its OrganThe indoor auditorium seats approximately 2,000 people. Among the hall's most significant features is its pipe organ, installed in 1914 and believed to be the only surviving example of a…

[osm_map lat="52.6375477" lon="-1.1318147" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting beside the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre, the Haymarket Theatre has had one of the more eventful histories of any building in the city. Designed by Building Design Partnership as a replacement for the smaller Phoenix Theatre, it opened on 30 November 1973 when actor Sir Ralph Richardson performed the formal opening honours. The first production, The Recruiting Officer, had already taken to the stage on 17 October that year, followed by Economic Necessity and Cabaret before the official launch. A Reputation Built on Musicals The main auditorium originally seated 750 people, built with a large stage capable of staging opera or ballet, though its seating capacity was considered too small to make those genres financially viable. A…

[osm_map lat="52.634937" lon="-1.1415872" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Facing the ancient Jewry Wall ruins in the St Nicholas area of Leicester, the Jewry Wall Museum sits within a Grade II listed building completed in 1962 and designed by architect Trevor Dannatt. Construction began in 1960, and the building was originally shared with Vaughan College, part of Leicester University's Institute for Lifelong Learning. After the University ceased its lifelong learning activities there in 2013 and placed the building on the market, Leicester City Council purchased it in March 2016 and set plans in motion for a full expansion and improvement of the museum. Following that extensive work, the museum re-opened in July 2025.What the Museum ContainsThe collections at the Jewry Wall Museum span the Iron Age, Roman, and medieval periods of Leicester's history.…

[osm_map lat="52.6342074" lon="-1.1361035" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Situated on Greyfriars in Leicester city centre, the King Richard III Visitor Centre occupies a converted Victorian school building - the former Alderman Newton's School - immediately beside the car park where the remains of King Richard III were unearthed in August 2012. The £4 million centre, designed by Paul East of Maber Architects, opened on 26 July 2014 and tells the story of the king's life, his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and the remarkable sequence of events that led to the identification and reburial of his remains between 2012 and 2015.The DiscoveryFor many years, the precise location of Richard III's grave was unknown, though it was long assumed to lie somewhere beneath a Leicester car park on the…

[osm_map lat="52.6289479" lon="-1.1279242" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting along New Walk in Leicester, not far from the city centre, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery has been open to the public since 1849, making it one of the earliest public museums established in the United Kingdom. The original building was designed by Joseph Hansom, the same architect who invented the hansom cab, and the museum has been extended several times over the years, most recently in 2011. Until 2020 it operated under the name New Walk Museum and Art Gallery. Its collections span science, history, and art, covering both local and international subjects.Dinosaurs, Fossils, and Prehistoric LifeThe museum's palaeontology collection is among its most notable. Two Mesozoic reptile skeletons are on permanent display: a cetiosaur unearthed in Rutland and a plesiosaur recovered…

[osm_map lat="52.6317655" lon="-1.1388995" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] The Museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment preserves the history of one of England's historic county infantry regiments, whose story stretches back centuries. Also known as the Royal Leicestershire Regiment Museum, it holds collections of uniforms, medals, weapons, photographs, and personal artefacts that trace the regiment's service across numerous conflicts and campaigns. The museum gives visitors a direct connection to the soldiers who represented Leicestershire from the local community through to global theatres of war.Visiting the MuseumThe museum is located in Leicester and can be reached via the city's road network and public transport links. Those planning a visit can use the regimental website at royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk for up-to-date information on opening hours, access arrangements, and the museum's position within its building. The collection is…

[osm_map lat="52.6165326" lon="-1.1418829" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting on Aylestone Road in the south of Leicester, the National Gas Museum occupies a single-storey brick building with a gabled slate roof that dates back to 1879. The postcode is LE2 7QJ, and the museum is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 09:30 to 15:00, remaining closed from Thursday through Monday. The building was designed by the architects Shenton and Baker and carries a Grade II listed status, reflecting its historical significance as a piece of Victorian industrial architecture.History and OriginsOriginally known as the John Doran Museum, the collection opened to the public on 29 April 1977 and has since been operated by the National Gas Museum Trust, a charitable organisation. The building itself predates the museum by nearly a century, having been…

[osm_map lat="52.6537436" lon="-1.1322837" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Situated on Exploration Drive in Leicester, the National Space Centre is an aerospace museum that draws visitors from across the UK and beyond. It sits in the LE4 5NS postcode area, north of the city centre, and is one of the largest dedicated space attractions in the country. The centre is open seven days a week, from 10:00 to 17:00, and charges admission. It is fully wheelchair accessible, with accessible toilet facilities on site.What to See and DoThe National Space Centre covers the history and science of space exploration through its exhibits, galleries, and planetarium. As an aerospace museum, it holds a collection of rockets, spacecraft, and interactive displays that cover topics from the early days of the space race through to current missions.…

[osm_map lat="52.6316617" lon="-1.1391152" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting within the old medieval precinct known as the Newarke - the 'New Work' of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster - the Newarke Houses Museum occupies a corner of De Montfort University's city campus in Leicester. It sits close to the 15th-century Magazine Gateway and draws on two historic buildings: Wyggeston's Chantry House, built around 1511, and Skeffington House, a 17th-century property associated with Thomas Skeffington. Both buildings played a part in the Siege of Leicester during the English Civil War in 1645. After being sold in 1908 - Chantry House as a private residence and Skeffington House as a boys' school - the two properties were brought together and converted for museum use in 1953, during the celebrations marking the coronation…

[osm_map lat="52.6201545" lon="-1.135834" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Leicester has long had a connection to the Odeon cinema brand, one of the most recognised names in British film-going history. The Odeon circuit traces its origins to 1928, when entrepreneur Oscar Deutsch opened his first cinema in Brierley Hill, Staffordshire. Though that original building has since been demolished, Deutsch's project grew quickly into a national chain. The first cinema to carry the Odeon name opened in 1930 at Perry Barr, Birmingham, designed by architect Harry Weedon in a maritime-influenced Art Deco style.The Brand Behind the NameDespite claims by early Odeon publicists that the name was an acronym for "Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation", the word itself is Ancient Greek - ᾨδεῖον (Ōideion) - meaning "a place for singing". The term had already been…

[osm_map lat="52.6450457" lon="-1.1219518" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Tucked within the Belgrave neighbourhood of Leicester, the Peepul Centre is a multi-purpose community and arts facility that has been part of the local area since 2005. Designed by Andrzej Blonski Architects, the building cost £15 million to construct and brought together an unusually wide range of services and spaces under one roof. The project was originally conceived in the 1990s by the Belgrave Baheno Women's Organisation, whose vision shaped what the centre eventually became.What the Centre ContainsThe Peepul Centre houses an auditorium and theatre, bars and restaurants, a banqueting suite, a cyber café, a gym, a spa, a sports hall, a dance studio, and art spaces. It also has a children's day nursery and training rooms, and the building is regularly used for…

[osm_map lat="52.6358425" lon="-1.1244775" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Phoenix Cinema sits at 4 Midland Street in central Leicester, within the LE1 postcode district, placing it close to the city's cultural quarter. The venue is also known under its registered name, Leicester Arts Centre Ltd, which reflects its broader identity as a cultural space rather than a purely commercial cinema. The address on Midland Street puts it within easy walking distance of Leicester's main shopping and leisure areas, making it straightforward to reach on foot from the city centre.Opening Hours and AccessPhoenix is open seven days a week. On weekdays it runs from 09:00 through to 23:00, while at weekends and on public holidays the doors open slightly later at 10:00 but still close at 23:00. The building is fully wheelchair accessible, and…

[osm_map lat="52.6399492" lon="-1.1058104" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting on Green Lane Road in the LE5 postcode district of Leicester, Piccadilly Cinema is a local cinema serving the east Leicester area. Green Lane Road is a well-travelled route through this part of the city, connecting residential neighbourhoods with the wider road network.Visiting Piccadilly CinemaThe cinema is located at Green Lane Road, Leicester, LE5 3TH. For those travelling by car, Green Lane Road is straightforward to reach from central Leicester. Local bus services along this corridor make it accessible without a car, and the surrounding streets offer a mix of housing and small shops typical of inner east Leicester.

[osm_map lat="52.6638843" lon="-1.090568" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Tucked away at the Troon Way Business Centre in Thurmaston, on the northern edge of Leicester, the Retro Computer Museum preserves decades of computing and gaming history for the public to experience first-hand. Unlike a traditional glass-case museum, visitors are actively encouraged to sit down and play on the machines — from early home consoles through to more recent systems from the early 2000s.What You Will Find InsideThe museum holds around 300 unique systems in total, with over 40 on open display and available to use freely. The collection spans a remarkable stretch of history, from the Atari 2600 to the ZX Spectrum, the Commodore 64, the NES, the GameCube, the PlayStation 2, and the Xbox, alongside a number of rarer items. A public…

[osm_map lat="52.6366155" lon="-1.1386573" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Sitting on Highcross Lane in central Leicester, Showcase Cinema de Lux is a multiplex cinema within easy reach of the Highcross shopping district. The address - 7 Highcross Lane, LE1 4SD - places it squarely in Leicester's retail and leisure core, making it straightforward to combine a visit with shopping or a meal in the surrounding area.Getting ThereThe cinema sits close to the heart of Leicester city centre, well served by local bus routes and within walking distance of Leicester railway station. The surrounding streets are walkable from most central parts of the city, and parking is available nearby given the proximity to the Highcross complex.Accessibility and FacilitiesShowcase Cinema de Lux Leicester is fully wheelchair accessible, making it a practical choice for visitors with…

[osm_map lat="52.6320963" lon="-1.1291023" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] The Little Theatre is a theatre situated in central Leicester, within the LE1 postcode district. Its central location puts it within easy reach of Leicester city centre's main streets and public transport links, making it accessible to visitors from across the city and beyond.About the VenueAs a theatre, The Little Theatre has long been part of Leicester's cultural scene. The LE1 postcode places it firmly in the heart of the city, close to residential streets, shops, and other amenities that make up central Leicester's character. Its relatively compact scale, suggested by its name, sets it apart from larger civic venues in the city.Visiting The Little TheatreAnyone planning a visit can use the interactive map to get a clear picture of the surrounding streets and…

[osm_map lat="52.6317085" lon="-1.1268121" width="100%" height="480px" zoom="13"] Tucked into Leicester city centre, The Y Theatre is a performing arts venue operated by the YMCA. It occupies a position that puts it within easy reach of the city's shops, restaurants, and public transport connections, making it a convenient destination for both locals and visitors heading into Leicester for an evening out.About the VenueAs a YMCA-run theatre, The Y Theatre sits within a tradition of community-focused activity that the organisation is associated with across the UK. The venue puts on a programme of live performances, and its city centre location means audiences can combine a visit with the wider offer that Leicester provides nearby.