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Sunday, 27 December 2020

Bellfoundry and church bells

Taylors Bellfoundry and the bells of the Loughborough parish church

One of the sounds that one can’t fail to have missed during the past 9 months is that of church bells ringing out – for all sorts of occasions, as well as calling people to a regular service. Whether or not you are a member of a church, whether or not this is your religion, the ringing of church bells is something that would normally permeate every village, town and city in the country. This is the first time since the Second World War that church bells have fallen silent.

In Loughborough, the irony of the silence of the church bells is that the town is home to the country’s last remaining bellfoundry, Taylors, as the Whitechapel bellfoundry closed in May 2017. Taylors has been an integral part of Loughborough’s industrial history since 1839, when the foundry moved here. Initially, the yard behind the Packhorse pub (now the Organ Grinder) served the bellfounders well, when they arrived in the town to re-cast the bells of the parish church, but by 1859, a larger, purpose-built factory had been created in the area around Freehold and Cobden Streets.

Bellfoundry buildings

Bellfoundry buildings


As a working factory, the bellfoundry has an extensive private archive and some of the history of the bellfoundry is shared on the internet, via the bellfoundry website, and that of the Loughborough Bellfoundry Trust. The trust has been in existence since about 2016 and was created to protect the buildings, the archives, and the museum within the bellfoundry for future generations.

A visit to the museum is a real treat as the work of the bellfoundry is showcased not only in a dedicated museum space, but also through an organised tour of the actual foundry where on casting days it’s possible to observe bells being made.

Bells


Although church bells may have fallen silent during this pandemic, work at the foundry has continued, and work to create a new museum for the 21st century has also forged ahead, with the appointment of a new museum director:

The new Museum Director for the Bellfoundry Trust, courtesy of Twitter

Also during the pandemic, the bell foundry has been in receipt of grants from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, and, just before Christmas it was announced that the bellfoundry’s application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a substantial grant had finally been approved. This success made the national news, and was reported on the BBC website, as well as being featured on the Heritage Fund websiteand on the website of Ingham Pinnock the economic and regeneration consultants who have been working with the bellfoundry since about 2014.  

The last time I visited Loughborough parish church, in February 2020, was to assist with keeping the church open whilst a ringing event took place, from 2pm, with an expected completion time of 5.45pm. This was a successful challenge - for the bellringers and myself!

Church belltower
Loughborough parish church tower


Inside the parish church Feb 2020


Inside the parish church, Feb 2020

Inside the parish church, Feb 2020

 

More recently, on Christmas Day, 2020, a small band of bellringers were able to ring the bells of the parish church. This was a momentous occasion as it was the first time the bells had been rung since 15th March 2020, just before the national lockdown. Several important safety inspections were carried out before this COVID-safe peal was allowed to go ahead, but those involved were absolutely thrilled to be able to ring, and people in the neighbourhood were thrilled to hear that iconic sound of church bells.

Let’s hope 2021 brings more opportunities for bellringers to ring, for townsfolk to hear the familiar sounds, for the bellfoundry works to flourish, and the bellfoundry's museum plans to develop.  

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 27 December 2020

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). Bellfoundry and church bells. Available fromhttps://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/12/bellfoundry-and-church-bells.html [Accessed 27 December 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.
You can leave comments below, but do check back as my reply will appear here, below your comment.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne        

Sunday, 20 December 2020

Spotlight on Glebe House Part 2

History of Glebe House part 2



In the previous post about Glebe House, we looked at the period during which it acted as the rectory associated with the Emmanuel Church, before moving on to look at who the rectors of Emmanuel were. In this post, let’s look at how Glebe House was used after the rector from 1904-1923, Richard H. Fuller, completed his incumbency.


In 1923 Rev. Douglas R. Robson accepted the position of Rector of Loughborough, and came from the small parish of Par, in Cornwall, but rather than coming to live at the impressive Glebe House, Rev. Robson moved into no.57 Forest Road, where in June 1923 Mrs Robson was advertising for the services of a cook / general servant.


So, who was now living at the beautiful Glebe House, in its lovely setting?

Prior to moving to Glebe House, William Shirley Northcote Toller, known to his family as Shirley lived in Stafford Lodge, Quorn. Toller had taken part in the First World War, and in March 1918, at the age of 40, he was taken prisoner of war: shortly after the Armistice was declared, he returned to England. From 1921 to 1926, he was Lt. Colonel of the 1/5th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment and it was during this period that he moved from Quorn to Glebe House, where he continued to live until around 1930, when he moved to Quorn Court.


The family that moved into Glebe House following Toller, were the Barthels. Albert Gustave Vincent Barthel was born the year before Toller, in 1887, to parents Louis and Edla [sic], in London. Barthel started his career as a bank clerk, but at the time of his marriage in 1917 to Eva Bigwood, he was an export manager. The couple continued to live in London, sharing the home of Eva’s parents in Battersea. However, in 1920 they registered the birth of their daughter, Joan, in Chepstow. By 1925, the family had moved to 31 Park Road, in Loughborough for a few years, before taking up residence in Glebe House.

On the 1939 register, Barthel is described as the managing director of a public limited company. A newspaper report from June 1940 describes the plight of the couple’s twin sons, Paul and Peter, the outcome of which was that Peter Vincent died in 1942. At the time, father Gilbert was the managing director of Genatosan, a firm which was begun in 1906 in London, as part of Sanatogen, and which in 1937 was taken over by Fisons.

Although there is no information on when Barthel retired, he and his family continued to live at Glebe House until about 1952, after which they moved to Storrington near Horsham in West Sussex, where Albert died in 1982.

Meanwhile, back in Loughborough, William Davis moved into Glebe House in around 1962. Prior to this, he and his wife Kathleen had been living at 24 William Street since at least as early as 1939. In 1935, William Davis had established his house-building company, who built their first houses on Edelin Road, the year the couple’s first child, Edelin was born. By the time of the move to Glebe House, the company was extremely successful.


Sadly, resources beyond 1962 are not available to me at the moment, so I am not sure when the Leicestershire County Council bought Glebe House, but I do know that the project known as Glebe House rented Glebe House from the council in 1982, and opened the building in 1983, offering a pre-school playgroup, and a holiday playscheme, amongst other things. In 1992, the project became a charity in its own right.

In 2004 Glebe House was added to Charnwood Borough Council’s register of locally listed buildings. The Glebe House charity continued to operate from Glebe House until 2010, when it moved to the former Magistrate’s Court on Wood Gate. In 2013 the Hardwick House School moved into Glebe House, and opened in 2014, and remains there to this day. Hardwick House School offers a curriculum that is rich and inspiring, and aims to provide an enjoyable learning experience for children and young people. It is a specialist independent school which is part of the group known as Cavendish Education.

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 20 December 2020

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). Spotlight on Glebe House Part 2. Available from:https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/12/spotlight-on-glebe-house-part-2.html [Accessed 20 December 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.
You can leave comments below, but do check back as my reply will appear here, below your comment.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne        

Sunday, 13 December 2020

Winter Wonderland on the GCR

Been rather a busy week, so the concluding part of Glebe House will be published here next week. In the meantime, some of my very recent evening walks have obviously taken place in the dark, so I've managed to take some slightly different pictures.

First some photos of Christmas lights around Loughborough








 And some photos of the Winter Wonderland GCR event











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). Winter Wonderland on the GCR. Available from:https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/12/winter-wonderland-on-gcr.html [Accessed 13 December 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.
You can leave comments below, but do check back as my reply will appear here, below your comment.

Thank you for reading this blog. 
Lynne                                  

Friday, 4 December 2020

Spotlight on Glebe House

Nestled between a primary school, the former home of Loughborough’s first mayor, and close to a university hall of residence, on what is affectionately known as the Forest Green Belt, Glebe House will be a name well known to those who are familiar with Loughborough. For many years the property was home to the Glebe House project, being used by Loughborough MENCAP from about 1982 until 2010. 

Glebe House

But what of the building before this, and what afterwards? And what exactly does this have to do with no.57 Forest Road - now part of a student property, but once part of the Forest Rise Hotel - and an unassuming mid-twentieth century property, no.47 Forest Road?

Rev. William Holme, who was Rector of Loughborough, initiated the dividing of Loughborough from one large parish, served by the church of All Saints, into two parishes. As a result of this, the building of Emmanuel church began in 1835, and was completed by 1837, with the service of dedication being held on 4 September 1837. At this time (and until 1839) Loughborough was in the diocese of Lincoln.

As Rev. Holme was the rector of the whole of Loughborough, he resided at the Rectory in Rectory Road, practically adjacent to the church of All Saints. When the reverend died in 1848, a new rector for Loughborough (i.e. the parish of All Saints) was appointed, as was a rector for the relatively new parish of Emmanuel.

The Old Rectory on Rectory Road, home to the Rector of All Saints


Rev. Robert James Bunch arrived in Loughborough in 1848, and in June of that year Rev. Bunch married Mary Anne Cooper, daughter of the Rev. B. Cooper, Rector of Lewcombe in Dorset, at Christ Church, St Pancras.

On the 1851 census, Rev. Bunch and his wife are listed at The Grove on Ashby Road, the family home of the banking dynasty of Middleton. 

The Grove, Ashby Road

However, also in 1851 the new rectory for the Emmanuel church was completed at a cost of around £2,000 to build. Apparently this new rectory was designed to be similar to the vicarage in Yetminster, Dorset, as both Mrs Bunch’s grandfather and father had been the vicar there. What emerged was a beautiful red-brick Victorian Gothic rectory, which today appears on the register of Locally Listed Buildings.  

During the time that Rev. Bunch and his family were living at the rectory, in October 1869 there were a series of about nine fires, deliberately set alight, all in a straight line and within a quarter of a mile of each other. According to a newspaper report, “On the right, and very near to Emmanuel Rectory, the residence of the Rev. R.J. Bunch, a haystack, the produce of six acres, belonging to Mr Robert Handley, was being consumed.” The perpetrator of the crime had given himself up and confessed to the police.

On 19 June 1870, Rev. Bunch died, and in August 1870 the auction house on Baxter Gate were auctioning valuable furniture and contents from the rectory, including 700-800 volumes of books. Bunch’s position as rector was filled by Rev. Octavius Glover, a bachelor who lived in the rectory with his four servants. Rev. Glover retired from his position as rector of Emmanuel in 1904, and died in Torquay the following year. Oddly, in August of 1904 the auction house of Garton and Amatt on Baxter Gate was again auctioning furniture etc. from the Emmanuel Rectory.

The former offices of auctioneers, Garton and Amatt

It was in September of 1904, following the retirement of Rev. Glover, that the Rev. Richard H. Fuller first appeared to preach at Emmanuel church. He and his family lived at the Rectory, but there were a number of things about the building which worried him: the house wasn’t connected to the local water supply, instead relying on water drawn from a well, and the sewerage system was not up to scratch either, nor did Rev. Fuller appreciate the necessity for employing a large number of servants! In March 1907, Mr Beeby, a 24-year old gardener with 2.5 years’ experience was advertising that he was looking for a position elsewhere: the address given in the advert was the Emmanuel Rectory Loughborough, and it appeared in the Stamford Mercury.  

Rev. Fuller continued to live at the rectory until about 1920. During the period from 1904 – 1920, there were many newsworthy things happening. 

In 1908 there was an extensive report in the newspaper about one of the many fetes and sales of work that were held in the rectory grounds. Apart from giving everyone the chance to have fun, the aim of the fete was to raise funds to improve and extend the church. Although the rain fell, and people got bogged down in the garden, the event went well, and funds were, indeed, raised.

In 1911 Mr Amatt was auctioning, amongst other things, a plot of freehold building land on Forest Road, previously belonging to Mrs S.J. Crosher. The plot was currently occupied by Mr Scott, and was subject to Land Tax and a Tithe Rent of 14s. 6d. payable to the Rector of Emmanuel. The plot had a frontage of 90 feet onto Forest Road, and was of 1,036 square feet.

In March 1914 the ‘Loughborough Echo’ reported that a nest of thrushes were hatched in the Emmanuel Rectory garden. And in September that same year an appeal was put out by H. Sabina Fuller [sic] of Emmanuel Rectory for people to knit socks for soldiers, as the War Office allowance was only three pairs.

A couple of years later, in March 1916 a young person was charged with stealing a cycle lamp used by Miss Fuller, and belonging to Rev R.H.  Fuller of Emmanuel Rectory and worth 6s. 6d.. This was taken in October 1915 from outside Rosebery School, while Miss Fuller was attending a nursing class. 

In August 1917 ‘The Tatler’ carried the announcement of the marriage between Miss Cecil Sabrina Fuller, the only daughter of Rev R.H. Fuller and his wife, with Mr Maurice Woolley.

In 1920, Emmanuel Church bought a smaller property, on Forest Road, as a home for the rector. This house, at no.57, was a semi-detached Victorian red-brick villa, which has more recently been the left-hand half of the Forest Rise Hotel, now student accommodation. At the time of purchase, the house was just over £4,500, and despite being smaller than the original rectory, still had six bedrooms!

These two semi-detached properties, nos.55 (right) & 57 (left), have been merged

Perhaps it was at this time that the 1851 rectory became known as Glebe House, to make it more easily differentiated from the new rectory?

Let’s very quickly look at successive rectors and their homes …

Rev. Fuller moved on in 1923 to become rector of North Luffenham in Rutland, and Rev. Douglas A. Robson took over from him. Rev. Robson came from Par in Cornwall, and when he moved on in 1939, it was to South Kilworth in Leicestershire. Rev. Harold Marley took over in 1939, coming from Sedgley, and moving to be rector of Thorpe Morieux in Suffolk.

Rev. Lancelot Edgell Dashwood became Rector of Emmanuel in 1951, following on from Rev. Marley. His immediately previous position was as vicar of Hugglescote and he retired in 1961 to Hothfield in Kent. It was during Rev. Dashwood’s incumbency, in 1953-54, that the current rectory, no.47 Forest Road was built and became home to future rectors.

No.47 Forest Road

The rector from 1961-1969 was Rev. Alfred Reginald Meakin, who came to Loughborough from the position of Rector of Appleby Magna. ‘Rex’ as he was known, retired to Dorset in 1969, and his shoes were filled in 1970 by Rev. Ian D. Campbell, who, in 1980 moved on to become vicar of All Saints in Leamington Spa. Coming from Thorpe Arnold, near Melton Mowbray, Michael T.H. Banks became Rector of Emmanuel in 1980. Rev. Banks was followed by Rev. David Newman, who left Emmanuel in 2009 to become Warden at Launde Abbey, and he was followed in the role at Emmanuel by Rev. Michael Broadley, who remains as rector today, and resides at no.47.

So, now we’ve seen where the rector resides after 1920, wouldn’t it be interesting to know what happens to ‘Glebe House’ once the rector moves out?

Find out in the next post!!!

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). Spotlight on Glebe House. Available fromhttps://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/11/spotlight-on-glebe-house.html [Accessed 6 December 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.
You can leave comments below, but do check back as my reply will appear here, below your comment.

Thank you for reading this blog. 
Lynne