The first editions of Nikolaus Pevsner's The Buildings of England were written after a flying visit to the county in question. So it is no surprise to come across a passage like this (about Leicester in the Leicestershire and Rutland volume:
One glance in BISHOP STREET at the former LIBERAL CLUB, facing Town Hall Square. it is in the Loire style, but gabled. Brick with stone dressings. By E. Burgess, 1885-8.When I started working in Leicester back in the 1980s I set out to find the Liberal Club. On the basis of my limited architectural knowledge I concluded it must be the building above.
I later learned that this club was the hub of Liberal organisation, not just for the city, but also for the Harborough constituency, which contained parts of what are now thought of as Leicester until well into the 20th century.
And I was right. The building above was the Liberal Club. I know this because in the lobby there is a bust of Gladstone and a plaque explaining the building's history.
Everything was locked when I went back there this morning, so this photo shows the Grand Old Man floating like a ghost amongst the reflections.
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