St Stephen

The church was originally built as St Stephens Presbyterian Church in 1869 to the design of James Tait on London Road, Leicester. In 1891, when the present railway station was built, The Midland Railway Company required the church land. An offer was made for the land and the church was carefully taken apart and rebuilt in its current location, only five minutes walk away, in order not to inconvenience the congregation.

The new church was designed in the Gothic style and was supposed to be 'a near replica of Kirkwall Cathedral in Orkney'. The foundation stones were laid on October 26th 1893 and the new church was built and opened on 11th September 1894. Two of the stained glass windows in the Apse were paid for by members of the congregation whilst a third was paid for by contributions from the Sunday School.

The initial years in the new site were not all plain sailing. By 1900 the congregation had declined to 50 and the church debt had increased. However, a new minister, the Revd Williamson turned things around and by 1903, the church was thriving again. The church was the only Presbyterian Church in the city and the county and many members travelled a distance to come. With this in mind in 1923, the Sunday School changed its original afternoon meeting time to the morning so that children of members could travel with their parents to the morning service.

The Revd Williamson was minister for 29 years. During his time the church lighting was converted to electricity from gas and he also oversaw two of the church’s most notable features: the West window and the War Memorial. The West window was installed in 1926 by Mr and Mrs Hallam in memory of their son. It was produced by the William Morris Company, the Arts & Crafts firm. It depicts St Peter, St Mark, St Paul, St Joseph and Sir Galahad. The St Mark and St Paul figures are considered to have been designed by Edward Burne-Jones the distinguished artist from that period. 

The other notable feature in the church is the War Memorial on the south wall consisting of a dedicated stained glass window and tablets installed originally in 1928. St Stephens became associated with the Seaforth Highlanders through Revd Williamson. They were part of the 51st Highland Division formed during the First World War. The Leicester branch of the Seaforth Highlanders, have their Annual Church Parade to St Stephens on Remembrance Sunday.