Work Partnership (former Temperance Hotel), 125 Granby Street, Leicester LE1, 2016 • Prosaic palimpsest in a derelict 1853 portal that once led to the empire of travel agency pioneer Thomas Cook, who started his career with trips from Leicester. To the left was the imposing Temperance Hall, an alcohol-free entertainment venue; despite being Leicester’s first building with piped water, it was demolished in 1960. To the right was the Temperance Hotel, which included Cook’s home, tour office, print works and public lodgings. This still stands but was recently slated for demolition, despite being part of a ‘Cook Trail’ around the city. There’s a good historical article with a sketch of how the premises originally looked here – and there’s still a branch of Thomas Cook in the street.
Shopfront Elegy 