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Loughborough is a market and university town in north Leicestershire. The focus of this book (and of a later companion volume) is on the period since 1750, when Loughborough developed from a small town serving a rural hinterland to an urban centre with a range of industrial and educational establishments that gave it a national and (from the 20th century) international footprint. This volume focuses on the social and cultural history of the town and of three rural settlements, Knightthorpe, Woodthorpe and Nanpantan, that lay within the boundary of Loughborough ancient parish. A little of the modern history of Thorpe Acre is also included, as that parish was absorbed within the borough of Loughborough from 1936, with several of the town's schools now located within that area. The life of the community features strongly within these pages. Support for the poor, medical care, libraries, theatres, cinema, musical entertainments, community groups and sport all feature. A section on education includes the High School (the oldest academic girls' school in the country), other schools and colleges and Loughborough University, which as a technical college had gained a strong national and international reputation for engineering and for sport by the 1930s. The religious life of the town is unusually rich, both historically and today, with many new churches thriving alongside older denominations, and several non-Christian faiths having built or adapted buildings for worship and for community use. This a Victoria County History Partnership Publication. December 2026, viii, 292 pages, profusely illustrated in colour, paperback, £19.99, ISBN 978-1-914803-11-4.
Loughborough is a market and university town in north Leicestershire. The focus of this book (and of a later companion volume) is on the period since 1750, when Loughborough developed from a small town serving a rural hinterland to an urban centre with a range of industrial and educational establishments that gave it a national and (from the 20th century) international footprint. This volume focuses on the social and cultural history of the town and of three rural settlements, Knightthorpe, Woodthorpe and Nanpantan, that lay within the boundary of Loughborough ancient parish. A little of the modern history of Thorpe Acre is also included, as that parish was absorbed within the borough of Loughborough from 1936, with several of the town's schools now located within that area. The life of the community features strongly within these pages. Support for the poor, medical care, libraries, theatres, cinema, musical entertainments, community groups and sport all feature. A section on education includes the High School (the oldest academic girls' school in the country), other schools and colleges and Loughborough University, which as a technical college had gained a strong national and international reputation for engineering and for sport by the 1930s. The religious life of the town is unusually rich, both historically and today, with many new churches thriving alongside older denominations, and several non-Christian faiths having built or adapted buildings for worship and for community use. This a Victoria County History Partnership Publication. December 2026, viii, 292 pages, profusely illustrated in colour, paperback, £19.99, ISBN 978-1-914803-11-4.