Loughborough

Loughborough
Loughborough
Population	57,600
OS grid reference	SK536195
District	Charnwood;
Shire county	Leicestershire;
Region	East Midlands;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LOUGHBOROUGH
Postcode district	LE11
Dialling code	01509
Police	Leicestershire
Fire	Leicestershire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Loughborough;
	List of places UK England Leicestershire

Loughborough (pronounced locally as either /lɘf.bɘɹɘ/, "LUFF-burra", /lɘf.bɹɘ/, "LUFF-bruh", or /ˈlʌfˌb(ə)ɹə/) is a town in Leicestershire, central England with a population of 57,600 as of 2004.^[1] It is the largest town in the county (since Leicester is a city). It is the administrative centre for the Charnwood district and home to Loughborough University.

In 1841 Loughborough was the destination for the first ever package tour organised by Thomas Cook, for a local temperance group (see Temperance movement) from Leicester. The town has the world's largest bell foundry — John Taylor Bellfounders — who made the bells for the Carillon war memorial, a landmark in the town.

To the south of the town centre lies the Shelthorpe Estate - a large council estate which was the largest in the country when it was built in the 1920s and 1930s. On the edge of Loughborough to the north, Dishley Grange Farm was the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell. The farm was once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show.

Loughborough has its own newspaper and guide, the Loughborough Echo and Loughborough Guide, but in common with many towns and villages in Leicestershire it is also served by the Leicester-based Leicester Mercury.

File:2006-04-06 061web.jpg

Loughborough parish church

Transport

Rail

Loughborough station is on the Midland Main Line, located on the eastern edge of the town. This line offers high-speed links to and from London and northbound to Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds. St Pancras International will open in November 2007 when Eurostar services commence.

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 cuts; and a branch line from Nuneaton, part of the erstwhile London and North Western Railway.

The Great Central Railway line is now the terminus of the south section of the Great Central Steam Railway heritage railway; plans are in hand to reopen the line to the north and join the two sections.

Road

The M1's Junction 23 is about 2 miles (5km) west of the town. The north of the town can also be accessed from Junction 24, travelling through Kegworth and Hathern. Local bus services are operated by Arriva, Centrebus and Kinch Bus^{(Article is for the parent company)}

Waterways

The River Soar passes to the East of the town. Navigation from Loughborough northwards towards the Trent was achieved in 1778 by the construction of 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 to the South of the town. Both now form part of the Grand Union Canal system.

Shopping

The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place and Market Street, which maintain a number of original art deco buildings. A large outdoor market is held there every Thursday and Saturday, while a smaller flea market is held on Fridays and there is a monthly farmers' market. The first mention of a market in Loughborough is 1221, however it may have existed prior to this date.

'The Rushes' shopping centre has recently been built on the site of the former bus station and is occupied by national chains. The Rushes is linked to the existing town centre area by the streets Churchgate & Churchgate Mews; the latter includes many individually styled independent outlets.

Recreation

The local Rugby Union club, Loughborough RFC, play at the 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)for which the notable Kuda Mika once played. There is also a netball league which plays at the Charnwood Leisure Centre. The town was also once the home of a professional football club, Loughborough F.C. who played in the Football League during the late 1800s. Cricket is prominent in the town, with Loughborough Town C.C. being one of the most respected club sides in the county. The university is also home to the ECB National Cricket Academy, a facility used by the England Cricket Team as their primary training centre.

The Loughborough Canal Festival which started in 1997 is an annual event and is centred on 'Chain Bridge' every year. The event typically attracts some 10,000 visitors and occurs in May.

The 'Party In the Park' started in 1980 and is an annual event held in May. It is organised by Charnwood Arts and held in Queens Park. Typically there are small stall holders, food, activities for children, circus performers, dance and live music.

The 'Streets Alive' is another event organised between Charnwood Arts and Charnwood Borough Council at a similar time of year.

The Great Central Railway is a preserved steam railway based at Loughborough Central Station just south of the town centre, and operates services every weekend throughout the year. The railway is renowned for being the only double track mainline steam railway in the United Kingdom.

In November, the annual street fair takes over the centre of the town and closes the A6 and numerous other roads to traffic. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday night, bringing visitors from Loughborough and surrounding villages, such as Quorndon, Mountsorrel, Barrow-upon-Soar, Shepshed and Sileby. The fair has many different rides for all age groups, amusement arcades, food stands and games. Popular treats sold at the stalls include brandy snaps, Grantham biscuits and mushy peas with mint sauce, along with the traditional burgers, hot dogs and chips.

Loughborough Town Hall is a venue for theatre as well as conferences and weddings. The 497-seat theatre recently underwent a £2.8 million refurbishment.

The town is also home to the The Reel Cinema, which is part of a small chain of 10 cinema, there are currently six screens housed in the theatre, which is decorated in an art deco style. The cinema was built in 1936 and has been called the Pal Court and Ballroom, Empire, Classic and Curzon. The cinema is currently building an expansion to the rear of the main building to house a bowling alley and more cinema screens.

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University

Loughborough University is increasing in prominence, mainly because of its academic success. In 2004 this institution was ranked 9th among all the British Universities by the prestigious Times' Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough University was ranked at an even higher overall position by the same guide: 6th. In 2007 The Guardian rated the University 8th in the country.

Loughborough University is the country's premier university for sports development, research and education. The University has the largest sports scholarship programme in the UK. Currently over 250 international athletes are studying and training there.

The institution has also received important awards, such as the Queen's Anniversary Prize 2005 [1].

In the same year, Loughborough University also claimed joint first place (with the University of Leicester)[2]

Notable residents

Notable 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's Roy Cropper actor David Neilson. 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 Castaway presenter and humorous entertainer Danny Wallace attended Holywell County Primary School before moving onto Loughborough Grammar. One of Wallace's Grammar School contemporaries was Mark Collett, notorious sidekick of Nick Griffin in the BNP.