Loughborough
Encyclopedia
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood
borough of Leicestershire
, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University
. The town had a population of 57,600 in 2004, making it the largest settlement in Leicestershire outside the city of Leicester
.
In 1841, Loughborough was the destination for the first package tour, organised by Thomas Cook
for a temperance group
from Leicester
. The town has the world's largest bell foundry
— John Taylor Bellfounders
, which made the bells for the Carillon
war memorial
, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, Great Paul for St. Paul's Cathedral, and York Minster
. The first mention of Loughborough is in the 1086 Domesday Book
.
To the north of the edges of Loughborough, Dishley Grange Farm was formerly the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell
. The farm was also once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show. Loughborough's local newspaper is the Loughborough Echo
. The town is also served by the Leicester Mercury
.
international services from London St Pancras International
, to which its twice hourly London service goes giving Loughborough railway station
good links to the continent.
East Midlands Trains
are the InterCity operator running 'fast' and 'semi-fast' services to and from London to northern England, and provide local services throughout the East Midlands
.
Rail routes run north–south through Loughborough along the route known as the Midland Main Line
, going south to Bedford, Luton
and London; and north to Lincoln
, Sheffield, Leeds
and York
.
Junctions at Leicester and Derby stations link with CrossCountry
trains route, serving the far north east of Scotland and the south west of England.
Network Rail
are currently working to re-develop the station increasing the length of platforms and improving access. The local council are making improvements to the surrounding area.
There were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still operating Midland line; the Great Central Railway
which had its own Central station, closed as a result of the Beeching
cuts; and a branch line from Nuneaton, part of the London and North Western Railway
. Today, the Great Central Railway line is the terminus of the south section of the Great Central Steam Railway heritage railway
.
Brush Traction
, a manufacturer of railway locomotives, is also located in the town, close to Loughborough's railway station.
's Junction 23 is just to the west of Loughborough. The north of the town can be accessed from Junction 24, travelling through Kegworth
and Hathern
on the A6 road.
, Paul S Winson, Nottingham City Transport
, Trent Barton
and Kinchbus
.
passes by to the east of the town. Navigation from Loughborough north towards the Trent was achieved in 1778 by the Loughborough Navigation which terminates at Loughborough Wharf between Derby Road and Bridge Street. Subsequently the Leicester navigation was constructed connecting to the Loughborough Navigation at Canal Bridge. The Leicester navigation connects to the River Soar south of the town. Both form part of the Grand Union Canal
.
The now derelict Charnwood Forest Canal
once linked Nanpantan (on the West side of Loughborough) with Thringstone, with goods being carried into Loughborough by a horse drawn wagonway.
The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place and Market Street, which maintain a number of original art deco
buildings, such as the building that currently houses the town's cinema. A large outdoor market is held in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday. There is a monthly farmers' market. The first mention of a market in Loughborough is in 1221.
'The Rushes' shopping centre has also been built on the site of the former bus station and is occupied by national chains. The Rushes is linked to the town centre area by Churchgate and Churchgate Mews; the latter has independent shops.
There is major new development ( The Eastern Gateway ) planned for the area around the railway station with a new road and housing planned.
The Japanese Olympic team have chosen the town as their base for the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London. There is currently a flowerbed with red and white flowers in the design of the Japanese national flag. Due to the cold winter, almost all of the flowers have died. It is likely the flowers will be re-planted.
and East Midlands, Loughborough experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Sutton Bonington, about 3.5 miles due North of the Town centre. The highest temperature recorded in the area was 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) on 3 August 1990.
club, Loughborough RFC
, play at Derby Road playing fields. The club was formed in 1891.
Other sports teams include the non-league Loughborough Dynamo Football Club
and the Loughborough Aces (Collegiate American Football
). There is a netball
league at Loughborough Leisure Centre
. The town was also once home of a professional football club, Loughborough F.C.
, in the Football League
during the late 1800s. Cricket is prominent, with The Old Contemptibles C.C, Loughborough Town C.C., Loughborough Carillon C.C., Loughborough Carillon Old Boys' C.C., Loughborough University Staff C.C. and Loughborough Greenfields C.C. representing various standards of Cricket in the area. The university is home to the ECB National Cricket Academy, used by the England team as primary training centre. The town also has its own swimming club, Loughborough Town Swimming Club, which is based in the town and train at local venues. Loughborough will also be hosting the UK Corporate Games
2011.
The tennis tournament AEGON Pro-Series Loughborough
is held in Loughborough.
, which houses a range of exhibits reflecting the natural history, geology, industry and history of the area. Nearby in Queens Park is the Carillon
and War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from the first and second World Wars.
Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medieval All Saints
parish church, is the Old Rectory. Dating back to 1288 the remaining portion of the Great Hall has been restored and houses a small museum run by the Loughborough and District Archaeological Society.
Loughborough has for more than a century been the home of John Taylor & Co bell founders and the firm has a museum—the Bellfoundry Museum—located on two floors telling the story of bell making over the centuries.
A walk around the town reveals a mix of architectural styles and there are several interesting examples of Victorian
and Art Deco
buildings, while the oldest buildings are to be found clustered around the parish church and the Church Gate conservation area.
Although it has no dedicated art gallery, fine pieces of sculpture can be found in the town’s environs, including the ‘Sock Man’, a bronze statue celebrating Loughborough’s association with the hosiery industry. This can be found in the Market Place near the Town Hall, which itself contains a number of art works.
The Town Hall Theatre is the venue for a wide range of events, including concerts, exhibitions, musicals, comedy shows and a Christmas pantomime. The town also has a thriving amateur dramatic community , and many groups make use of the town hall for their shows.
Events are also organised by Charnwood Arts, a voluntary managed and professionally staffed body, which promotes a year round programme of professional performances across the borough. The organisation is responsible for The Picnic In the Park event, which was inaugurated in 1980 and is held in Queens Park in May. Streets Alive, jointly organised by Charnwood Arts and Charnwood Borough Council
takes place at a similar time of year.
The Loughborough Canal Festival
, which started in 1997, is an annual event in May centred around Chain Bridge. The event attracts around 10,000 visitors .
Great Central Railway
is a heritage railway based at Loughborough Central Station, which is south of the town centre. It is operated largely by voluteers and trains run every weekend of the year and bank holidays, as well as daily during the summer.
Every November, the street fair takes over the centre of the town and closes the A6 and other roads. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night. The fair has many rides, amusement arcades, food stands and games.
The town is home to the Reel Cinema, part of a chain of 10. There are six screens in the theatre, which is built to an art deco
style. The cinema was built in 1936 and over the years it has been named the Palm Court and Ballroom, Empire, Classic and Curzon.
In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among the British universities by the Times
' Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007 The Guardian
rated the university 8th, and 10th of 117 institutions by The Guardian League Tables 2009 (published online 1/6/08 for the 2009-10 academic year. The university is 5th in some rankings, behind Oxbridge and the London universities. The university has the largest sports scholarship in the UK. More than 250 international athletes study and train there. In 2008 Loughborough was named Sunday Times University of the Year.
The university is also the town's largest employer.
. They meet weekly at Charnwood Borough Council Offices in Loughborough. They hold 2 annual events which are the Charnwood Youth Conference which is attended by representatives from schools across Charnwood, and the Pride of Charnwood Awards which recognizes the contribution of young people to the communities within Charnwood.
, the journalist, author, poet and playwright who was born on Moor Lane on 9 May 1863, the two time Laurence Olivier Award nominated stage actress Nicola Hughes
and Coronation Street
s Roy Cropper
actor David Neilson
, and also notorious rock star of the mid-1960s, Viv Prince of the Pretty Things
. Bobsleigh
er and Paratrooper
Dean Ward
, who won a bronze medal
at the 1998 Winter Olympics
was also born in the town.
Most biographies of Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx
suggest he was a Londoner. In fact he was a pupil at Loughborough Grammar School
and son of the one-time vicar of nearby Woodhouse Eaves
and Ibstock
. The Dundee-born comedian, TV presenter and entertainer Danny Wallace
attended Holywell County Primary School. Mark Collett
, sidekick of Nick Griffin
in the BNP
, attended Loughborough Grammar School.
The high jumper Ben Challenger
, son of Showaddywaddy
drummer Romeo Challenger
, is also from Loughborough. The popular Muslim and Bangladeshi presenter Rizwan Hussain
was brought up there. More recently, Fred Bowers, a 73 year old Loughborough pensioner reached the Semi-Finals of Britains Got Talent 2009, with his breakdancing act. Art Collective Vanilla Galleries are also based in Loughborough, having put on a number of exhibitions and events over the past two years.
Notable sporting graduates of Loughborough University include Sir Clive Woodward, Sebastian Coe, Paula Radcliffe
, David Moorcroft
, Tanni Grey-Thompson
, Monty Panesar
, Steve Backley
, Jack Kirwan and Lawrie Sanchez
.
Charnwood (borough)
Charnwood is a borough of northern Leicestershire, England. It is named after Charnwood Forest, which it contains. Loughborough is the largest town in the district and serves as the borough's administrative and commercial centre.-History:...
borough of Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
. The town had a population of 57,600 in 2004, making it the largest settlement in Leicestershire outside the city of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
.
In 1841, Loughborough was the destination for the first package tour, organised by Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
for a temperance group
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
from Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. The town has the world's largest bell foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
— John Taylor Bellfounders
John Taylor Bellfounders
John Taylor & Co, formerly trading as Taylors, Eayre & Smith Ltd and John Taylor Bellfounders Ltd, and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry, located in Loughborough in the United Kingdom.The company manufactures bells for use in...
, which made the bells for the Carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, Great Paul for St. Paul's Cathedral, and York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
. The first mention of Loughborough is in the 1086 Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
To the north of the edges of Loughborough, Dishley Grange Farm was formerly the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell
Robert Bakewell (farmer)
Robert Bakewell was a British agriculturalist, now recognized as one of the most important figures in the British Agricultural Revolution. In addition to work in agronomy, Bakewell is particularly notable as the first to implement systematic selective breeding of livestock...
. The farm was also once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show. Loughborough's local newspaper is the Loughborough Echo
Loughborough Echo
The Loughborough Echo is a paid-for weekly local newspaper owned by Trinity Mirror plc.-Biography:Founded by Joseph Deakin in 1891, the Echo has only had four editors in its history. It is based in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, and circulates in the town and the surrounding area...
. The town is also served by the Leicester Mercury
Leicester Mercury
The Leicester Mercury is a British regional newspaper, owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust, for the city of Leicester and the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland...
.
History
Railway
The rail network is of growing importance in Loughborough, and with EurostarEurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
international services from London St Pancras International
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
, to which its twice hourly London service goes giving Loughborough railway station
Loughborough railway station
Loughborough railway station serves the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, England. Situated on the Midland Main Line, 20 km north of Leicester, the station lies to the north-east of the town centre....
good links to the continent.
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
are the InterCity operator running 'fast' and 'semi-fast' services to and from London to northern England, and provide local services throughout the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
.
Rail routes run north–south through Loughborough along the route known as the Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
, going south to Bedford, Luton
Luton railway station
Luton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The station is near to the town centre, about three minutes' walk from the Arndale Shopping Centre. It is situated on the Midland Main Line and is operated by First Capital Connect.-History:...
and London; and north to Lincoln
Lincoln Central railway station
Lincoln Central railway station serves the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. The station is operated by East Midlands Trains, who provide services along with Northern Rail and East Coast....
, Sheffield, Leeds
Leeds City railway station
Leeds railway station is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England...
and York
York railway station
York railway station is a main-line railway station in the city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...
.
Junctions at Leicester and Derby stations link with CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
trains route, serving the far north east of Scotland and the south west of England.
Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
are currently working to re-develop the station increasing the length of platforms and improving access. The local council are making improvements to the surrounding area.
There were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still operating Midland line; the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
which had its own Central station, closed as a result of the Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
cuts; and a branch line from Nuneaton, part of the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
. Today, the Great Central Railway line is the terminus of the south section of the Great Central Steam Railway heritage railway
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
.
Brush Traction
Brush Traction
This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
, a manufacturer of railway locomotives, is also located in the town, close to Loughborough's railway station.
Motorways
The M1M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
's Junction 23 is just to the west of Loughborough. The north of the town can be accessed from Junction 24, travelling through Kegworth
Kegworth
Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England....
and Hathern
Hathern
Hathern is a large village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The village itself is located in the north of the district, and is just north of Loughborough. It is served by the A6. The parish has a population of about 1,800. Nearby places are Dishley, Long...
on the A6 road.
Buses
Local buses are operated by Arriva Leicester, CentrebusCentrebus
Centrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
, Paul S Winson, Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport is the major bus operator of the English city of Nottingham, running a comprehensive network of services in the Greater Nottingham area, with some services continuing to Southwell, Loughborough, and East Midlands Airport. There are over 80 routes across the City, giving...
, Trent Barton
Trent Barton
Trent Barton is one of the very small number of significant independent bus operators in the United Kingdom. It was formed as the result of merging Derbyshire's Trent Buses with Nottinghamshire's Barton Transport....
and Kinchbus
Kinchbus
Kinchbus is a bus operator based in Loughborough. It was originally an independent company established by Gilbert Kinch, but is now owned by the Wellglade Group. It operates various local services around Loughborough, Route 2 from Leicester to Loughborough and Skylink from Derby to Loughborough...
.
River and Canal
The River SoarRiver Soar
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
passes by to the east of the town. Navigation from Loughborough north towards the Trent was achieved in 1778 by the Loughborough Navigation which terminates at Loughborough Wharf between Derby Road and Bridge Street. Subsequently the Leicester navigation was constructed connecting to the Loughborough Navigation at Canal Bridge. The Leicester navigation connects to the River Soar south of the town. Both form part of the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
.
The now derelict Charnwood Forest Canal
Charnwood Forest Canal
The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794...
once linked Nanpantan (on the West side of Loughborough) with Thringstone, with goods being carried into Loughborough by a horse drawn wagonway.
Economy
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
buildings, such as the building that currently houses the town's cinema. A large outdoor market is held in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday. There is a monthly farmers' market. The first mention of a market in Loughborough is in 1221.
'The Rushes' shopping centre has also been built on the site of the former bus station and is occupied by national chains. The Rushes is linked to the town centre area by Churchgate and Churchgate Mews; the latter has independent shops.
There is major new development ( The Eastern Gateway ) planned for the area around the railway station with a new road and housing planned.
The Japanese Olympic team have chosen the town as their base for the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London. There is currently a flowerbed with red and white flowers in the design of the Japanese national flag. Due to the cold winter, almost all of the flowers have died. It is likely the flowers will be re-planted.
Climate
As with the rest of the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
and East Midlands, Loughborough experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Sutton Bonington, about 3.5 miles due North of the Town centre. The highest temperature recorded in the area was 34.8 °C (94.6 °F) on 3 August 1990.
Sport
The Rugby UnionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club, Loughborough RFC
Loughborough Rugby Football Club
Loughborough Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club in Loughborough, United Kingdom that has been in existence since 1891, when it was known as the Loughborough Corinthians Football Club and later Loughborough Football Club...
, play at Derby Road playing fields. The club was formed in 1891.
Other sports teams include the non-league Loughborough Dynamo Football Club
Loughborough Dynamo F.C.
Loughborough Dynamo Football Club is a football club based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. They currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One South.-History:...
and the Loughborough Aces (Collegiate American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
). There is a netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
league at Loughborough Leisure Centre
Leisure centre
A leisure centre in the UK and Canada is a purpose built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities.- Typical Facilities :...
. The town was also once home of a professional football club, Loughborough F.C.
Loughborough F.C.
Loughborough Athletic and Football Club were an English football club based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, that played in The Football League at the end of the 19th century.-History:...
, in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
during the late 1800s. Cricket is prominent, with The Old Contemptibles C.C, Loughborough Town C.C., Loughborough Carillon C.C., Loughborough Carillon Old Boys' C.C., Loughborough University Staff C.C. and Loughborough Greenfields C.C. representing various standards of Cricket in the area. The university is home to the ECB National Cricket Academy, used by the England team as primary training centre. The town also has its own swimming club, Loughborough Town Swimming Club, which is based in the town and train at local venues. Loughborough will also be hosting the UK Corporate Games
UK Corporate Games
The UK Corporate Games is a sporting event hosted within different cities around the UK each year and helps to encourage travel and tourism, whilst promoting health and fitness within the workplace...
2011.
The tennis tournament AEGON Pro-Series Loughborough
AEGON Pro-Series Loughborough
The AEGON Pro-Series Loughborough is a tennis tournament held in Loughborough, Great Britain since 2010. The event is part of the ATP Challenger Tour and is played on indoor hard courts.-Men's Singles:-Women's Singles:-Men's Doubles:-Women's Doubles:...
is held in Loughborough.
Arts and Heritage
Loughborough has four museums, the largest being the centrally located Charnwood MuseumCharnwood Museum
Charnwood Museum has a wide range of exhibits reflecting the history, geology, archaeology and industries of Charnwood and surrounding areas. Permanent displays include ‘Coming to Charnwood’, ‘The Natural World of Charnwood’, ‘Living off the Land’ and ‘Earning a Living’. Each contains exhibits from...
, which houses a range of exhibits reflecting the natural history, geology, industry and history of the area. Nearby in Queens Park is the Carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
and War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from the first and second World Wars.
Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medieval All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
parish church, is the Old Rectory. Dating back to 1288 the remaining portion of the Great Hall has been restored and houses a small museum run by the Loughborough and District Archaeological Society.
Loughborough has for more than a century been the home of John Taylor & Co bell founders and the firm has a museum—the Bellfoundry Museum—located on two floors telling the story of bell making over the centuries.
A walk around the town reveals a mix of architectural styles and there are several interesting examples of Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
buildings, while the oldest buildings are to be found clustered around the parish church and the Church Gate conservation area.
Although it has no dedicated art gallery, fine pieces of sculpture can be found in the town’s environs, including the ‘Sock Man’, a bronze statue celebrating Loughborough’s association with the hosiery industry. This can be found in the Market Place near the Town Hall, which itself contains a number of art works.
The Town Hall Theatre is the venue for a wide range of events, including concerts, exhibitions, musicals, comedy shows and a Christmas pantomime. The town also has a thriving amateur dramatic community , and many groups make use of the town hall for their shows.
Events are also organised by Charnwood Arts, a voluntary managed and professionally staffed body, which promotes a year round programme of professional performances across the borough. The organisation is responsible for The Picnic In the Park event, which was inaugurated in 1980 and is held in Queens Park in May. Streets Alive, jointly organised by Charnwood Arts and Charnwood Borough Council
Charnwood (borough)
Charnwood is a borough of northern Leicestershire, England. It is named after Charnwood Forest, which it contains. Loughborough is the largest town in the district and serves as the borough's administrative and commercial centre.-History:...
takes place at a similar time of year.
The Loughborough Canal Festival
Loughborough Canal Festival
The Loughborough Canal and Boat Festival is an annual event that is held in Loughborough, England.The festival was started as part of a campaign by the Loughborough Echo in 1997 to draw attention to redevelopment plans which would have involved the infilling of part of the Canal System. The plans...
, which started in 1997, is an annual event in May centred around Chain Bridge. The event attracts around 10,000 visitors .
Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway (preserved)
The Great Central Railway is a heritage railway split into two adjacent sections, one in Leicestershire and the other Nottinghamshire.The Leicestershire section is currently Britain's only double track mainline heritage railway, with of working double track, period signalling, locomotives and...
is a heritage railway based at Loughborough Central Station, which is south of the town centre. It is operated largely by voluteers and trains run every weekend of the year and bank holidays, as well as daily during the summer.
Every November, the street fair takes over the centre of the town and closes the A6 and other roads. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night. The fair has many rides, amusement arcades, food stands and games.
The town is home to the Reel Cinema, part of a chain of 10. There are six screens in the theatre, which is built to an art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style. The cinema was built in 1936 and over the years it has been named the Palm Court and Ballroom, Empire, Classic and Curzon.
Loughborough University
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
' Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007 The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
rated the university 8th, and 10th of 117 institutions by The Guardian League Tables 2009 (published online 1/6/08 for the 2009-10 academic year. The university is 5th in some rankings, behind Oxbridge and the London universities. The university has the largest sports scholarship in the UK. More than 250 international athletes study and train there. In 2008 Loughborough was named Sunday Times University of the Year.
The university is also the town's largest employer.
Loughborough College
Loughborough College is the second biggest education establishment in Loughborough, after the University. Its offers Further Education and vocational courses. It was established in 1909, and has an over 12,000 full and part-time students population. It has an annual turnover in excess of £19m and employs over 900 staff .2229 Loughborough Squadron Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a military based youth organisation for 13-20 year olds. 2229 (Loughborough) Squadron is based at the T.A. Centre on Leicester Road in Loughborough. They parade on a Monday and Thursday from 19:00 hrs to 21:30 hrs (Mondays from 18:00 hrs to 19:00 hrs the Squadron's Corps of Drums, and Pipes practice) and have around 45 Cadets. The current Officer Commanding is Flight Lieutenant Adrian Garroway RAFVR(T)who took command of the Squadron on the 2nd August 2010. He replaced Flt Lt Kath Lane RAFVR(T) who had been in command since 2002. They can be seen regularly around the Loughborough area at all manner of community events. The cadets regularly fly, glide, target rifle shoot and take part in other adventurous activities.Charnwood Youth Council
A youth Council for the borough of Charnwood (borough)Charnwood (borough)
Charnwood is a borough of northern Leicestershire, England. It is named after Charnwood Forest, which it contains. Loughborough is the largest town in the district and serves as the borough's administrative and commercial centre.-History:...
. They meet weekly at Charnwood Borough Council Offices in Loughborough. They hold 2 annual events which are the Charnwood Youth Conference which is attended by representatives from schools across Charnwood, and the Pride of Charnwood Awards which recognizes the contribution of young people to the communities within Charnwood.
Notable people
Loughborough natives include Albert Francis CrossAlbert Francis Cross
Albert Francis Cross wrote under the pen name of A. F. Cross. He was a noted poet, playwright, journalist and author and the founder of several theatres and newspapers in the English Midlands area....
, the journalist, author, poet and playwright who was born on Moor Lane on 9 May 1863, the two time Laurence Olivier Award nominated stage actress Nicola Hughes
Nicola Hughes
Nicola Hughes is an English dancer, singer and actress of Antiguan descent.Hughes’ first principal theatre role was in The Who's Tommy, playing the Acid Queen at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1996...
and Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
s Roy Cropper
Roy Cropper
Royston "Roy" Cropper, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor David Neilson, the character was introduced during the episode airing on 19 July 1995. Originally a secondary character, he was given a more prominent role in 1997, by the...
actor David Neilson
David Neilson
David Neilson is an English actor best known for portraying Roy Cropper in Coronation Street from 1995 onwards....
, and also notorious rock star of the mid-1960s, Viv Prince of the Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
. Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
er and Paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
Dean Ward
Dean Ward (bobsleigh)
Dean Ward is a British bobsledder who competed from 1991 to 2002. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the four-man event at Nagano in 1998...
, who won a bronze medal
Bobsleigh at the 1998 Winter Olympics
-Two-man:Huber lead Lueders by 0.05 seconds after the first run. Leuders picked up 0.02 seconds in the next two runs. Prior to the start of the fourth run, Lueders turned to Huber and asked "Can you imagine if we tied this thing?" After the fourth run, Tartaglia stated "In the end, it felt like...
at the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
was also born in the town.
Most biographies of Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...
suggest he was a Londoner. In fact he was a pupil at Loughborough Grammar School
Loughborough Grammar School
Loughborough Grammar School founded in 1495 by Thomas Burton, is an independent school for boys in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It is a day school for over 1100 pupils and a boarding school for nearly 100. It is one of three schools known as the Loughborough Endowed Schools, along with...
and son of the one-time vicar of nearby Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves is a village located on the side of Beacon Hill, in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire, England.It is a sizeable rural village, having several pubs and a few shops...
and Ibstock
Ibstock
Ibstock is a village and civil parish about south of Coalville in North West Leicestershire, England. The village is on the A447 road Between Coalville and Hinckley....
. The Dundee-born comedian, TV presenter and entertainer Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace (writer)
Daniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.He lives in London, with his wife, an Australian publicist...
attended Holywell County Primary School. Mark Collett
Mark Collett
Mark Adrian Collett is a British political activist. He is a former chairman of the Young BNP, the youth division of the British National Party , and was Director of Publicity for the Party before being suspended from the party in early April 2010...
, sidekick of Nick Griffin
Nick Griffin
Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England....
in the BNP
BNP
-Politics:*Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party*Balochistan National Party, a Pakistani political party*Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a Bangladeshi political party*Barbados National Party, a defunct political party in Barbados...
, attended Loughborough Grammar School.
The high jumper Ben Challenger
Ben Challenger
Benjamin Arthur "Ben" Challenger is an English high jumper. His personal best jump of 2.30 metres was achieved when he won the 1999 Summer Universiade...
, son of Showaddywaddy
Showaddywaddy
Showaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.-History:...
drummer Romeo Challenger
Romeo Challenger
Romeo Challenger is a Caribbean-born, British-based musician.Challenger was born in St Johns, Antigua, West Indies. Since 1973 he has been the drummer in the rock and roll band Showaddywaddy...
, is also from Loughborough. The popular Muslim and Bangladeshi presenter Rizwan Hussain
Rizwan Hussain
Rizwan Hussain is a British Barrister satellite television presenter and an international humanitarian worker...
was brought up there. More recently, Fred Bowers, a 73 year old Loughborough pensioner reached the Semi-Finals of Britains Got Talent 2009, with his breakdancing act. Art Collective Vanilla Galleries are also based in Loughborough, having put on a number of exhibitions and events over the past two years.
Notable sporting graduates of Loughborough University include Sir Clive Woodward, Sebastian Coe, Paula Radcliffe
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
, David Moorcroft
David Moorcroft
David Robert Moorcroft is a former middle-distance and long-distance runner from England, and former world record holder for 5,000 metres. His athletic career spanned the late-1970s and 1980s. He subsequently served as the Chief Executive of UK Athletics from 1997 to 2007. He was awarded an MBE in...
, Tanni Grey-Thompson
Tanni Grey-Thompson
Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, DBE is a Welsh athlete and TV presenter.Grey-Thompson was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is considered to be one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK...
, Monty Panesar
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, known as Monty Panesar , is an English cricketer who currently plays for Sussex. A left-arm spinner, Panesar played Test and one-day cricket for England until 2009. In English county cricket he played for Northamptonshire until 2009...
, Steve Backley
Steve Backley
Stephen James Backley OBE is a retired British athlete who was formerly the world record holder for javelin throwing...
, Jack Kirwan and Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrie Sanchez
Lawrence Philip "Lawrie" Sanchez is a former Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. He is currently the manager of League Two side Barnet...
.
Twin towns
| Épinal Épinal Épinal is a commune in northeastern France and the capital of the Vosges department. Inhabitants are known as Spinaliens.-Geography:The commune has a land area of 59.24 km²... , Vosges Vosges Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... Gembloux Gembloux Gembloux is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur, on the axis Brussels-NamurOn 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants... , Namur Namur (province) Namur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur... , Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and capital of the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is located in the valley of the river Kocher in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg.... , Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Zamość Zamosc Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine... , Lublin Voivodeship Lublin Voivodeship - Administrative division :Lublin Voivodeship is divided into 24 counties : 4 city counties and 20 land counties. These are further divided into 213 gminas.... , Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... Bhavnagar Bhavnagar -Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat... , Gujarat, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... (as of 2010) |