De Montfort Hall

“One of the few concert halls in Britain worth singing in”

Alderman Jonathan North was the driving force behind the decision to create a suitable venue for music in Leicester. It was necessary as up to this point the city had depended on Thomas Cook’s Temperance Hall on Granby Street. After a temporary building in Museum Square proved successful a permanent one was planned for Victoria Park.

Named after the sixth Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort, De Montfort Hall was the first purpose-built concert hall in Leicester. It was designed by local architect Mr Shirley Harrison and opened in July 1913. Praised for its fine acoustics, opera singer Louisa Tettrazini said, “There are only three halls in Britain worth singing in. One is in Glasgow, the Usher Hall in Edinburgh and this one”.

The Hall comprises a flexible auditorium that can be laid out in a number of different ways (tiered, standing, cabaret, dance floor etc.), with a 400 to 2,200 capacity, four bars and an outdoor amphitheatre with a capacity from 250 to 7,000. The Hall also houses an historic organ, which was donated by the industrialist Mr Alfred Corah and is the only surviving example of a large concert organ constructed by Leicester organ builders Stephen Taylor and Son Ltd. All the Corah firm’s employees were given the day off when it was presented to the Hall.

De Montfort Hall opening ceremony, July 1913

Concert Hall to Drill Hall

At first De Montfort Hall was mainly used as a concert venue, the first orchestra to play being the De Montfort Orchestra in September 1913. During the First World War the Hall was requisitioned for the war effort until 1919 when King George V and Queen Mary visited. After the war the venue returned to providing world-class musical performances, including concerts by the Leicester Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. During the Second World War the Hall was again requisitioned, this time for use as a drill hall.

The Beatles at De Montfort Hall. Leicester Mercury

More stars than the sky!

From the Band of the 12th Lancers playing at its opening, De Montfort Hall has seen a host of orchestras, choirs, ballet, and opera companies. In the 1950s artists like Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra helped establish its reputation as a popular music venue. The 1960s saw The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Cilla Black and Leicester´s Engelbert Humperdinck perform. The 70s saw the Bee Gees, Beach Boys, Blondie, Genesis, The Jam and David Bowie on stage.

More recently Leicester’s own Kasabian have played here and a varied programming across all musical genres has ensured the popularity of the Hall well into the 21st century.

Find out how to visit.