This was the most formal room in the house and was used by the family for eating and entertaining. The room is currently displayed as it may have been on a summer evening, when the dessert course of apple and quince pie, wine jelly and princess basket of ice cream was being served. The dinning room is set in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The furniture was designed by the famous Cotswold Group, of which Leicester-born Ernest Gimson was a member. The Arts and Crafts trend used clean lines, functional forms and nature as the source of all designs and patterns. It is a reaction to Victorian mass-produced and machine manufactured styles.

 

The Community Gallery

 

Belgrave Hall is set in the heart of a vibrant and diverse community that has seen many changes in the past 50 years. Explore these changing histories and stories in the Hall's new Community Gallery, opened in 2005. This gallery has been created in partnership with Belgrave's many communities and displays the richness of their lives past and present.

 

During 1999 Belgrave Hall became world famous because of its ghostly goings-on. The world's media descended on the Hall when two luminous figures, one believed to be wearing a long flowing dress complete with bustle, were recorded on security cameras outside the Hall. The figures appeared to be surrounded by a halo of light. A mysterious ball of mist or fog was also seen swirling over the garden throughout the experience. Over the years there have been a number of unexplained paranormal activities in and around the Hall and today, ghost hunters from around the world are still investigating the site.

 

To take part in one of the Hall’s ghost events, go here: www.leicester.gov.uk/ghosts

 

Belgrave Hall's gardens provide a rare opportunity to walk through formal, herbaceous and woodland gardens designed in the 1850's. The gardens first took shape in 1709 at about the same time as the house and were used to impress guests who visited the Hall. Many original features from the Victorian garden are still retained including the walled gardens and a number of statues and monuments from lost gardens in Leicestershire. The formal gardens have remained unchanged since the 1850's and are today complemented by 20th century herbaceous, woodland and water gardens, as well as tropical and alpine glasshouses.

 

Refurbishment work carried out in 2005, included improved access to the gardens.