Plans to demolish former Royal British Legion hall in Market Harborough

This is the old British Legion premises in Market Harborough. I photographed it on the very damp day that the town was visited by the Olympic torch - perhaps you need sunshine to bring out its full beauty.

The hall may not be there for much longer, reports the Harborough Mail:

Msquare Architects, based in a rented property in Abbey Street, Harborough, is in the process of buying the former hall site, in Talbot Yard at the back of the town’s High Street, to build its own purpose-designed premises. 

A detailed planning application has been submitted to the council for the demolition of the former hall and the construction of a new two-storey office building. 

The hall is now unoccupied but was last used by the Legion as its clubhouse and, before that, by Harborough Operatic Society as a costume store. 

The building has been uninhabited for some years and there have been several incidents of vandalism, fly-tipping, attempted break-ins and arson.

Talbot Yard lay behind The Talbot, for many years the roughest pub in town. It closed some years ago and is now a Wildwood restaurant.