Shirdi Sai Baba Temple

The Shirdi Sai Baba Temple, originally built in 1909 as a hall and workshops for the Leicestershire Guild for the Disabled, has been in use as a Hindu temple since around 2014. It was designed in the office of A & T.E. Sawday, likely by Ralph Bedingfield. The building features red brick with some black headers and a Swithland slate roof.

It is a single-storey structure with a gallery that creates a two-storey appearance from the street. The front elevation has a stone-coped gable with a segmental pedimented finial that frames a small attic window in an aedicule. The first floor has 2:3:2-light windows, which light the gallery, set in stone surrounds and slightly bowed under segmental stone arches. The central entrance is highlighted by a massive segmental stone arch, flanked by three small windows on either side and rusticated brick pilasters. To the right is a secondary entrance beneath a swept-down roof. The hall is illuminated by segmental dormers.

Inside, the hall is simply detailed and features some Art Nouveau glass, along with an integral wall painting of Christ raising the Crippled Man. The Industrial Hall is lit by clerestory windows. This building is an excellent example of design that effectively uses top lighting in a constrained industrial site, showcasing strong Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau styles from a notable provincial architectural practice.