Loughborough

The earliest historical reference to Loughborough was as "Loughburne" in the 1086 Domesday Book.[2] It appeared in a charter from the reign of Henry II as Loughburga, and in the Pipe Rolls of 1186 as Loughburc. The name means "Lough's borough or fortified place".[3]

The first sign of industrialisation in the Loughborough district came in the early years of the 19th century, when John Heathcoat, an inventor from Derbyshire 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 of Hathern, outside Loughborough. The product of this "Loughborough machine" came to be known as English net or bobbinet. However, the factory was attacked in 1816 by Luddites thought to be in the pay of Nottingham competitors and 55 frames were destroyed. This prompted Heathcoat to move his business to a disused woollen mill in Tiverton, Devon.[4]

In 1888 a charter of incorporation was 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 foundry John Taylor & Co and the Falcon works, which produced steam locomotives, then motor cars, before it was taken over by Brush 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.[5]

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 first package tour, organised by Thomas Cook for a temperance group from Leicester.

As Loughborough grew in the 20th century, it gained new suburbs. Thorpe Acre in 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. After the Second World War, some of Thorpe Acre developed further, mainly in the 1950s for employees of Brush Engineering Works, with 100 dwellings built of no-fines concrete.[6] 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 and De 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 agriculturalist Robert 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. It now has two rows of shops. A magnificent but often overlooked piece of architecture is a group of twelve houses surrounding the crossroads at Castledine Street Extension, Woodthorpe Road, and Shelthorpe Road.

Fairmeadows Way and the surrounding area to the west of Shelthorpe and the south of the university date from the 1970s. The area stretches from Holywell Drive to Hazel Road. Rainbows, a children's hospice,[7] and the secondary Woodbrook Vale School are on the edge of the suburb. Grange Park is to the south of these. Construction began in 2006 after the completion of Terry Yardley Way to One Ash Roundabout. By 2018 the developers William Davis had built 1000 houses. Other developers were also building to the west of Shelthorpe and the south of the university.

William Davis came under fire in 2018 from residents saying they had been promised public amenities like shops and a place of worship, but were living on "a construction site" after William Davis submitted a planning application for 30 more houses on a site that could have been used for public purposes.[8] Despite criticism, the borough council approved the plans. Most of the housing schemes in the area have been completed.

Persimmon Homes and William Davis Homes unveiled controversial plans in 2013 to build 3,200 houses on Garendon Park as the West of Loughborough Sustainable Urban Extension. The plans were approved in 2018, and a new roundabout was under construction shortly afterwards, which will also connect to the new Science and Enterprise Park to the south.

Loughborough Central railway station

Loughborough station is a mainline station serving the town. In 2012, Network Rail redeveloped the station increasing the length of the platforms and improving access; concurrently, the local council made improvements to the surrounding area. East Midlands Railway is the primary operator providing services on the Midland Main Line south to Leicester, Bedford, Luton and London St Pancras stations and north to Lincoln, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds and York stations. The link to London is twice-hourly and provides a link to Europe via Eurostar. Leicester and Derby stations allow transfers to CrossCountry trains running between the north-east of Scotland and the south-west of England.

There were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still-operating Midland Main Line, the Great Central Railway that closed as a result of the Beeching cuts and a branch line from Nuneaton that was part of the London & North Western Railway. Loughborough Central railway station served the Great Central Railway. It was opened on 15 March 1899 and closed in 1969 but re-opened in March 1974 as part of the Great Central heritage railway.[9] The railway is split into two sections north and south of Loughborough. 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 and link the two halves of the railway again.[10] Thus, a new bridge was installed over the Midland Main Line. Work is now progressing on restoring another bridge over the Grand Union Canal.

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

The M1's Junction 23 lies 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 and the south west of the town from Junction 22, via Copt Oak and the small hamlet of Nanpantan.

Local buses around Loughborough are operated by Arriva Midlands, Kinchbus,[11] Paul S Winson and Robert's Coaches, with longer distance services to Melton Mowbray and Nottingham provided by Centrebus, Nottingham City Transport and trentbarton. There are also various services to Leicester.[12]

The River Soar 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 Chain Bridge and 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.

Loughborough has a variety of uniformed youth organisations, with several Scout and Girl Guide units, Girls' and Boys' Brigades, units from the cadet forces (Air Training Corps, Army Cadet Force, Sea Cadet Corps, and Combined Cadet Force at Loughborough Grammar School), a St John Ambulance Cadet unit, and a cadet programme run by the local Fire and Rescue Service. Since November 2015, Loughborough has also had a Volunteer Police Cadet unit based at Loughborough College.[19]

Hazlerigg Front Lawn

British Aerospace EAP at the Aeronautical Engineering Department at Loughborough University

In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among 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 2009–2010 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.[20]

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 is for people aged 16+ and adults with a wide range of disabilities seeking to access education, employment and independent living.