The magician's art at stanford hall.

(From Leicester Mercury)

Magic was a popular hobby for young boys growing up at the turn of the 20th century, particularly so in The Midlands. Each month the secrets of "Modern Magic" by Professor Hoffmann were serialised in Every Boy's Magazine. Little Leicestershire lads would eagerly scour the pages of their magazine, then dash to Professor Edwards Magic Emporium on Stoughton Street in Leicester to spend their pocket money. As they grew up the tricks were discarded and forgotten. However there was one little boy who never tired of his hobby. In adulthood he became so obsessed with it that he travelled the world for magical inspiration and even built his very own theatre. He was of course, Sir Julien Cahn.

Although Cahn's name is inextricably linked with cricket and Newstead Abbey, he is also one of most famous Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire figures in magic. This is mainly due to the theatre at Stanford Hall being used until a few years ago and Leicester Magic Circle's annual magic competition. The winner is presented with the Sir Julien Cahn Challenge Cup, continuing a tradition started in 1936.

In the mid 1920s there were just six Societies of magic in the UK, The Leicester Magic Circle being one of them. Leicester was home to a number of famous magicians, including Wilf Hubbard who opened a new magic shop opposite Leicester station, Chris Van Bern, Cyraldo, and Eddie Ward - names that may mean little today but were popular stars of the time. Van Bern was famous for changing water into wine, transforming oversized playing cards into a crying baby, a telephone into a bouquet of flowers and other startling illusions.

By the mid 1930s Sir Julien Cahn had achieved cricket fame and business riches. He began to turn his attention to magic, becoming involved in the Magician's Club in London. Known for his astute commercial acumen as well as his generosity to the causes he cared about, the Leicester Magic Circle chose wisely when they offered Sir Julien the position of President. He accepted with glee as it enabled him to spend more time watching, reading and learning about magic from the masters.

In 1936 he decided to build his very own theatre at his home, Stanford Hall near Loughborough. It was lavishly extravagant and utterly modern, with 352 seats and the most up to date stage, lighting and projection equipment. Sir Julien was fascinated by lighting effects, which became the mainstay of many of his performances. He installed the most modern, remote controlled lighting system in Britain. The theatre even had an air raid shelter in the basement. It is believed that the theatre cost GBP73,000 - equivalent to about GBP3million today.

All of the best cinemas built in the 1930s had Wurlitzer organs that would rise from a well. The organs were played in the film intervals. During one of his many trips to Paris, Sir Julien bought a remarkable Wurlitzer organ that had been built for ...