So who was Jane Lester of Loughborough?

After two weeks of being on holiday, last week saw me back at work - well, working from home at least. Having taken loads of photos on a daily basis during my watery holiday in Loughborough, I spent a bit of time this week looking back at these, and was reminded of some Loughborough-related things I happened upon while I was discovering watery areas close to Loughborough.

One of our holiday days saw us parking in Shardlow, and walking along the canal and river to Trent Lock. On the way back, we took a slightly different route which meant walking through the field next to the towpath. The cows were gorgeous, and the view of the church as we approached Sawley was very attractive. 

Church of All Saints, Sawley, in the distance

Sawley church and cows rushing to the drinking trough

Reaching the end of the field, and coming out onto the road we headed off towards the church of All Saints. The approach to the church, through an avenue of trees and passing the Old Rectory, which is a Grade II listed building, constructed in 1823 with later 19th century additions, was stunning, and reminded me a little of the approach to Kirkby Mallory church, the burial place of Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron.

Tree-lined approach to the church at Sawley

The Old Rectory at Sawley

Anyway, given the current situation, we weren't expecting the church to be open, and although the door was ajar, we didn't venture inside. The churchyard is now closed to new burials, and maintenance of the grounds now rests with the Borough Council. The churchyard was, of course, open to visitors, so we had a look around. How lovely it was to see a few examples of Swithland slate gravestones, as well as those made of Welsh slate and local stone.

Siwthland slate headstones in the foreground, Welsh slate in the distance

Detail from a Swithland slate headstone in Sawley churchyard

Doing the circuit of the churchyard, right at the end of the route I stumbled across a headstone of Welsh slate that particularly grabbed my attention: 

The gravestone of Jane Lester and Harriet Roe

Interesting that Jane Lester was 'late of Loughborough', so why was she buried in Sawley? And who was Harriet Roe? An investigation into Jane Lester has revealed many snippets of information, but some remains elusive. Here's what I have discovered so far. Sadly, it's only the information pertaining to her family and where they lived, as in order for more information to be available, one would need to have been a member of the nobility or aristocracy, or in the public eye (like a publican) or perhaps a criminal, and, as you will see, neither Jane nor Harriet were none of these.  

Jane was born in around 1819, in Shepshed. Her husband-to-be, Stephen Lester, was born around 1816 in Long Whatton. Stephen's father, William, was a baptist, whose own birth was recorded in the baptist registers. I am wondering if this might be why I can't find Stephen and Jane's marriage anywhere. Information in later census returns points me in the direction of Jane's surname being either Oram or Mills, but further investigation has proved neither conclusively.

STOP PRESS! Thanks to a very kindly friend, Stephen and Jane's marriage record has now been found, and it confirms that Jane was born Jane Mills, in 1818, and she was baptised on 25 August that year. Her parents were William Mills, a carpenter, who was also born in Shepshed in 1793, and Hannah Chester, who married William on 31 October 1815.   

Anyway, by 1841, Stephen and Jane were living in the same house on Brook Street, in Shepshed, and Stephen is a framework knitter. The nine-year old girl, Milicent (spelled Melicent on the census return) listed as being at the same property the night the census is taken, is actually Stephen's sister, who later marries a man from Loughborough, where they make their home.

By 1851 Stephen, listed specifically as a framework knitter in cotton on the census return, and Jane are lodging with someone called Mary Oram and Mary's nephew, James Mills, a potato dealer, in Brook Street, Shepshed. Stephen and Jane have five children: Isaac; William; James; Elizabeth and John, ranging from age 9 (Isaac) to a baby (John).

On the 1861 census return, Stephen and Jane, and their children - Isaac (a framework knitter), William (an agricultural labourer), James (a labourer), and John, Hannah and Thomas who were all school-aged. They are no longer living in Shepshed, but have moved to Smalley in Derbyshire, which is a small village on the main A608 Heanor to Derby Road, being situated just over 2 miles to Heanor itself. Maybe Stephen was working for the firm of I&R Morley who had recently opened a factory in Heanor in 1860, but this is purely speculation on my part. 

1861 census return

 

In 1871 Jane and Stephen are living at 8 Regent Street in Loughborough, along with four of their children, Isaac and John, and Hannah who is now a dressmaker, and Thomas, who is a painter. Stephen's father, a retired framework knitter, is also listed at the property on the night of the census. Stephen's father died in 1878, and in 1881, Stephen and Jane are living alone at the property on Regent Street. The 1891 census shows them as living at 10 Regent Street, but whether they have moved, or whether the house numbering has changed is unclear.

In 1898 Stephen dies, and his death is registered in Loughborough, in the April, May, June quarter. As we already know, Jane died shortly after her husband, on March 28 1899, at Sawley.

So, what is the connection between Jane and Harriet Row with whom she shares a grave in Sawley?

Investigation shows that it is Stephen and Jane's son, James, who links the two families, through his marriage to Rosetta Roe. This event happened on 30 May 1868 in Shardlow, and the couple move to Normanton, near Derby, which is about 10 miles from Sawley and 13 from Shardlow. Rosetta's father is listed on the marriage document as Joseph Roe.

James and Rosetta's marriage, 1868

Joseph Roe was born in 1816 in Smalley to parents Joseph and Millicent. By 1841 he has married, and he and his wife are living in Scropton, Derbyshire (about 20 miles from Smalley) where Joseph is working on a farm. They have a six-year-old son, William. The 1851 census has the family living in Normanton (near Derby), and includes children William, Thomas, Ann, Rosetta and baby Joseph.

The whereabouts of the family in 1861 is a little less clear, but they might still be living in Normanton, with older children William, Ann and Joseph, and three younger children, Mary, Charles and James. 

There is a more positive listing of the family in 1871 when Joseph and his wife are living with two of their sons, Charles (15) and James (11). Other people listed at the property on the night of the 1871 census are James Lester, son of Stephen and Jane, his wife, Rosetta, daughter of Joseph, and their baby daughter, Emma.

James and Rosetta on the night of the 1871 census

 

In 1881, Joseph and his wife are living in Barley Row, Normanton, with their son, Charles, and next door to Charles Roe and his wife Elizabeth, Charles maybe being Joseph's younger brother. By the time of the next census, taken in 1891, Joseph and his wife are living with their son Charles in Normanton. 

I haven't definitely established Joseph's date of death, but it is likely his death was registered in Shardlow in 1893. He left behind, his wife, Harriet Roe, Joseph and Harriet being the parents of Rosetta Roe who married James Lester, son of Stephen and Jane. 

Given the message on the gravestone, and the entry in the local newspaper, I can only assume that Harriet, who lived at Normanton, was visiting Jane in Sawley, or perhaps staying with her for a while, and both died in March 1899, although the dates vary slightly.

Long Eaton Advertiser, 15 April 1899

Funny the things you discover on holiday!!!

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2020). So who was Jane Lester of Loughborough? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-who-was-jane-lester-of-loughborough.html [Accessed: 26 July 2020]

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.

If you wish to leave a comment, please do so in the comments box that appears below this blogpost. Alternatively, you can contact me via lynneaboutloughborough[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne     

 

Holiday in Loughborough

Watery Loughborough

So, this year, instead of the annual two-week holiday in St Ives, Cornwall, our holiday this summer is staying in Loughborough and investigating as many water sources as possible. It's hardly the same as seeing the Celtic Sea, which is apparently the bit of the Atlantic Ocean that St Ives sits on, but it has actually been quite exciting trying to find as many bodies of water as possible.

Most of the places I've been to these last two weeks, are either places I've been to before, or places I've been meaning to visit for a while. Needless to say, there wasn't enough time to visit or re-visit some places, so there's still plenty more for another day! And I'm pretty sure there are places I haven't been to that I don't know about!!

Of course, when I embarked on my watery Loughborough holiday, I hadn't really thought that it would rain nearly every day in the first week, and that I would get absolutely soaked on a couple of days!! It was almost like being at the seaside!!

I also admit to getting a bit confused with all the names of the bodies of water I've visited. Sometimes it's a canal, sometimes a cut, sometimes a river, sometimes ... well, the list goes on!! The best I can do today is share some photos of the places I've visited, and some maps of the walking route I took to get to and around them. They're all well worth the trip, if, like me, you're looking for a watery Loughborough holiday!

Around Black Brook Reservoir and Whitwick Quarry

Black Brook Reservoir

The Black Brook under the Stonebow Bridge

The Black Brook near Morrisons

Whitwick Quarry

Around Buck Hill area Part 1

Around Buck Hill area Part 2

Practically the start of the Wood Brook on Home Farm, Nanpantan

From Bunny and around Rushcliffe country park

The pond at Rushcliffe country park

Around Foremark Reservoir

Foremark Reservoir

Shardlow to Trent Lock

River Trent between Shardlow and Trent Lock

Start of the Trent and Mersey Canal at the mouth of the River Derwent, near Shardlow

River Trent and Erewash Canal junction near Trent Lock

River Trent at Shardlow

Canal and River at Sawley

Around Staunton Harold Reservoir

Staunton Harold Reservoir, beachy end

Staunton Harold Reservoir, Melbourne end

Sutton Bonington to Trent Lock and back

River Soar through Kegworth

Grand Union Canal at Kegworth

Looking towards the Erewash Canal

Beeston to Nottingham along the Trent and the Beeston Cut

Beeston Canal, Attenborough end

Beeston Canal, Nottingham end

The River Leen in Nottingham between the Trent and the Beeston Canal

The River Trent at Beeston

I have no map for the remaining watery trips out, but here are some photos of the other places I visited:

Charnwood Water

Dishley Pool

Grand Union Canal at the I&R Morley apartments near Nottingham Road

Thornton Reservoir

Bridge over the Hermitage Brook

The Summer Pool Brook on the Lammas Meadow

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2020). Holiday in Loughborough. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/07/holiday-in-loughborough.html  [Accessed: 19 July 2020]

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.

If you wish to leave a comment, please do so in the comments box that appears below this blogpost. Alternatively, you can contact me via lynneaboutloughborough[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne     

St Peter's church and community centre

Timeline for St Peter’s Mission Church, St Peter’s Sunday School 

(latterly Rosebery Arts Centre) and St Peter’s Church

This post was prompted by a recent article in the local newspaper concerning the closure of the Rosebery St Peter's community centre. 

April 1889 – the iron mission church was built, and a Sunday School established. The iron mission church (1), which is on the Paget Estate, was dedicated by the Bishop of Leicester. It was expected to be temporary and was built to serve the rapidly expanding local community. The site on which it stood was big enough for additional, permanent buildings to house the church, a Sunday School, and a vicarage. The iron church itself was built by Mr Lee of Manchester. Gas fittings within were provided by Mr C Fisher, seating by Messrs Watson and Lovett, brickwork by Messrs A and S Main, and Mr Walter Chapman Burder presented a prayer book and bible.  

The iron mission church

 

The iron mission church adjacent to St Peter's church

1892 – Reverend W Irwin became curate at Loughborough parish church, and curate-in-charge in respect of the mission church at St Peter’s.

 

March 1892 – the iron mission church was enlarged to double its original size. At the same time it was dedicated. The new part was at right angles to the original: a chancel of 25ft by 17ft 6in, a classroom 25ft square on the left, which also had a gallery for infants, and on the right were two rooms, each 15ft by 12 ft 4in., one of which acting as a vestry. The exterior of the church was corrugated iron, whilst the inside was of stained and varnished wood. Foundations for the extensions were laid by W Ludlam, the interior woodwork by W F Harding, and the heating system by Messengers. George Hodson was the superintendent of the building works, the cost of which was £300, all raised by donation. Gifts for the interior included an oak communion table, altar linen and altar vases, and a brass cross.

The iron mission church from the rear

 

Inside the iron mission church

Inside the iron mission church

1895 – at a public meeting at Fearon Hall it was agreed to appeal for funds to build a permanent church and school rooms.

 

28 December 1895 – Tenders were received for the building of the new St Peter’s school rooms. These were submitted by W Corah, W F Harding, T Barker & Son, W Moss & Son, and the contract was awarded to A Faulks, a master builder of Sparrow Hill, at a cost of £2,330. George H Barrowcliff was the architect.

 

February 12 1896 – the foundation stone for the Sunday School building, comprising a Sunday school and church hall, to accommodate 800 scholars was laid by Mayoress of Loughborough, Mrs Walter Chapman Burder. The central hall measured 61ft by 30ft, the infant room 54ft by 19ft, and the six classrooms were 13ft by 12ft each. There was also a committee room, cloakrooms and a general out-office.

The foundation stone of the Sunday School building

 

The Sunday School building from Storer Road

The Sunday School building from the rear

July 1898 – after an illness lasting several months, Reverend Irwin died.

 

1900 – a committee, charged with arranging for the erection of a permanent church building, met with the ecclesiastical architect, Mr William Samuel Weatherley, to discuss plans. The proposed design was large and handsome, but the committee decided now was not the right time to build it, so decided to build a nave only, with the chancel, vestries and tower to be added later. The estimated cost of the complete new church were £8,000.

 

February 1907 – plans to build around the current nucleus of the church were developing and local people were pledging money towards the cost.

 

June 1907 – the need for a permanent church, and the creation of a separate parish was now urgent, and it was proposed that an application be sent to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

 

1909-1913 – the plans for the new church were drawn up by the joint architects, Mr William Samuel Weatherley, of London, who during 1867-72 had been a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and George H, Barrowcliff of Loughborough, who had already designed the Memorial Baths in Queen’s Park, the Carnegie library on Granby Street and had just designed the United Reformed church building on Frederick Street.  

A drawing of St Peter's church

 

November 1910 - the foundation stone is laid

April 1912 - the new church is consecrated by the Bishop of Peterborough.

March 1913 – St Peter’s becomes a fully instituted parish, both in legal and ecclesiastical terms.

 

Skip forward in time to:

1962 - the lady chapel was added to the church.

 

1966 – the Sunday School was converted to become a community centre. As the heart of the community, over the years it was used by groups as varied as the Chrysanthemum Club, the Mother’s Union, folk clubs, keep fit clubs, bridge clubs, drama groups, for weddings and religious celebrations for members of the local Asian community, offering help to Vietnamese refugees, morris dancing clubs, boxing and judo clubs. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list - just a selection to give a flavour of how the community centre was used.

The Sunday School building from the front

 

1989 – a time capsule was buried at the edge of the centre’s car park, under a sculpture by Rosebery Arts.

The time capsule buried underneath a sculpture in 1989

 

2004 – the church of St Peter’s officially became redundant and in 2005 churches were invited to propose future use of the building.

 

2007 – the joint use proposal submitted by Elim Pentecostal Church and Open Heaven was successful, and detailed plans were submitted to the planning department, with permission being granted in 2009, and renovations taking place between 2012 and 2013.

 

2009 - the St Peter's Community Centre, formerly the Sunday school building, became the Rosebery St Peter's Centre.  

The Sunday School building from the side

2013 – following extensive renovation and redesign an open event, opened by the Mayor, to celebrate this and the start of a new chapter in the history of St Peter’s church, was held in August 2013. The community festival event included an historical display at which was shown the 102-year-old time capsule that had been found during the renovations.

Record of the laying of the foundation stone of the church

Time capsules inspired by the one found

The uncovered time capsule from 1911

 

2016 – St Peter’s community centre celebrated its 50th anniversary.

September 2019 –Becca Byrers from BBC Radio Leicester, and I walked around Loughborough looking for its hidden past. This included a trip to the former St Peter’s church where we were treated to a viewing of the time capsule and a number of relevant documents. We also went along to Beaumanor Hall, and the whole event is available as a podcast, called Multi-Story. 

 

June 2020 – it is announced that the Rosebery Community Centre will close permanently. The community centre hired out its space for a variety of events, including art exhibitions, but income during the coronavirus pandemic ceased as community groups have not been able to meet: As such, the community centre could no longer continue due to lack of finance.

(1) The mission church does not have the full status of a parish church, but is rather a church supporting an area within the parish of the main church, the latter being the one with the full-time minister, and the mission church supported by a curate from the main church. 
          

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2020). So who were the Woodwards of Loughborough? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/07/st-peters-church-and-community-centre.html    [Accessed: 12 July 2020]

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.

If you wish to leave a comment, please do so in the comments box that appears below this blogpost. Alternatively, you can contact me via lynneaboutloughborough[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne