 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Loughborough | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Market Place | |
  Loughborough Location withinLeicestershire | |
| Population | 64,884 (2021 Census Ward Profile)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SK5319 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the town | |
| Post town | LOUGHBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | LE11 |
| Dialling code | 01509 |
| Police | Leicestershire |
| Fire | Leicestershire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Loughborough (/ˈlʌfbərə/ ⓘ[2]LUF-bər-ə) is amarket town in theCharnwood Borough ofLeicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre ofCharnwood Borough Council. At theUnited Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a population of 64,884.[3]
It is the second largest settlement in the county afterLeicester. Loughborough is close to theNottinghamshire border and is located nearLeicester,Nottingham andDerby. Loughborough is home to the world's largest bellfoundry,John Taylor Bellfounders, which produced Great Paul atSt Paul's Cathedral; it has made bells for theCarillon War Memorial, a landmark in Queens Park.
The earliest reference to Loughborough occurs in theDomesday Book of 1086, which calls itLucteburne.[4] It appears asLucteburga in a charter from the reign ofHenry II, and asLuchteburc in thePipe Rolls of 1186. The name is ofOld English origin and means "Luhhede'sburh or fortified place".[5][6]
Loughborough Grammar School was established in 1495, by money left in the will ofThomas Burton, a wealthy local wool merchant.[7][8]
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 thewarp loom, known as the twistedlace 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 byLuddites thought 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.[9]
In 1888 acharter 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 foundryJohn Taylor & Co and 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.[10]
There was 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 Cook for atemperance group fromLeicester.[11]
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. 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.[12] 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,[13] and the secondaryWoodbrook Vale School are 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'sA6004 ring 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.[14] Despite the criticism, Charnwood Borough Council approved the plans.
After hosting two successfulvegan markets in 2022,Charnwood Borough Council initiated three vegan markets to be held in Market Place in March, May, and October 2023.[15]
At the 2021 census, Loughborough's urban area had a population of 64,884. Of the findings, the ethnicity and religious composition of the ward was:
| Loughborough: Ethnicity: 2021 Census | |||||||||||||
| Ethnic group | Population | % | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 49,400 | 76.2% | |||||||||||
| Asian or Asian British | 10,191 | 15.7% | |||||||||||
| Mixed | 2,140 | 3.3% | |||||||||||
| Black or Black British | 1,878 | 2.9% | |||||||||||
| Other Ethnic Group | 750 | 1.2% | |||||||||||
| Arab | 489 | 0.8% | |||||||||||
| Total | 64,884 | 100% | |||||||||||
The religious composition of the ward at the 2021 Census was recorded as:
| Loughborough: Religion: 2021 Census | |||||||||||||
| Religious | Population | % | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irreligious | 27,205 | 45.3% | |||||||||||
| Christian | 23,737 | 39.5% | |||||||||||
| Muslim | 4,179 | 7% | |||||||||||
| Hindu | 3,684 | 6.1% | |||||||||||
| Sikh | 461 | 0.8% | |||||||||||
| Other religion | 381 | 0.6% | |||||||||||
| Buddhist | 321 | 0.5% | |||||||||||
| Jewish | 65 | 0.3% | |||||||||||
| Total | 64,884 | 100% | |||||||||||
Like most of the British Isles, Loughborough experiences amaritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is atSutton Bonington inNottinghamshire, located 5 miles due north of the town centre. The highest temperature recorded in that area was 36.0 °C (96.8 °F)[16] on 25 July 2019.
The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place and Market Street, which maintain several originalart deco buildings, such as the building that currently houses the town's Odeon cinema.[17] A large outdoor market is held in the Market Place every Thursday and Saturday.[18] There is a monthly farmers' market.[19] The first mention of a market in Loughborough is in 1221.[20]
The Rushes shopping centre has 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, which developed the area around the railway station with a new road and new housing, was completed in 2013 for £20 million.[21]
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.[22]
A new Cineworld cinema complex with several restaurants on Baxter Gate, on the site of the former General Hospital, was completed in 2016,[23] However, as of late 2024, it has now shut down.[24]
Loughborough is the mainline station that serves 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 operates all passenger services that serve the station, on two routes:[25]
At one time, there were three railway routes to the town: the still-operating Midland Main Line, theGreat Central Railway that closed as a result of theBeeching cuts, and a branch line fromNuneaton that was part of theLondon & North Western Railway. Rws | Loughborough Central served 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.[26] 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.[27] 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 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:
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 throughKegworth andHathern on theA6 road and 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 Transport and Vectare.[28]
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, however that has since been demolished as part of a town centre regeneration to make way for the shopping centre The Rushes.
TheRiver Soar passes 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 Navigation was 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 Canal once linked Nanpantan (on the west side of Loughborough) with Thringstone, with goods being carried into the town by a horse-drawn wagonway.
There are multiple secondary schools and sixth forms within Loughborough, with both state and independent options. State secondary schools includeWoodbrook Vale School,Limehurst Academy,Charnwood College, andDe Lisle College, the latter two also offer a sixth form.
Independent schools in Loughborough includeLoughborough Grammar School, an all-boys day andboarding school for students aged 10–18 and one of the country’soldest schools, founded in 1495, andLoughborough High School, an all-girls day school for students aged 11–18. Both schools are part of the Loughborough Schools Foundation. Fairfield Prep School, a co-educational preparatory school for children aged 3–11, also forms part of the Foundation.
Loughborough Amherst School (formerly Our Lady’s Convent School), a co-educational day and boarding school providing all-through education from ages 4–18, closed on 4 July 2025 due to financial difficulties.[29] It was also part of the Foundation.
In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among British universities byThe Times'Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007The Guardian rated 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.[30]
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 severalScout andGirl Guide units,Girls' andBoys' Brigades, units from thecadet forces (Air Training Corps,Army Cadet Force,Sea Cadet Corps, andCombined Cadet Force atLoughborough Grammar School), aSt John Ambulance Cadet unit, and a cadet programme run by the local Fire and Rescue Service. Since November 2015, Loughborough has had aVolunteer Police Cadet unit based atLoughborough College.[31]
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 Midlands andITV Central, television signals are received from theWaltham TV transmitter. Local radio stations areBBC Radio Leicester,Capital Midlands,Smooth East Midlands,Hits Radio East Midlands, Fosse107 and community-based station Carillon Radio.[32]
The town was once home to a professional football club,Loughborough FC, which played at theAthletic Ground and was a member ofthe Football League in the late 19th century.Loughborough Dynamo of theNorthern Premier League Division One South East (Level 8 of the men's football pyramid),Loughborough University of theUnited Counties League Premier Division (Level 9 of the men's football pyramid) and women's teamLoughborough Foxes of 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,[33] Loughborough Town CC, Loughborough Outwoods CC, Loughborough Carillon CC, Loughborough Carillon Old Boys' CC, Loughborough University Staff CC, Loughborough Greenfields CC andLoughborough Lightning of the semi-professionalWomen's Cricket Super League representing 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 union club,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 Lightning of theNetball Superleague and Loughborough Hawks, an amateur netball team. The town 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 Loughborough is held in Loughborough.
London Roar head coach and former swimmerMelanie Marshall resides in Loughborough and is the lead coach in theLoughborough National Swimming centre 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 theCarillon and War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from theFirst andSecond World Wars. Loughborough Library is on Granby Street.[34]
Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medievalAll Saints parish church, is the Old Rectory.[35] 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 Black was 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,[36] 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 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 Railway is 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 Robinson in anArt Deco style. 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, was taken by a Cineworld cinema with eight screens, which opened in 2016 and closed in 2024.
Loughborough was the birthplace of the poet andRoyalistJohn Cleveland (1613–1658).[37]
John Paget (1808–1892), an English agriculturist and writer onHungary, was born here.
ThebellfounderJohn William Taylor (1827-1906) ofJohn Taylor & Co lived and died here. The chemistArthur Donald Walsh (8 August 1916 – 23 April 1977) was born in Loughborough and attended Loughborough Grammar School.[38] The engineer, physicist and authorCharles Denis Mee was born here in 1927.[39]
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 Award nominated stage actressNicola Hughes andCoronation Street'sRoy Cropper actorDavid Neilson, and the notorious rock star of the mid-1960s,Viv Prince ofthe Pretty Things.Bobsleigher andParatrooperDean Ward, who won abronze medal at the1998 Winter Olympics was born in the town.Felix Buxton ofBasement Jaxx was a pupil atLoughborough Grammar School and son of the one-time vicar of nearbyWoodhouse Eaves andIbstock.[40] The Dundee-born comedian, TV presenter and entertainerDanny Wallace attended Holywell County Primary School. Second World War fighter aceJohnnie Johnson attended Loughborough Grammar School. The high jumperBen Challenger, son ofShowaddywaddy drummerRomeo Challenger, is from Loughborough. The popular Muslim andBangladeshi presenterRizwan Hussain was 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 Kirwan andLawrie Sanchez.
Professionalfootballers,Liam Moore andHamza Choudhury were both born in the town and have gone on to play in thePremier League with nearbyLeicester City.Fred Ainsworth was also born here. England Rugby union captainPhil de Glanville was born in the town.
Other known people:Sue Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Loughborough current Head of FA Women's football,Nicky Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes.
Loughborough istwinned with:
Loughborough has a friendship link withBhavnagar,Gujarat, India[44]
.jpg)
{{cite web}}:|last2= has generic name (help)
Towns and villages of theBorough of Charnwood | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns |  | |
| Large villages | ||
| Small villages | ||
| Hamlets | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
