Lynne About Loughborough: Barrow-upon-Soar

Showing posts with label Barrow-upon-Soar. Show all posts

Sunday, 9 September 2018

The cemetery chapels

Last weekend I spent an enjoyable afternoon at the local Sutton Bonington Show. Over the years I've been many times, initially because the Hathern Concert Brass band played a turn there, but I still try and go even though the youngest no longer plays with them.

This year, I'd recently been to the Leics. County Show at Market Harborough, and I couldn't help but compare the two events. These were so similar, that I even chatted to some of the same stallholders at both the events, but I somehow felt that the Sutton Bonington Show, considering its size and location (when compared to the Leicestershire Show Ground, and the Leics. show being a county-wide event) the Sutton Bonington show was equally as good, and in some cases better. Last year at SB we saw the Nottingham Knights perform in the ring: they weren't here this year, but they were at the County Show. There were not quite so many animals on show at SB, and the variety of cows were not quite as diverse, so they concentrated on Dexter cows. What I particularly like about the SB show is the handicraft / horticulture / baking tent, where competition entries are put on display alongside the judges comments: this is what makes SB a local event I suppose, unlike the County Show. See photos of the event at the end of this post.

Anyway, this is not the topic of this week's blogpost!! To the cemetery chapels ...

This weekend and next are the Heritage Open Day events, and I have been lucky enough to make a number of visits, and although there were literally hundreds of places to visit, for some reason or other, my visits have centred around cemetery chapels!

Perhaps this is because of our very own cemetery chapels, on Leicester Road, and maybe my visits were sparked by reading about these in "Loughborough in 50 Buildings" or in the recent "Loughborough Echo" piece about the buildings being up for rent again, the lift company having moved out. Here's a bit about our cemetery chapels from "Loughborough in 50 Buildings":

"Loughborough Cemetery was created following the passing of the Burial Acts, the chapel being designed by architects Bellamy and Hardy of Lincoln in the popular Gothic Revival style, and built by John Sudbury of Loughborough.

At a ceremony in July 1856, a procession, including members of the Burial Board, which comprised many well-known local men, including Edward Chatterton Middleton, Edward Warner, Beauvoir Brock, and Henry Toone, walked from the Town Hall to the cemetery, where Edward Middleton laid the foundation stone for the chapels."

And some photos:

As authoritative sources suggest, our chapels are some of the most splendid in the country. So, on the trail of others with which to compare, I went off and had a look around those in Melbourne, South Derbyshire, Melbourne being one of my favourite places. The chapels are somewhat smaller, of slightly different design, ours were opened in 1856, Melbourne's in 1859, and both are Grade II Listed. They do, however, differ in current usage, the Melbourne one being "in need" and the subject of a joint project between the Parish Council and Melbourne Historical Research Group to re-vitalise the buildings, and Loughborough's renovated and leased to a company (recently Cibes Lifts, but currently vacant). Some photos below of the Melbourne cemetery chapels:

The cemetery chapel at Rothley is quite different from the ones at Loughborough and Melbourne, being constructed in 1904, hence why it's of red brick construction. Also, being rather close to Swithland, it has a Swithland slate roof. With Rothley being a somewhat smaller town than either Loughborough or Melbourne, the chapel is correspondingly smaller. It does not appear on the register of Listed Buildings, but is of sufficient importance to be locally listed. On the day I visited, the building was hosting an exhibition about the Barrow upon Soar workhouse, which covered about 30 local parishes. This was an excellent exhibition and, as you know, I'm quite interested in workhouses, so I'll come back to this when I have more time. In the meantime, please enjoy photos from the Rothley cemetery chapels, followed by the Sutton Bonington Show.

The Sutton Bonington Show:

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

Dyer, Lynne (2018). Leicestershire County Show. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-cemetery-chapels.html [Accessed 9 September 2018]

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Lynne

Sunday, 26 February 2017

Cartwright and Warner

Oh dear, here I go again, promising you a further post on holiday connections, but finding myself eager to tell you about something else first!! This one's timely, as it follows immediately from my attending a book launch - a book about the Warner family, as associated with Cartwright and Warner (Hosiers), Nanpantan Hall, the churches of All Saints, Holy Trinity, St Peter's and St Mary in Charnwood at Nanpantan, and many other places!

Now, I don't want to spoil your reading of the book (by Derrick Hewitt) so what follows are a few snippets of information, not all of them gathered from the detailed talk that Derrick gave at the launch at the church of All Saints with Holy Trinity.

The Warner family is probably best known for its partnership with the Cartwrights in a hosiery business that seems to have been rather successful! There was enough money in the business for Edward Warner to buy Quorn Hall from the Farndon family, to build The Elms and Nanpantan Hall.

According to Mr Hewitt, Aingarth (now retirement and sheltered housing) a Victorian building, was originally associated with The Elms, and the gatehouse to the Elms, now called the Lodge to Aingarth, fronts onto Leicester Road. This was recently for sale, and there are some pictures available. Both The Elms and The Lodge to Aingarth are listed buildings.

The Lodge to Aingarth

The Elms

Aingarth

Nanpantan Hall, was sold by the Warners to the Pagets (William Byerley Paget to be precise), and has latterly been part of the School of Economic Science. Not sure if this is still the case, as the Echo reported in July 2016 that Nanpantan Hall has recently become a wedding venue, ironic, since W B Paget's former house, Southfields House, is now the Loughborough Register Office!

The Warner family had connections with the Church of All Saints (now the Church of All Saints with Holy Trinity), and were instrumental in the building of Holy Trinity Church and St Peters Church, as well as a memorial to Archdeacon Fearon, in the form of Fearon Hall.

Church of All Saints (today with Holy Trinity)

Fearon Hall

The company had various factories around Loughborough, including the one on Clarence Street (now a locally listed building) and those taken over by Towles.

The Warner family were also benefactors of the Grammar School.

In 1851 at the Great Exhibition, Cartwright and Warner* won a medal for their women's "union dresses" - a Victorian euphemism for women's combinations

Apparently, one member of the Cartwright family, James, lived at 151 Ashby Road, in 1911.

There were a couple of Cartwright and Warner employees, Ernest Grimbley and Charles J Hunt, who died during the first world war and are listed on the Roll of Honour website.

In 1900 a row of almshouses were created on Mill Lane, as part of the Warner legacy. Sadly, the cartouche on the side of the building is beginning to wear away, but the properties are still, I believe, inhabited by former hosiery workers. These are administered by the Warner's Almshouse Charity in Melbourne, South Derbyshire.

Mill Lane

One wonders if George Warner of Quorn, who went off to the United States, was part of the Warner hosiery family: Derrick may have said this, but I am a little hard of hearing and missed some of the talk.

An extract from White's Gazeteer of 1877 appears on the Genuki website, giving a brief description of Loughborough and naming various people associated with the hosiery trade. The complete White's Gazeteer is also available on the internet.

The Victoria County History of Leicestershire also includes some information on Cartwright and Warner, and is complemented by information on the British History Online website.

The Barrow Upon Soar Heritage Group include a report of evidence given by inhabitants of the village in regard to increasing mechanisation of framework knitting, some of whom worked for Cartwright and Warner in Loughborough.

If you're a member of the FaceBook Group Remember Loughborough, you've probably already seen this video of Cartwright and Warner employees leaving the factory in 1900 but here it is again!

Here are two of my favourite things - coincidences: whilst looking for mention of Cartwright and Warner on Grace's Guide, I happened upon a bell foundry called called J Warner who made the initial Big Ben, which was later recast by the Whitechapel foundry! And, would you believe it, John Henry Boyer Warner, one of Edward Warner's sons, moved to Kepwick Hall in Yorkshire, and on the top of one of the hills he built - you guessed it - an obelisk (see my previous post about obelisks)! The description I've found of this on various listed building websites seems to be incorrect, listing him as a Weaver not a Warner, but interestingly, the obelisk is constructed of Portland stone - just like the ground floor of our Carillon!

Portland stone bridge and Carillon base

We were lucky enough also to see some examples of original catalogues of products from Cartwright and Warner:

Finally, that institution, beloved of many Loughborough inhabitants, the Warner School, on what was the corner of Pinfold Gate and School Street, was funded by Edward Warner in 1870, as he provided both the land and the money for it. At the time it was most unusual as it had teacher's accommodation attached: ironically, today the teacher's accommodation is all that remains of the school which was demolished in 2015 to make way for the inner relief road. It is the only remaining stone building in Loughborough apart from the Old Rectory, and the former school on Nanpantan Road (which is classed as being in Nanpantan).

Warner School prior to partial demolition

The Warner School teacher's accommodation

The Warner School teacher's accommodation with a former framework knitters building adjacent

*Stanley, Chapman and Middleton-Smith, Jane (2015) John Smedley: the establishment of a tradition in fine knitwear, c. 1750-1874 In: Textile History, Vol. 46, No.1, pp.70-98

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

Dyer, Lynne (2017). Cartwright and Warner. [Online] Available from: http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/02/cartwright-and-warner.html [Accessed 26 February 2017]

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Afternoon at Pillings Lock

My sincere apologies for not posting my usual weekly item on Sunday evening. This last week has been rather a busy one for me, so my intended posting wasn’t quite ready – and still isn’t (nothing new there, then!) So, instead, please take a walk with me around the marina at Pillings Lock.

Today I went through the stress of a job interview. I got up early, and panicked! Breakfasted an hour earlier than normal, and panicked! Got to work and … yes, you guessed it … panicked!! The whole process lasted 1 ¾ hours, so ended 7 hours after my breakfast, so by the end of it I was starving!!

Such a stressful morning meant that I needed to unwind, chill, relax! One of my favourite places for doing this is at Pillings Lock. I read in the local paper the other day that they are experiencing some financial woes, so I thought I’d better pop along whilst they're still trading!

Pillings Lock isn’t exactly in Loughborough, nor is it exactly in Barrow, and its address says it’s actually in Quorn ! Anyway, it’s somewhere between the three places. I still find getting there and getting back out of there a bit odd, given that there’s a big dual carriageway in the way, and the approach lane is somewhat less than auspicious!

For starters, the lane is called Flesh Hovel Lane! At the junction with the road off the A6 you will see sheep in a field to your right, and allotments to your left. Beware if you’re driving a car to Pillings as it is a single-track lane, albeit with many passing places. Beware, also, if you’re cycling there, as although there’s a 15 mile-an-hour speed limit, cars do sometimes go a little faster than that.

Anyway, along this narrow, winding lane you’ll also pass the sewerage works, and fields of horses. Today I was also lucky enough to see some chaffinches and other birds, but they were too quick for me to identify, and I also saw a stoat, or it may have been a weasel! I was so enchanted when he stopped to look at me, I didn’t have time to get my camera out!

Anyway, a cup of coffee and a piece of cake later, and I was suitably chilled. May have had something to do with sitting outside, too: Despite being a sunny day, it was still a bit on the cool side! I wandered around the marina, impressed by some of the many boats, especially some of the ones that were for sale, and fascinated by the wildlife.

If you get a chance to go to Pillings, please do. Not only do they do tea, but they also do lunch items (sandwiches, paninis etc.) and more substantial dinners (chilli, fish and chips etc.).

Here’s a photodiary of my afternoon!

Getting there!