All Souls, Aylestone Road and the Walnut Street area 
A guided walk led by Colin Hyde of the East Midlands Oral History Archive.
On April 30th several members of the Leicester Group enjoyed a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas and St Xenophon on Aylestone Road. This church, built 1904-6, was designed by G F Bodley and originally dedicated to All Souls. Pevsner dismisses it as “dull … competent and serious, but not more”. Conversion to the requirements of the Orthodox rite has been done without compromising the fabric – the original screen forms a convenient iconostasis, and the lack of a window at the (ritual) east end lends the necessary mystery to the sanctuary.
The church was built to serve a densely populated working-class district just south of Leicester city centre. After visiting the church we were guided round this once vibrant area by Colin Hyde, who conducted an Oral History exercise here several years ago just as the old community of terraced streets, corner shops, pubs and small factories was being destroyed in the name of progress. Little now remains to indicate its former character, but Colin managed to paint a vivid picture, aided by some of the Leicester Group members who were able to complement his commentary with reminiscences of their own childhood in this area. Amongst the few surviving Victorian buildings is the Hazel Street School, with attractive details including carved brick panels designating the various entrances.
