ISKCON Temple, Leicester

ISKCON established an early presence in Leicester in the 1980s with a temple on Belgrave Road, before later relocating to North Evington at 21 Thoresby Street. That North Evington building was badly damaged in September 2010, when roughly a third of the structure was destroyed by a gas explosion caused by an improperly disconnected cooking-gas cylinder. Displaced, the congregation set its sights on a striking Victorian Gothic building in the city centre: the former Leicestershire Banking Company headquarters at 31 Granby Street, designed by architect Joseph Goddard and completed in 1874 for £7,439, later used by Midland Bank and then HSBC.

ISKCON expressed interest in the Grade II-listed building in November 2010; the bank accepted the organization’s original offer of £750,000 in May 2011, a figure later renegotiated down to £350,000 in exchange for restoration commitments on the historic structure. After renovating the first and second floors, ISKCON inaugurated its new Radha Krishna temple there in August 2016. The main worship hall can host up to 250 devotees, alongside offices, classrooms and a kitchen, with a restaurant, library and exhibition space planned for the building’s remaining floors. The Leicester temple is one of sixteen ISKCON centres operating across the United Kingdom.