You probably know that there is a lot of work going on around Ward's End and Devonshire Square to pedestrianise the area and make it more attractive to visitors and shoppers? When I was walking the area a couple of weeks ago, I noticed plaques inset into the paving slabs, which celebrate things from Loughborough's history.
Two of these plaques commemorate the market and the fair, both of which are celebrating 800 years since the granting of the charters.
One of the other plaques marks the spot near which Clarke's Dyeworks and the bleach works were situated, conveniently close to the Wood Brook.
Devonshire Square was where the Devonshire Militia used to drill. Known as the 1st or East Devon Militia, and later the 3rd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, was a part-time unit based in Devon. In the early 1800s, when the 'Luddites' began to smash machinery, the Militia were sent to various parts of the country to restore order. They travelled first to Warwick, thence to Derby and Burton-on-Trent, before coming to Loughborough, and then onto Lichfield and Tamworth, before returning to Plymouth.
In Loughborough, the Luddites destroyed the lace-making factory of John Heathcoat, which was situated approximately where Iceland is now, and which bears a Leicestershire Heritage Green Plaque.
The idea of temperance really took hold in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. This was a social movement with the purpose of persuading people to give up drinking alcohol. In Loughborough, a dedicated Temperance cafe was constructed on the corner of Devonshire Square and Granby Street, opened in
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| View of the pedestrianised Devonshire Square, showing floor plaques and the 'mural' above |
I wonder if there are any more plaques likely to spring up in our lovely town centre?
Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 28 November 2021
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Lynne
