Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, England, the seat of

Charnwood Borough Council Charnwood may refer to: County of Leicestershire, United Kingdom * Borough of Charnwood, a local government district in the county of Leicestershire, England ** Charnwood Borough Council elections * Charnwood (ward), an electoral ward and adm ...

and

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second largest in the county after

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. It is close to the

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

border and short distances from Leicester,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

East Midlands Airport East Midlands Airport is an international airport in the East Midlands of England, close to Castle Donington in northwestern Leicestershire, between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is () to the south and Lincoln () ...

and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. It 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 into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

John Taylor Bellfounders John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

, which made bells for the Carillon War Memorial, a landmark in the Queens Park in the town, of Great Paul for

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, and for

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

History

Medieval

The earliest reference to Loughborough occurs in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, which calls it ''Lucteburne''. It appears as ''Lucteburga'' in a charter from the reign of Henry II, and as ''Luchteburc'' in the Pipe Rolls of 1186. The name is of

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

origin and means "Luhhede's ''

burh A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...

'' or fortified place".

Industrialisation

The first sign of industrialisation in the district came in the early 19th century, when

John Heathcoat John Heathcoat (7 August 1783 – 18 January 1861) was an English inventor from Duffield, Derbyshire. During his apprenticeship he made an improvement to the warp-loom, so as to produce mitts of a lace-like appearance. He set up his own busines ...

, an inventor from

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, 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 Hathern is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The village itself is located in the north of the district, and is just north of Loughborough. It is served by the A6. The parish has a population o ...

, outside Loughborough. The product of this "Loughborough machine" came to be known as English net or

bobbinet Bobbinet tulle or genuine tulle is a specific type of tulle which has been made in the United Kingdom since the invention of the bobbinet machine. John Heathcoat coined the term "bobbin net", or bobbinet as it is spelled today, to distinguish th ...

. However, the factory was attacked in 1816 by

Luddites The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...

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 Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587. History Early history The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-fo ...

. In 1888 a

charter of incorporation A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

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 John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell foundry. It is located in Loughborough, ...

and the Falcon works, which produced steam locomotives, then motor cars, before it was taken over by

Brush Electrical Machines Brush Electrical Machines is a manufacturer of electrical generators typically for gas turbine and steam turbine driven applications. The main office is based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, UK. History Charles Francis Brush, born in Eucl ...

. 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. 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.

Tourism

In 1841, Loughborough was the destination for the first

package tour A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the ...

, organised by

Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodatio ...

for a temperance group from

Modern history

As Loughborough grew in the 20th century, it gained new suburbs.

Thorpe Acre Thorpe Acre is an area of Loughborough, Leicestershire. Until the mid-twentieth century, it was a hamlet of about twenty houses or cottages, several of which survive. There is also a nineteenth-century church with contemporary extensions, All S ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, some of Thorpe Acre developed further, mainly in the 1950s for employees of Brush Engineering Works, with 100 dwellings built of no-fines concrete. 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 (Do What Is Right, Not What Is Easy) , established = 1959 , closed = , type = Academy , religious_affiliation = Catholic , president = , head_label = Head ...

, 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. 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, and the secondary Woodbrook 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 of Woodthorpe, whose construction began in 2006 after completion of Terry Yardley Way to One Ash Roundabout, the last phase of Loughborough's A6004 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. Despite the criticism, Charnwood Borough Council approved the plans. Most of the housing schemes in the area have been completed; however, one further development of 33 homes, called Willowbrook, has commenced, and plans for another of 120 homes to the east of Woodthorpe have been registered.

Persimmon Homes Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England. The company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). It is listed on the London Stock Ex ...

and William Davis Homes unveiled plans in 2013 for 3,200 new houses on Garendon Park as the West of Loughborough Sustainable Urban Extension. These were approved in 2018. A new roundabout is under construction on the A512; this will connect the new development to the north with a new Science and Enterprise Park to the south. The A512 is being widened between junction 23 of the M1 and Snells Nook Lane.

Transport

Rail

Loughborough Great Central Station - geograph

Loughborough station is a mainline station serving the town. In 2012,

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

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 The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

south to

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire. Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the adm ...

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

and

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...

stations and north to

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

stations. The link to London is twice-hourly and provides a link to Europe via

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

. 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 The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

that closed as a result of the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised British Rail, railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Develop ...

and a branch line from

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

that was part of the

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

Loughborough Central railway station Loughborough Central Station is a railway station on the Great Central Railway and the Great Central Railway (preserved) serving Loughborough. History The station was opened by the Great Central Railway on 15 March 1899, built to the stand ...

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. 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. 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 parking lot of an industrial estate.

Brush Traction Brush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives in Loughborough, England. It is a subsidiary of Wabtec. History Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works Henry Hughes had been operating at the Falcon Works since t ...

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

Roads

Loughborough sits at the crossroads of three main roads, two of which begin in Loughborough itself. The A6 main road begins at

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

before running north through places such as

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, Loughborough,

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and ending at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. The A60 begins in Loughborough and goes north to Nottingham, Mansfield and

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from th ...

. The A512 begins in Loughborough and runs west towards the M1,

Shepshed Shepshed (often known until 1888 as ''Sheepshed'', also ''Sheepshead'' – a name derived from the village being heavily involved in the wool industry) is a town in Leicestershire, England with a population of 13,505 at the 2011 census. It is ...

and Ashby-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. 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 Kegworth () is a large village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, in the East Midlands region, England. It forms part of the border with Nottinghamshire and is situated 6 miles north of Loughborough, ...

and

on the

A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...

and the south-west of the town from Junction 22, via Copt Oak and the small hamlet of

Nanpantan Nanpantan is a suburb in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is located in the south-west of the town of Loughborough, but the village is slightly separated from the main built-up area of Loughborough. It is also the site of ...

Buses

Buses in and around Loughborough are operated by

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

Kinchbus Kinchbus is a bus operator in Loughborough, England. Since 1998 it has been a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History Kinchbus was founded in 1987 by former Leicester City Football Club director Gilbert Kinch trading as GK Kinch and bas ...

Midland Classic Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of Rotala. History Midland Classic Midland Classic was founded in July 2005 by ...

, Centrebus, Nottingham City Transport and

trentbarton Trentbarton operates both local and regional bus services in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History In October 1913, Trent Motor Traction Company was foun ...

. Buses around Loughborough town centre depart from on-street stops on either Baxter Gate, Swan Street, High Street or Lemyngton Street, until around 2001 bus services were operated from a bus station on Swan Street/The Rushes within the town centre but this was demolished as part of the town centre regeneration with The Rushes Shopping Centre being built on the site.

Waterways

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 Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter st ...

. The now derelict

Charnwood Forest Canal The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794 It marks the beginning of a period ...

once linked Nanpantan (on the west side of Loughborough) with Thringstone, with goods being carried into Loughborough by a horse-drawn wagonway.

Economy

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, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

buildings, such as the building that currently houses the town's Odeon 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. 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. 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. A new Cineworld cinema complex with several restaurants on Baxter Gate, on the site of the former General Hospital, was completed in 2016.

Press

Loughborough's local weekly newspaper is the ''

Loughborough Echo The ''Loughborough Echo'' is a paid-for weekly local newspaper owned by Reach plc. History Founded by Joseph Deakin in 1891, the ''Echo'' has had four editors in its history. It is based in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, and ...

''. The town is also served by Leicestershire's daily newspaper, the ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its ...

''.

Climate

Like most of the British Isles, Loughborough experiences a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at

Sutton Bonington Sutton Bonington () is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south-west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has a site just to the north of the village: Sutton Boni ...

, located 5 miles due north of the town centre. The highest temperature recorded in that area was on 25 July 2019.

Sport

The town was once home to a professional football club, Loughborough FC, which played at the Athletic Ground and was a member of

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in the late 19th century. Loughborough Dynamo of the Northern Premier League Division One South East (Level 8 of the men's football pyramid),

of the United Counties League Premier Division (Level 9 of the men's football pyramid) and women's team Loughborough Foxes of the

FA Women's National League North The FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division is a league at the third-level in the women's football league pyramid in England, along with the Southern division. These two divisions are part of the FA Women's National League and bel ...

(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, Loughborough Town CC, Loughborough Outwoods CC, Loughborough Carillon CC, Loughborough Carillon Old Boys' CC, Loughborough University Staff CC, Loughborough Greenfields CC and Loughborough Lightning of the semi-professional

Women's Cricket Super League The Women's Cricket Super League (WCSL), known as the Kia Super League (KSL) for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional women's Twenty20 cricket competition in England and Wales operated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The comp ...

representing various standards of cricket in the area. Loughborough Town has since 2000 been the most successful club in the

Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League The Everards Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket League (Leicestershire Cricket League until 2014) is the top level of competition for the amateur, recreational game of club cricket in Leicestershire and Rutland, England, and since 2002 has been ...

. The university is home to the ECB National Cricket Academy, used by the England team as their primary training centre. The town

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club,

Loughborough RFC {{Infobox rugby team , teamname = Loughborough , image = , imagesize = , union = Leicestershire RU , fullname = Loughborough Rugby Football Club , nickname = , shortname = Bor ...

, 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 (collegiate

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

), Loughborough Lightning of the

Netball Superleague The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and Scotland. The league was commenced playing at the 2005–06 ...

and 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 tournament

Aegon Pro-Series Loughborough The Aegon Pro-Series Loughborough is a tennis tournament that has been held in Loughborough, United Kingdom, since 2010. The event is part of the ITF Men's Circuit, ITF Men's and ITF Women's Circuits and is played on indoor hardcourts. Until 2012, ...

is held in Loughborough.

London Roar London Roar is a professional swimming club based in London and one of the first clubs of the International Swimming League (ISL) to be formed. It was formed in March 2019, with an international roster of swimmers including Adam Peaty who was among ...

head coach and former swimmer Melanie Marshall resides in Loughborough and is the lead coach in the

Loughborough National Swimming Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second lar ...

centre where she trains multi-champion

Adam Peaty Adam George Peaty (born 28 December 1994) is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in the breaststroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first by a male British swimmer in 24 years, ...

Arts and heritage

Loughborough has five museums, the largest being the centrally located

Charnwood Museum Charnwood Museum is a local history museum in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Overview It is accredited by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). It is managed in partnership between Leicestershire County Council and Charnw ...

, 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 pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

and War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

s. Loughborough Library is on Granby Street. Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medieval All Saints 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 Archaeological and Historical Society. Loughborough has for more than a century been the home of

, 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 on

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

's 1980 album ''

Back in Black ''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the band's first album to feature lead singer Brian Johnson, following the death ...

'' was made on a quarter-weight near replica of the Denison bell in the Carillon war memorial. 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, and ''

The Sockman ''The Sockman'' ( commissioned as ''The Sock'') is a bronze statue in Loughborough town centre. The sculpture depicts a man seated on a bollard, naked except for the eponymous sock on his left foot. The sock is symbolic of Loughborough's hosi ...

'', a bronze statue marking Loughborough's association with the hosiery industry. This can be found in the Market Place near

Loughborough Town Hall The Loughborough Town Hall is a building fronting onto the Market Place in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Built as a corn exchange and ballroom in 1855, it became a municipal building and subsequently a theatre. It is a Grade II listed b ...

, 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 and

, takes place at a similar time of year. The Loughborough Canal Festival, which ran from 1997 to 2014, was an annual event in May centred on Chain Bridge.

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. The town has an Odeon cinema designed by Archibald

Hurley Robinson Archibald Hurley Robinson (14 June 1883''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 24 February 1953)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a prolific English architect of ci ...

in an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

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, has been taken by a Cineworld cinema with eight screens, which opened in 2016.

Education

Schools

Tertiary education

Loughborough University

EAP at Loughborough Uni, copyright picture of Charlie Pearson

In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among British universities by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

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 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.

Loughborough College

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

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

Uniformed youth organisations

Loughborough has a variety of uniformed youth organisations, with several Scout and

Girl Guide Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

units, Girls' and

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...

s, units from the cadet forces (

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...

Sea Cadet Corps Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

, and Combined Cadet Force at

Loughborough Grammar School , religion = Christian , head_label = Headmaster , head = Dr Daniel Koch , r_head_label = Chaplain , r_head = Revd E J York , chair_label = Chairman ...

), a

St John Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

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 Loughborough College is a general further education college located in Leicestershire, England which offers a range of courses including further education, higher education, apprenticeships and professional qualifications. List of princip ...

Notable people

Loughborough was the birthplace of the poet and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

John Cleveland John Cleveland (16 June 1613 – 29 April 1658) was an English poet who supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He was best known for political satire. Early life Cleveland was born in Loughborough, the son of Thomas Cleveland, ...

(1613–1658). John Paget (1808–1892), an English agriculturist and writer on

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, was born here. The

bellfounder Bellfounding is the casting and tuning of large bronze bells in a foundry for use such as in churches, clock towers and public buildings, either to signify the time or an event, or as a musical carillon or chime. Large bells are made by casting ...

John William Taylor (1827-1906) of

lived and died here. The chemist Arthur Donald Walsh FRS (8 August 1916 – 23 April 1977) was born in Loughborough and attended Loughborough Grammar School. The engineer, physicist and author Charles Denis Mee was born here in 1927. Other Loughborough natives include

Albert Francis Cross Albert Francis Cross (1863–1940) wrote under the pen name of A. F. Cross. He was a noted poet, playwright, journalist and author and the founder of several theatres and newspapers in the English Midlands area. His most popular works include se ...

, 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 an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

Roy Cropper Roy Cropper is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by David Neilson. He first appeared on-screen on 19 July 1995. Originally a secondary character, he was given a more prominent role in 1997, by ...

actor

David Neilson David Neilson (born 13 March 1949) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as cafe owner Roy Cropper in the long running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which he has played since 1995. Early life Neilson was born in Loughbo ...

, and the notorious rock star of the mid-1960s,

Viv Prince Vivian Martin Prince (born 9 August 1941) is an English drummer. He played in a variety of bands during the 1960s, including Pretty Things. He was noted for his wild and eccentric behaviour, which garnered a lot of publicity for the group and in ...

the Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

er and

Paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

Dean Ward Dean Ward (born 30 June 1963 in Portsmouth, England) is a British bobsledder who competed from 1991 to 2002. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the four-man event (tied with France) at Nagano in 1998. Ward made his ...

, who won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

was born in the town. Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx was a pupil at

Loughborough Grammar School , religion = Christian , head_label = Headmaster , head = Dr Daniel Koch , r_head_label = Chaplain , r_head = Revd E J York , chair_label = Chairman ...

and son of the one-time vicar of nearby

Woodhouse Eaves Woodhouse Eaves is a village in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. Nearby are the villages of Quorn, Swithland, and Newtown Linford. Breakback Road leads from the village to Nanpantan and Loughborough. The church of St Paul is a ...

and

Ibstock Ibstock is a former coal mining town and civil parish about south of Coalville in North West Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 5,760 at the 2001 census increasing to 6,201 at the 2011 census. The town is on the ...

. The Dundee-born comedian, TV presenter and entertainer Danny Wallace attended Holywell County Primary School. Second World War fighter ace Johnnie Johnson attended Loughborough Grammar school. The high jumper

Ben Challenger Benjamin Arthur Challenger (born 7 March 1978) is a retired English high jumper. His personal best jump of 2.30 metres was achieved when he won the 1999 Summer Universiade. His career highlight is a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. ...

, son of

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. Showaddywaddy spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 ...

drummer

Romeo Challenger Romeo Alexander Challenger (born 19 May 1950) is an English musician who has been the drummer for the rock band Showaddywaddy since 1973 and seminal Progressive Rock band Black Widow. Biography Challenger was born 19 May 1950 in St. John' ...

, is from Loughborough. The popular Muslim and

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

presenter

Rizwan Hussain Rizwan Hussain ( bn, রেজওয়ান হুসেইন ''Rezwan Husein''; born 7 December 1973) is a Bangladeshi-born British television presenter, barrister and an international humanitarian worker. He is also a former Hindi musi ...

was brought up there. The cultural thinker

Mark Fisher Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsm ...

, writer of '' Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative'' (2009), grew up in the town. Notable sporting graduates of Loughborough University include

Sir Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lion ...

, Sebastian Coe,

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Maratho ...

David Moorcroft David Robert Moorcroft (born 10 April 1953) is a former middle-distance and long-distance runner from England, and former world record holder for 5,000 metres. His athletic career spanned the late-1970s and 1980s. He subsequently served as ...

Tanni Grey-Thompson Carys Davina Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, (born 26 July 1969), known as Tanni Grey-Thompson, is a Welsh politician, television presenter and former wheelchair racer. Athletic career Grey-Thompson's Paralympic career started in the 1 ...

Monty Panesar Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In E ...

Steve Backley Stephen James Backley, OBE (born 12 February 1969) is a retired British track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He formerly held the world record, and his throw from 1992 is the British record. During his career, he was a ...

, Jack Kirwan and

Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon a ...

. Professional

footballers A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Liam Moore Liam Simon Moore (born 31 January 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Reading. Born and raised in England, he plays international football for Jamaica. Club career Leicester City Born in the Leicestershire town of ...

and

Hamza Choudhury Hamza Dewan Choudhury (born 1 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship side Watford, on loan from Leicester City. He has made over 80 appearances for Leicester since 2017, and ...

were both born in the town and have gone on to play in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

with nearby

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Fred Ainsworth Fred Ainsworth (29 June 1894 – 1981) was an English footballer who played in The Football League for Derby County. He also played for Loughborough. He was born in Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough ...

was also born here. England Rugby union captain

Phil de Glanville Philip Ranulph de Glanville (born 1 October 1968 in Loughborough) is a former English rugby union player who played at centre for Bath and England. Rugby career de Glanville played for Durham University while an Economics and Politics stude ...

was born in the town. Other known people:

Sue Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Loughborough Susan Catherine Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Loughborough, (born 10 October 1948) is a British sports administrator who was chairman of UK Sport between 2003 and 2013. Educational career Campbell was educated at Long Eaton Grammar School and ...

current Head of FA Women's football,

Nicky Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes Nicola Ann Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Cotes, (; born 10 October 1972) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities from 2014 to 2016 and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, ...

Twin towns

Loughborough is twinned with: *

Épinal Épinal (; german: Spinal) is a commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, south of Nancy. Épinal station has rail connecti ...

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

, France *

Gembloux Gembloux (; wa, Djiblou; nl, Gembloers, ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 21,964 inhabitants. The total area is 95.86 km², yielding a population dens ...

, Namur, Belgium *

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

, Germany *

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

Lublin Voivodeship The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province ( Polish: ''województwo lubelskie'' ), is a voivodeship (province) of Poland, located in southeastern part of the country. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Lublin, C ...

, Poland Loughborough has a friendship link with Bhavnagar,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India

Closest settlements

This list is of the closest cities and towns to the town of Loughborough. It does not include villages.

References

External links

Loughborough Town HallLoughborough Carillon
{{Authority control Towns in Leicestershire Unparished areas in Leicestershire Borough of Charnwood