Stage four of the Tirath Yatra
Sponsored Walk with Leicester Friends of Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies: Shri Shirdi Sai
Baba Temple, Colton Street. The goal is to visit 16 Hindu places of worship
(mandirs) in Leicester on foot in a single day.
Tirath Yatra (Hindi: तीर्थयात्रा) is a journey undertaken as a pilgrimage.
The temple was dedicated to public
worship less than a month ago, an occasion which was covered in the Leicester Mercury.
The temple is in the former Guild of Disabled, which was opened in 2009. It is a Grade-II Listed Building in the heart
of the St George Conservation Area (better known these days as the
"Cultural Quarter"). No one in our group seems to know anything about the history of the building and our hosts don't say anything about it. I think that's sad, as the building has a fascinating background. So I'll put that right, here on the blog. Information about the history of the
building, provided by Helena Edwards (a trustee of Mosaic) was published in the
Leicester Mercury, 1 October 2009:
Mosaic
is the latest name of the organisation that built the Guildhall, the Cripples
Guild (later Leicester Leicestershire and Rutland Guild of Disabled People) and
it was our base until recently.
Unfortunately
it was by then a listed building and protected from alterations, so we could
not get permission from the city planners to make the adaptations necessary to
satisfy the Disability Discrimination Act access levels.
It
was sold, with much regret, in 2000 and the organisation moved into rented
accommodation in 2002.
Sadly,
the developers who bought the old building have apparently not done anything
with it since. It is a great shame as it is not only architecturally but
socially special, as possibly the first meeting place in the UK built with
disability access in mind.
This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:
Temple plan for historic site
An historic building in the heart of the St George Conservation Area in Leicester could become a place of worship.
The city council has received a licensing inquiry about the empty Edwardian Guild for the Disabled building, in Colton Street, from the Shri Shirdi Baba Temple Association, an international religious organisation.
Leaders would like to use the Grade II-listed building, which is on English Heritage's "at risk" list, as a temple and meeting place.
Darshan Singh Nagi is chairman of the Shri Shirdi Baba Temple Association, which has a UK base in Wembley, north London.
He said: "We are in the process of signing a lease with the owners but want to be sure that it would be okay to use the building for worship.
"That's why we have applied to the council for a certificate for this purpose."
The temple association takes its name from Indian holy man and deity Sai Baba, of Shirdi, a village near Mumbai, who preached peace, charity and harmony under one god.
Mr Singh said: "He was well known for performing miracles and although his millions of devotees worldwide observe a loosely Hindu tradition, he is revered by Sikhs, Muslims, Christians and Hindus alike.
"The hall would be used by our followers in Leicester and all people would be welcome."
Built in 1909 by city architects A and T E Sawday, the building, now called the Charles Venue, was the first in Britain, and possibly the world, to be designed for people with disabilities, complete with wheelchair access. Listed by English Heritage in 1992, it has been empty since 2000, when disabled charity Mosaic moved to new headquarters.
The city council refused a licensing application last year by Belgrave developer Ashik Madlani – who wanted to use it to stage plays, films, wrestling, live music and dance events – after concerns were raised by residents over noise disturbance.
"Our use would be a very quiet and peaceful one," said Mr Singh.
"We would like to breath new life into this truly beautiful and historic building so that the people of Leicester can be proud of it once again."
Graham Lees, spokesman for the Leicester Victorian Society, said: "When a lovely building like this is left empty for too long it is a big concern to us.
"It is far better for it to cared for and maintained while being used in an appropriate way."
A Leicester City Council spokesperson said: "The application is for a Certificate of Proposed Lawful Use.
"This process allows the applicant to ask for the council's legal opinion as to whether or not the Guild for the Disabled can be used as a place of worship without the need for planning permission.
"Current planning legislation allows for the grouping of similar uses in one category. A training centre and place of worship would fall within the same group.
"A change between uses within the same group will not normally require planning permission.
"We are undertaking research into the history of the site to identify if the building can be used as a place of worship without the need for further planning permission.
"Any related alterations to the building would still need planning permission."
