The UK's Last Great Bellfoundry: Preserving Loughborough's Living Heritage

When I took early retirement from my job as a librarian, I knew I had to look for some regular volunteering opportunities to not only give structure to my day, but also to help me learn more about Loughborough, and to socialise with like-minded people.

I first visited the Bellfoundry way back in the late 1980s, and had visited again in 2017 as an Honorary member of the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group. I also worked with the Bellfoundry for Heritage Open Days in 2019, when I led a guided walk from the Carillon to the Bellfoundry, via the parish church. 

However, it wasn’t until 2022 that I took the plunge and became a volunteer, initially working with MASS Collective, and a group of eleven other volunteers on a photography project to document the progress of the exciting changes that were happening. Very soon after, I became an assistant tour guide, and then a behind-the-scenes-at-the-museum volunteer! 

And so it is a great honour, and with great pleasure, that in celebration of my own blog’s 13th birthday, the staff of the Bellfoundry Trust (Taryn and Thomas) have written a short history of the bellfoundry. 

Prepare to be surprised – and invited to visit or become a volunteer!!

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The UK's Last Great Bellfoundry: 

Preserving Loughborough's Living Heritage

In a seemingly unsuspecting housing estate on the edge of Loughborough sits the UK’s last remaining major Bellfoundry, John Taylor and Co. Starting back in 1759 with Robert Taylor in St Neots completing his bellfounding apprenticeship, this family-run Bellfoundry is full of history that is still being made today.

The buildings that stand today were purpose-built in the 1850s by John William Taylor I. Unfortunately, he was never to see it completed, as he died in 1858, just one year before it was finished in 1859.

Loughborough Bellfoundry - Works 1870

The foundry was successful during the Victorian era, with the peak being the casting of ‘Great Paul’ for St Paul’s Cathedral. The 16.5-ton bell was transported from Loughborough to London by traction engine, through villages.

The family business was passed down generations from father to son, from brother to brother. During the First World War, with most of the men off fighting, women took over! Known as the ‘Shells Girls’, they fulfilled the orders, manufacturing shell castings for the war effort. The Taylor family lost three sons to WWI: John “Jack” William Taylor 1885-1916, Gerard “Jerry” Bardsley Taylor 1886-1918 and Arnold Bradley Taylor 1894-1916.

Taylor staff - Group photograph of munitions girls with shell cases, men and managers with John Oldham centre, 1917

In 1923 the Loughborough Carillon was built: Taylor’s cast 47 bells for this musical instrument that is still played today, every Thursday at 1pm and on special occasions. [1]

The 47 bells of the Loughborough Carillon in the foundry

With WWII came some deviation of production at Taylor’s, including aircraft components and tank turrets. Alongside casting another great bell, ‘Great George’ of Liverpool in 1940. [2]

Paul Taylor was the last member of the Taylor family to run the company. During his time at the helm, the foundry secured major international commissions, including the 53-bell carillons for Washington National Cathedral in the United States and Canberra in Australia. He also introduced new audiences to bellfounding through appearances on the American television programme What's My Line?, which aired on 15 September 1963, [3] and the BBC's Other People's Jobs, aired on 19 January 1956. [4]

When Paul retired in 1977, a board of directors was established, as there was no Taylor family heir who wished to take over the business. Alan Berry was appointed General Manager and guided the company through the 1980s. During this period, Taylor's supplied the one-ton bell used by AC/DC for their hit single Hells Bells, with the famous bell recording made at the foundry. In 1986, the Taylor's Bellfoundry Museum was established to preserve and share the history of the Taylor family, the foundry and the tradition of bellringing. Paul died in 1981 at the age of 67, and some of our volunteers still remember him and his children from the local area.

Paul Taylor, date unknown

In more recent years the Bellfoundry merged with bellhangers Eayre & Smith Ltd in 2005, and in 2009, Taylor’s went into administration facing potential closure. This galvanised a group of bellringers to pool their resources and create the UK Bell Foundries Ltd. to enable Taylor’s to continue business.

A small Taylor, Eayre, and Smith rug

In 2016 the board of directors created the Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust with the aim to conserve the rich history of the Bellfoundry. The Trust is responsible for the preservation of the site, including the archives, museum, factory and foundry.

In 2019, the Trust secured funding to enable the regeneration and restoration of the foundry site, museum and archives. The archives at Taylor’s date back to the very start, holding details of over 10,000 church towers. The archive is still regularly used today, with enquiries coming in from all over the world. It was formally reopened in 2024.

The striking new bellfoundry entrance

The Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust not only helps to preserve this historic site but also celebrates its heritage by offering public and private tours. These provide a unique opportunity to explore the inner workings of the United Kingdom's last remaining bellfoundry and discover the centuries-old craft of bellfounding.

The Trust is supported by a dedicated team of volunteers who contribute in a variety of ways. Some work front-of-house, welcoming and engaging with visitors, while others lead tours around the historic factory. Tour support volunteers help ensure visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience, acting as a helpful presence throughout the site. We also offer opportunities to work with our wonderful archivist, Chris, helping to care for and explore the Bellfoundry’s extensive archive collection.

The archive during relocation 2024

If you are interested in volunteering with us, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch to find out more about the opportunities available. https://belltrust.co.uk/volunteers/

Visitors to the refurbished Bellfoundry Museum

In 2026 the Trust worked in collaboration with Charnwood Arts on a Digital installation for the museum, whch is an interactive timeline of the Taylor’s family and their bellfounding.

If you would like to see where bells are made, please come and visit us!

Tours can be booked online at Belltrust.co.uk

And don’t forget to book a visit to the Bellfoundry during the Heritage Open Days event [5], when you will be able to meet the Master Bellfounder, and experience a behind-the-scenes tour of this historic factory!

We look forward to welcoming you!

(T&T)

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Notes

[1] You can find out more about the Carillon and the recitals on the Charnwood Borough Council website - https://www.charnwood.gov.uk/pages/loughborough_carillon_tower   

[2] Liverpool’s Great George is a little lighter than London’s Great Paul, coming in at only 14.5 tons

[3] This was as a result of Paul Taylor being in the United States of America for the dedication of the Washington National Cathedral carillon's 53 bells.

[4] You can read about the carillon in St Peter’s Episcopal church in New Jersey on a blogpost from 2014!

[5] For a list of all the Heritage Open Day events that are taking place in Loughborough during the week leading up to, and during the weekend of 19-20 September, pop over to the Heritage Open Days website.

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). The UK's Last Great Bellfoundry: Preserving Loughborough's Living Heritage. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-uks-last-great-bellfoundry.html  [Accessed 16 August 2026]

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You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

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Thank you for reading this blog.

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Walking in Loughborough and Herefordshire

Still in celebration of the blog's 13th birthday, I'm very lucky to be able to share with you another guest blogpost, this time about the Loughborough countryside as experienced by walking groups, and how this compares with walking in the countryside elsewhere.

Walking group in Loughborough

A long-standing friend recently moved from a picturesque black and white cottage in a hamlet in Herefordshire, to the metropolis that is Loughborough!

Many years ago, Rod took up the challenge of training as a walk leader for what we would probably today call ‘wellbeing’ walks, and led many walks in and around the countryside close to his home. When the initiative came to an end, Rod and some of his walking chums decided they really wanted to continue walking, and so the Monday Milers was born, and the group of friends would set off every other Monday on a 2-hour walk. Each month, Rod wrote a short article about the walks for the local village magazine, which sat alongside many other articles which showcased the wide variety of activities taking place in the village.

As you probably know, I’m a bit of a walker myself, so when Rod moved to Loughborough, I was keen to make sure he joined a walking group, and inundated him with information (not just about walking groups!) – probably far too much information all in one go!! Anyway, he has become part of the Active Charnwood walking group that meets at Gorse Covert, and has even done the training to become a walk leader!

As you can imagine, walking in our area is a whole lot different from walking in the Herefordshire countryside, but, as we know, Loughborough is surrounded by countryside, nature, and interesting sights, and I think Rod has found some Loughborough walking routes that are actually very appealing.

But, I’ll let him tell you about his experiences himself …

My name is Rod and, as Lynne says in her introduction, I have recently moved to Loughborough. The move was prompted by the need to have a bungalow and to be nearer to family for more support as my wife and I grow older. It was a tough decision to make as it meant leaving behind lots of dear friends and loads of activities that were really enjoyed. It also meant leaving a small rural village in Herefordshire and moving to the relatively large town of Loughborough, a seemingly small step but a massive change to our way of life. So, how did I cope? Well, one thing I was very involved in was a walking group and so it was important to me to continue this activity for both physical and mental health reasons.

Rod's walking group on one of their walks

As a bit of background, I retired in 2008 and at that time my practice nurse suggested (I suspect that she thought I was a little overweight) that I might like to help with leading walks for guests at a local hotel. I hadn’t walked for walking’s sake for many years however I found it very enjoyable and relished the exercise, fresh air and the opportunity to chat with other walkers. Very soon afterwards this nurse was instrumental in implementing the national Walking for Health scheme in our village and asked me to train as a walk leader. This scheme proved very popular and continued for many years until sadly disrupted by Covid and the need to stay at home and isolate.

Once we were released from the restrictions, the group wished to pick up our routine again. On this occasion, we decided to walk as an informal group of friends rather than under the rather bureaucratic regime of Walking for Health. The group named themselves the Monday Milers and flourished. Rather obviously, we walked on Mondays every couple of weeks and, as fitness improved, we found ourselves walking further and on more challenging routes. Although we generally walked in the immediate area of our village and its surroundings, we did sometimes drive out to a more distant start point and walk from there e.g. the Malvern Hills or the wild daffodil trails around Newent and Ross on Wye. I took on the unenviable task of writing a report of our activities for the monthly village magazine, the Fownhope Flag. I always tried to make that factual but interesting, and tried to expand people’s perception of the environment on their doorstep.

A February walk around the River Wye

February trees in Herefordshire

Inevitably, we had some odd incidents on some of the walks, sometimes amusing, other times worrying. On one occasion, on the Malvern Hills, one person had a boot mishap when the sole became detached and was flapping around like a clown’s shoe. A hasty look through bags and pockets enabled a temporary repair with string and spare shoelaces. I took this to heart as I could see how serious this could be on rocky or mountainous terrain and so always carried a roll of gaffer tape after that. Amazingly, the tape was called upon a further twice for similar repairs on subsequent walks.

On another occasion, we decided to split into two groups part way round our walk, the walk leader taking some on a short cut home while the rest of us did the longer route. After half a mile or so, I realised that the leader's black labrador had come with us by mistake. I said “come on George” to him and he happily trotted alongside for several miles back to the car park. The leader was sitting on the boot of her car, and I called out to her “don’t worry, I have George here”. To my horror, she said, “Oh no you haven’t, he’s in the back of the car”. We had inadvertently “dognapped” this poor labrador and had to spend hours trying (thankfully successfully) to locate his owner. 

On a more sombre note, we did have a lady with chest pains while out on a walk, we took her to the GP and she ended up having a triple heart bypass, and another lady who tripped on a stone, fell on her knee, carried on as if nothing had happened and subsequently found she had broken two bones in her knee and was on crutches for six weeks. Walking can be very enjoyable but can also be hazardous: you have to be prepared for the unexpected!

Anyway, I now have fresh horizons to explore, and Lynne has been very diligent in researching suitable walks for me to try. The most convenient and favourite for me now is the Gorse Covert group. This is an amazing group; they lead four separate walks every Wednesday morning. There are also a series of summer walks, somewhat longer distances, I haven’t tried those yet but fully intend to soon. I know from my experience how much effort goes into organising and carrying out such a programme. I have been on the 10.40h walk about ten times to date, this is the longest of the Wednesday walks and generally lasts about an hour and a quarter. The route varies but always starts for the Dishley Community Centre by Morrisons. Attendance is impressive, there are generally 20 to 30 participants on that walk alone. I am still a little hazy as to where we go, being new to the area I don’t recognise many landmarks and so I rely on my companions telling me about things en route.

Having said that I do remember that the Gorse Covert group has walked around Dishley Pool, Garendon Park, Booth Wood, the Obelisk, Pear Tree Lane, Stonebow Bridge and, of course, the Black Brook.

Crossing Stonebow Bridge, July 2026

Enjoying the views and the company, July 2026

Trees in the Loughborough countryside, July 2026

I know Gorse Covert is quite high with some far-reaching views and necessitates a bit of an ascent to reach the top but really walking around here is a lot easier on the legs. It was quite difficult to organise a circular route in my old village without some fairly stiff climbs, so Loughborough probably suits me better as my body begins to show its age.

As always, one of the most enjoyable and important parts of group walks is the social interaction, chatting to people, getting to know their background, experiences and stories; priceless. Consequently, it is all too easy to get to the end of a walk and find that you hadn’t paid much attention to where you were going and the sights and scenes you passed, you were engrossed in conversation. It’s the same everywhere, Loughborough, Herefordshire, town or country, it’s a valuable aspect of walking in groups and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Another interesting topic is the terminology for passages between houses/gardens. In rural Herefordshire this didn’t really arise, there are lanes, green lanes and perhaps alleys in more urban areas. I was brought up in Birmingham and there we called such places Gullies. So, I was a little confused when people here started talking about going down this Snicket, what on earth were they talking about? I soon realised that it was the local dialect for a passage between fences. More confusing was when others talked about going down a Twitchell. A little research showed this to be another word for such places but perhaps of more Nottinghamshire origin. Interesting.

One thing I do miss is the magnificent scenery of the Wye Valley. It’s not possible to replicate that of course but my son and his wife have taken me on walks around the Outwoods and I have to say the terrain and woodland there is very reminiscent of my old home area and there are some splendid views. The only thing missing is the mud, I’m used to a lot of that, but I expect it will soon reappear once this prolonged dry summer passes and we get back to our usual rainfall pattern. Of course, I think the East Midlands is noticeably drier than the Welsh Marches so it will be interesting to see how the mud compares, perhaps I won’t need to clean and dubbin my boots quite as often.

Family walk towards the Outwoods, June 2026 (courtesy of FH, with thanks)

I am looking forward to doing more walks in the area, getting increasingly familiar with the sights and history and perhaps I will be able to share my thoughts and progress with you in future blogs.

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Thanks Rod! Looking forward to taking you up Beacon Hill soon - maybe before the approaches get too muddy, so you can save on the dubbin! - Lynne

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). Walking in Loughborough and Herefordshire. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/08/walking-in-loughborough-and.html  [Accessed 9 August 2026]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne   

Half a Century of Creativity: Charnwood Arts Turns 50

As this blog celebrates its 13th birthday in August, I'm hosting a few guest blogposts during the month...

Today's guest post has been contributed by the CEO of Charnwood Arts, Shirley Novak, and is a celebration of CA's 50 years! What an amazing thing it is that the organisation has been an integral part of Loughborough's creative scene for such a long time! During those 50 years, CA have been based in several different places, including an Edwardian building on Granby Street, and in Fearon Hall, but today they can be found on Steeple Row, where they have been in offices previously occupied by a firm of solicitors, since about 2022, not long after Shirley arrived. CA has a broad reach, and an ethos of inclusivity - even if, like me, you think you're hopeless at art and not a creative at all - and there are big, bold plans for its 50th year, and beyond. But, I'll let Shirley tell you about this ...  

Half a Century of Creativity: Charnwood Arts Turns 50

Shirley Novak, CEO Charnwood Arts

June/July 2026

Charnwood Arts is based in the former Straw & Pearce offices

It was exactly fifty years ago that Charnwood Arts first opened its doors, and was born from a powerful vision, boundless passion, and a firm belief that creativity has the unique power to bring people together.

We all know that for so many of those years, Kevin Ryan was at the helm, guiding and shaping every step of the journey.

Kev Ryan at Picnic in the Park, 2016

Picnic in the Park 2017, organised by Charnwood Arts

Over these five decades, Charnwood Arts has become far more than just a place to make art; it has been the heartbeat of our community, a space where ideas grow, stories are told, and every single voice is welcomed and heard.

This month marks six years since I took the position of CEO during the COVID pandemic. Looking back, it was an immensely challenging time for everyone, not only within Charnwood Arts but across society as a whole. It was a turning point after which nothing would ever return to how it was before.

We needed to rethink everything. The Arts Council (who are our main funders) worked closely with us to ‘make ready’ the organisation for another successful application for the National Portfolio funding to keep Charnwood Arts doing and what it does best for another 4 years, despite the uncertainties through COVID. Those 4 years have turned into 6, and here we still are and will be for some time to come yet!

Back in the mid-1970s, a small group of passionate local people saw a gap: there was plenty of talent in Charnwood, but few opportunities for residents to access, enjoy, or take part in the arts. With determination and a shared vision, they founded what would become Charnwood Arts, an independent charity dedicated to making creativity accessible to all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. What started with simple workshops, exhibitions, and community events soon took root.

Word spread: here was an organisation that listened, adapted, and put people first. Whether you were a child picking up a pencil for the first time, an older adult looking for connection, or an emerging artist needing a platform, Charnwood Arts opened its doors, which pretty much remains our focus today. One of the most wonderful things about Charnwood Arts is how it evolves. It has moved to embrace film, creative crafts, music, digital art, and installations, and the emerging artist programme means we celebrate local talent employing local artists to deliver a wide variety of sessions, creating opportunities with support to many new artists. Charnwood Arts, always keeps pace with the times while staying true to its original mission.

When you look back at 50 years, you realise Charnwood Arts has never been only about making art. It’s about building community. It’s the friendships formed in a weekly session, the pride of seeing your work displayed in our little exhibition space, hearing yourself reading your own written podcast, making music from sounds found in the forest to help with anxiety, and attending the successful Breathe Create sessions set up to specifically to use creativity to improve wellbeing. Breathe Create is not a new concept, but a simple approach, such as take a deep breathe, take some time for yourself and be creative has literally saved lives, given space and feedback tells us that it makes a huge difference to how people use creativity in their own time away from Charnwood Arts as well. Basically, in moments of change, economic shifts, social challenges, or even times of separation, Charnwood Arts has remained a constant: a safe, welcoming space where creativity helps people connect, heal, and feel part of something bigger.

Pottery workshops at Charnwood Arts

Pottery workshops at Charnwood Arts

Pottery workshops at Charnwood Arts

Our recent Bells Bridges and Belonging heritage installation has been a highlight of the year so far and helps us kick off the start of the planned 50th celebrations across a 12-month period.

Bells, Bridges & Belonging is a creative heritage project led by Charnwood Arts in partnership with One to One Development Trust and hosted at Taylors Bell Foundry Museum, celebrating Loughborough and Charnwood’s unique history, culture, and community identity.

Bells, Bridges and Belonging installation is a visually stunning interactive experience featuring a transformational 3D bell as its centrepiece. The installation incorporates film, photography, audio interviews, graphics and soundtrack and One to One has curated existing materials from Charnwood Arts previous Bell Festivals, as well as drawing on the extensive archive of Loughborough Bell foundry Museum Trust.  The installation will live at the Foundry museum, but plans to tour the piece with large projections and used as school presentations are being planned as I write. https://onetoonedevelopment.org/portfolio/bells-bridges-and-belonging/

It centres on three powerful symbols:

*Bells: Honours Loughborough’s world-famous bell-founding heritage, how bells mark time, events, memory, and community life.

*Bridges: Represents connection between people, places, past & present, different cultures and generations.

*Belonging: Explores what it means to be part of this area, sharing stories, voices, and experiences of all communities here.

Banner from the Bell Festival 2024

Preparing for 'Bells, Bridges & Belonging' down at the bellfoundry

 

Other 50th celebrations include a brand-new edition of ‘Coffee House’.

The ’Coffee House’ was, originally, a literary journal, produced by Charnwood Arts featuring poetry, prose, and visual art. It was edited by Charnwood-based poet and fiction writer, Deborah Tyler-Bennett, and included creative writing and artwork by contributors from Charnwood’s writing communities, and beyond, including poets from Europe, Ireland, France, and America. 

The journal appeared in print twice a year and was renowned for its high-quality artistic content.  It remained well reviewed and featured in the Poetry Society’s ‘Poetry Map of Britain’. Part of the magazine’s legacy was past issues being digitally stored by the South Bank Poetry Library.

As part of the 50th Birthday Celebrations Charnwood Arts is creating a special edition of the ‘Coffee House’, which will include poems, short stories, flash fiction, and artworks. There will also be Coffee House Podcasts for this special anniversary year.

We are also planning a community weave for the railings outside our building, a 50 pieces of artwork exhibition a short film and much, much more so keep your eyes peeled.

In closing, let’s just absorb that figure again, fifty years! Over those years, Charnwood Arts has touched so many lives, inspired generations, and become a thread in our community’s cultural fabric. We continue to evolve, holding fast to the idea that art belongs to everyone. You get to decide what art looks like to you. Personally, I don’t care about skill level, background, or anything else that might feel like a barrier because our mission is simple: to ‘make things possible’ where others might see only limits.”

Here’s to 50 years of imagination, inspiration, and community and to many more years of creativity ahead!

Join the Celebration

Throughout 2026, Charnwood Arts will be hosting special events, exhibitions, and celebrations across the borough. It’s a chance to revisit favourite memories, meet the people behind the work, and see what the next chapter holds. Whether you have been involved since the very beginning, joined along the way, or are discovering Charnwood Arts for the first time this is your celebration too.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Charnwood Arts!

Shirley Novak CEO Charnwood Arts

www.charnwoodarts.com

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About Shirley Novak

In the mid 80's to mid 90's Shirley was a professional singer-songwriter touring nationally and throughout Europe. She wrote and recorded four albums of original material in her own brand of acoustic-based music. Following her father’s death in 1993, Shirley lost her soul and decided to stop touring and change her purpose.

 

Shirley then spent many years sharing her passion for learning to communicate through music, using music technology delivering music/media centred workshops providing opportunities to enable anyone with an interest, or a range of skills to access music/media at all levels.

 

​Shirley worked with people with disabilities, children on the autistic spectrum, people in rehabilitation through injury, disadvantaged groups people struggling with their mental health, and children with SEN.

 

In 2012, she began working part-time at Newark MIND, a support service for people with mental health struggles as CEO alongside her interactive music work. After 7 great years, Shirley went back to music full-time for a year, but when the CEO role at Charnwood Arts appeared in 2020, it seemed a fantastic opportunity to combine skills along with the passion of enabling people to do something they never dreamed they could, alongside creativity for wellbeing.

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Notes

 

Charnwood Arts is based on Steeple Row, opposite the Old Rectory, and Chesterton House. Address: 27 Rectory Place, Loughborough, LE11 1UW. The front door can be found at whatthreewords: commented.clock.models

 

You can follow events hosted by Charnwood Arts, and get involved in some of their activities. Checkout their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Charnwood-Arts/100070695557908/

More about the Poetry Society project 

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). Half a Century of Creativity: Charnwood Arts Turns 50. Available from:  https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/07/half-century-of-creativity-charnwood.html [ URL e.g. https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/03/loughborough-and-isaac-newton.html] [Accessed 2 August 2026]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne 

Queen’s Park and the Carillon

I’ve wandered through our beautiful Queen’s Park quite a few times recently, and been struck by how fabulous it looks! Of course, I had quite forgotten that on 22nd July, the Carillon celebrated its 103rd year! It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating Carillon100, with a lovely event in the park.

Although I didn’t visit the park on the day, I was there for a bit of a photoshoot the day before, and a few days later, I enjoyed listening to the Quorn Ukulele Orchestra playing in the bandstand. And, yesterday, whilst out hunting down drain covers (as you do!) I captured the Carillon on film, from a couple of different vantage points.

Of course, there’s a lot of work goes on in the park which we’re not always aware of. IdVerde and the Friends of Queen’s Park do a wonderful job of maintaining and re-imagining the displays. I admit, I was sad to see the Olympic rings near the New Street entrance go, but, no doubt, the flower displays replacing them will be magnificent.

I was interested to read recently that the aviaries are to be replaced. They are going to be kept in the same position, but interestingly, they were not originally placed where they are now. You can hear me talking about this back in 2019, and you can see my hands in the BBC report about the forthcoming work! I believe the work has already started, so I must pop back to the park and record the progress!

As part of Loughborough’s offering for Heritage Open Days in September, I’ll be leading some walks around town, some of which will focus on Queen’s Park. Check the Heritage Open Days website for more details of all the events, and all the venues that are open in Loughborough!

And, the other big news is that next week is the blog’s 13th birthday!! As in the previous couple of years, I will again be hosting some exciting guest blogposts, so do pop back here and check them out!

In the meantime, enjoy the photos of my recent visits to Queen's Park and the Carillon.

21st July 2026, the day before the Carillon's 103rd birthday!

Olympic rings are now gone

 

The Quorn Ukulele Orchestra playing in the bandstand, Sunday 26 July 2026

Viewed from Arthur Street, 30 July 2026

Viewed from Brown's Lane, 30 July 2026

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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