Leicester unitarians unitarians Leicester HOME Leicester Unitarians Great Meeting interior Our Chapel is a place in which to pause, to seek tranquillity,
and for each to explore their own spiritual path in life. Our Chapel is a place in which to pause, to seek tranquillity,
and for each to explore their own spiritual path in life. Leicester unitarians unitarians HOME Leicester Leicester unitarians Over 300 years of Freedom, Reason and Tolerance Over 300 years of Freedom, Reason and Tolerance Leicester unitarians HOME

Sunday Services
We are pleased to announce that all services are now back in the Chapel on Sundays at 11am.
The services are also transmitted by Zoom. Click the link below and join with us. Services start at 11.00am, but you can open the Zoom link from 10.30am onwards. The Meeting ID is: 833 3069 1718       Click here to open Zoom.

You can also support us by donating on our  page. Click here to view.

Great Meeting Unitarian Chapel Leicester

We are a long-established congregation of, at present, thirty to forty individuals who share an enquiring outlook into non-dogmatic liberal religion.

The Chapel and its history

The Chapel was erected in 1708 as a “Meeting House of Protestant Dissenters” (read more) where with freedom from dogma we seek to affirm an open-ended faith in life, in humanity and in God.

(Click photos right to enlarge)

Leicester Unitarians Great Meeting interior view

Significant contribution to the life of the town
The congregation was the most important and influential in Leicester during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and members made a significant contribution to the political, economic, and cultural life of the town out of all proportion to their size or numbers.
In the nineteenth century Chapel members helped found the Mechanics Institute; the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society and the Leicestershire Archaeological Society.

Leicester Unitarians Great Meeting 5a
Leicester Unitarians Great Meeting past events

Great Meeting Chapel Roof Repair Fund
Our Grade II listed Great Meeting Chapel is under threat from a leaking roof and rusting gutters. Failure to act soon
could render the Chapel and its meeting rooms unusable. We are asking for help and support to protect this unique
city centre ‘gem’ and its fascinating history for future generations. Work is now underway – click here to learn more…

National Lottery Heritage Fund Award
We give a big thank you to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and all lottery players for the generous grant of £78,000 for essential repairs to the Chapel’s fabric and for a Heritage Outreach programme. The title of the project is ‘Great Meeting Chapel: an inner-city gem restored and revealed’.

We are also grateful for an award of £6000 from Leicester City Council, £3000 from the Gregson Trust, £2000 from the Leche Fund, £5000 from the Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust and £41,000 from East Midlands Unitarians. Work is well under way, with the ceiling repaired, beam strengthening work completed, and outside work on gutters in progress.

Great Meeting Unitarian Chapel Leicester Damage to Chapel corniche

Damage to outside gutters – restoration work is in progress

The Pilgrim Trust – Grant Award
We were awarded a grant of £4,900 from The Pilgrims Trust. The grant is going towards the expense of cleaning a good selection of our excellent internal wall memorials. We appreciate the help given to us by The Pilgrim Trust and express our sincere thanks. The restoration work of the memorials by Alex Carrington ACR is now complete with excellent results. The memorials are beautifully carved and inscribed and take us on a journey through the chapel’s history. Click photos to enlarge.

The Pilgrim Trust gives grants totalling over £3 million each year to charities and other public bodies. Sixty percent of funding is directed towards projects aimed at preserving the fabric of architecturally or historically important buildings, or projects working to preserve historically significant artifacts or documents.

Four seasons in the gardens near the Garden Room and school.
Springtime with bluebells, summer sunshine, autumn with falling leaves, and winter, with snow covering the Chapel garden. CLICK photos to enlarge.

Roll-over images and then CLICK for more information

  • Thoughts of the Minister

  • Read our latest newsletter

  • Our passion for music

  • Televised Sunday Service

  • Our Chapel Services

  • Our Wedding Facilities

    • More photos, showing unique tiles in the chapel, chapel interiors, garden areas, three generations of members, and stained-glass window.
    CLICK photos to enlarge.

    Join with Leicester Unitarians at the Great Meeting Unitarian Chapel, Leicester

    Great Meeting : Unitarian Chapel : 45 East Bond Street : Leicester LE1 4SX

    Updated Tuesday April 5 2022

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