Loughborough to Tiverton Pt 3

A third post about connections between Loughborough and Tiverton, I hear you ask? Well, yes, there were so many that I spotted while I was there that I wanted to share them all with you, but I hadn't realised I'd be doing so many other things in between posts that I haven't had time to research much else! Anyway, checkout parts 1 and 2, just to remind yourself of connections I've already covered, then read on for yet more!

So, one of the connections between our two towns is that we were both part of the second round of Mary Portas towns, that saw lots of different initiatives taking place in our towns to improve footfall, to make the towns more attractive and to ensure the towns survived and even thrived in the economic downturn.

In the mid-19th century, both towns (as did practically the whole of the British Isles) experienced deaths from the various illnesses (cholera etc.) that abounded at that time. In Tiverton, Thomas Webster Rammell was appointed to investigate and in 1849 he suggested a supply of water should be piped to every house and hydrants placed in the streets to help combat the numerous fires there were. He made lots of other recommendations, but these were rejected in 1851 as costing too much, so it wasn't until 1875 that some recommendations were acted upon. Meanwhile, in Loughborough, in 1870, the Reverend Henry Fearon arranged for Loughborough's first clean water supply, which is commemorated by the Fearon Fountain in the market place. 

Information board on public health in Tiverton Museum

Our Fearon Fountain in Market Place

Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life had a lovely information board about fingerposts and milestones. This reminded me of the tale of the milestone in Loughborough, on Wood Gate, just outside the Organ Grinder pub (formerly the Old Pack Horse).

Fingerposts and milestones in Tiverton Museum

Our misplaced milestone

One of the major exhibition areas in the Tiverton Museum was a specially created room housing a wonderful collection of railway memorabilia, including a steam engine! Tiverton was on the Great Western Railway, whilst Loughborough had (and still has) the Great Central Railway.

A water fountain installed at the Great Western station 

The re-created booking office at Tiverton GWR station

The station exhibition at Tiverton

The steam engine at Tiverton Museum

The steam engine at Tiverton museum

Our GCR

Both towns are lucky enough to have canals. The canal that ends in Tiverton is the Great Western Canal, which runs from Taunton, and although the Somerset part is now closed, the stretch at Tiverton is still navigable.

The information board at Tiverton Museum

Our lovely canal

Sticking with transport, I was really excited to read that the Morrison Electricar was used in Tiverton as a milkfloat, for, this electric vehicle was developed in Leicester by the grandfather of a very close friend of mine, and at one time, until 1935, the bodies were built by the Brush.

The Morrison Electricar

Tiverton Museum also had a small section on clubs and societies. I've already talked about the Temperance Society, but there was also a bowl from the United Order of Druids in a glass case. The connection here is that our Windmill inn was home to a meeting of this society way back in 1837!

The United Order of Druids bowl

Our own Windmill Inn

Of course, the biggest connection between our two towns is John Heathcoat, owner of a lacemaking factory which was attacked by Luddites in 1816, and who left Loughborough to set up a new factory in Tiverton. Sorry, that's a bit brief, isn't it? Pop over to my virtual walk to learn more.

The Heathcoat exhibition in Tiverton Museum

  

Other connections include pubs of the same name. So, for example, both towns had a Bishop Blaize pub, a pub called the Barley Mow, a White Hart, a Cross Keys, a Three Tuns (the name of the Loughborough one was changed to the Three Nuns), a Royal Oak, a Black Horse, a Red Lion, a Railway Inn, and a White Horse. Refer to Billy's book of Loughborough boozers if you want to know more about ours, or have a go at my easy pub quiz! 

There are also many similarities in shops. So, for example, both towns had a Home and Colonial Stores. In Tiverton the local jewellers is called GW Pack: Loughborough's is Denhams. The drapers in Tiverton was Thorne Brothers, whilst in Loughborough it was Pilsbury's. Today, Tiverton has a bakers called Number 33: Loughborough has a deli, selling artisan bread, called Number 58!

Denhams the Jewellers on the corner of High Street and Baxter Gate

Loughborough's Home and Colonial Store in Market Place

This has certainly been an interesting series of posts to write and do hope you've found them interesting!

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 Union Workhouse. [Online] Available from: 

http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/loughborough-to-tiverton-pt-3.html [Accessed 21 August 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]

Fairs and markets come to the library!

I mentioned in last week's post about Tiverton and its market charter on display in the Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life, and compared this to Loughborough's own market charter. So, I popped down to our market on Saturday and took a couple of pictures. It was late in the day, and most stalls were packing up, if not already packed away:

Loughborough market, Saturday 6 August 2016

Loughborough market, Saturday 6 August 2016

On the Friday I had popped into the local public library as I'd heard there was an exhibition about Loughborough's markets and fairs, put on by the Local Studies Volunteers, and I wasn't disappointed. There were some great displays, and some interesting information so, here's some pictures of what I saw:

And here's a bit more information about the exhibition - do pop along if you can:

If you're interested in Loughborough's markets and fairs, you may be interested in re-visiting a couple of my blogposts:

• Spotlight on Loughborough fair, 2013
• Loughborough fair, 2014
• Loughborough pottery market, May 2014

Loughborough to Tiverton Pt 1

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I talked about the Ludd Hub, where information about the Luddite attacks of 1816 on Heathcoat's lace factory was presented as a part of this year's Picnic in the Park event? Possibly as a result of the attack, Heathcoat took his business, his expertise and many of his local workers to Tiverton, setting up a business that is still trading today under the name of Heathcoat Fabrics. At the Picnic in the Park we welcomed visitors from Tiverton and cheered them on their way as they re-enacted the 200-mile walk that Loughborough folk would have made 200 years ago when they migrated from Loughborough to Tiverton.

Our annual summer holiday sees us heading to the southern most point of Britain, a journey of some 330 miles, which means a stop somewhere along the way. Usually that stop is somewhere beyond Exeter, and previous stops have included Tavistock, Launceston, Tintagel and Boscastle. This year, the journey was so arduous, with lots of accidents, many, many roadworks, and hence, long delays, we broke with tradition and decided to stop off at Tiverton. I'm glad we did!

Already having made an association with staff from the museum, I knew there were a lot of connections and similarities between our two towns, and I was keen to explore these. Hmmm, it does, however, mean that I may have to split this blogpost into two as there is so much to cover!

So, we headed off to the town museum and were pleased to be so pleasantly greeted and welcomed when we got there. What I hadn't quite realised was that we'd arrived a couple of days before a big Heathcoat 200 exhibition launch, but luckily it was all there and ready to be viewed. As well as this temporary exhibition, there is also a permanent Heathcoat Gallery. Just a quick note here to say how disconcerting it was to hear the name Heathcoat as I would pronounce it, pronounced as Hethcutt!

Anyway, the museum was also choc-full of lots of other Tiverton history, and it was great to see all the things that Loughborough and Tiverton had in common. I suppose when one is looking at the local history of one's own town, it's sometimes too easy to forget the national context, so Tiverton's museum collections reminded me of many things. Let's see, where shall I start?

The populations of the two towns at 2011 are quite different: Loughborough's population was around 59,000 while Tiverton's only 19,500, so Tiverton is about the size of Shepshed and Barrow-upon -Soar combined, and about 6,000 more than Ashby-de-la-Zouch, but 6,000 less than that of Melton Mowbray. 



Both Tiverton and Loughborough are market towns, and their original market / fair charters were granted in the 1200s, during the reign of Henry III. Loughborough's was first being granted around 1221, extended to three days to include the Feast of St Peter (29 June) in 1228, and then shortly after it was extended to include the November fair, to be held around the Feast of All Souls (2 November). The Tiverton charter was first granted in 1257 for a three-day market around the Feast of St James (5 July), starting on a Monday. This was later modified by Oliver Cromwell, changing the first day to Tuesday to avoid market traders working (i.e. preparing their goods) on Sundays. 



This year, the charter market was held on July 16, just a few days after my visit. A copy of the later amendment is available in the museum.

The Cromwell market charter

The woollen trade was extremely important to both towns, and there were several information boards in the Tiverton museum, as well as a cabinet of interesting looking tools. Selective breeding of sheep seems to have started around 1808 in Tiverton, whilst Robert Bakewell of Dishley had been one of the early protagonists of this. 

Sheep and wool production

The woollen trade

All about wool merchants

The tools of the trade

In Loughborough there have been small finds of Roman origin, like pottery, some of which was possibly found in Church Gate. At Bolham on the outskirts of Tiverton (coincidentally very close to Knightshayes Court which is the home of the current Heathcoat family) there was a Roman marching camp, a model of which has been constructed, and sits in the museum.

Model of the Roman marching camp

In common with other towns of the time, both Tiverton and Loughborough have endured fires which had a devastating effect on the dwellings and the people of the towns. Reports of fires in Tiverton were so devastating, the one in 1731 was called the Great Fire, and reports of this, and other fires are covered by Wikipedia. One such fire was in about 1598, which was allegedly started by a frying pan fire, and which destroyed most of the town. There was a further fire in 1612 which was apparently started from a furnace. There were at least five known fires in Loughborough, the first of which was in 1622, and in which two people died. The second fire was in 1666, apparently started from a kiln, and in which 200 houses were destroyed. Then, in 1668 there were two fires in October, and in 1761, 13 houses were affected by a fire which started in a malt kiln. When reports of these fires talk of thatched houses and ricks of barley, furnaces, and kilns, it's surprising there weren't more fires, more buildings destroyed and more deaths.

The Civil War in Tiverton

Both towns were affected by the Civil War of 1642-1651. Royalist Tiverton Castle was under siege from Parliamentarians in 1645, and in December of that year Oliver Cromwell paid it a brief visit. On 17 March 1644 there was a minor battle at Cotes Bridge, just outside Loughborough, when Parliamentarians occupied the bridge. 








Bequests to fund schools are also common to both towns. In 1601 Peter Blundell, a man who had gained considerable wealth during his life as a clothier, bequeathed a sizeable sum of money for the creation of the Peter Blundell School, which is still in use as a school, although I believe the original building was replaced in about 1883. Thomas Burton was an English wool merchant who died around 1495, and bequeathed sums of money to a variety of Loughborough causes. One of his trustees, Ralph Lemyngton, decided that some of the money should be used to create a school, and to this day Loughborough Endowed Schools is still active in the town.

In common with many other towns and cities water was made safer to drink in Tiverton and Loughborough by being brewed into beer. I believe there was a brewery at the end of Market Street, and that it wasn't called Malt Mill Lane for nothing! In Tiverton Museum, there was a fine display of brewery paraphernalia and old bottles, as well as a malt shovel, and an apple press.

The cabinet of paraphernalia

The malt shovel

The apple press

And, of course, townsfolk everywhere needed shoes, so cobblers would have been found in each town

Tools of the trade

Interesting to know that at one time there was a branch of the Leicester firm Olivers in the town!

Olivers, who had a warehouse in Leicester

Oh my goodness, time is running away with me, and I haven't even mentioned all the Heathcoat connections, the iron works, the water supply and drinking fountains, the GWR, the cinemas, the Temperance Society and the United Order of Druids, the brick-makers, the police station, the milestones, the canal, the band, the pubs ...

Better save those for next time!

Acknowledgements: I'd like to thank the staff at Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life, for allowing me to take photographs to use in this blogpost .

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. [Online] Available from: http://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/loughborough-to-tiverton.html [Accessed 31 July 2016]