Some ghosts for halloween!

So for this year’s celebration of Halloween, I thought I’d feature a few ghosts on the blog! Not real ghosts – ummm, not that I believe ghosts are real!! – but ghost signs! I’ve covered some of these in some very early blogposts, and I contributed quite a number to the Historic England ghost signs project back in 2023.

Of course, the usual definition of a ghost sign is that it is a painted sign on the side of a building, that has been left after the business or service it was advertising has gone. In my earlier posts, I extended this to cover other kinds of signs that remained on a building after the business associated with it had gone, so for example, the Messenger offices on Cumberland Road where the embossed terractotta name can still be seen; the former names of pubs like the current Organ Grinder (the Packe Horse), the Black Lion (the Tap and Clapper), and the Corporation Hotel (the Carpenters Arms); or even sandstone plaques on a building indicating the business that used to take place on the premises, like Parks Millwrights, or monograms of previous owners, for example PJM in Market Place.

Some of the ghost signs from those early blogposts are now gone, and some which weren’t really ghost signs at the time have now become such, like Putts.

So, in the last couple of weeks we have lost two of our iconic ghost signs, both of which were a long part of Loughborough’s history. The first is the sign on the Shepshed Lace Manufacturing, which was on the former factory on Great Central Road, the sign on the side facing onto the railway track. Loughborough has a long history of hosiery and lacemaking, but there are few buildings left in which this trade was worked. Shepshed Lace began in 1906, in the Bullring in Shepshed, moved to Sullington Road in 1909, opened a mill in Duffield in 1917, and eventually moved the warehouse and the manufacturing to Loughborough in 1927.

 

The Herbert Morris factory on Empress Road that we have seen today until very recently, was but a shadow of the former factory, which also had premises close to the Midland railway. The company were in the business of lifting gear, but in addition to the products they made, the factory on Empress Road was also known as a site which suffered from the dropping of a Zeppelin bomb on 31st January 1916. The frontage onto Empress Road was for some time a car repair garage, but lately, the original Herbert Morris sign has been revealed, and can still be seen.

 

Some new signs which I didn’t cover in those early blogposts include one on Biggin Street, which is on the side of the building which is now the LOROS shop. This one reads “Harry Grayson complete house furnishers”. The property looks to have been built around 1900, so I’m assuming that Harry Grayson was based there before C. E. Goodliffe, who, in the 1960s, when they moved to Church Gate (where the picture framers is now, not the restaurant), then passed the building to Pickworths. I have yet to discover if Goodliffe is related to Gascoyne and Goodliffe who were hosiery makers on Mill Street (possibly in the old Heathcoat Building).

Another new sign for this post is the one between the old India Association building and Topic hairdressers. Actually, there’s two ghost signs – or three if you count the gate!! One can be seen if heading in the direction of Tylers, the other if heading in the direction of Swancar. The first of these is a sign advertising ‘Studio 13’ which was a ladies hair salon at the back of Topic. The other sign is much older, but is in a pretty poor state, which makes it difficult to read. It even almost looks as though it’s two signs, one painted over the other. So, if the numbering on Swan Street hasn’t changed, these are the occupants of no.13 over time (although the 1901 census return seems to record 13 as 13A, and 13A as 13):

1877 – Joseph Cooper, hatter and Samuel Marsh, hatter

1881 – Charles D. Marriott, tinner and brazier and metal work master

1892 – Mrs Mary Marriott, tinner and brazier

1901 – Walter Caldwell, house furnisher, while 13A was Arthur Marriott, locksmith

1908 – Thomas C. Towell, confectioner

1911 – William Chadbourne, confectioner (sweets etc.), while 13A was John Caldwell, furniture dealer

1939 – Florence Chadbourne, confectioner (master)

1952 – still the Chadbourne family of confectioners

1962 – John Sarson and son, wine and spirit merchants. Also listed as 13, John Caldwell second-hand furniture dealer

So, my opinion is that the final line on this advert says “Made to order” and the line above that mentions “Stove”. Above that is “…ping”, and the top line seems to say “…runks”. Maybe, “Trunks”, “Piping”, “Stove …”, “Made to order” – so either associated with Charles D. Marriott, the tinner, brazier, and metal work master, or possibly Arthur Marriott the locksmith.

 

The final ghost sign I’d like to share is the one on Wood Gate, close to Bedford Square. Now, I do seem to remember that there might have been an Indian takeaway shop there at one time – or am I imagining that? So would the ghost sign really be saying “Balti”?

 

And here I must leave Halloween as the night is drawing in and ghostly happenings are beginning to, ummm, happen!!

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Here are some of my earlier posts about ghost signs:

Ghost signs of Loughborough Part 1 https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2014/03/ghost-signs-of-loughborough.html

Ghost signs of Loughborough Part 2 https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2014/03/ghost-signs-of-loughborough-part-2.html

Loughborough building demolished – about the ghost sign on the old labour exchange on Cradock Street https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/04/loughborough-building-demolished.html

Ever-changing Loughborough – Shepshed Lace https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/10/ever-changing-loughborough.html

The Old Art College and The Generator https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-old-art-college-and-generator.html

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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Thank you for reading this blog.

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The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). Some ghosts for Halloween!  Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/10/some-ghosts-for-halloween.html [Accessed 31 October 2025]

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Carillon recitals

There’s been lots happening in Loughborough lately, but sadly, I seem to have missed quite a lot of it!

So, although I was invited to the ceremony to hear the first sounding of the Hope Bell, I wasn’t able to attend. Of course, I’ve been taking photos for a while now, so I’ve probably got enough over a period of time to write a decent account of the bell from start to finish.

I almost missed the demolition of the Herbert Morris factory on Empress Road, but just managed to catch the tail end of it. Again, I’ve taken plenty of photos over the past couple of years, so I’ll post them in a blog sometime.

What else did I miss? Oh yes, the opening of the new exhibition at the Old Rectory, which showcases the work done by the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society, and in particular Brian Williams, in uncovering the building which you see today, trying to understand it, and trying to present it to the public. Oh, and I missed the art exhibition down at the parish church, when, amongst other things, they had a VR flythrough high up in the ceiling! And I missed the Old Rectory Community Day!

As if that weren’t enough, although I heard the Carillon playing yesterday, and I knew it was Saturday, it wasn’t until this morning that I realised yesterday was the anniversary of the opening of the Carillon – in 1923! It’s always lovely to hear the Carillon being played – and played so well!!

I must admit, sadly I didn’t linger long enough to take in what the carillonneur was playing, but I have recently come across the programme for a recital, which was performed by Eric Jordan (I’ve previously written about him on this blog), on Saturday April 12th, 1924, at 5.30 in the afternoon.

The programme was billed as being “Toll for the brave that are no more.” and included

1. Softly awakes my heart, by Saint Saens

2. i. Smilin’ through, by A. W. Penn and ii. Love sends a little gift roses, by Openshaw

3. Andante, by Couperin

4. March van Hartopp, by Degruytter (18th century)

5. Le cygnet (The Swan), by Saint Saens

6. Tempo di Gavotta, by Fesch

7. i. Come back to Erin, ii. Blue bells of Scotland, and iii. Drink to me only with thine eye

8. Berceuse de Jocelyn, by Godard

9. Song without words no.9, by Mendelssohn

Such a worthy concert could not be concluded without a rendition of God Save The King.

Interestingly, there were to be recitals throughout the Easter period, which were given by M. Robert Dierick, who was the Carillonneur in the city of Ghent, in Belgium.   

 

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2025). [Post title]. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/07/carillon-recitals.html  [Accessed 27 July 2025]

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.

External Links:

By including links to external sources I am not endorsing the websites, the authors, nor the information contained therein, and will not check back to update out-of-date links. Using these links to access external information is entirely the responsibility of the reader of the blog.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

Searching the blog:

You can search the blog using the dedicated search box that appears near the top of the blog when viewed in the web version. Alternatively, you can search using your usual search engine (e.g. Bing, Google, DuckDuckGo etc.) by following this example:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

The Old Art College and The Generator Loughborough

Dr Jill Vincent will be a familiar figure to many of you. Although I have known of her for many years, it is only quite recently, since I have become rather more vocal about Loughborough's history, that our paths have crossed more frequently. Jill is a supporter of many local initiatives, but it is in her capacity as one of the Directors of The Generator that she writes the following piece, full of history, heritage, and hope, for which I thank her very much. 

Old Art College (left) Generator Building (right)

The Old Art College and The Generator Loughborough

This article has been written by Dr Jill Vincent, one of the Directors of The Generator, the other directors being David Pagett-Wright (Chair), Andy Harper, and Roger Perrett, with Jonathan Hale (Company Secretary).  

Introduction

This story must begin with the transformation of a Leicestershire market town by the industrial revolution, and continue with the development of Loughborough College under Herbert Schofield. 

In the mid to late C19 major engineering industries were established in Loughborough: factory-based knitwear and textiles (e.g. Wm Cotton, Towles Ltd), John Taylor & Co Bell Foundry, and heavy industry such as Brush Electrical Engineering Co and Herbert Morris Ltd, cranes and lifting tackle.  At the same time, people came to work in the newly established industries.  In 1871 Loughborough’s population was 11,588; thirty years later in 1901 it had nearly doubled to 21,508.

The Brush, Loughborough, adjacent to a railway line

Part of the Herbert Morris factory on Empress Road

Part of the John Taylor & Co bellfoundry works

The application and development of the many scientific discoveries of the C19 that gave rise to the industries meant that industrial workers needed knowledge that could only be supplied through technical education.  The County Education Committee and its Director (W.A. Brockington) [1] acknowledged and supported this.

The Technical Institute (on the corner of Green Close Lane and Ashby Road, now the site of a Sainsbury supermarket) was set up as an administration and educational centre in 1909.  It co-ordinated the evening classes held in the town and district.

Dr Herbert Schofield, an inspirational educationalist, was appointed Principal in 1915.  Under his guidance, education and training were revolutionised.  He believed that education and training should be as near to real life industrial conditions as possible, with modern equipment.  He set about creating a college to ‘reflect his own idiosyncratic views on higher education and his genius for improvising and capitalising on opportunities … a high-level academic institution devoted to the study of science and technology, it must reject the traditional university approach to these subjects and be firmly based on ‘Training on Production’.’  (Len Cantor)

These principles guided developments throughout.

During the 1914/18 war, the Technical Institute responded to the needs of the war effort with practical training for men and women.  Indeed, its development was accelerated, with substantial enlargement of engineering workshops and new machinery, expanding into training for tool setters, fitters, and gauge-makers. 

In 1918, Schofield renamed the institution Loughborough College.

Following the war, the range of high-level courses widened to include Mechanical Engineering, Electric and Automotive Engineering, Chemical Technology, Civil Engineering & Commerce, Law & Economics.  They were influential in establishing an active cultural and social life among the students.  The Instructional Factory also trained workers in carpentry, welding, and gauge-making. 

College departments were set up in various locations in the town centre, including Ashby Road, Green Close Lane, William Street, Frederick Street, and Orchard Street.  They were later described as ‘scattered and frequently makeshift premises’. 

We come now to the developments that gave rise to the buildings currently known as the Old Art College and The Generator Loughborough. 

First, is the construction of the generators.

The ‘U-Boats Episode’

(This account follows that given by the students in their almanac.  It exemplifies Schofield’s genius for improvising and capitalising on opportunities and for ‘Training on Production’)

‘In which J.F.B. Driver, a member of staff, and 25 students went to HM Dockyard at Portsmouth and Devonport, where they were invited to take such gear as they could from four German U-Boats that had been captured in the war.  They removed apparatus that included engines, dynamos, motors, compressors, fans, switchgear, and batteries.

The engines were rebuilt at the College without the aid of drawings or instructions of any kind.  They adapted, rebuilt, and converted parts.  The first engine was started up in 1924 in an old wooden hut on Packe Street.

The switchboard was also designed and built with switches, circuit breakers, instruments, and regulating resistances that had been liberated from the submarines.’ [S1]

The generators built by the students provided electricity to all the scattered College buildings, without interruption, until they were replaced in 1949.  The story goes that on one occasion, Loughborough’s electricity supply failed, and the town was in darkness, but the College buildings were still lit.

The generators were housed in a wooden building that was originally intended for car washing at the back of the automobile repair shop, itself in temporary buildings on Frederick Street.  The batteries were in a divided off portion of the College Instructional Garage.

The Old Art College and The Generator Loughborough

In 1934 the new Garage Block on Frederick Street was begun.  It is a substantial, art deco, four-storey brick building.  We now know it as the Old Art College.

In true Schofield fashion, training was provided by practical instruction.

The Automobile repair and reconditioning shop was on the ground floor.

The first floor was devoted to practical instruction in hosiery, in a Finishing and Making Up Laboratory, and in a Machine Laboratory.  Machinery was supplied by local manufacturers and machine builders such as Blackburn and Sons, PA Bentley, Wm Cotton, and Towles Ltd.

The second floor housed a Textile Testing House and Dyeing Laboratory.  It provided practical instruction for students and also a commercial service for local hosiery manufacturers and dyers.  Much of the plant and machinery was financed by Cllr W. Bastard (who also donated the Bastard Gate on the site of the current University campus). [2]

The top floor held the Handicraft Workshop, Department for the Training of Teachers.  Students supplied their own tools and toolboxes and made the furniture for their college accommodation.  Training in woodwork and metalwork was done in the general workshops of the College, with design, drawing, and construction carried out in the workshop.  The course was led by two of the foremost proponents of the Cotswold School, Peter Waals and Edward Barnsley.

The ground floor automobile repair shop, now a cafe, reproduced with kind permission of LU Archives and Directors of The Generator

Students at work in the Handicraft Workshop, reproduced with kind permission of LU Archives and Directors of The Generator

Building the Generating Station presented serious difficulties as the new building was erected around the existing wooden structure, which was dismantled bit by bit. The electricity supply was maintained, uninterrupted, day and night.

The new Generating Station and Garage Block were officially opened in 1937 by Charles Day MSc, MIMechEng, Past President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.  The electricity that was generated provided power (Direct Current) for Loughborough College; the surplus was sold to the National Grid (converted to Alternating Current).

The Generator building, showing black and white tiled floor, reproduced with kind permission of LU Archives and Directors of The Generator

The same black and white floor tiles photographed in March 2023

The 1944 Education Act put a brake on entrepreneurial/maverick developments, bringing Further Education provision under the control of the County Council and the Ministry of Education.  Proper planning and rationalisation had to be undertaken.  The move from central town sites to the ‘playing field’ (current) site began in earnest.

The College was reorganised into separate institutions, namely Lboro College of Technology, Lboro Training College, Lboro College of Further Education and Lboro College of Art & Design.   Further Education and Art & Design remained in the town centre.  Over time, the College institutions moved onto the campus, becoming a College of Advanced Technology, a University of Technology, and finally Loughborough University, the world-class University we know today. 

Art & Design was different: it mostly moved to purpose-built accommodation on the campus in the late 1960s, but remained independent until 1998 when it was reconstituted as Loughborough University School of Art and Design (LUSAD).  The Foundation programme, later replaced by Graphic Communication & Illustration, moved into the Garage Block, referred to as the Foundation building and the Generator Gallery.  The name ‘Loughborough College Generator Gallery’ is etched into the stonework on the Packe Street elevation.   Degree shows, exhibitions by ArtSpace group of local artists and events run by Charnwood Arts opened The Generator to a wider audience.

No courses were run in the building after 2011.  It was used as storage by the Library for a while, and was then declared surplus to need by the University. 

In 2014 a group led by Kevin Ryan, CEO of Charnwood Arts, was formed with a vision to take over the whole building to provide an arts and culture hub serving all Loughborough’s communities.  It would provide a home for Charnwood Arts, incubator space and support for creative enterprises, rehearsal and performance space, meeting rooms and workshops … and so on.  The group comprised committed representatives from Charnwood Arts, Love Loughborough BID, Creative Leicestershire, the Studio at Loughborough University, and Charnwood Borough Council.  It was constituted as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2015.  We tried for some years to gain adequate public sector funding to attain our vision; our project was greeted enthusiastically but the funding did not follow.

The University waited patiently while we struggled but eventually gave us a deadline of a year, after which they would put it on the market.  So, in 2019 we went out to tender, seeking a partner who would share our vision and would take over the Old Art College building while we kept The Generator.   We found Our Neighbourhood and bought the building from the University, who contributed to the vision by agreeing a discount on the sale price in view of the proposed use.  Our Neighbourhood is a private sector concern so they could act fast to create the Old Art College, with Public, the thriving coffee shop with plants and bread making on the ground floor, and creative sector tenants on the upper floors.

We have The Generator.  Our vision stands.  We will be the arts and culture hub that Loughborough needs and we are very nearly there, with funding from the Town Deal and a range of sources.  Tenders for the building works knocked us back a bit, as of course inflation has hit the building trades hard, but we are at RIBA stage 4, and are applying for (public sector) funds to bridge the final gap.  Once the builders are in, it will take a year for the works to be completed, so fingers crossed we will open early 2025.

Inside The Generator building March 2023

The Generator building photographed in March 2023

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Notes

[1] William Alport Brockington was honoured with an OBE in 1917, and a CBE in 1928. He was knighted in 1946.

[2] William Bastard was chair of the College Governors and donated the Bastard Gates on Ashby Road to the college. You can read more about those gates in 'Loughborough in 50 Buildings'. Bastard is not to be confused with Frank Bastert, a German-born, naturalised British citizen who with Herbert Morris formed the company Herbert Morris & Bastert in 1884 in Sheffield, the company later moving to Empress Road Loughborough, after the pair had split.  

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About Jill

During her career, Jill has combined her interest in the arts with work teaching and researching social policy, and active engagement in politics and the voluntary and community sector.

She studied fine art at St Martins, then had a break for children and family, before returning to study at Loughborough Uni (Sociology and Political Science), and then gaining a PhD from Nottingham Uni.

Jill worked for the Open University and as a researcher at the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough Uni. Her employment and commitment to social issues complemented each other nicely. She was a Borough Councillor for 16 years, spending the final year as Mayor; Jill has been a Trustee at John Storer Charnwood and Equality Action (where she is still actively involved) and a Governor at Loughborough College (where she is now a co-opted member).

Jill's interest in the arts is a thread running through her life. She worked in Arts in Prisons research and provision, and with Kevin Ryan at Charnwood Arts. She was a member of ACE East Midlands Arts Board. She was awarded an Honorary Degree by Loughborough University in 2012.

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Sources

S1:

Cantor L. M. and Matthews G. F. (1997) Loughborough: from College to University, A History of Higher Education at Loughborough 1909 – 1966. Loughborough University of Technology

S2:

Loughborough College Past Students’ Association (1957) The History of Loughborough College 1915 – 1952, Past Students’ Association of Loughborough College

Thanks are extended to Jenny Clark, University Archivist, now retired, for information from the university archive, and for permission to reproduce the photographs.

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, or in the case of guest blogposts, with the named Guest Blogger. However, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Vincent, Jill (2023). The Old Art College and The Generator Loughborough. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-old-art-college-and-generator.html [Accessed 7 August 2023]

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.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.

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NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne 

Herbert Morris Empress Road

Many years ago, the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society produced a journal in which they listed properties that were being altered or demolished. Although this was in the 1960s, and there was much development in the town, it was still possible for the Society to comment upon such works, and that in nearby villages. 

Today, this task would be impossible! Developments and alterations are so numerous, it's unlikely anyone could keep up. So, as the plan to demolish the Herbert Morris East works buildings on Empress Road, first mooted in 2015 has now been re-submitted (comments due by 3rd November), earlier this week I decided to photograph the bits that were on public view, so there is a record of the building (for as long as this blog is available).

The building is of interest from a historical point of view for many reasons, not least because of it being the place where a Zeppelin bomb fell in 1916. I've written about this extensively before - in the Loughborough Zeppelin Trail, photos of the factory in this post about a Zeppelin Walk led by a friend of mine in 2014, an account of a series of commemorative plays that took place across town in 2016, a post about a commemorative walk in 2016, and a good friend of mine wrote a guest blogpost about Zeppelin L20. Of course, as a working factory, the business produced machinery that is still in use today, across the country, and probably the world.

Please bear with if the photos take a long time to load - I haven't had time to edit them for the blog.

Looking along Empress Road from Great Central Road

Looking along Empress Road

Part of the factory building on Empress Road

Part of the factory on Empress Road

View of part of the factory on Empress Road

Beside Moor Lane bridge

View along the canal

View along the canal

View along the canal

Morris machinery still in action locally

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posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

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

Dyer, Lynne (2022). Herbert Morris Empress Road. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/10/herbert-morris-empress-road.html [Accessed 28 October 2022]

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.

Blog archive and tags:

If you are viewing this blog in mobile format, you will not be able to easily access the blog archive, or the clickable links to various topics. These can be accessed if you scroll to the bottom of the page, and click 'View Web Version'. Alternatively, there is also a complete list of posts, which when clicked will take you to the page you are interested in.  

 

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne             

Loughborough Variety

This was the headline that appeared in a newspaper in 1931, but it doesn't refer to the Victorian and Edwardian popularity of music hall events, but rather to the variety of manufacturing activity in Loughborough at the time. 

In my latest book, I mention a banquet that was held on 4th October 1938, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Incorporation of the Borough of Loughborough. Lieutenant-Colonel R.E.Martin, who was the chairman of Leicestershire County Council, raised a toast to the town, and mentioned its various industries - hosiery, perfumes, chemicals, bells, and lifting tackle - and the reputation of Loughborough's College, which, he said, extended far outside the county boundaries.     

The Mayor, Alderman Arthur Lacey, replied to Lieut.-Col. Martin's comments, adding:

"... the inhabitants of the town were the citizens of no mean city and, after all was said and done, took a rightful second place in the county [after the county town of Leicester]. A London man had once told him that one could not go into any town or city in the country which did not contain a product of Loughborough."

This certainly seemed to be the case in 1931, when the 'Loughborough Variety' headline appeared in the Nottingham Journal of 1st January 1931. The subtitle appeared:

"Big contracts for buses, bells, bricks (1), generators, cranes."

and further highlighted:

"The extension of Messrs. Herbert Morris's North Works and development of brick-making are two outstanding features of the year"

The substance of the article that follows that headline is essentially a review of manufacturing in 1930, in which the author of the article goes on to say that goods manufactured in Loughborough are of high quality, are of a wide variety, and many are world-known. He also suggests that although Loughborough did suffer during the depression of 1930, in comparison to other industrial towns, whose manufacturing output centred on one or two industries, or one or two companies, Loughborough, whose manufacturing industry was somewhat more diverse, suffered only very slightly. 

In the review, we learn that engineering, hosiery manufacture and bellfounding are Loughborough's three principal industries, and while the first two were affected a little by the general depression, demand for bells had not diminished! 

The Brush completed contracts both in the UK and abroad, the latter most notably in Jamaica, South Africa, Malay States, and Malta, as well as providing bus bodies and tramcars across the UK.

The Brush in 2014

Herbert Morris, as well as extending their factory, produced a new, versatile crane, and provided cranes for British power stations, and the Russian government, as well as some other overseas customers. A leading British car manufacturer placed large orders for Morris' conveyor systems. 

Herbert Morris on Empress Road

During 1930, Taylors the bellfounders recast and rehung the bells of Penzance parish church; recast the heavy bells in Worcester and Lincoln cathedrals and in York Minster; erected a carillon in St Helen's church in Lancashire; installed a service bell in Addiscombe; carried out restoration work on many belltowers across the UK, as well as having many other projects on the go!

Taylors bellfoundry

A leading hosiery manufacturer in the town had made a conscious decision to maintain their manufacturing, rather than to increase it, which appears to be down to some indecision - presumably by the government - around silk duties. It seems that during the year, cheap, artificial silk hosiery had replaced the cashmere versions. One firm, Morley, reported they had made over one million pairs of hose and half hose during 1930!

I&R Morley in the distance on the right

Zenobia, who were the manufacturers of toiletries, reported that heavy oriental scents had been overtaken in popularity by English floral perfumes. Zenobia products had been exported not only to the Colonies, the Dominions, and to Europe, but also to France!

So, despite the depression and the economic climate of the 1930s, Loughborough appears to have maintained a relatively stable position, and this, in part, explains the development of the town centre, and why there are so many 1930s buildings.

(1) The other industry that this article focussed on was brick-making. I've covered Tuckers quite extensively in recent posts so have chosen not to repeat myself in this post. For information about the brick-making firm see:

Tuckers Part 1; Tuckers Part 2; Tuckers Part 3 and Tuckers Part 4 

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 25 April 2021

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Dyer, Lynne (2021). Loughborough variety. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2021/03/loughborough-variety.html  [Accessed 25 April 2021]

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