Founded 1916; R.I.B.I. Club No. 13
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Eighty-eight years of Rotary meetings and meeting places in Leicester
by Rtn. Prof. Patrick J. Boylan
(Summary of a Talk to the Club, Monday
7th February 2005)
17th March 1916: Stag & Pheasant Hotel, Humberstone Gate
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17th
March 1916: A Meeting was held in the Stag & Pheasant: "to discuss the formation of a Rotary Club in Leicester" . Those present were Rtn. Thomas Stephenson (Edinburgh Rotary Club), W.K. Bedingfield, ex Rtn. C.A. Charante (ex Edinburgh Club), A.L. Franklin, C.E. Hudson, G.T. Hurren, P.McL.Keay, G.E. Pochin and A.W. Wells Resolution passed: "That this meeting decides to form a Rotary Club in Leicester with a view to affiliation with the British Association of Rotary Clubs as soon as 30 members have joined". Agreed to meet one week later, but only three turned up, so adjourned to 7th April |
Stag & Pheasant Hotel, Humberstone Gate
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| pre-1905 | post-1905 | demolition: 1961 |
Winn’s Café (Turkey Café), Granby Street
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7th April 1916: Only five attended but between then they had the names of prospective members for a Leicester Rotary Club, of which 20 were accepted 18th April 1916: Further meeting: Thomas Stephenson of Edinburgh returned to assist. It was clear that the project was viable so a Membership Committee was formed |
Grand Hotel, Granby Street
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6th June 1916: First meeting of proposed members: 19 attended, with 13 apologies in addition so 32 founder members. Formal Resolution passed: that the Rotary Club of Leicester be formally instituted and be affiliated to the British Association of Rotary Clubs Officers elected (for 6 months): G. Crawford Johnson the first President, W.K. Bedingfield: Vice-President; Rtn. C.A. Charante: Hon. Secretary; and W.S. Hobson: Hon. Treasurer. Lunches to be every Friday at the Grand Hotel, at a cost of two shillings (10p). |
Waller King Bedingfield RIBA
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Prominent Leicester architect, Waller Bedingfield was almost certainly the most important and influential Founder Member. He was the Club's the first Vice-President, President in 1917-18 and Speaker-Finder for 16 years (even during his Presidential Year!). He was also the prime mover in the Club's purchase of Swithland Wood for preservation and public access in 1925. He was also very influential in developing Rotary regionally and nationally, assisting in the formation of Clubs as far away as Lincoln, Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich and Northampton. He was the First District Chairman (Governor) of the east of England region in 1923-24, and later served as both District Secretary & District Treasurer. Nationally, he was a Director of the British Association of Rotary Clubs/Rotary International in Britian and Ireland (RIBI) |
Grand Hotel, Granby Street
July - September 1916
Membership Committee had considered 56 prospective members: 39 accepted, 6 "deleted" and 11 "left in abeyance"; Club Constitution developed and adopted.
3th October 1916
Agreed to send one guinea (£1.05) as an affiliation fee to the British Association of Rotary Clubs: this is the date recorded as the official formation date for the Club, making it the 340th Rotary Club worldwide, and the 13th in Great Britain and Ireland. [Now 12th in seniority in RIBI as the original Aberdeen Club (September 1916) disbanded in 1932, but reformed in 1933]
1916 – 1921 at Grand Hotel
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Lunches switched to
Mondays Membership difficulties due to wartime pressures on members: one meeting attended by only the Presdient and Secretary! The quality of the food was fequently criticised despite the increase in price to 2s.6d! (But wartime food shortages were at least partly to blame) Finding a community role in the City Members reluctant to give talks to the Club |
Feb. 1921: move to Bell Hotel, Humberstone Gate
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… and the price
of lunch increased to 3/- (15p); complaints about the food here as well! |
Dec. 1921: move to Oriental Hall (Winn’s Oriental Café), Market Place
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In 1930 a fire in the
Oriental Hall destroyed many Club possessions including the original Club Charter, a
collection of flags of the nations with Rotary Clubs, brass gong presented by Rtn James
Carmichael, and the President’s Chair to a design by the famous architect, designer
and furniture maker, Ernest Gimson, commissioned by Rtn William Bastard and made in the
Ernest Gimson Workshop at Broadway, Glos. William Bastard commissioned a replacement
to the same design, which is believed to have been made in the Furniture Department of the
Leicester College of Art.
Left: the 1930 replica/replacement of original President’s Chair |
"… one of England’s best…" - Rotary Founder, Paul Harris, 1934
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In Spring 1934 the
Club heard that Paul Harris was crossing the Atlantic at the start of a planned tour of
Britain and South Africa. An invitation was sent by cable to the liner, and the
founder of Rotary agreed to travel direct to Leicester following his planned visit to
Edinburgh (his wife's birthplace). Harris recorded his visit in his private journal: "Twenty miles short of Leicester [presumably Grantham station], I was met by Percy Groves, the president of the Leicester club — one of England’s best — .... I had never seen Percy before, but felt that I knew him, he had written me so many interesting letters… At the noon day gathering…. by request, I spoke on "The American Experiment," instead of on tolerance, in its bearing on our sixth object, and reserved the latter for the evening meeting at Nottingham. Personally, I am inclined to believe that Nottingham got the best of it, but quite a party of Leicester Rotarians accompanied me to Nottingham." |
1945: Little Theatre, Dover St.
 Little Theatre |
 92
Granby Street |
In 1945 at short
notice the War Department requisitioned the Oriental Hall. There were also problems
under rationing regulations restricting the permitted numbers for social events with meals
, so the Club moved to the Little Theatre with just a "frugal buffet". This was felt to be very unsatisfactory, so members so had a standard 4/3d lunch at the Rex Restaurant, 92 Granby Street, before walking to the Theatre for just the meeting, paying a further 6d to the Theatre and 3d to the Charities Fund – total of 5/- (25p) a meeting |
1946: back to the Bell Hotel
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In 1946 the Club was
finally able to move back to the Bell Hotel (far left) and stayed there until its closure
in December 1969, when it was demolished in preparation for the construction of the
Haymarket Centre. There was an Increasing problem with high inflation: between 1955
and 1966 lunches increased from 7/- (35p) to 13/- (65p), despite dropping the sweet course
to keep the price down. Very large attendances were usual (the highest average in the UK except for the - much larger - Rotary Club of London): with around 150 members, weekly attendance could be up to 200 including Visiting Rotarians & guests, and even more for special events such as the annual Ladies Night 1949. (Centre: 1949 Ladies Night The Bell: Geoffrey Hilton, President) |
Since December 1969: The Grand (now Ramada Jarvis) Hotel, Granby Street
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With the closure of The Bell only The King's Hall of The Grand was large enough for the Club’s weekly lunches. Sweet course back on the menu (!), but was later dropped again. Occasionally lunches, combined with vocational service visits, away from the hotel were held in members' business premises. Later, the weekly Rotary lunch moved to the basement Restaurant, with a hot buffet service for the main course. In 2002 a monthly "M4B" (Meet for Business) meeting was introduced, with an open invitation to non-Rotarian business and professional personnel. |
1996 - 2003: Leicester's second Rotary Club: Leicester De Montfort at Filbert Street
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Leicester De Montfort Rotary Club was "sponsored" by the Leicester Club as a "breakfast club", meeting in the Restaurant of the Leicester City Football Club's Filbert Street Stadium |
Since 2003: Leicester De Montfort at Walker's Stadium
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With the completion of Leicester City F.C.'s new Walker's Stadium Leicester De Montfort moved to the new Stadium's Fusions Restaurant |
Further Information:
(All three of these are on the Leicester Rotary Club website: http://www.rotary-leicester.org.uk/)
"Rotary in Leicester: A History of the Rotary Club of Leicester" by Brian Thompson, 1916 – 1980 (1980) (Second edition, updated to 1990 by Malcolm McIntosh, 1990)
"Recollections of Leicester Rotary" by Founder Member Robert Holt (1939)
"…one of England’s best…" the 1934 visit to the Club as recorded in the private journal of Paul Harris, the Founder of Rotary
Return to Rotary Club of Leicester home page
