The Great Hall
An original timber roof from around 1390 still holding the building up after six centuries.
Before anything else you can see around Cathedral Square existed, these oak beams were already standing. The Guildhall went up around 1390 for a religious fraternity, the Guild of Corpus Christi, and then spent centuries as the seat of Leicester's town government: the council sat here, feasts were held here, courts were convened here, right up until the corporation moved into its new town hall in 1876. What makes it remarkable is not its size, which is modest, but that the original timber frame is still in place, which is why it ranks among the best-preserved timber-framed halls in England. Entry is free and the visit is naturally short: the Great Hall with its timbered roof, the old Mayor's Parlour beside it with its carved fireplace, the Victorian police cells, iron doors intact, with the stories of the pickpockets who were locked in them, and upstairs the old Town Library, which moved in here in 1632. The Medieval Leicester galleries, two rooms, rebuild a street of that era with shopfronts, touch screens and a short film, and it is the part that holds children longest. The tale that Shakespeare's company performed here is a popular local legend with no evidence behind it, and the museum itself presents it as legend. The building is marketed as the most haunted in the city and hosts paid ghost-hunt evenings, but by day it is quiet and nothing here will frighten anyone. Half an hour to an hour is genuinely enough, so do not make a special trip for it; fold it into an Old Town walk instead. It stands right beside Leicester Cathedral and the King Richard III Visitor Centre is a minute away on foot. Leicester railway station is about ten to fifteen minutes' walk, and the city-centre car parks are close. Everything is on the ground floor except the library, reached by an old staircase with no lift, and the approach is cobbled with uneven paving in the courtyard, so a pushchair or wheelchair gets in but does not go up. There is a small shop at reception and a cafe next door reached through reception; there is no dedicated prayer space. It opens daily from 11:00 to 16:30, closing only on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, an early close in England's dark winter, so see it before lunch. The Great Hall also shuts occasionally for private events and performances, so if it is your specific target, check the events page before you come.
An original timber roof from around 1390 still holding the building up after six centuries.
Dark cells with iron doors and the stories of the pickpockets once locked inside, the part children remember most.
A rebuilt medieval street with shopfronts, touch screens and a film that makes the history tangible in minutes.
Guildhall Lane, Leicester LE1 5FQ
Yes, because it costs you nothing but half an hour or so and sits literally between the two. Do not, however, make it the reason for a trip to Leicester on its own; the visitor centre is the richer, more important stop, and the Guildhall is a pleasant extra.
For a short stop, yes: the cells and the rebuilt street hold their attention and the place is small enough that they do not tire of it. A pushchair cannot go up to the library, though, and the whole visit is over within an hour.