Whitwick
Encyclopedia
Whitwick is a village
in Leicestershire
, England
and is an ancient parish which formerly included the equally historic villages of Thringstone
and Swannington
. It was an important manor in the Middle Ages
, which once included Bardon and Markfield
, parts of Hugglescote
, Donington
le Heath, Ratby
, Bocheston, Newtown Unthank
and Whittington. As early as 1293, Whitwick had a weekly market and a four day fair. The population of Whitwick, according to the 2001 census is 10,815 persons. 8,092 of these fall into the 16-74 working age range, although only 4,689 are employed.
, the name of the settlement meaning either "The White Farm" or "Hwita's Farm", which may have been a reference to the outcrop of white sandstone found here. It was listed amongst the lands given to Hugh de Grandmesnil
by King William I. There was said to be land for half a plough and woodland which was a furlong by half a furlong. Its value was two shillings.
The mound retains the title of Castle Hill and is surmounted by a 19th century folly
, with a castellated roofline. This was built in 1846 by a local landowner, Joseph Almond Cropper, as almshouses for the poor.
The annual fair, or "wake
s", was once a hugely popular event and coincided with the patronal festival of the parish church
. At the height of its popularity in the early 20th century, it is remembered that the larger amusements stood in the opening in front of the White Horse public house
and there were wild beast shows including seals swimming around in tanks. The local photographer would take snapshots (on glass) and deliver them while the customers waited. There was also once a 'Cabbage Street Wakes', of rather obscure origin, when cabbages were used to decorate the lampposts in Cademan Street.
, close to the confluence
of two streams. A spring, emanating from under the chancel, is also discharged into the watercourse, through a piped outlet protruding from a stone wall at the east end of the churchyard. This spring is said to have been used during the 19th century as means of powering the bellows of the church organ. It is probable that this site was regarded as sacred in pre-Christian times, thereby influencing the choice of location for the church. It has also been pointed out by the historian, George Green of Loughborough
, that a fragment of pre-Norman
cross shaft would appear to be incorporated into the chancel
wall suggesting that a church may well have existed on this site in Anglo-Saxon times. The church we see today is mainly of thirteenth century construction. The massive decorated western tower contains a peal of eight bells, four of which were cast in 1628, and in the north aisle can be found a badly defaced alabaster effigy of the knight, Sir John Talbot, who died in 1365. Talbot is said to have been a giant, and this accounts for the exceptional length of the monument.
From 1319 until its dissolution in 1536, Whitwick Church was an endowment of the Benedictine priory of Upholland, near Wigan, Lancashire. Following royal sequestration, the patronage of the living passed to the King and Whitwick Church remains one of forty-two churches nationally which are in the patronage of Her Majesty the Queen (in right of her Duchy of Lancaster).
The church was a victim of aggressive restoration during the 19th century, when the chancel was rebuilt by James Piers St Aubyn, 1848-1849. A crypt
is situated beneath the chancel, but is not thought to have ever been used as a charnel house.
Today, the church forms part of a united benefice with Thringstone and Swannington. The registers date from 1601.
The churchyard was closed for burials many years ago. In more recent years, many of the 18th and 19th century slate
headstone
s were uprooted and moved in a line around the periphery of the southern portion of the graveyard; a 20th century concrete war memorial
now occupies the centre. Other stones were taken up and used for paving around the church.
Whitwick Cemetery, off Church Lane, was consecrated on 24 June 1874 and consists of about four acres. It was divided into three sections: Church of England
, Catholic
and Nonconformist and placed under the control of a joint burial committee.
s of Great Britain
: St George's, Swannington was built in 1825; St Andrew's, Thringstone
was built in 1862 and St David's, Broom Leys was founded in 1933. Christ Church, Coalville
, was also formed partially out of Whitwick Parish in 1836, though the church here stands on land which was originally in the ancient parish of Ibstock
, within the chapelry
of Hugglescote
.
The churches at Swannington, Coalville and Thringstone all owe their existence to the zealous missionary drive of the Reverend Francis Merewether MA (1784–1864), Vicar
of Whitwick for more than fifty years, and also Rector
of Coleorton
. Merewether, a low church
theologian who preached and wrote prolifically against Roman Catholicism, was also successful in getting national schools
established in these outlying parts of the parish as well as in Whitwick itself. He left behind him a small empire of Anglican expansion, wrought in part by a desire to counteract the papist revival that he perceived to be sweeping the district, at the instigation of Ambrose de Lisle of Grace Dieu Manor
. Whitwick National School, a stone building in the Early English style still stands in the market place
, now a Grade Two listed building. An extension to the school was provided in 1903, with access on silver street. The school was replaced later in the 20th century by a new Church of England school located at the foot of Parsonwood Hill. The old school is now used as a day nursery.
St David's, Broom Leys was, for more than thirty years, served by a small wooden church which had originally served as a chapel at the Mowsley
Sanitorium near Market Harborough
, Leicestershire, being brought over to its present site in sections and duly re-erected. This small structure still stands, near to the present day 'futuristic' church, work on which was commenced in 1964. The foundation stone (a piece of Welsh
slate from St David's
in West Wales
and presented by the dean of that cathedral) was laid on 26 September 1964 in the presence of about five hundred people. Above the front entrance of the church is the figure of St David, cast in 'ciment fondu' and coated with a bronze resin. The bricks are a 'Blaby Grey' and the stonework was provided by the local Whitwick Quarry.
s opened a chapel on North Street (extended 1879).
From its foundation in 1823 until 1855, Whitwick Baptist Church remained a branch of the Hugglescote Church. In 1855, both the Whitwick and Coalville Baptist churches separated from Hugglescote and both churches were held under the pastorate of the Revd John Cholerton. A new Baptist church was built at Whitwick in 1861 at a cost of £318.10.0 by William Beckworth, a local builder, alongside the original chapel. By 1890, the minister was the Revd J. J. Berry. It is recorded that for his payment, he accepted the seat rents and weekly collections.
A Primitive Methodist chapel appeared at the foot of Leicester Road (the present day Vicarage Street) in 1864 and Wesleyan Reform Methodists
also opened a chapel on North Street toward the end of the 19th century, and also in New Swannington in 1906. The Reform Chapel on North Street is now a warehouse
used by 'Gracedieu Windows'. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists united nationally in 1932 and the two societies in Whitwick finally merged together in 1965, after which time the Vicarage Street chapel was used by the amalgamated congregations, the North Street chapel eventually being sold to the Church of England
for use as a parish hall in about 1966. In 1972, a new Methodist church was built at the foot of Hall Lane and sadly, the Vicarage Street chapel (perhaps the most impressive example of 19th century non-conformist architecture
in the village) was demolished circa 1980, having fallen into a state of disrepair. The site is now occupied by a car park. Due to extensive housing development during the 1960s, a Methodist church was also built at the other end of Hall Lane in 1966, close to the Broom Leys cross-roads. It is noticeable that in more recent years, structural alterations have been carried out to this building to replace the original flat roof with a pitched one.
Roman Catholicism and Irish immigration
Due to the residency at Grace Dieu Manor of a zealous and wealthy convert to Roman Catholicism, Ambrose de Lisle, Whitwick became an important centre of Roman Catholic revival. A Cistercian monastery was established within the parish on Charnwood Forest
in 1835 and a church (designed by Pugin
) was also built on Parsonwood Hill in 1837. A small convent of Rosminian nuns
also occupied an old house here for many years until transferring to Loughborough.
The Catholic community in Whitwick was swelled during the nineteenth century by the arrival of Irish immigrants, many of whom came to work as navvies during the construction of the Charnwood Forest Railway. Until within living memory, there was an area known as Irish Yard off Pare's Hill (the modern day North Street) and the Hibernian influx is also said to have contributed to the number of beerhouses that appeared around the village during the latter part of the Victorian era; one public house in particular, The Castle Inn, was noted for its Irish custom and was known locally as "Patsy Griffin's", after the Irish landlord. Another hostelry noted for its Irish associations was the Crown and Cushion in South Street, with another Irish landlord, Michael Noon, who had played for Aston Villa Football Club, 1899 - 1906. The Irish influx in Whitwick was one that would be paralleled a century later in the neighbouring village of Thringstone, though this time by Scottish settlers who arrived here on colliery transfers.
The present Roman Catholic Church of Holy Cross was built to accommodate a growing congregation early in the 20th century on the opposite side of Parsonwood Hill, though the cemetery of the old church remains. A school was also built to the rear of the new church to replace the original school at Turolough, which had been opened in 1843. The Church of Holy Cross, with its 75 feet (22.9 m) red brick tower occupies a precipitous site and forms a conspicuous local landmark; this contains a traditional chime of fifteen bells which were presented by Samuel Wilson Hallam, landlord of the Queen's Head, Thringstone, in memory of his wife. The current instrument was installed by Taylors of Loughborough in 1960 and is operated by a baton keyboard, located in the first storey chamber of the tower.
village of Woodville
has an old lane signposted as, simply, 'The City').
Of equal obscurity is the name of Whitwick's 'Dumps Hill', a steep incline forming part of a staggered cross-roads at the northern end of the village. Many theories have been expounded to account for its origin, including, that the houses built on the righthand side after the old railway bridge were constructed on the site of the old 'Dumblies' pig farm. Sheila Smith, in her 1984 history of Whitwick also suggests that the name may be linked to a framework knitting past as in 1845, one Joseph Sheffield - in his evidence before the Commission
into the plight of the framework knitters - makes reference to a type of stocking called 'dumps'. There are several surviving examples of framework knitters' cottages in the village, which can be recognised by elongated first storey windows, designed to allow greater inlet of light. A good example of such a cottage can be found at the foot of the Dumps.
On Loughborough Road, there stands an old public house, built of forest stone and known as 'The Man Within Compass'. This title is thought to be unique in England, though again, with uncertain origins. The pub is more commonly known as 'The Rag and Mop'; several of Whitwick's public houses developed 'nicknames', some of which - like The Rag and Mop - have origins which can only be guessed at. Other examples are 'Mary's House' (Hare and Hounds) and 'Thripnies' (Crown and Cushion, Silver Street - now closed).
near Long Lane in 1824, precipitating a massive expansion and development of this industry across the north west of Leicestershire. Though coal mining on this scale was only a major concern in Whitwick for a century and a half - a relatively short period for a settlement with a documented history spanning ten centuries - the place is still considered by many to be a colliery village due to the massive physical impact of the industry on the character of the village in terms of homogeneous red brick housing development during the 19th and 20th centuries. With the exception of the parish church, few - if any - ancient buildings survive.
There was a mining disaster on 19 April 1898 in Whitwick Number Five Pit which resulted in the deaths of thirty five men. Patrick O'Mara, one of those killed, was found on his knees with his rosary beads still in his hands. The youngest victim was John Albert Gee of Thringstone, who was aged just thirteen years. A memorial tablet to those killed can be found in the parish church at Coalville.
The pit was closed in the 1980s and the site is now occupied by a Morrisons store. An old winding wheel can still be seen at the foot of Leicester Road, erected as a monument to Whitwick's mining past following the closure of the colliery.
, Nottinghamshire
and Derbyshire
had become the centre of the British hosiery trade, taking over from London. In 1832, it is recorded that there were some 33,000 knitting frames in use in the Midlands
, of which the majority - 11,200, were in Leicestershire.
In 1844, there were 423 knitting frames in Whitwick and by this time, the cottage industry had been in decline for some years. This appears to have been as a result of a change in fashions and also to the new type of hose being produced, which required fewer skills in the manufacture. From the middle of the 19th century, framework knitting began to be transferred from homes to the factories in larger towns. By 1851, it is recorded that the number of frames in Whitwick had dwindled to 240.
Large hosiery factories appeared on Church Lane and at the top of The Dumps, shortly before the First World War.
The largest of these was the firm of Bernard Beckworth on Cademan Street, which is listed in Kelly’s Directories of Leicestershire from 1904 through to 1941 as ‘Beckworth and Co. Ltd, Charnwood Mineral Water Works’. This firm was established in 1875 and ran until the 1970s.
By 1904, the firm of Stinson Brothers had appeared, which was based on Loughborough Road. By 1912, this firm is listed as simply Horace Stinson and has disappeared from the Whitwick Directories by 1928.
The firm of Richard Massey appears by 1916 and is listed at 36, Castle Street, Whitwick. Massey’s has disappeared by 1941.
A ‘Stinson Bros’ Codd Bottle appears among lots listed for auction in Barnsley (BBR Auctions) on Saturday 8 January 2006. It is described as: 9 ins tall, emerald green glass codd bottle. Embossed, ‘STINSON BROS/WHITWICK.’ The guide price was £80 - £100, presumably due to the rarity of the glass. Astonishingly, this bottle realised £515! This particular bottle was turned up by a plough in a field opposite A.W.Waldrum’s Coal Merchant's premises on Grace Dieu Road, Whitwick and is the only known example.
There is also known to have existed a ‘Botanical Brewery’, though it is believed that this may have been a part of the Stinson or Massey enterprises, both of which later moved to Hermitage Road. Both firms are listed on Hermitage Road (under Coalville) in a trade directory of 1941. There are also known to have been examples of nineteenth century bottles bearing the title of McCarthy and Beckworth, Coalville.
Whitwick railway station was on the Charnwood Forest Railway
which was constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. This branch line ran from Coalville East (joined to the Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR)) to the town of Loughborough
, at the Derby Road Station. Passenger services ceased to operate on 13 April 1931, with freight services ceasing to operate on 12 December 1963. Whitwick railway station
still has some surviving structures, the platform and the old station building, now the home of the Whitwick Historical Group, while the railway trackbed towards Coalville has been turned into a footpath.
The Man Within Compass ("Rag and Mop") on Loughborough Road,
The Lady Jane on Hall Lane,
The Hare and Hounds (Mary's House) in The City of Three Waters,
The Oak (Formerly The Prince of Wales; also known as The Beavers Lodge, 1983–89) on Talbot Street,
The Black Horse on Church Lane,
The White Horse on North Street/Market Place,
The Three Crowns in the Market Place,
The Kings Arms on Silver Street,
The Foresters Arms on Leicester Road (closed at present)
The Three Horseshoes ("Polly's") on Vicarage Street/City of Dan. The Three Horseshoes is the only pub in the village still selling Bass Bitter from the Bass Brewery in Burton Upon Trent. Currently Bass is brewed at Marston's Brewery alongside Pedigree Bitter, which is also served at 'Polly's'. It has several awards for serving consistently good beer and has an award from Camra for this effect. It is the only pub in Whitwick to have an entry in the current Good Beer Guide. The interior also won an award for being little changed since construction over 100 years ago.
Other working licensed buildings in the village include:
A full list of buildings otherwise demolished or converted are as follows;
The Abbey Inn, Cademan Street. Closed in 1911 and now demolished,
The Blacksmiths Arms, on the end of Hall Lane, closed in 1908 and later demolished. (now the site of the local Methodist Church),
The Boot Inn, on Silver Street, closed as a public house in 1913, premises has been some form of take away for more than 60 years, currently "Whitwick Spice",
The Castle Inn, on Castle Street, closed in 1970, now a house,
The Cricketers Arms, on Leicester Road, closed in 1908 and now demolished,
The Crown and Cushion on Silver Street, closed in 2003 and became a house,
The Crown and Cushion on South Street (South Street was latterly made into an extension of North Street) closed in 1923 and survived as a house until being demolished in the 1970s. The two pubs, curiously, at one point operated at the same time, with the same name and quite close to one another.
The Duke of Newcastle, formerly on North Street, demolished in recent years, now the site of housing development.
The Duke of York, on Leicester Road, closed in 1929 and now demolished.
The Hastings Arms, in the Market Place, was named for the Hastings family.
The pub closed in 1961 and was demolished. In 2009 it is the site of a car showroom.
The Hermitage Inn, on Hermtage Road. This was in two locations. The first Hermitage Inn still exists as a house, however the replacement "Hermitage Hotel" which the license transferred too was demolished in 1967 due to mining subsidence.
The Marquis of Granby, near King Richard's Hill. Demolished,
The New Inn, Brooks Lane/Corner of Talbot Street, closed and demolished in 1934,
The Railway Hotel, South Street (now North Street) closed in 1965 to become a Hardware Store, now a B-Warm Windows sales outlet. Built on top of another pub, "The Joiners Arms", whose ground floor rooms are now the basement rooms of the B-Warm Windows outlet. (The road level was raised when the railway was built).
The Royal George, North Street, closed in 1913,
The Talbot Arms, Talbot Street, closed in 1931 and finally
The Waggon and Horses, on Church Lane. This adjoined the Black Horse, but was purchased and demolished by Leicestershire County Council in 1985 to improve the road junction.
won both Hugglescote
and Whitwick - the first seats to be won by the BNP in Leicestershire
and Whitwick also gained its first Conservative councillor. The success of the BNP was short-lived however, their Whitwick candidate coming sixth in the local elections of 2011. Councillors for Whitwick are currently Derek Howe (Labour); Tony Gillard (Conservative) and Ray Woodward(Labour).
, was established on the Charnwood Forest, within the parish of Whitwick, in 1835 - a Cistercian monastery, which has the distinction of having been the first permanent Roman Catholic religious house to have been founded in England since the Reformation.
The current monastery was designed by the great architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, a man most famous for his work on the Houses of Parliament.
In 1840, a hoard of two thousand Roman coins was discovered during ploughing operations at the monastery.
Gracedieu Vineyard is south facing and was established in 1995 in Charnwood Forest
. Its 'Green Man' wine based on the Madeleine Angevine
grape is known for its floral bouquet.
and Forest Rock Wood.
The group were formed back in 2006, following a series of public meetings, and raised over £200,000 to buy Holly Hayes Wood and Coalville Meadows
.
The sites were then donated back to the community via the 'Friends' (in a kind of trust) so that the woodland is owned by the community through local residents who are appointed annually at the groups annual general meeting.
The purpose of Friends of Holly Hayes Wood is to own, safeguard and improve the areas of Holly Hayes Wood, Coalville Meadows
and Forest Rock Wood, or any other adjacent area to Holly Hayes Wood, by demonstrating the value of woodland to the local community and proving the concept of community owned woodland.
The Friends of Holly Hayes Wood have a website at:- http://www.friendsofhollyhayeswood.org.uk
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in 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
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and is an ancient parish which formerly included the equally historic villages of Thringstone
Thringstone
Thringstone is a village in north-west Leicestershire, England about north of Coalville. It lies within the area of the English National Forest and is part of the East Midlands region....
and Swannington
Swannington, Leicestershire
Swannington is a former mining village in Leicestershire, England. It was a terminus of the early Leicester and Swannington Railway that was built to carry away its pits' output...
. It was an important manor in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, which once included Bardon and Markfield
Markfield
Markfield is a commuter village sitting within both the National Forest and Charnwood Forest and in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The settlement dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest and is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name...
, parts of Hugglescote
Hugglescote
Hugglescote is a village in North West Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a civil parish with the adjacent settlement of Donington le Heath, though this was dissolved in 1936, when the area joined the urban district of Coalville...
, Donington
Donington le Heath
Donington-le-Heath is a historic settlement lying just over a mile away from the centre of Coalville in North West Leicestershire and merges with the adjacent village of Hugglescote ....
le Heath, Ratby
Ratby
Ratby is a commuter village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire. It is situated to the west of Leicester, and just south of the motorway. It has a population of about 4,000. The Roman name for Leicester was Ratae Corieltauvorum...
, Bocheston, Newtown Unthank
Newtown Unthank
Newtown Unthank is a hamlet in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire about west of Leicester. It is in the civil parish of Desford and about a mile northeast of the village....
and Whittington. As early as 1293, Whitwick had a weekly market and a four day fair. The population of Whitwick, according to the 2001 census is 10,815 persons. 8,092 of these fall into the 16-74 working age range, although only 4,689 are employed.
History
One of the earliest mentions of the place, as Witewic, is in the Domesday BookDomesday 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...
, the name of the settlement meaning either "The White Farm" or "Hwita's Farm", which may have been a reference to the outcrop of white sandstone found here. It was listed amongst the lands given to Hugh de Grandmesnil
Hugh de Grandmesnil
Hugh de Grandmesnil , also known as Hugh or Hugo de Grentmesnil or Grentemesnil, is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Subsequently he became a great landowner in England.He was the elder son of Robert of...
by King William I. There was said to be land for half a plough and woodland which was a furlong by half a furlong. Its value was two shillings.
Castle
Whitwick had a 12th century motte and bailey castle, although no remains are left. This was held by the Earls of Leicester, though it was recorded as being ruinous by 1427. The foundations are said to have been visible at the end of the 18th century and a wall was still to be seen on the north side in 1893. A licence to crenellate the structure was issued in 1320 to 'Henricus de Bello Monte, Consanguineus Regis' (Henry Beaumont, blood-relative of the king). The building work resulting from this licence may have provoked an attack by Sir John Talbot. Beaumont's claim to the land was from his wife's inheritance and, it seems, Talbot felt he had a claim to Whitwick. Twenty years later the capital message was worth nothing.The mound retains the title of Castle Hill and is surmounted by a 19th century folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
, with a castellated roofline. This was built in 1846 by a local landowner, Joseph Almond Cropper, as almshouses for the poor.
Market and fair
From 1838 until the early 20th century, there was a thriving weekly market held in Whitwick Market Place. As well as the regular local stallholders a number of Leicester tradesmen attended and it is remembered that old ladies used to bring their butter and other farm produce and line up alongside the gutter. In the years following the First World War, competition from the larger and newer market at Coalville eventually resulted in its discontinuance.The annual fair, or "wake
Wake
A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving or stationary solid body, caused by the flow of surrounding fluid around the body.-Fluid dynamics:...
s", was once a hugely popular event and coincided with the patronal festival of the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
. At the height of its popularity in the early 20th century, it is remembered that the larger amusements stood in the opening in front of the White Horse public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
and there were wild beast shows including seals swimming around in tanks. The local photographer would take snapshots (on glass) and deliver them while the customers waited. There was also once a 'Cabbage Street Wakes', of rather obscure origin, when cabbages were used to decorate the lampposts in Cademan Street.
St. John the Baptist Parish Church
The parish church of St. John the Baptist is an ancient structure, nestling in a natural amphitheatreAmphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, close to the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of two streams. A spring, emanating from under the chancel, is also discharged into the watercourse, through a piped outlet protruding from a stone wall at the east end of the churchyard. This spring is said to have been used during the 19th century as means of powering the bellows of the church organ. It is probable that this site was regarded as sacred in pre-Christian times, thereby influencing the choice of location for the church. It has also been pointed out by the historian, George Green of Loughborough
Loughborough
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...
, that a fragment of pre-Norman
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
cross shaft would appear to be incorporated into the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
wall suggesting that a church may well have existed on this site in Anglo-Saxon times. The church we see today is mainly of thirteenth century construction. The massive decorated western tower contains a peal of eight bells, four of which were cast in 1628, and in the north aisle can be found a badly defaced alabaster effigy of the knight, Sir John Talbot, who died in 1365. Talbot is said to have been a giant, and this accounts for the exceptional length of the monument.
From 1319 until its dissolution in 1536, Whitwick Church was an endowment of the Benedictine priory of Upholland, near Wigan, Lancashire. Following royal sequestration, the patronage of the living passed to the King and Whitwick Church remains one of forty-two churches nationally which are in the patronage of Her Majesty the Queen (in right of her Duchy of Lancaster).
The church was a victim of aggressive restoration during the 19th century, when the chancel was rebuilt by James Piers St Aubyn, 1848-1849. A crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
is situated beneath the chancel, but is not thought to have ever been used as a charnel house.
Today, the church forms part of a united benefice with Thringstone and Swannington. The registers date from 1601.
The churchyard was closed for burials many years ago. In more recent years, many of the 18th and 19th century slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
s were uprooted and moved in a line around the periphery of the southern portion of the graveyard; a 20th century concrete 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:...
now occupies the centre. Other stones were taken up and used for paving around the church.
Whitwick Cemetery, off Church Lane, was consecrated on 24 June 1874 and consists of about four acres. It was divided into three sections: Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and Nonconformist and placed under the control of a joint burial committee.
Daughter churches and national school
In the 19th and 20th centuries, new churches were built within the vast, ancient ecclesiastical parish of Whitwick as a result of population growth, all of which later came to serve independent parishes in their own right. Possibly more by coincidence than design, these daughter churches are dedicated respectively to the patron saintPatron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
s of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
: St George's, Swannington was built in 1825; St Andrew's, Thringstone
Thringstone
Thringstone is a village in north-west Leicestershire, England about north of Coalville. It lies within the area of the English National Forest and is part of the East Midlands region....
was built in 1862 and St David's, Broom Leys was founded in 1933. Christ Church, Coalville
Coalville
Coalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
, was also formed partially out of Whitwick Parish in 1836, though the church here stands on land which was originally in the ancient parish of 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....
, within the chapelry
Chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church...
of Hugglescote
Hugglescote
Hugglescote is a village in North West Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a civil parish with the adjacent settlement of Donington le Heath, though this was dissolved in 1936, when the area joined the urban district of Coalville...
.
The churches at Swannington, Coalville and Thringstone all owe their existence to the zealous missionary drive of the Reverend Francis Merewether MA (1784–1864), Vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of Whitwick for more than fifty years, and also Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Coleorton
Coleorton
Coleorton is a village and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England. It is situated on the A512 road approximately 2 miles east of Ashby de la Zouch...
. Merewether, a low church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
theologian who preached and wrote prolifically against Roman Catholicism, was also successful in getting national schools
National school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
established in these outlying parts of the parish as well as in Whitwick itself. He left behind him a small empire of Anglican expansion, wrought in part by a desire to counteract the papist revival that he perceived to be sweeping the district, at the instigation of Ambrose de Lisle of Grace Dieu Manor
Grace Dieu Manor
Grace Dieu Manor is a 19th-century country house near Thringstone in Leicestershire, England, now occupied by Grace Dieu Manor School. It is a Grade II listed building.-History:...
. Whitwick National School, a stone building in the Early English style still stands in the market place
Market Place
Market Place is the financial programme broadcast Monday to Friday at 10:30pm in Hong Kong by television channel TVB Pearl....
, now a Grade Two listed building. An extension to the school was provided in 1903, with access on silver street. The school was replaced later in the 20th century by a new Church of England school located at the foot of Parsonwood Hill. The old school is now used as a day nursery.
St David's, Broom Leys was, for more than thirty years, served by a small wooden church which had originally served as a chapel at the Mowsley
Mowsley
Mowsley, pronounced "mouseley" is a small village in the south part of Leicestershire. The modern village has just under 100 dwellings.-Entries in Domesday:...
Sanitorium near Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
, Leicestershire, being brought over to its present site in sections and duly re-erected. This small structure still stands, near to the present day 'futuristic' church, work on which was commenced in 1964. The foundation stone (a piece of Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
slate from St David's
St David's
St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
in West Wales
West Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
and presented by the dean of that cathedral) was laid on 26 September 1964 in the presence of about five hundred people. Above the front entrance of the church is the figure of St David, cast in 'ciment fondu' and coated with a bronze resin. The bricks are a 'Blaby Grey' and the stonework was provided by the local Whitwick Quarry.
Other places of worship
Until the early 19th century, the parish church remained the only place of worship in the village. Then, in the 1820s, the Baptists erected a small chapel on Pares Hill and a society of Wesleyan MethodistMethodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
s opened a chapel on North Street (extended 1879).
From its foundation in 1823 until 1855, Whitwick Baptist Church remained a branch of the Hugglescote Church. In 1855, both the Whitwick and Coalville Baptist churches separated from Hugglescote and both churches were held under the pastorate of the Revd John Cholerton. A new Baptist church was built at Whitwick in 1861 at a cost of £318.10.0 by William Beckworth, a local builder, alongside the original chapel. By 1890, the minister was the Revd J. J. Berry. It is recorded that for his payment, he accepted the seat rents and weekly collections.
A Primitive Methodist chapel appeared at the foot of Leicester Road (the present day Vicarage Street) in 1864 and Wesleyan Reform Methodists
Wesleyan Reform Union
The Wesleyan Reform Union is an Independent Methodist Connexion based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1859 by the members of the Wesleyan Reform movement who did not join the United Methodist Free Churches-Statement of Faith:...
also opened a chapel on North Street toward the end of the 19th century, and also in New Swannington in 1906. The Reform Chapel on North Street is now a warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
used by 'Gracedieu Windows'. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists united nationally in 1932 and the two societies in Whitwick finally merged together in 1965, after which time the Vicarage Street chapel was used by the amalgamated congregations, the North Street chapel eventually being sold to the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
for use as a parish hall in about 1966. In 1972, a new Methodist church was built at the foot of Hall Lane and sadly, the Vicarage Street chapel (perhaps the most impressive example of 19th century non-conformist architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
in the village) was demolished circa 1980, having fallen into a state of disrepair. The site is now occupied by a car park. Due to extensive housing development during the 1960s, a Methodist church was also built at the other end of Hall Lane in 1966, close to the Broom Leys cross-roads. It is noticeable that in more recent years, structural alterations have been carried out to this building to replace the original flat roof with a pitched one.
Roman Catholicism and Irish immigration
Due to the residency at Grace Dieu Manor of a zealous and wealthy convert to Roman Catholicism, Ambrose de Lisle, Whitwick became an important centre of Roman Catholic revival. A Cistercian monastery was established within the parish on Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest is an upland tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough, and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 ft and upwards, the area...
in 1835 and a church (designed by Pugin
Pugin
Pugin most commonly refers to Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin , English architect and designer.Other members of his family include:...
) was also built on Parsonwood Hill in 1837. A small convent of Rosminian nuns
Rosminians
The Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata, are a Roman Catholic religious congregation founded by Antonio Rosmini and first organised in 1828....
also occupied an old house here for many years until transferring to Loughborough.
The Catholic community in Whitwick was swelled during the nineteenth century by the arrival of Irish immigrants, many of whom came to work as navvies during the construction of the Charnwood Forest Railway. Until within living memory, there was an area known as Irish Yard off Pare's Hill (the modern day North Street) and the Hibernian influx is also said to have contributed to the number of beerhouses that appeared around the village during the latter part of the Victorian era; one public house in particular, The Castle Inn, was noted for its Irish custom and was known locally as "Patsy Griffin's", after the Irish landlord. Another hostelry noted for its Irish associations was the Crown and Cushion in South Street, with another Irish landlord, Michael Noon, who had played for Aston Villa Football Club, 1899 - 1906. The Irish influx in Whitwick was one that would be paralleled a century later in the neighbouring village of Thringstone, though this time by Scottish settlers who arrived here on colliery transfers.
The present Roman Catholic Church of Holy Cross was built to accommodate a growing congregation early in the 20th century on the opposite side of Parsonwood Hill, though the cemetery of the old church remains. A school was also built to the rear of the new church to replace the original school at Turolough, which had been opened in 1843. The Church of Holy Cross, with its 75 feet (22.9 m) red brick tower occupies a precipitous site and forms a conspicuous local landmark; this contains a traditional chime of fifteen bells which were presented by Samuel Wilson Hallam, landlord of the Queen's Head, Thringstone, in memory of his wife. The current instrument was installed by Taylors of Loughborough in 1960 and is operated by a baton keyboard, located in the first storey chamber of the tower.
Curious place names within the village
A popular affirmation is that the village of Whitwick contains three 'cities'. The City of Three Waters and the City of Dan are official postal addresses, situated respectively at the foot of Dumps Hill and Leicester Road. Over the years, there have been many contenders for the location of the 'third city', the most popular being The City of Hockley - an area located midway between the Cities of Three Waters and Dan, close to the parish church, and also alongside the watercourse passing through the village. However, older residents have always maintained that this area was known simply as The Hockley, and the prefix of 'city', they suggest, is a retrospective appendage. Even the place-name, 'Hockley', would appear to be a mystery. (It is also interesting to note that the nearby South DerbyshireSouth Derbyshire
South Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. It contains a third of the National Forest, and the council offices are in Swadlincote....
village of Woodville
Woodville, Derbyshire
Woodville is a village and civil parish just outside Swadlincote in South Derbyshire, England. The centre of the village, known as the Tollgate, is a busy traffic island on the A511.-History:...
has an old lane signposted as, simply, 'The City').
Of equal obscurity is the name of Whitwick's 'Dumps Hill', a steep incline forming part of a staggered cross-roads at the northern end of the village. Many theories have been expounded to account for its origin, including, that the houses built on the righthand side after the old railway bridge were constructed on the site of the old 'Dumblies' pig farm. Sheila Smith, in her 1984 history of Whitwick also suggests that the name may be linked to a framework knitting past as in 1845, one Joseph Sheffield - in his evidence before the Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into the plight of the framework knitters - makes reference to a type of stocking called 'dumps'. There are several surviving examples of framework knitters' cottages in the village, which can be recognised by elongated first storey windows, designed to allow greater inlet of light. A good example of such a cottage can be found at the foot of the Dumps.
On Loughborough Road, there stands an old public house, built of forest stone and known as 'The Man Within Compass'. This title is thought to be unique in England, though again, with uncertain origins. The pub is more commonly known as 'The Rag and Mop'; several of Whitwick's public houses developed 'nicknames', some of which - like The Rag and Mop - have origins which can only be guessed at. Other examples are 'Mary's House' (Hare and Hounds) and 'Thripnies' (Crown and Cushion, Silver Street - now closed).
Whitwick Colliery and mining disaster
Whitwick Colliery was opened on the outskirts of the parish by the engineer William StensonWilliam Stenson
William Stenson was a mining engineer born in Coleorton, Leicestershire.BackgroundLittle is currently known about Stenson's background. Detail of his parentage remains unknown and neither is it known where he would have received his training as an engineer...
near Long Lane in 1824, precipitating a massive expansion and development of this industry across the north west of Leicestershire. Though coal mining on this scale was only a major concern in Whitwick for a century and a half - a relatively short period for a settlement with a documented history spanning ten centuries - the place is still considered by many to be a colliery village due to the massive physical impact of the industry on the character of the village in terms of homogeneous red brick housing development during the 19th and 20th centuries. With the exception of the parish church, few - if any - ancient buildings survive.
There was a mining disaster on 19 April 1898 in Whitwick Number Five Pit which resulted in the deaths of thirty five men. Patrick O'Mara, one of those killed, was found on his knees with his rosary beads still in his hands. The youngest victim was John Albert Gee of Thringstone, who was aged just thirteen years. A memorial tablet to those killed can be found in the parish church at Coalville.
The pit was closed in the 1980s and the site is now occupied by a Morrisons store. An old winding wheel can still be seen at the foot of Leicester Road, erected as a monument to Whitwick's mining past following the closure of the colliery.
Framework knitting
During the 18th century, framework knitting became an important cottage industry in the village, taking over from agriculture. As early as 1723/24, William Clark, son of William, was apprenticed to Joseph Howe. This apprenticeship was to run from Michaelmas 1723/24 for seven years. By the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, LeicestershireLeicestershire
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...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
had become the centre of the British hosiery trade, taking over from London. In 1832, it is recorded that there were some 33,000 knitting frames in use in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, of which the majority - 11,200, were in Leicestershire.
In 1844, there were 423 knitting frames in Whitwick and by this time, the cottage industry had been in decline for some years. This appears to have been as a result of a change in fashions and also to the new type of hose being produced, which required fewer skills in the manufacture. From the middle of the 19th century, framework knitting began to be transferred from homes to the factories in larger towns. By 1851, it is recorded that the number of frames in Whitwick had dwindled to 240.
Large hosiery factories appeared on Church Lane and at the top of The Dumps, shortly before the First World War.
Mineral water factories
In addition to the usual village trades, Whitwick also once had three mineral water factories.The largest of these was the firm of Bernard Beckworth on Cademan Street, which is listed in Kelly’s Directories of Leicestershire from 1904 through to 1941 as ‘Beckworth and Co. Ltd, Charnwood Mineral Water Works’. This firm was established in 1875 and ran until the 1970s.
By 1904, the firm of Stinson Brothers had appeared, which was based on Loughborough Road. By 1912, this firm is listed as simply Horace Stinson and has disappeared from the Whitwick Directories by 1928.
The firm of Richard Massey appears by 1916 and is listed at 36, Castle Street, Whitwick. Massey’s has disappeared by 1941.
A ‘Stinson Bros’ Codd Bottle appears among lots listed for auction in Barnsley (BBR Auctions) on Saturday 8 January 2006. It is described as: 9 ins tall, emerald green glass codd bottle. Embossed, ‘STINSON BROS/WHITWICK.’ The guide price was £80 - £100, presumably due to the rarity of the glass. Astonishingly, this bottle realised £515! This particular bottle was turned up by a plough in a field opposite A.W.Waldrum’s Coal Merchant's premises on Grace Dieu Road, Whitwick and is the only known example.
There is also known to have existed a ‘Botanical Brewery’, though it is believed that this may have been a part of the Stinson or Massey enterprises, both of which later moved to Hermitage Road. Both firms are listed on Hermitage Road (under Coalville) in a trade directory of 1941. There are also known to have been examples of nineteenth century bottles bearing the title of McCarthy and Beckworth, Coalville.
Railway
Charnwood Forest Railway
The Charnwood Forest Railway was a branch line in Leicestershire constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. The branch line ran from Coalville to the town of Loughborough....
which was constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. This branch line ran from Coalville East (joined to the Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR)) to the town of Loughborough
Loughborough
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...
, at the Derby Road Station. Passenger services ceased to operate on 13 April 1931, with freight services ceasing to operate on 12 December 1963. Whitwick railway station
Whitwick railway station
Whitwick railway station was built by the Charnwood Forest Company, serving the Charnwood Forest Railway, and was officially opened with the rest of the completed line on April 16, 1883. Following the closure of passenger traffic in 1931, the station building became a blacksmiths...
still has some surviving structures, the platform and the old station building, now the home of the Whitwick Historical Group, while the railway trackbed towards Coalville has been turned into a footpath.
Local public houses
There were at one time thirty-one working public houses, beerhouses or social clubs in Whitwick. However, many of these are now converted or demolished. Here follows a list of those still in business:The Man Within Compass ("Rag and Mop") on Loughborough Road,
The Lady Jane on Hall Lane,
The Hare and Hounds (Mary's House) in The City of Three Waters,
The Oak (Formerly The Prince of Wales; also known as The Beavers Lodge, 1983–89) on Talbot Street,
The Black Horse on Church Lane,
The White Horse on North Street/Market Place,
The Three Crowns in the Market Place,
The Kings Arms on Silver Street,
The Foresters Arms on Leicester Road (closed at present)
The Three Horseshoes ("Polly's") on Vicarage Street/City of Dan. The Three Horseshoes is the only pub in the village still selling Bass Bitter from the Bass Brewery in Burton Upon Trent. Currently Bass is brewed at Marston's Brewery alongside Pedigree Bitter, which is also served at 'Polly's'. It has several awards for serving consistently good beer and has an award from Camra for this effect. It is the only pub in Whitwick to have an entry in the current Good Beer Guide. The interior also won an award for being little changed since construction over 100 years ago.
Other working licensed buildings in the village include:
- The Constitutional Club (originally known as The Whitwick and Thringstone Conservative Club) on Silver Street,
- The Sports and Social Club (formerly the "Beaumont Arms" c. 1830-1913 and after that, the Labour Club)in the Market Place
- The North Street Working Men's Club (formerly the Liberal Club) on North Street, which closed in early 2008. One local source suggests that the owner of the Sports and Social is moving to the former Working Men's Club and that the site of the S&S is to be demolished for housing.
A full list of buildings otherwise demolished or converted are as follows;
The Abbey Inn, Cademan Street. Closed in 1911 and now demolished,
The Blacksmiths Arms, on the end of Hall Lane, closed in 1908 and later demolished. (now the site of the local Methodist Church),
The Boot Inn, on Silver Street, closed as a public house in 1913, premises has been some form of take away for more than 60 years, currently "Whitwick Spice",
The Castle Inn, on Castle Street, closed in 1970, now a house,
The Cricketers Arms, on Leicester Road, closed in 1908 and now demolished,
The Crown and Cushion on Silver Street, closed in 2003 and became a house,
The Crown and Cushion on South Street (South Street was latterly made into an extension of North Street) closed in 1923 and survived as a house until being demolished in the 1970s. The two pubs, curiously, at one point operated at the same time, with the same name and quite close to one another.
The Duke of Newcastle, formerly on North Street, demolished in recent years, now the site of housing development.
The Duke of York, on Leicester Road, closed in 1929 and now demolished.
The Hastings Arms, in the Market Place, was named for the Hastings family.
The pub closed in 1961 and was demolished. In 2009 it is the site of a car showroom.
The Hermitage Inn, on Hermtage Road. This was in two locations. The first Hermitage Inn still exists as a house, however the replacement "Hermitage Hotel" which the license transferred too was demolished in 1967 due to mining subsidence.
The Marquis of Granby, near King Richard's Hill. Demolished,
The New Inn, Brooks Lane/Corner of Talbot Street, closed and demolished in 1934,
The Railway Hotel, South Street (now North Street) closed in 1965 to become a Hardware Store, now a B-Warm Windows sales outlet. Built on top of another pub, "The Joiners Arms", whose ground floor rooms are now the basement rooms of the B-Warm Windows outlet. (The road level was raised when the railway was built).
The Royal George, North Street, closed in 1913,
The Talbot Arms, Talbot Street, closed in 1931 and finally
The Waggon and Horses, on Church Lane. This adjoined the Black Horse, but was purchased and demolished by Leicestershire County Council in 1985 to improve the road junction.
Local government
Traditionally, Whitwick and the contiguous electoral wards have been a stronghold for the Labour Party, all having a common coal mining heritage. However, in the 2007 North West Leicestershire District Council elections, the British National PartyBritish National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
won both Hugglescote
Hugglescote
Hugglescote is a village in North West Leicestershire, England. It formerly formed a civil parish with the adjacent settlement of Donington le Heath, though this was dissolved in 1936, when the area joined the urban district of Coalville...
and Whitwick - the first seats to be won by the BNP in 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...
and Whitwick also gained its first Conservative councillor. The success of the BNP was short-lived however, their Whitwick candidate coming sixth in the local elections of 2011. Councillors for Whitwick are currently Derek Howe (Labour); Tony Gillard (Conservative) and Ray Woodward(Labour).
Mount St Bernard and Gracedieu
Mount St. Bernard AbbeyMount St. Bernard Abbey
Mount St Bernard's Abbey is a Cistercian monastery of the Strict Observance near Whitwick in Leicestershire, England, founded in 1835. Its present Superior is Dom Joseph Delargy....
, was established on the Charnwood Forest, within the parish of Whitwick, in 1835 - a Cistercian monastery, which has the distinction of having been the first permanent Roman Catholic religious house to have been founded in England since the Reformation.
The current monastery was designed by the great architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, a man most famous for his work on the Houses of Parliament.
In 1840, a hoard of two thousand Roman coins was discovered during ploughing operations at the monastery.
Gracedieu Vineyard is south facing and was established in 1995 in Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest
Charnwood Forest is an upland tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough, and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 ft and upwards, the area...
. Its 'Green Man' wine based on the Madeleine Angevine
Madeleine Angevine
Madeleine Angevine is a white wine grape from the Loire Valley in France that is also popular in the United Kingdom, Germany, Kyrgyzstan and Washington State.. The early-ripening grape is a cross between Madeleine Royale and Précoce de Malingre grapes and is a riesling-type that grows well in...
grape is known for its floral bouquet.
The Friends of Holly Hayes Wood
The Friends of Holly Hayes Wood are a community group, composed of local residents, who have incorporated a social enterprise business to maintain and improve Holly Hayes Wood, Coalville MeadowsCoalville Meadows
Coalville Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest situated in Coalville, North West Leicestershire, England. It one of the best examples of neutral grassland that has developed on the somewhat leached clay soils of Leicestershire and is representative of such grassland in Central and...
and Forest Rock Wood.
The group were formed back in 2006, following a series of public meetings, and raised over £200,000 to buy Holly Hayes Wood and Coalville Meadows
Coalville Meadows
Coalville Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest situated in Coalville, North West Leicestershire, England. It one of the best examples of neutral grassland that has developed on the somewhat leached clay soils of Leicestershire and is representative of such grassland in Central and...
.
The sites were then donated back to the community via the 'Friends' (in a kind of trust) so that the woodland is owned by the community through local residents who are appointed annually at the groups annual general meeting.
The purpose of Friends of Holly Hayes Wood is to own, safeguard and improve the areas of Holly Hayes Wood, Coalville Meadows
Coalville Meadows
Coalville Meadows is a Site of Special Scientific Interest situated in Coalville, North West Leicestershire, England. It one of the best examples of neutral grassland that has developed on the somewhat leached clay soils of Leicestershire and is representative of such grassland in Central and...
and Forest Rock Wood, or any other adjacent area to Holly Hayes Wood, by demonstrating the value of woodland to the local community and proving the concept of community owned woodland.
The Friends of Holly Hayes Wood have a website at:- http://www.friendsofhollyhayeswood.org.uk
Notable residents
- Thomas Elsdon AshfordThomas Elsdon AshfordThomas Elsdon Ashford was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
- Recipient of the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. - Dom Ambrose Southey - Abbot of Mount St. Bernard AbbeyMount St. Bernard AbbeyMount St Bernard's Abbey is a Cistercian monastery of the Strict Observance near Whitwick in Leicestershire, England, founded in 1835. Its present Superior is Dom Joseph Delargy....
and Abbot General of Cistercians of the Strict Observance.