National Memorial Arboretum connections to Loughborough

I recently visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas Staffordshire. I hadn't really thought much about what I expected to see, but I was staggered by the size of the place, the thousands of people remembered in the memorials and their inscriptions, by the plaques to civilians, by the extent of the actual tree-planting, and the general poignancy of the place.

Of course, everywhere I looked and turned there were things that reminded me of Loughborough. Here's a few of the connections that struck me as I wandered around.

There were several mentions of Charnwood Forest and the aim of linking up with it:

The site was close to the River Trent and the River Tame, which reminded me of the River Soar and there were some lovely bridges:

There was also a working quarry nearby:

One of the first things I came across was mention of Loughborough's twin town, Epinal:

This was followed by a stunning lion statue: the connection here is perhaps a bit obscure, but it reminded me of the lions at Nelson's column, which was designed by William Railton who was also responsible for designing quite a number of buildings in and around Loughborough, including the Bavarian or Red Arch on the Garendon estate. There was also an obelisk-type memorial which reminded me of the one on the Garendon estate:

Next up was the memorial to the Richard Emmanuel Rendell, which reminded me of our own Rendell Street and school:

The shot at dawn memorial was heart-wrenching, and the name Beaumont stood out for me, as the name of former lords of the manor of Loughborough:

There was a bench with mention of Operation Herrick, the codename for British operations in the war in Afghanistan:

I was then reminded of the lady who used to live next door to me who was in the Women's Land Army:

There were also quite a number of memorials made of slate, though not of the Swithland variety:

Masons were also remembered:

Bells featured quite extensively at the NMA too:

And the memorial to the people of the Showman's Guild of Great Britain reminded me of our November fair, the last in the traveling season: 

Sadly, the memorial to the horses that had been killed during wartime was missing, but nonetheless it reminded me of Songster:

There were also extensive information boards relating to the work done at Bletchley Park, and mention of the 'Y' listening stations, of which nearby Beaumanor was one:

I can't easily ignore ironwork, so found the gates into this small memorial garden, quite beautiful:

And finally, the quote from W.H. Davies' poem, 'Leisure' is one close to my heart:

If you haven't yet visited, I would highly recommend it.

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

Dyer, Lynne (2019). National Memorial Arboretum and connections to Loughborough. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/04/national-memorial-arboretum-connections.html [Accessed 21 April 2019]

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.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne

Loughborough trinket box

You've probably noticed it's coming up to Christmas! Lights in the town centre, Christmas trees in the church, Christmas music in the shops, board games at Fearon Hall! And lots of opportunities to get out and about and see some different things.

This weekend I popped along to an antique fair, held in the Hodson Hall in the grounds of the Endowed Schools on Burton Walks. I've been to lots of antique shops over the years, but not to a fair for quite some time - and I was pleasantly surprised!! Lots of interesting artefacts - from jewellery, to glass, from china to wood working tools, and everything in between. Also, cigarette cards, old money, postcards and ephemera. So, what better present to buy for a lover of Loughborough than a trinket box? No ordinary box though. A little china affair, with a Loughborough "coat of arms" (i) on it: a little but worn, but still recognisable.

The lion at the top (the crest) is related to the Beaumont family, who were lords of the manor, from the time of the reign of Henry III (around 1265) and Henry VI (around 1422).

Now, my knowledge of heraldry is scant, so I may not be able to accurately describe the shield. What I do know, however, is that the motif on the top right is a maunche which represents the Hastings family, who were the lords of the manor following the Beaumonts. The bull on the bottom of the shield is also a motif associated with the Hastings family.

The diagonal strip across the middle of the shield shows a cockle shell top and bottom, and a fret or lace pattern in the middle, all of which are part of the coat of arms of the Despencer family, Hugh le Despenser being lord of the manor until his death at the battle of Evesham in 1265.

The motto is just about discernible and says: "In veritate victoria". A modern-day interpretation of this would be "Victory is in truth", and this was the motto associated with the former Barons of Loughborough, that is, the Hastings family.

The arms were officially granted in 1889, which was the year of the incorporation of the borough. In 1974 the Borough of Charnwood was granted use of the arms. 

i) This is not strictly a coat of arms, as there are no supporters included. Supporters usually appear on each side of the shield, and often appear to be holding up the shield. 

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). Loughborough trinket box. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2018/12/loughborough-trinket-box.html  

[Accessed 9 December 2018]

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.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne