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 negative surprise to come crossways a passage like this (about Leicester in the Leicestershire and Rutland volume:One glance in BISHOP STREET at the previous LIBERAL CLUB, opposite 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 incomplete architectural knowledge I decided it must be the structure above.I later erudite that this club was the centre 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 structure above was the Liberal Club. I know this since in the lobby there is a bust of Gladstone and a sign explaining the building's history.Everything was locked when I went back there this morning, consequently this photograph shows the Grand Old Man buoyant like a phantom amongst the reflections.
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