Loughborough (pronounced /ˈlʌfbərə/ ( listen) LUFF-bərə, or /ˈlʌfbrə/ LUFF-brə) is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire County Hall, situated in Glenfield, about 3 miles north-west of Leicester city centre, is the seat of Leicestershire County Council and the headquarters of the county authority. The City of Leicester is administered from offices in Leicester itself and the City Council meets at Leicester Town Hall, England. It had a population of 57,600 in 2004.[1] It is the second largest settlement in Leicestershire after Leicester, is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council, and the home of Loughborough University Loughborough University is a campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England.

In 1841 Loughborough was the destination for the first package tour A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country. Package holidays are a form of product bundling, organised by Thomas Cook Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group for a temperance group A temperance movement is a social movement against the use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence, or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation from Leicester Leicester (pronounced /ˈlɛstɚ/ , LES-tər) is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands area of England. It is also the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest. In 2006, the population of the Leicester unitary authority was estimated at 289,700, the largest in the East. The town has the world's largest bell foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron. However, other metals, such as steel, magnesium, copper, tin, — John Taylor Bellfounders, which made the bells for the Carillon A carillon is a musical instrument that is usually housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A carillon is played by striking a keyboard called a & war memorial For most of human history war memorials were erected to commemorate great victories. Remembering the dead was a secondary concern. Indeed in Napoleon's day the dead were shoveled into mass, unmarked graves. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris or Nelson's Column in London contain no names of those killed. By the end of the nineteenth century it was common, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, and York Minster York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by a Dean and Chapter under the Dean of York. The formal. The first mention of Loughborough is in the 1086 Domesday Book The Domesday Book is the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, executed for William I of England, or William the Conqueror. "While spending the Christmas of 1085 in Gloucester, William had deep speech with his counsellors and sent men all over England to each shire to find out what or how much each landholder had in land.

To the north of the edges of Loughborough, Dishley Grange Farm was formerly the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell. The farm was also once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show. Loughborough's local newspaper is the Loughborough Echo Founded by Joseph Deakin in 1891, the Echo has only had four editors in its history. It is based in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, and circulates in the town and the surrounding area. There is also a special edition, the Shepshed Echo, serving the nearby town of Shepshed. Their combined circulation from 3 July 2006 to 31, although there is also the Loughborough Guide. However the town is also served by the Leicester Mercury.

Due to a large percentage of Australians living in and around the town as students and alumni of the University, it occasionally gets named Loogabarooga, both purposely for comic effect by Australians in the town and accidentally by visiting Australians unaware of its correct pronunciation[citation needed].

Contents

History

Signpost for Dishley area of Loughborough Further information: History of Leicestershire

Transport

Loughborough station is located on the Midland Main Line, at the east of the town. This line links to London to Nottingham Nottingham ( /ˈnɒtɪŋəm/ ) is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, and is one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group. Whilst the City of Nottingham has a historically tightly drawn boundary which accounts for its relatively, Sheffield Sheffield (pronounced /ˈʃɛfiːld/ ) is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city has grown from its largely industrial roots to encompass a wider economic base. The population of the City of and Leeds Coordinates: 53°47′59″N 1°32′57″W / 53.79972°N 1.54917°W Leeds (pronounced /ˈliːdz/ ) is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city had a population of 770,800 (2008 est.). Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial. There were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still operating Midland line; the Great Central Railway which had its own Central station, closed as a result of the Beeching Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer. He became infamous in Britain in the early 1960s for his report "The Reshaping of British Railways", commonly referred to as the Beeching Report, which led to far-reaching changes in the railway network, cuts; and a branch line from Nuneaton, part of the London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway was a railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three railway companies - the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. During the late 19th century the L&NWR was the largest joint. Today, the Great Central Railway line is the terminus of the south section of the Great Central Steam Railway heritage railway A heritage railway , preserved railway (United Kingdom and Australia), tourist railway (Australia), or tourist railroad (United States) is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and which typically seeks to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past (though not all tourist railways are heritage railways), and plans are to reopen the line north and join the two sections.

Brush Traction, a manufacturer of railway locomotives, is also located in the town, close to Loughborough's railway station. The M1 The M1 is a major north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the Preston Bypass, which later became part of the M6's Junction 23 is 2 miles (5 km) west. The north of the town can be accessed from Junction 24, travelling through Kegworth Kegworth is a village on the River Soar, Leicestershire, England. However, the post town for Kegworth is Derby. It is near junction 24 of the M1 motorway and is also close to East Midlands Airport. An air-crash incident in 1989 was just short of the airport's runway at the eastern side of the airport. Although this was outside the village, it has and Hathern on the A6 road. Local buses are operated by Arriva Arriva plc is a British-based international public transport operator, owned by German company Deutsche Bahn, headquartered in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. It has bus and/or rail operations in Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. It is listed on the, Centrebus, Paul S Winson Coaches, Veolia Transport, Premiere Travel and Kinchbus.

The River Soar The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands passes by to the east of the town. Navigation from Loughborough north towards the Trent was achieved in 1778 by the Loughborough Navigation which terminates at Loughborough Wharf between Derby Road and Bridge Street. Subsequently the Leicester navigation was constructed connecting to the Loughborough Navigation at Canal Bridge. The Leicester navigation connects to the River Soar south of the town. Both form part of the Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 220 km with 166 locks. It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton.

Economy

The Brush engineering works

The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place and Market Street, which maintain a number of original art deco Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. Nowadays the style is said to have been active from around 1910 until the outbreak of World War II. The style was named in the 1960s after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that buildings, such as the building that currently houses the town's cinema. A large outdoor market is held in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday. There is a monthly farmers' market. The first mention of a market in Loughborough is in 1221.

'The Rushes' shopping centre has also been built on the site of the former bus station and is occupied by national chains. The Rushes is linked to the town centre area by Churchgate and Churchgate Mews; the latter has independent shops.

There is major new development planned for the area around the railway station with a new road and housing planned.

The Japanese Olympic team have chosen the town as their base for the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London.

Sport

The Rugby Union Rugby union, or simply Rugby, is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, up to 100 metres long and 70 metres (2 club, Loughborough RFC, play at Derby Road playing fields. The club was formed in 1891.

Other sports teams include the non-league Loughborough Dynamo Football Club and the Loughborough Aces (Collegiate American Football American football, known in the United States simply as football and often as gridiron outside the United States, is a competitive team sport. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by carrying it or by throwing it to a teammate (a passing play). Points can be). There is a netball Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. The sport shares many similarities with basketball, having been derived from early versions of women's basketball. It developed as a distinct sport in the 1890s in England, from where it spread to other countries. Netball is popular in Commonwealth nations and is predominantly league at Loughborough Leisure Centre A leisure centre in the UK and Canada is a purpose built building or site, usually owned and operated by the borough council or district council, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities. The town was also once home of a professional football club, Loughborough F.C., in the Football League The Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, during the late 1800s. Cricket is prominent, with The Old Contemptibles C.C, Loughborough Town C.C., Loughborough Carillon C.C., Loughborough Carillon Old Boys' C.C. and Loughborough Greenfields C.C. representing various standards of Cricket in the area. The university is home to the ECB National Cricket Academy, used by the England team as primary training centre. The town also has its own swimming club, Loughborough Town Swimming Club, which is based in the town and train at local venues. Loughborough will also be hosting the 2011 UK Corporate Games.

Arts and Heritage

Loughborough has four museums, the largest being the centrally located Charnwood Museum, which houses a range of exhibits reflecting the natural history, geology, industry and history of the area. Nearby in Queens Park is the Carillon A carillon is a musical instrument that is usually housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord. A carillon is played by striking a keyboard called a & and War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from the first and second World Wars.

Loughborough parish church

Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medieval All Saints All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown parish church, is the Old Rectory. Dating back to 1288 the remaining portion of the Great Hall has been restored and houses a small museum run by the Loughborough and District Archaeological Society.

Loughborough has for more than a century been the home of John Taylor & Co bell founders and the firm has a museum—the Bellfoundry Museum—located on two floors telling the story of bell making over the centuries.

A walk around the town reveals a mix of architectural styles and there are several interesting examples of Victorian and Art Deco Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. Nowadays the style is said to have been active from around 1910 until the outbreak of World War II. The style was named in the 1960s after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that buildings, while the oldest buildings are to be found clustered around the parish church and the Church Gate conservation area.

Although it has no dedicated art gallery, fine pieces of sculpture can be found in the town’s environs, including the ‘Sock Man’, a bronze statue celebrating Loughborough’s association with the hosiery industry. This can be found in the Market Place near the Town Hall, which itself contains a number of art works.

The Town Hall Theatre is the venue for a wide range of events, including concerts, exhibitions, musicals, comedy shows and a Christmas pantomime. The town also has a thriving amateur dramatic community[citation needed], and many groups make use of the town hall for their shows.

Events are also organised by Charnwood Arts, a voluntary managed and professionally staffed body, which promotes a year round programme of professional performances across the borough. The organisation is responsible for The Picnic In the Park event, which was inaugurated in 1980 and is held in Queens Park in May. Streets Alive, jointly organised by Charnwood Arts and Charnwood Borough Council takes place at a similar time of year.

The Loughborough Canal Festival, which started in 1997, is an annual event in May centred around Chain Bridge. The event attracts around 10,000 visitors[citation needed].

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

Every November, the street fair takes over the centre of the town and closes the A6 and other roads. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night. The fair has many rides, amusement arcades, food stands and games.

The town is home to the Reel Cinema, part of a chain of 10. There are six screens in the theatre, which is built to an art deco Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. Nowadays the style is said to have been active from around 1910 until the outbreak of World War II. The style was named in the 1960s after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that style. The cinema was built in 1936 and over the years it has been named the Palm Court and Ballroom, Empire, Classic and Curzon.

Education

Schools

Main article: List of schools in Leicestershire

Tertiary education

Loughborough University

Main article: Loughborough University Loughborough University is a campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England Loughborough University

In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among the British universities by the Times The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of News International. News International is entirely owned by the News Corporation group, headed by Rupert Murdoch. Though traditionally a moderately centre-right newspaper and a supporter of the Conservatives, it supported the Labour Party in' Good University Guide League tables of British universities have been published annually, by The Times, The Independent and several other organizations, since October 1992. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007 The Guardian The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation (the Scott Trust, via the Guardian Media Group). It is known for its left-of-centre political stance. At the 2010 election it supported the Liberal Democrats rated the university 8th, and 10th of 117 institutions by The Guardian League Tables 2009 (published online 1/6/08 for the 2009-10 academic year. The university is 5th in some rankings, behind Oxbridge and the London universities. The university has the largest sports scholarship in the UK. More than 250 international athletes study and train there. In 2008 Loughborough was named Sunday Times University of the Year.[2] The university is also the town's largest employer.[citation needed]

Loughborough College

Main article: Loughborough College

Loughborough College is the second biggest education establishment in Loughborough, after the University. Its offers Further Education and vocational courses. It was established in 1909, and has an over 12,000 full and part-time students population. It has an annual turnover in excess of £19m and employs over 900 staff[citation needed].

Local Organisations

2229 Loughborough Squadron Air Training Corps

Main article: List of Air Training Corps squadrons Loughborough Crest

The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a military based youth organisation for 13-20 year olds. 2229 Loughborough Squadron is based at the T.A. Centre on Leicester Road in Loughborough. They parade on a Monday and Thursday from 19:00 hrs to 21:30 hrs and have around 30 cadets.. The current Officer Commanding is Flt Lt Kath Lane RAFVR(T) who has been in command since 2002. They can be seen regularly around the Loughborough area at all manner of community events. The cadets regularly fly, glide, target rifle shoot and take part in other adventurous activities.

Notable people

Loughborough natives include Albert Francis Cross, the journalist, author, poet and playwright who was born on Moor Lane on 9 May 1863, the two time Laurence Olivier Award nominated stage actress Nicola Hughes and Coronation Street Coronation Street is a British prime-time soap opera set in the fictional town of Weatherfield, a suburb of the city of Manchester, England. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street is the longest running and most watched British soap opera. Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960, made by Granada Television (now ITV Studios) and's Roy Cropper actor David Neilson. Bobsleigher Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs that are combined to make your final score you slide down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled. The various types of sleds came several years before the first tracks were built in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where the original bobsleds were and Paratrooper Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force Dean Ward, who won a bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1998 in Nagano, Japan. These Games marked the return of the Winter Olympics to Japan since 1972, when the games were held in Sapporo. This was the third Olympic Games to be held in Japan with the first being the 1964 Summer was also born in the town.

Most biographies of Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx suggest he was a Londoner. In fact he was a pupil at Loughborough Grammar School and son of the one-time vicar of nearby Woodhouse Eaves and Ibstock. The Dundee-born comedian, TV presenter and entertainer Danny Wallace attended Holywell County Primary School. Mark Collett, sidekick of Nick Griffin in the BNP, attended Loughborough Grammar School.[3]

The high jumper Ben Challenger, son of Showaddywaddy drummer Romeo Challenger, is also from Loughborough. The popular Muslim and Bangladeshi presenter Rizwan Hussain was brought up there. More recently, Fred Bowers, a 73 year old Loughborough pensioner reached the Semi-Finals of Britains Got Talent 2009, with his breakdancing act.

Notable sporting graduates of Loughborough University include Sir Clive Woodward, Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, KBE is a former athlete and politician from the United Kingdom. A middle distance runner, Coe won the 1500 m gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and set eight outdoor and three indoor world records. He is widely considered to be amongst the greatest middle distance runners of all time. Following his, Paula Radcliffe, David Moorcroft, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Monty Panesar, Steve Backley, Jack Kirwan and Lawrie Sanchez.

Twinning

Signpost for Loughborough

Loughborough is twinned Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties with:

References

  1. ^ Facts & Figures - Population
  2. ^ "Loughborough named University of the Year". The Times (London). 2008-09-20. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article4793616.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  3. ^ "What the jury did not hear", The Times The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of News International. News International is entirely owned by the News Corporation group, headed by Rupert Murdoch. Though traditionally a moderately centre-right newspaper and a supporter of the Conservatives, it supported the Labour Party in, November 11, 2006, retrieved 28 December 2009

External links

Ceremonial county The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997. They are often used in a geographic reference frame, of Leicestershire County Hall, situated in Glenfield, about 3 miles north-west of Leicester city centre, is the seat of Leicestershire County Council and the headquarters of the county authority. The City of Leicester is administered from offices in Leicester itself and the City Council meets at Leicester Town Hall
England Portal England ( /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its mainland is on the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. England shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; and adjoins the Irish Sea to the north-west, the Celtic Sea to the south-west and the North
Unitary authorities Leicester
Boroughs or districts District of Blaby · Borough of Charnwood · District of Harborough · Borough of Hinckley and Bosworth · Borough of Melton · District of North West Leicestershire · Borough of Oadby and Wigston
Major settlements Ashby-de-la-Zouch · Braunstone Town · Coalville · Earl Shilton · Hinckley · Leicester · Loughborough · Lutterworth · Market Bosworth · Market Harborough · Melton Mowbray · Oadby · Shepshed · Syston · Wigston Magna See also: List of civil parishes in Leicestershire
Topics Parliamentary constituencies · Places · SSSIs · Museums

Categories: Towns in Leicestershire

 

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THE Loughborough University women's tennis team finished top six at last week's Aegon Team Tennis National Open finals. The quartet of Suzie Dyrbus, ...
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