A runaway slave stars in a defining moment of Leicester’s history

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So many places in Leicester city centre have a rich and often hidden heritage. At the corner of Belvoir Street and Wellington Street is a building that is now part of Leicester Adult Education College. 54 Belvoir Street used to be the central lending library but before that it was the largest meeting hall in Leicester – a prestigious venue visited by classical music giants like Liszt and Paganini. But perhaps it finest hour came on the evening of Tuesday the 2nd of March 1847 when it played host to a hugely important speaker – abolitionist and runaway slave, Frederick Douglass. BBC Leicester’s Ben Jackson spoke to Martin Ward, Secretary of Leicester Civic Society to pick up the story. Produced by Pete Wardman If you want to know as soon as a new episode is available, make sure you subscribe to Secret Leicestershire on BBC Sounds and have push notifications turned on. Image: Getty Images