A View From the Window

Last week I was thrilled to share with you a view I’d seen that week from a first-floor art studio. This week, I’ve been to the Beaumanor Hall Christmas gift fair, and managed to take a few photos out of a couple of the windows, which show the scaffolding, presumably around the chimneys. I’ve trawled back through my photograph collection and discovered that I seem to like Beaumanor Hall – could it be its connection with the architect of Nelson’s Column? – and I’ve taken a few photographs looking out onto various parts of the estate.

Of late there have been problems at the hall: recently it was closed for some emergency repair work to its chimneys, and there is concern that the hall doesn't earn enough money to pay for its upkeep, and is thus in danger of being sold off by the county council who own it. It's currently used as the Register Office for the area, and hosts events like the Christmas Fair, as well as history and building tours, and as an outdoor pursuits centre for schools. There has been a recent consultation asking members of the public for fundraising ideas, in the hope that the predicted shortfall of over £500K can be averted - or at the very least decreased. 

So, please enjoy this selection of views from the windows of Beaumanor Hall!

 

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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Dyer, Lynne (2025). A View from the Window. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-view-from-window.html  [Accessed 2 December 2025]

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So who was Dr Blackham?

Ninian Boggs McIntire Blackham was born in County Dublin in 1860. His father was Charles Blackham, the Tax Master at the Dublin Law Courts, and Ninian was his second son.

Ninian Boggs McIntire Blackham

A newspaper article in the 'Loughborough Echo' in November 1952 indicates that Ninian Boggs McIntire Blackham came to Loughborough in 1891, to take up the post of assistant to the Medical Officer of Health, Dr Corcoran. The entry for Dr Blackham in the Medical Directory of 1905 reads as follows (with my comments in square brackets):

"Blackham, Ninian Boggs McIntire, 22 Beacon Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire - LRCPI [Royal College of Physicians of Ireland] and LM, LRCSI [Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland] and LM 1893; LM Rot Hosp Dub" 

Assuming that LM means Licentiate in Midwifery, then Rot Hosp Dub is the Rotunda maternity hospital in Dublin.

In 1894, Dr Blackham goes back to Ireland, and marries Georgina Taylor in Limerick, where she had been born in 1871. The couple's only child, daughter Irene, was born in Loughborough in 1899, and the family lived at 22 Beacon Road.

In March 1911, Dr Corcoran died, and Dr Blackham takes over as Medical Officer of Health. He, his wife, Georgina, and their daughter Irene continue to live at 22 Beacon Road until 1912, when they move to 25 Victoria Street, where Dr Corcoran had had his surgery. In 1927, Irene marries Cecil Lindsay Lapper, who was a physician and surgeon.

22 Beacon Road

By 1929, Dr Blackham is a tenant gardener of garden number 26 on Burton Walks, and is allowed to build a house here – No. 4, ‘Friesland’ - costing over £1,000 (with a rent of £23 19s.) on the plot. On 25th October 1931, while still living in the Burton Walks house, Georgina dies, and probate is granted on 20th October 1932 to Dr Blackham. After being re-sworn, Georgina's effects amounted to £783 8s. 10d.

Two years after the death of his first wife, Dr Blackham marries Patricia Minchin in Loughborough, and in 1937 he retires from his post as Medical Officer of Health, although continues in his medical practice. 

On the night the 1939 register was taken, Dr Blackham and his wife, Patricia, are living at Burton Walks, and Patricia’s sister, Jane Minchin is also listed here. In the same register, Irene and husband Cecil are listed as living at 8 Albert Place, and as this is the register taken in relation to the Second World War, it also notes that Cecil was a medical examiner for recruits (possibly to first aid positions?) and Irene was on ARP duty.  [Photo]

Albert Place

The 1940s saw several notable events in the life of the family. In 1942 Dr Blackham contracted diphtheria but luckily made a complete recovery. In 1945 at the age of 85, he finally completely retires from medical practice! On 27th April 1947, Cecil Lindsay Lapper of 8 Albert Place, died. Probate was granted on 19 July 1947 to his widow, Irene, and the effects amounted to £14,739 16s. 2d.. In 1949, Dr Blackham, and wife, Patricia leave the house on Burton Walks, and probably move to Spinney Cottage, on Vicary Lane, Woodhouse.

On 18th November 1952, at the age of 91, Dr Blackham dies, and the funeral takes place on 20th November at the church of St Mary in the Elms in Woodhouse. Probate was granted in April 1953 to his widow, Patricia Muriel Blackham, and his effects amounted to £8,562 12s. 11d.. It was around this time that Dr Blackham's name was commemorated when a residential street, Blackham Road, in Loughborough was named after him.

In June 1977, Irene Lapper, daughter of Dr Blackham and his first wife, Georgina, and widow of Cecil, died. Probate was granted on 25 November 1977, and effects amounted to £31,042. The following year saw the death of Patricia, widow of Dr Blackham. She died on 29 June 1978, and probate was granted on 15th November, the effects amounting to £130,150.

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). So who was Dr Blackham?. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/06/so-who-was-dr-blackham.html   [Accessed 17 June 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.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne                           

O is for Outwoods

O is for Outwoods – and another update for an entry in my book, ‘A-Z of Loughborough’!

I am thankful that I took the opportunity to go for a long walk in some of the areas surrounding Loughborough yesterday, on what was a beautifully sunny and clear afternoon, after a morning of heavy rain. Not only that, I’ve just read that the next phase of the project to return the Outwoods to its ancient woodland species is about to begin, and much of the Outwoods will be closed from 1st November until 24th November while many of the non-native trees, mostly conifers, are felled. I wrote about the first stage of this project in the book, so I’m keen to keep up with the progress of the work. There are some FAQs about the project on the council website, but essentially, the non-native trees are being felled to allow more oak trees to grow, and to encourage the growth of flora on the woodland floor.

On my walk, I took the path off Valley Road where it joins Belvoir Drive and headed up to the Outwoods. Along the way I passed the site of the new cemetery, which is beginning to take shape, and from the fields close by there were some lovely clear views of Loughborough.

Part of the new cemetery

Nanpantan Sports Ground

Reaching the Outwoods itself, I stumbled upon a memorial bench, and then took a very circuitous route, eventually ending up in the car park off Breakback Lane, where I saw all the work that’s been done on the ranger’s hut that is going to be a café.

 

Artwork in the wood

Then I followed the path that runs parallel to the road, before exiting onto the road, and then turning left into the bridleway that is Brook Lane. I walked all the way along Brook Lane, where there were some fabulous views back across Loughborough, and I noticed I could even see Stanford Hall from there.

Stanford Hall in the far distance

Looking back at the Outwoods from Brook Lane

Brook Lane came out at the junction in Woodhouse Eaves, where the Bull’s Head is on the corner, and after a quick cuppa in the local cafe, I walked to the village hall, but took the path just before the hall.  A new tree had been planted here, in honour of people who had died during the pandemic.

This particular path took me all the way to School Lane in Woodhouse, and I walked up past Pestilence Cottage, and stopped to look at the memorial at the church, and the new memorial bench in Woodhouse, which was close to the church.

Crows' nests

From here it was an easy walk through the village of Woodhouse, and at the end of the village I turned down the path to Beaumanor Hall, taking the right-hand path to come home via the path alongside Mucklin Wood, and then through the Grange Park Estate.

 

The Lodge to Beaumanor Hall, designed by William Railton,is currently for sale

         

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 31 October 2021

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

Dyer, Lynne (2021). O is for Outwoods. Available from:https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2021/10/o-is-for-outwoods.html  [Accessed 31 October 2021]

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.

You can leave comments below, but do check back as my reply will appear here, below your comment.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne                 

Disasters and plague houses

Last week we had a look at some of the fires and disease that have affected Loughborough over the years. 

A quick flick through some of the literature and I came across a chap called Percy Davenport, who had written an article about the plague, in the Loughborough Echo. A bit more of a delve revealed that Percy was an "old boy" from the Grammar School, who, whilst working at the Ministry of Health, used to copy out old documents he found, in his leisure time. Some of these are the Manor Accounts and Wills of Loughborough.

So, if Percy read what he was copying in any detail, his voice holds a lot of weight. In his 1935 article in the newspaper he wrote about "When the plague came to Loughborough", saying:

In the years 1609 and 1610 Loughborough was a place to avoid, for it was then in the grip of the deadly plague. The story told by the Parish Registers is indeed a grim one. Under the month of August, 1609, the writer sets down the simple words "A plague began on the 24th day," and for the period of the next 18 months or more, long lists of victims who succumbed are entered, each name prefixed by the letter "p". 

He also mentions the possibility of there being a "plague house" somewhere, which was associated with Thomas Rawlins who founded a school in Woodhouse in 1691. This school lasted until the late eighteenth century, after which it closed until it relocated to Quorn village hall where it re-opened in 1892, firstly, as a boys' grammar (Thomas Rawlins Grammar School), before becoming a co-ed school of the same name, and based in the building occupied today by the Rawlins Academy. Thomas Rawlins is reputed to have escaped the 1665 Plague of London and settled in Pest Cottage in Old Woodhouse. This cottage is still standing today, and is named Pestilence Cottage. 

Percy has this to say about Pest Cottage:

Whatever may be the historical facts behind the "Plague House" of Thomas Rawlins, allusions to which have appeared in recent numbers of the "Echo", we are on solid and indisputable ground when we speak of a "Plague House" in Loughborough.    

The Accounts of the Bridgemasters, (who gathered funds to maintain the bridges, and the Free Grammar School and for many other local needs) were responsible to the Feoffes of the Loughborough Town Lands, and these accounts show that the feoffes took responsibility for building a Pesthouse in The Rushes, in a vain attempt to stop the spread of the plague in 1609. 

Percy quotes from the accounts:

Payed to Richard Harryman on Thomas Wingkfeild hosse [house], in earnest for the newe house in The Rushes vjd [6 old pennies]." 

This is a formal transaction, and the builder is bound to enact the contract and build the house, which is outlined below:

Payed to Clemente Parsons for Carriadg of wood into the Rushes xjs [11 old shillings]

Ironically, both Clemente Parsons and his son died from the plague in October 1610, only a few months after this contract was agreed.

Sadly, I've run out of time to carry on with this post, so pop back next week for a final installment on the plague in Loughborough, and some comments about the infamous Dead Lane!

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). Disasters in Loughborough! Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/10/disasters-and-dead-lane.html [Accessed 15 October 2017]

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 

Swithland slate update

I've posted several times about Swithland slate, particularly its use as gravestones, roof tiles, and other artefacts.

On a recent walk from Loughborough, through the Outwoods, to Beaumanor and back to Loughborough, I was reminded about some other uses of Swithland slate that I hadn't mentioned:

House name on Swithland slate sign on Brook Road, Woodhouse Eaves

A slate house number

A slate and stone wall

A slate faced house in Woodhouse

Then, a little while ago I went on another walk, this time from Quorn GCR station, to Swithland Reservoir, and on along to the Mountsorrel and Rothley Heritage Centre, before heading back to Quorn. Since my initial visit to the Heritage Centre, a couple of new exhibition halls had opened up (which you can read about here), and there was some really exciting stuff on Swithland slate.

Firstly, in the main exhibition area, there were numerous information boards about the history of the area around Mountsorrel and Rothley, going from the Bronze Age up to modern times. Two such boards, in the new exhibition area, were specifically related to Swithland slate and covered such things as slate quarrying in Roman times and how the slate had mostly likely been quarried from Groby and their use was more geographically distributed than one might have thought: I'd certainly assumed they were only used locally. 

Some of the uses that the slate was put to included holders for railings, salting troughs (which were used to salt meat), cupboards, and cattle drinking troughs, and some of these were on display in the exhibition, as well as the more well-known use for roofing tiles and gravestones.

Slate meat salting trough

Slate cupboard

Engraving on slate cupboard

Slate animal drinking trough

Slate gravestone

Slate gravestone

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). Swithland slate update. Available from: http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/04/swithland-slate-update.html [Accessed 23 April 2017]

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