Loughborough was one of 35 towns and villages included in our Charnwood Roots project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund from 2013 to 2017. As part of that project, volunteers helped us to research some aspects of the town’s history.
We are now building on that work with the intention of publishing a full parish history of 180,000 words. This is a major project and substantial funds are still required for us to be able to meet the object. Meanwhile, we have started with some work on public health and the provision of fresh water and establishment of sewerage works in the 19th century, and have created an online exhibition to display some of this research.
Research on the history of Loughborough’s market in the medieval period is on hold until archive offices can reopen. Some research on Loughborough’s industries was carried out as part of the Charnwood Roots project, and we aim to recruit further volunteers in 2021 to help us to complete that research and write it up. If we can raise sufficient money, we aim to publish the economic history of the parish (including how people in Loughborough earned their living) as a stand-alone paperback.
The image at the top of this page shows one of Loughborough’s many Art Deco buildings.