Review of 2016 Loughborough blogposts

I'm sure you have much more interesting things to do on New Year's Eve than visit my Loughborough blog, but I'm having a look through my posts for 2016, and seeing which ones you seemed to like the most!!

I didn't manage to blog weekly - there are distinct gaps in my postings when I was on holiday and when we went off to celebrate our first year of marriage, or when I was under-the-weather - but nonetheless, there are 43 posts to sift through!!

Here are the most popular ones:

In 1st place, with 1103 views, making it the most popular post of 2016, is: From 54 Baxter Gate to 1 Old Hospital Way

2nd place, with 1014 views is:

Red and green houses abandoned in favour of a picnic

3rd place, with 965 views, goes to:

Loughborough Union workhouse

Coming in at 4th place, with 947 views, is:

Red white or green maybe

5th place, with 920 views, is:

Coffee houses to coffee shops

In 6th place, with 910 views, is:

Loughborough and the holiday connections

Coming in at 7th place, with 875 views, is:

Bradgate Park

8th place, with 822 views, goes to:

Birthday celebrations

In 9th place, with 797 views, is:

From Loughborough to Melbourne and back again via

10th place, with 779 views, is:

Investigating the Victorians leads to Messengers

The 11th most popular post, with 77 views, is:

George Hodson and the Loughborough Union workhouse

In 12th place, with 742 views, we find:

Leicestershire County Council green plaque scheme

And in 13th place, with 739 views, is:

Obelisks everywhere

Sadly, Victorian House Plaques, Tucker's, and William Railton's Bavarian Gates, are languishing at the bottom of the popularity table!

If I had to choose my favourite blog post, I think I'd probably go for one of the posts about connections from other places, to Loughborough - maybe Tiverton - or some of those coincidences that seem to happen on a regular basis - like obelisks - or any of the posts on cinemas or pubs!!

I've also posted a few virtual walks - hoping to do more next year. Here's the popularity chart:

1st - Loughborough, Luddites and lace walking trail (1000 views)
2nd - Loughborough sculpture, art and architecture trail (973 views)
3rd - Loughborough Zeppelin trail (784 views)

Anyway, must away and celebrate the start of a new year! Enjoy your own celebrations, and see you next year!

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

Dyer, Lynne (2016). Review of 2016 Loughborough blogposts. [Online] Available from: http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2016/12/review-of-2016-loughborough-blogposts.html [Accessed 31 December 2016]

Loughborough to Tiverton Pt 2

I recently posted about our stopover in Tiverton on the way to Cornwall this summer. There were so many connections between Tiverton and Loughborough, and so many things that reminded me of my home town that I wanted to share with you, but ran out of time last time! So, here's some of the things I didn't get a chance to tell you about. The order they come out might seem to be a bit random, but is actually the order in which I happened upon things that reminded me of Loughborough!

So, to horses!!

In one of the cabinets in the Tiverton Museum of mid-Devon Life there was a china Shire horse, which reminded me of the work of Robert Bakewell in relation to the heavy horse:

"Bakewell also improved the draught horse, the Black Carthorse, or Leicestershire Black, which was the forerunner of the Shire horse. These horses were bred for their strength, and it is widely reported that where other farmers needed between for and seven horses to pull their ploughs, Bakewell only needed to use two."

Shire horse

The next reference to horses was in relation to the Point-to-point and steeple chase which was held in Tiverton on 20 March 1909, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. This reminded me of Sunloch, the Loughborough horse who won the Grand National in 1914, because at the age of 8, after being a hunting horse, he entered the steeple chase.

Point-to-point and Steeplechase poster

Temperance is a topic which has been covered quite extensively in this blog - Loughborough and the Temperance Movement, Loughborough and the Opening of the Temperance Hall, Nanpantan and Temperance, and Coffee Houses to Coffee Shops - so I was thrilled to see a poster in the Tiverton Museum relating to the Temperance Society (although I took a rubbish photo!).

Temperance Society poster bottom right

Now, in 1770 - Tuesday 31 July, to be precise - John Wesley, the Methodist preacher - passed through Loughborough, and in the Tiverton Museum they had a plate commemorating the life of said Wesley!

Plate commemorating John Wesley

Of course, in Victorian times, brickmaking and bricklaying were quite popular occupations due to the explosion in house-building, so it was great to see a poster referring to the Operative Society of Bricklayers

Operative Society of Bricklayers poster

In Tiverton there used to be a brick and tile company called Culm Davy Brick and Tile Company (not sure when it was founded, but it was wound up in 1881, although whether it that means wound up completely, I'm not sure), which reminded me so much of the Hathern Station Brick and Tile Company, which still exists today, albeit as part of another company! Concerning Culm Davy, curiously, the records on the National Archive website reads as follows:

Description:	Papers re formation of the Culm Davy Brick and Tile Company Limited, leasing of the brickworks and Chancery Case re non-execution of the lease by William Moss
Date:	1880-1881

So now let's talk cinemas!! At one time Tiverton had two cinemas (that I know of), The Electric (converted from a drill hall in 1912, last show in 1976, converted to a snooker hall and then demolished between 2004 and 2009) and the Tivoli, threatened with demolition, but reprieved - well, it was still there, and in use when we visited this summer!

Clock from the Tivoli

Information board about the Tivoli

Chairs from the Tivoli

Loughborough, being a slightly bigger town, boasted three cinemas at one point, as well as other places that showed films. Now, we have one Odeon, which has been a cinema since about 1914, and one Cineworld, which was built earlier this year, which reminds me of nearby Swadlincote (which had an Empire Cinema, which closed and a new Odeon was built in about 2014), but that's a story for another day.   

Now the Odeon

Formerly the Odeon, now Beacon Bingo

And finally for today, how's about this? The workhouses at both Loughborough and Tiverton were designed by Scott and Moffat, Tiverton's in 1837-8 and Loughborough's in 1838. Loughborough's became Hastings House and then Regent Hospital, before being demolished, whilst Tiverton's became the Belmont Hospital, a Grade II listed building. This investigation came about because we passed an AA sign directing folk to a new area of house-building called Gilbert Scott Way. Further investigation once I got home revealed that according to the local newspaper the hospital was demolished in 2012, however, there are a number of websites that reveal that actually, some of the former workhouse has been renovated and some new houses built around it, so all is not lost!! Scroll through all the pictures to see what has actually happened to the buildings. So, a similar story to our own workhouse, and a similar story to our own hospital, which was sadly demolished around 2012.

Oh dear, it's now getting rather late and I still have so much to say! Perhaps I'll pick this up again next week, as I'd still like to share the story of John Heathcoat with you, as well as a few other things! Apologies for spelling and grammar mistakes - mine, all mine, I'm afraid!! It's been a long, tiring few weeks!!

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

Dyer, Lynne (2016). Loughborough to Tiverton Pt 2. [Online] Available from: http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/loughborough-to-tiverton-pt-2.html [Accessed 14 August 2016]

George Hodson and the Loughborough Union Workhouse

Last week I shared some information about the Loughborough Union Workhouse with you, that was prompted by a visit to Southwell Workhouse. This week's post (which was where last week's was headed but didn't quite make it!) is about the workhouse, George Hodson, a tramp and the Zeppelin raid of 31 January 1916.

The Loughborough Union Workhouse was built to a design by George Gilbert Scott and W. Bonython Moffatt in 1838. Whether the building wasn't big enough, or whether there was an increase or change in "inmate", George Hodson designed an extension to the workhouse, in about 1874. This was built specifically to accommodate vagrants. If I've understood this correctly, the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 did not cater for vagrants, because this was regarded as a matter for the police. However, in around 1837, under a new regulation, workhouses could offer help to vagrants if their need was urgent, and after this, accommodation for vagrants became an integral part of the design of newer workhouses.

The Union Workhouse in Loughborough, having been built in 1838, then needed a wing especially for vagrants, and this is what George Hodson designed around 1874. Hodson was a surveyor of the local Board of Health, and in 1906 was responsible for designing the gravity dam at the Blackbrook Reservoir.

Sorry, back to vagrants! This purpose-built vagrant extension block would have been very basic, even more so than the rest of the workhouse. In the early days of such accommodation, loose straw may have been provided as a bed, or there may have been low hammocks, and people coming to the workhouse for such help would have had to queue from late afternoon onwards, and even then might not have got a place for the night. However, around 1870 a new design was taking hold, which was based on a single vagrant using a sleeping cell (perhaps with a fold-up bed) and this would have possibly led through to a work room. Given that Loughborough's vagrant accommodation was constructed in about 1874, then it seems likely that this built to the new cellular design.

Possessions of things like alcohol, tobacco and money would have been confiscated if found on the vagrant, although sometimes ways were found around this! 

Like other people in the workhouse, the vagrant would be expected to wear workhouse clothing, and would be given a nightshirt after having bathed, and whilst their own clothes were being fumigated. A meal was provided, and the vagrant would not be allowed out of the workhouse until the following morning. After about 1882, when the Casual Poor Act was passed, workhouses could keep vagrants in for two nights, and they would be expected to do a day's work (for example, stone crushing or oakum picking) before being let out. If the work being done was stone crushing, the stones would have to be crushed small enough to pass through the grilles in the door to the work room used by the vagrant.
   
At Loughborough workhouse on the evening of 31 January 1916, a vagrant was admitted who had somehow been caught up in the Zeppelin bombings earlier that evening. Although a register of the inhabitants of the workhouse was kept, and "inmates" were listed, for example, in the census returns, it appears that records of vagrants coming to the workhouse are sparse, so it is almost impossible to know who was in the vagrant part of the workhouse, and when or how often they were there. 

According to Mr G. Walsh*:

"There is a want of uniformity as regards detention and the task of work in the various casual wards, and it is worthy of notice that at Loughborough, where the guardians after a short trial of two nights' detention, decided to revert to a one night's detention only, the number of vagrants has increased from 10,751 in 1906 to 12,058 in 1907."

So, who the vagrant who was admitted to the workhouse was I don't know, and given the numbers admitted, it would be almost impossible to find out. Nonetheless, it would be very interesting to find out, and learn what he actually experienced on that dreadful night. So, if you have any more information, I'd love to hear from you!

Below are some pictures of Southwell Workhouse. This was built some time before Loughborough's but it gives you an idea of what such places were like. I haven't been able to track down any online pictures of the workhouse, but there is a picture of the Boardroom, and of the Loughborough Board of Guardians: I think the doorway of Southwell Workhouse is very similar to the Loughborough one. 

The entrance to Southwell Workhouse

Drying racks, possibly for vagrant's clothes?

Stone crushing yard at Southwell Workhouse

Down below stairs at Southwell Workhouse

Down below stairs at Southwell Workhouse

The separate yards at Southwell Workhouse

* Mr G. Walsh reporting on the situation in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire etc., in 1907. In: Dawson, William Harbutt (1910). The vagrancy problem: the case for measures of restraint for tramps, loafers, and unemployables. Westminster: P.S. King & Son.

  
         

      

Loughborough Union Workhouse

A couple of months ago I finally got around to visiting the workhouse at Southwell, which is now a National Trust property, but was once a workhouse for the surrounding areas, where people who were down on their luck could go to get a roof over their head and food in their belly. 

I hope I haven't made that sound too attractive, for it certainly wasn't, and for many reasons people would try and avoid getting into the position where they needed help from a workhouse. Could it have had something to do with the prison-like buildings (I searched for workhouse plans on the internet, and followed this up with a search for prison plans and couldn't help but notice the similarity of design, particularly with Wandsworth Prison)? Or perhaps it was the strict wearing of uniforms that deterred folk? Or was it the arduous tasks, like stone crushing and oakum picking that people were put to that kept them away from the workhouse? Or maybe the food wasn't up to much - relatively plain, but enough to keep you going? Or maybe it was the idea that you would be separated from your family that meant you only went to the workhouse as a truly last and desperate measure?

Of course, workhouses across the country, whilst being similar, were not all the same, some being more generous with food rations than others, some having kitchen gardens where "inmates" would work, etc.. 

The Loughborough Workhouse was originally on the site now occupied by the Post Office Sorting Office, on Nottingham Road, at its junction with the A60. The new Loughborough Union Workhouse was built in 1838, after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act (the New Poor Law), which meant that people had to enter the workhouse in order to seek help, rather than be given money by the local parish. It was located on Derby Road, behind what are now Oxford and Leopold Streets, and on Regent Street. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and W. Bonython Moffatt, to a design which they used very successfully in many locations. In about 1871, the former workhouse on Nottingham Road became the Star Foundry, under Edwin Cook.

Following the Local Government Act of 1929, which abolished Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians, workhouses were controlled by public assistance authorities which were run by local councils. And so it was in 1930 that the Loughborough Union Workhouse became a public assistance institution and was renamed Hastings House. This was followed by another change around 1948 when it was renamed as the Regent Hospital: as might be inferred from the name it became a hospital as well as an old people's home.

I used to live at the Regent Street end of Oxford Street in the early 1980s and I remember Regent Hospital as it was then. I also remember it being demolished and new houses being built on the site. Regrettably, I don't remember exactly when this happened, nor did I take any photographs. 

As well as the new houses that were built, a new care home, Huntingdon Court, was also built on the site.

Pictures of the workhouse have been hard to come by, but there is one of the Board of Guardians outside the workhouse in the early twentieth century, a picture of the Guardians' Boardroom, and the workhouse appears in the background of this picture of terraced houses on Union Lane/Street.

There is also an interesting article on the workhouse, and other Loughborough information on this site.

And now I've run out of time, and haven't even got to the point I was heading to! Pop back to the blog next week for more on the connection between George Hodson, the Loughborough Union Workhouse, Zeppelin raids and a tramp! In the meantime, below are some photographs from my recent visit to Southwell Workhouse.

Southwell Workhouse with the kitchen garden to the front

The water pump at Southwell Workhouse

A boot scraper at Southwell Workhouse

The stone crushing yard at Southwell Workhouse

A view today from below stairs at Southwell Workhouse

Below stairs at Southwell Workhouse

Pots at Southwell Workhouse

Beds for the elderly and infirm at Southwell Workhouse

An upstairs room in Southwell Workhouse

The entrance to Southwell Workhouse

Clothes drying at Southwell Workhouse

 

Below stairs at Southwell Workhouse

Below stairs at Southwell Workhouse

The separate yards at Southwell Workhouse