The Journal of the Leicester Secular Club 1874- 1875
Thanks to the generosity of Chris Williams, the Leicester Society has acquired “The Journal.” It is a hand written magazine produced by and for members of the Leicester Secular Club. The Journal and runs from January 1874 until 1875 when it looks as if enthusiasm of the editor waned. In 1872, the Secular Hall Company had acquired the land where the Secular Hall was eventually built (1879-1881). The advent of the Journal must have coincided with the Secular Club's move into new premises in one of the houses on the site at 75 Humberstone Gate.
The Secular Club was distinct from the Leicester Secular Society. Although you had to be a Secular Society member to be on the committee of the Club, many of 100 members of the Club were not members of the Society. The Club was a place where you could get a beer, smoke and read the papers. It also organised social activities, talks and discussions. It had a distinct working class character, however its separate identity and organisation disappeared in the 1880s. The Club was forced to go teetotal by the kill joy Secularist organiser F.J. Gould in 1902. The Gimson Room at the Scular Hall is the former Club Room which contained snooker tables up until the 1960s.
The idea of the Journal was to enable members to have their say by writing their own comments and observations. It reflected the Secularists' commitment to free discussion and debate and its intention was to provide the same facility for comment as we now see online. The Journal fills in important gaps in the history of Secularism in Leicester and provides a names of some of the activists and dates of meetings.