We are very grateful to Charnwood Forest Geopark and the National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting a project in Nanpantan in 2024-25. We had already completed research on the history of Nanpantan school and church, as part of our first paperback on the history of Loughborough, but we wanted to know more about the community who lived around the crossroads and about Nanpantan’s farms and pub.
Thirty-one volunteers helped with our research, with a core group meeting at Home Farm. We are very grateful for all their help.
Much of the research was based on the 19th- and early 20th-century census returns and online newspapers.
Our Nanpantan project concluded in March 2025 with a public event at Nanpantan Hall.
As part of this project we have produced two self-guided walks.
The first of these, a canal walk, takes you along the route of the Charnwood Forest canal close to the point where the M1 motorway was built across its route. This walk includes some rough ground and also crosses a golf course, where you need to be aware of ‘flying’ golf balls.
The second walk is a gentler stroll along Nanpantan Road, pointing out some of the key buildings of interest.
Some of our findings surprised us. You can read more in a blogpost on the Institute of Historical Research website.
We have also produced a fuller account (currently taken down for minor changes as part of this work is being prepared for publication as a separate article).
