Loughborough

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Loughborough
Clockwise from top left: Loughborough University; Central; Carillon; All Saints Church; Old Town Hall& town centre
Loughborough Location within Leicestershire
Population	64,884 (2021)
OS grid reference	SK5319
District	Charnwood
Shire county	Leicestershire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Areas of the town	List Dishley Shelthorpe Thorpe Acre Woodthorpe
Post town	LOUGHBOROUGH
Postcode district	LE11
Dialling code	01509
Police	Leicestershire
Fire	Leicestershire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Loughborough
List of places UK England Leicestershire 52°46′21″N01°12′28″W / 52.77250°N 1.20778°W /52.77250; -1.20778

Loughborough(/ˈlʌfbərə/^ⓘ[1]LUF-bə-rə) is a market town in theCharnwoodBorough ofLeicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre ofCharnwood Borough Council. At the2021 Census, the town's built-up area had a population of 64,884.^[2]

It is the second largest settlement in the county afterLeicester. Loughborough is close to theNottinghamshireborder and is at an equal distance to Leicester,Nottingham,Derbyand theEast Midlands Airport. Loughborough is also home to the world's largest bellfoundry,John Taylor Bellfounders, which produced Great Paul atSt Paul's Cathedral; it has also made bells for theCarillon War Memorial, a landmark in Queens Park.

The earliest reference to Loughborough occurs in theDomesday Bookof 1086, which calls itLucteburne.^[3]It appears asLucteburgain a charter from the reign ofHenry II, and asLuchteburcin thePipe Rollsof 1186. The name is ofOld Englishorigin and means "Luhhede'sburhor fortified place".^[4][5]

Loughborough Grammar Schoolwas established in 1495, by money left in the will ofThomas Burton, a wealthy local wool merchant.^[6][7]

The first sign of industrialisation in the district came in the early 19th century, whenJohn Heathcoat, an inventor fromDerbyshire, patented in 1809 an improvement to the warp loom, known as the twisted lace machine, which allowed mitts with a lace-like appearance to be made.

Heathcoat, in partnership with the Nottingham manufacturer Charles Lacy, moved his business from there to the village ofHathern, outside Loughborough. The product of this "Loughborough machine" came to be known as English net orbobbinet. However, the factory was attacked in 1816 byLudditesthought to be in the pay of Nottingham competitors and 55 frames were destroyed. This prompted Heathcoat to move his business to a disused wool mill inTiverton, Devon.^[8]

In 1888 acharter of incorporationwas obtained, allowing a mayor and corporation to be elected. The population increased from 11,000 to 25,000 in the following ten years.

Among the factories established were Robert Taylor's bell foundryJohn Taylor & Coand the Falcon works, which produced steam locomotives, then motor cars, before it was taken over byBrush Electrical Machines. In 1897, Herbert Morris set up a factory in the Empress Works in Moor Lane which become one of the foremost crane manufacturers by the mid-20th century.^[9]

There was also strong municipal investment: a new sewage works in 1895, then a waterworks in Blackbrook and a power station in Bridge Street in 1899. The corporation took over the Loughborough Gas Company in 1900.

In 1841, Loughborough was the destination for the firstpackage tour, organised byThomas Cookfor atemperance groupfromLeicester.^[10]

As Loughborough grew in the 20th century, it gained new suburbs.Thorpe Acrein the north-west of Loughborough was a hamlet of about twenty dwellings until the mid-20th century. Several earlier survivors include a 19th-century church – All Saints Church, Thorpe Acre with Dishley, built in 1845 and extended in 1968 – and a hostelry,The Plough Inn. The population is counted into the Loughborough–Garendon Ward of Charnwood Council. Many roads there are named after poets. AfterWorld War II, some of Thorpe Acre developed further, mainly in the 1950s for employees ofBrush Engineering Works, with 100 dwellings built of no-fines concrete.^[11]In the 1960s and early 1970s, Thorpe Acre gained a new estate that subsumed the old village. Two of Loughborough's secondary schools, Charnwood College andDe Lisle College, lie on its bounds, as does Garendon Park, a large deer park from the 18th century. The original Dishley, off Derby Road, was heavily developed along with Thorpe Acre in the 1970s. Dishley Church in Derby Road is now in ruins. The agriculturalistRobert Bakewell(1726–1795) is buried there.

Shelthorpe and surrounding area are new suburbs in the south of Loughborough. Work on the original Shelthorpe started in 1929, but was halted by World War II and resumed in 1946. The centre of Shelthorpe has a wide variety of shops, including a Tesco Extra, which is probably the largest supermarket in Loughborough.

The Hazel Road and Fairmeadows Way estates to the west of Shelthorpe and the south of the university date from the 1970s. They stretch from Holywell Drive to Hazel Road. Rainbows Hospice, a children's hospice,^[12]and the secondaryWoodbrook Vale Schoolare on the edge of the suburb. They were followed by the Haddon Way estates to the south of the estates, and then by Grange Park, just south of Shelthorpe and north-west of the hamlet ofWoodthorpe, whose construction began in 2006 after completion of Terry Yardley Way to One Ash Roundabout, the last phase of Loughborough'sA6004ring road.

A planning application to build 30 new homes by William Davis Homes came under criticism in 2018 from residents saying that they had been promised public amenities like shops and a place of worship, but were living on "a construction site"; the site was originally intended to have shops, a church, community centre and health centre built on it.^[13]Despite the criticism, Charnwood Borough Council approved the plans.

After hosting two successfulveganmarkets in 2022,Charnwood Borough Councilinitiated three vegan markets to be held in Market Place in March, May, and October 2023.^[14]

Like most of the British Isles, Loughborough experiences amaritime climatewith cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is atSutton BoningtoninNottinghamshire, located 5 miles due north of the town centre. The highest temperature recorded in that area was 36.0 °C (96.8 °F)^[15]on 25 July 2019.

The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place and Market Street, which maintain a number of originalart decobuildings, such as the building that currently houses the town's Odeon cinema.^[16]A large outdoor market is held in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday.^[17]There is a monthly farmers' market.^[18]The first mention of a market in Loughborough is in 1221.^[19]

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.

A major new development, the Eastern Gateway, that developed the area around the railway station with a new road and new housing, was completed in 2013 at a cost of £20 million.^[20]

Pedestrianisation of the town centre was completed in November 2014. The scheme is intended to improve the economy within the town centre and reduce pollution from traffic congestion.^[21]

A new Cineworld cinema complex with several restaurants on Baxter Gate, on the site of the former General Hospital, was completed in 2016.^[22]

Loughboroughis the mainline station that serves the town. In 2012,Network Railredeveloped the station increasing the length of the platforms and improving access; concurrently, the local council made improvements to the surrounding area.

East Midlands Railwayoperates all passenger services that serve the station, on two routes:^[23]

• TheMidland Main LinebetweenLondon St Pancras,NottinghamandSheffield; intermediate locations includeDerby,Leicester,Market HarboroughandKettering. The link to London is twice-hourly and provides a link to Europe, viaEurostar. Leicester and Derby stations allow transfers toCrossCountrytrains running between the north-east of Scotland and the south-west of England.
• Services between Leicester andLincoln; alternate services continue toGrimsbyorCleethorpes.

There were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still-operating Midland Main Line, theGreat Central Railwaythat closed as a result of theBeeching cutsand a branch line fromNuneatonthat was part of theLondon & North Western Railway.Loughborough Centralserved the Great Central Railway. It was opened on 15 March 1899 and closed in 1969.

Loughborough Central re-opened in March 1974 as part of theGreat Central heritage railway.^[24]The railway is split into two sections north and south of Loughborough. Central station is the northern terminus of the southern section of the railway and services run daily. As of 2017, there were plans to fill the gap, known as theLoughborough Gap, and link the two halves of the railway again.^[25]Thus, a new bridge was installed over the Midland Main Line, the A60 and the Grand Union Canal. Work is now progressing on restoring another bridge over the car park of an industrial estate.

Station	Part of line	Serving area
Ruddington Transport Centre	Nottingham mainline	Ruddington
Rushcliffe Halt	Nottingham mainline	East Leake (British Gypsum)
Loughborough Central	Leicester mainline	Loughborough
Quorn & Woodhouse	Leicester mainline	Quorn, Woodhouse
Rothley	Leicester mainline	Rothley
Nunckley Hill	Mountsorrel branchline	Mountsorrel
Mountsorrel Halt	Mountsorrel branchline	Mountsorrel
Belgrave & Birstall (Leicester North)	Leicester mainline	Birstall

Brush Traction, a manufacturer of railway locomotives, is also located in the town, adjacent to the Midland railway station.

Loughborough sits at the crossroads of three main roads, two of which begin in the town:

• The A6 main road begins atLutonbefore running north throughBedford,Leicester,Derby,Manchesterand ending atCarlisle.
• The A60 begins in Loughborough and goes north to Nottingham,MansfieldandWorksop.
• The A512 begins in Loughborough and runs west towards the M1,ShepshedandAshby-de-la-Zouch, while the A6004, which was originally proposed as a bypass for Loughborough, runs from just south of the town around the western and northern suburbs of Loughborough, ending near the railway station at the A60.

Other signed routes are the B589, running between the A6 and the A60, and the B5350, running between the A6 and the A6004.

TheM1's junction 23 lies just to the west of Loughborough. The north of the town can be accessed from junction 24, travelling throughKegworthandHathernon theA6 roadand the south-west of the town from Junction 22, via Copt Oak and the small hamlet ofNanpantan.

Bus services in and around Loughborough are operated byArriva Midlands East,Kinchbus,^{[nb 1]}Diamond East Midlands,Centrebus,Nottingham City Transportand Vectare.^[26]

Buses around Loughborough town centre depart from on-street stops on various streets around the town centre. Until around 2001, some routes were operated from a bus station near Fennel Street, but this was demolished as part of a town centre regeneration;The Rushesshopping centre was built on the site.

TheRiver Soarpasses by to the east of the town. Navigation north towards the Trent was achieved in 1778 by theLoughborough Navigation, which terminates at Loughborough Wharf between Derby Road and Bridge Street. Subsequently, theLeicester Navigationwas constructed, connecting to the Loughborough Navigation at Chain Bridge and to the River Soar south of the town. Both form part of theGrand Union Canal.

The now-derelictCharnwood Forest Canalonce linked Nanpantan (on the west side of Loughborough) with Thringstone, with goods being carried into the town by a horse-drawn wagonway.

In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among British universities byThe Times'Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007The Guardianrated the university 8th, and 10th of 117 institutions by The Guardian League Tables 2009 (published online 1 June 2008 for the 2009–2010 academic year. The university stands fifth in some rankings, behind Oxbridge and the London universities. It has the largest sports scholarship in the UK. More than 250 international athletes study and train there. In 2008 it was named Sunday Times University of the Year.^[27]

Loughborough College is the second biggest education establishment in Loughborough, after the University. It offers further education and vocational courses. It was established in 1909, and has over 12,000 full and part-time students.

RNIB College, Loughborough, caters for those over 16 with a wide range of disabilities, seeking access to education, employment and independent living.

Loughborough has a variety of uniformed youth organisations, with severalScoutandGirl Guideunits,Girls'andBoys' Brigades, units from thecadet forces(Air Training Corps,Army Cadet Force,Sea Cadet Corps, andCombined Cadet ForceatLoughborough Grammar School), aSt John AmbulanceCadet unit, and a cadet programme run by the local Fire and Rescue Service. Since November 2015, Loughborough has also had aVolunteer Police Cadetunit based atLoughborough College.^[28]

Loughborough's local weekly newspaper is theLoughborough Echo. The town is also served by Leicestershire's daily newspaper, theLeicester Mercury. The town's local TV coverage is provided byBBC East MidlandsandITV Central, television signals are received from theWalthamTV transmitter. Local radios stations areBBC Radio Leicester,Capital Midlands,Smooth East Midlands,Gem 106, Fosse107 and community-based station Carillon Radio.^[29]

The town was once home to a professional football club,Loughborough FC, which played at theAthletic Groundand was a member ofthe Football Leaguein the late 19th century.Loughborough Dynamoof theNorthern Premier League Division One South East(Level 8 of the men's football pyramid),Loughborough Universityof theUnited Counties League Premier Division(Level 9 of the men's football pyramid) and women's teamLoughborough Foxesof theFA Women's National League North(Level 3 of the women's football pyramid) are the most prominent football teams in the town currently.

Cricket is prominent, with the Old Contemptibles,^[30]Loughborough Town CC, Loughborough Outwoods CC, Loughborough Carillon CC, Loughborough Carillon Old Boys' CC, Loughborough University Staff CC, Loughborough Greenfields CC andLoughborough Lightningof the semi-professionalWomen's Cricket Super Leaguerepresenting various standards of cricket in the area. Loughborough Town has since 2000 been the most successful club in theLeicestershire and Rutland Cricket League. The university is home to theECB National Cricket Academy, used by the England team as their primary training centre.

The townrugby unionclub,Loughborough RFC, play at Derby Road playing fields. The club was formed in 1891. The University's 1st XV rugby team, the Loughborough Students RUFC, were promoted to the National One division in 2012, which is the 3rd tier of English rugby.

Other sports teams include the Loughborough Aces (collegiateAmerican football),Loughborough Lightningof theNetball Superleagueand Loughborough Hawks, an amateur netball team. The town also has its own swimming club, Loughborough Town Swimming Club, which is based in the town and trains at local venues.

The tennis tournamentAegon Pro-Series Loughboroughis held in Loughborough.

London Roarhead coach and former swimmerMelanie Marshallresides in Loughborough and is the lead coach in theLoughborough National Swimmingcentre where she trains multi-championAdam Peaty.

Loughborough has five museums, the largest being the centrally locatedCharnwood Museum, which houses a range of exhibits reflecting the natural history, geology, industry and history of the area. Nearby in Queens Park is theCarillonand War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from theFirstandSecond World Wars. Loughborough Library is on Granby Street.^[31]

Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medievalAll Saintsparish church, is the Old Rectory.^[32]Dating back to 1288 the remaining portion of the Great Hall has been restored and houses a small museum run by the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society.

Loughborough has for more than a century been the home ofJohn Taylor & Co, bell founders. The firm's Bellfoundry Museum on two floors tells the story of bell-making over the centuries. The recording of the tolling bell at the beginning of "Hells Bells", the first track onAC/DC's 1980 albumBack in Blackwas made on a quarter-weight near replica of the Denison bell in the Carillon war memorial.^{[citation needed]}

There is a museum at the former Great Central Railway station, illustrating the history of the railway from its earliest days up to its present state as a double-track preserved heritage railway.

Although Loughborough has no dedicated art gallery, fine sculpture can be found in the town's environs, including those installed from a local artist in commemoration of the First World War Centenary outside Charnwood Museum, andThe Sockman,^[33]a bronze statue marking Loughborough's association with the hosiery industry. This can be found in the Market Place nearLoughborough Town Hall, which itself contains a number of art works. It is also the venue for concerts, exhibitions, musicals, comedy shows and a Christmas pantomime. Groups make use of the town hall for their shows.

Events are also organised by Charnwood Arts, a voluntarily managed and professionally staffed body offering a year-round programme of professional performances across the borough. They include the Picnic In the Park, inaugurated in 1980, which is held in Queens Park in May. Streets Alive, jointly organised by Charnwood Arts andCharnwood Borough Council, takes place at a similar time of year.

TheLoughborough Canal Festival, which ran from 1997 to 2014, was an annual event in May centred on Chain Bridge.

Great Central Railwayis a heritage railway based at Loughborough Central Station, which is south of the town centre. It is operated largely by volunteers. Trains run every weekend of the year and on bank holidays, as well as daily during the summer.

Every November, a street fair takes over the centre of the town, closing some roads. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night and offers rides, amusement arcades, food stands and games. Fairs have been held in Loughborough for centuries, the first official Charter being granted to the Lord of the Manor, Hugh le Despencer, in 1221 by King Henry III. The Fair was then held on St. Peter's Day.^{[citation needed]}

The town has an Odeon cinema designed by ArchibaldHurley Robinsonin anArt Decostyle. There are six screens. The cinema was built in 1914 as the Empire and was remodelled in 1936 by Hurley Robinson as the New Empire Cinema. Over the years it has been named the Palm Court and Ballroom, Empire, Essoldo, Classic, Curzon and Reel. The site of the former Loughborough General Hospital, demolished in 2012, has been taken by a Cineworld cinema with eight screens, which opened in 2016.

Loughborough was the birthplace of the poet andRoyalistJohn Cleveland(1613–1658).^[34]

John Paget(1808–1892), an English agriculturist and writer onHungary, was born here.

ThebellfounderJohn William Taylor(1827-1906) ofJohn Taylor & Colived and died here. The chemistArthur Donald WalshFRS(8 August 1916 – 23 April 1977) was born in Loughborough and attended Loughborough Grammar School.^[35]The engineer, physicist and authorCharles Denis Meewas born here in 1927.^[36]

Other Loughborough natives includeAlbert Francis Cross, the journalist, author, poet and playwright who was born on Moor Lane on 9 May 1863, the two timeLaurence Olivier Awardnominated stage actressNicola HughesandCoronation Street'sRoy CropperactorDavid Neilson, and the notorious rock star of the mid-1960s,Viv Princeofthe Pretty Things.BobsleigherandParatrooperDean Ward, who won abronze medalat the1998 Winter Olympicswas born in the town. Felix Buxton ofBasement Jaxxwas a pupil atLoughborough Grammar Schooland son of the one-time vicar of nearbyWoodhouse EavesandIbstock.^[37]The Dundee-born comedian, TV presenter and entertainerDanny Wallaceattended Holywell County Primary School. Second World War fighter aceJohnnie Johnsonattended Loughborough Grammar School. The high jumperBen Challenger, son ofShowaddywaddydrummerRomeo Challenger, is from Loughborough. The popular Muslim andBangladeshipresenterRizwan Hussainwas brought up there. The cultural thinkerMark Fisher, writer ofCapitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative(2009), grew up in the town.

Notable sporting graduates of Loughborough University includeSir Clive Woodward,Sebastian Coe,Paula Radcliffe,David Moorcroft,Tanni Grey-Thompson,Monty Panesar,Steve Backley,Jack KirwanandLawrie Sanchez.

Professionalfootballers,Liam MooreandHamza Choudhurywere both born in the town and have gone on to play in thePremier Leaguewith nearbyLeicester City.Fred Ainsworthwas also born here. England Rugby union captainPhil de Glanvillewas born in the town.

Other known people:Sue Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Loughboroughcurrent Head of FA Women's football,Nicky Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes. Sam Billings, current captain of Kent County Cricket Team in the Vitality T20 Blast and Oval Invincible in The Hundred, was a student at Loughborough University.

Loughborough istwinnedwith:

• Épinal,Vosges, France^[38]
• Gembloux,Namur, Belgium
• Schwäbisch Hall,Baden-Württemberg, Germany^[39]
• Zamość,Lublin Voivodeship, Poland^[40]

Loughborough has a friendship link withBhavnagar,Gujarat, India^[41]

• Deakin, W A (1974).19th Century Loughborough. Loughborough: Echo Press.OCLC650255345.

• Loughborough Town Hall
• Loughborough Carillon