Moira is a former mining village about south-west of

Ashby-de-la-Zouch Ashby-de-la-Zouch (), also spelled Ashby de la Zouch, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire borders. Its population at the 2021 census was ...

North West Leicestershire North West Leicestershire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Leicestershire, England. The towns in the district include of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Castle Donington, Coalville, Leicestershire , Coalville (where the council is b ...

, England. The village is about south of

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...

and is close to the boundary with

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. The population is included in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Ashby Woulds Ashby Woulds is a civil parish with a town council in Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to ...

. For centuries North West Leicestershire has been quarried and mined for coal, limestone, granite and brick clay, and its environmental damage was one of the reasons that it was chosen in the 1990s as the site for the

National Forest National Forest may refer to: * National forest or state forest, a forest administered or protected by a sovereign state ** National forest (Brazil) ** National forest (France) ** National forest (United States) ** State Forests (Poland) ** The N ...

, which is part of a Government-funded programme to create more woodland. Proximate villages include Donisthorpe,

Overseal Overseal is a village and civil parish in South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is south of Swadlincote, west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and south-southwest of Derby. It had a population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,45 ...

, Oakthorpe and Spring Cottage.

Etymology

Moira's

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

is derived from the Irish earldom of Moira, one of the titles of the

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

family, which held

Ashby de la Zouch Castle Ashby de la Zouch Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The castle was built by William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV of England, Edward IV, ...

. The former local coal pit, Rawdon Colliery, also bore a Hastings family name. In 2022, residents were amused when a road sign spelled the name '

Moria Moria may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Moria (Middle-earth), fictional location in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien * ''Moria: The Dwarven City'', a 1984 fantasy role-playing game supplement * Moria (1978 video game), ''Moria'' (1978 video gam ...

', suggesting a link with Tolkien's fictional

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...

History

The

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

opened its

Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a population of in . The greater Leicester urban area had a population of ...

through Moira in 1845. Moira station served the village until

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

ways closed it in 1964. The building survives and the line remains open as a freight route. Rawdon Colliery was worked for about 150 years. Its

seams Seam may refer to: Science and technology * Seam (geology), a stratum of coal or mineral that is economically viable; a bed or a distinct layer of vein of rock in other layers of rock * Seam (metallurgy), a metalworking process the joins the ends ...

extended from the shaft, and some had been worked twice, recovering lower grade coal. The pit survived Britain's pit closure programme in the mid-1980s that followed the

miners' strike The following is a list of miners' strikes. Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes *History of coal mining in the United States References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miners' strikes Miners' labor disputes, ...

, but ran out of viable coal seams. Gases were rarely a hazard, but spontaneous combustion of

coal dust Coal dust is a fine-powdered form of coal which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizer, pulverization of coal rock. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created by mining, transporting, or mechanically handling it. ...

was a potential problem.

Amenities

The National Forest Millennium Discovery Centre, now called 'Conkers', is on the site of Rawdon Colliery. Its visitor centre features a borehole-based heating and cooling system. Moira Junction Local Nature Reserve occupies of former railway sidings nearby. Moira lime kilns - geograph

Moira Furnace is a restored 19th-century

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...

. A section of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal adjacent to the furnace has also been restored and rewatered, although it lacks a navigable link to the rest of the system due to the A42 road having been built across its line. The furnace site also has craft workshops and a small

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. Both the Youth Hostels Association's National Forest youth hostel and the

Camping and Caravanning Club The Camping and Caravanning Club is a not-for-profit membership organisation for camping and caravan enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901, and has over 730,000 members. History The Camping and Caravanning Club was founded i ...

's National Forest campsite are in Moira and opened in 2008. There is a Co-Operative supermarket on Shortheath Road, which was given a new frontage in 2016. The Hicks Lodge nature reserve lies approximately 1 mile east of the village.

References

External links

Conkers Discovery Centre
{{authority control Local Nature Reserves in Leicestershire Villages in Leicestershire North West Leicestershire District