Leicester's long lost and much-loved Granby Halls venue in Mercury archive photos

One of Leicester's long lost venues was Granby Halls, a site which played host to many different activities over the years. And it was one of the city's best loved places to visit before making way for progress over two decades ago.

Granby Halls sat opposite Nelson Mandela Park and just in front of the Tigers Welford Road ground. When the building originally opened in 1915, it was used as the training halls for Leicester's Army recruits during World War I.

But the building then became most popular for entertainment over the years, including a concert venue housing big names including The Who, Mick Jagger with the Rolling Stones and The Police. Granby Halls was also well known for housing the Home Life Exhibition, boxing tournaments, skating and amateur radio, and was home to Leicester Riders basketball.

In the 1970s, Leicester City Council took over the running of the building. Eventually, the building became run down and too expensive to maintain.

Granby Halls was eventually demolished in 2001 after standing empty for three years. But as these archive images show, it had a good run!