Oadby, Leicestershire

Fluids Lane

This was a wonderful wildlife haven for children and I well remember playing for hours on end in the stream which meandered through. We lived in the Vicarage at No 1 London Road and had the idyllic childhood that few seem to remember. I think there were army huts or Nissan huts alongside the run of Fluids Lane and I assume these were old Second World War relics. I remember exploring these many a time. Happy days, happy days.

Fluids Lane

A demi paradise, Fluids Lane was at the far end of the village towards Glen Road, I think. It contained a stream, and woods. What wonderful memories I have of that place, nothing can compare, we played for hours damming the stream, climbing trees etc., away from home all day. The lane went on to the fields that housed the air force base, or aerodrome, and also the German prisoners of war that we befriended, hard to believe, but they were free to go to the pictures in the village. That was a little earlier, maybe around 1942 or so. I wish I could hear more about Fluids Lane.

SWIMMING BATHS

My twin sister and I used to go to the Oadby baths on a Saturday morning with some friends, and we always used to have a race to see who got in first. Unfortunately one week I forgot to take off my watch before I jumped in and so got a good hiding when I got home for breaking it. I was in the pool first that time though. I can't remember having to go upstairs to changing cubicles though, I just remember being on the right side as you went in.

black pad

We lived on Greenbank Drive and we used to walk to Langmoor School down the Black Pad, which is now called Lawyers Lane. Farmer Steele had his farm down there and we always used to stop and look at his cows, and, if there were any born, his calves. I can smell it all now. He liked to keep people talking so we were invariably late for school.

Loughborough - A History & Celebration

MANY MORE people know the name of Loughborough than know the town itself, or even where it is. That name is read, said and rings out across the world. Loughborough is unique. It is a small market town in the East Midlands of England, yet it has a university with an international reputation for excellence in sciences and sports. It is home to the largest bell foundry in the world. For generations, children in every corner of the globe have seen the words ‘Ladybird Books, Loughborough, England’ on the brightly coloured books which helped to shape their lives. Cranes and hoists, some of giant size, designed and built in Loughborough have been employed from the docks of New Jersey to the shipyards of Korea. Turbines, trams and transporters have all been made at the Falcon Works of the strangely named ‘Brush’ Electrical Company. If you visit Loughborough, the evidence for this wealth of industry and knowledge is not easily seen. Far less apparent still is the long and often turbulent past of the town. I approached the writing of this book with some trepidation. There are, already, many books about Loughborough from the seriously academic to the purely anecdotal. The difficulty in the end was not what to include, but what to leave out. The choices, and the faults, are the writer’s, but, if your favourite place or story is missing, there will hopefully still be much to enjoy. Many famous and noble families were involved in Loughborough’s past - De Spensers and Beaumonts, Herricks and Hastingses and, most poignant of all, Lady Jane Grey, litter the past of Loughborough. Many of them came to a sad and savage end. The town lies next to the wild landscape of Charnwood Forest, is surrounded by ancient hunting parks and was, for centuries, ‘owned’ by one family. It may appear a quiet place to the casual observer, but Loughborough hides a fascinating story just under that placid surface.

Loughborough - A History & Celebration

Towards the north-west lies the mound of Beacon Hill. The earliest origins of Loughborough may be here. No one can truly say when man first settled in this area, but there was certainly an Iron Age settlement at Beacon Hill c400 BC. Even today, when the bracken on the Beacon dies down in the autumn, the terraces tilled by farmers of long ago can still be seen. Iron Age smiths forged tools and weapons here. Corn was ground in stone ‘querns’ made from the rock to be found at nearby Quorndon, a name meaning ‘hill of the querns’. Industry, technology, commerce and agriculture all came early to this area and found a home here. The oldest rocks in Britain have been found locally. The very name Charnwood comes from ‘caern’, the Celtic for ‘rock’. The river valley of the Soar lies to the south of Loughborough. Water, and waterpower, have played important roles in the founding and development of Loughborough. Northwards the ground rises a little towards Burleigh. Did the Romans ever find their way to this corner of Leicestershire? As yet, there are clues but no conclusive evidence of Roman occupation. When the Romans left Britain, the Saxons arrived. They were experts at ‘reading’ the landscape to discover the best places to settle. That skill was essential because the survival of the whole group depended on it. The first essentials were water and a place which could be defended against enemies. The Saxons found both at Loughborough. Gravel deposits meant the existence of clean, fresh water. Rising ground gave a lookout and a natural fortress. The alarm could be sounded from Toot Hill if enemies were sighted.

Loughborough - A History & Celebration

ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH ZZZ04971 (Author’s Collection) Much of the prosperity of Loughborough was built on sheep farming and the export of wool to France and Flanders where it was made into cloth. This dependence on the wool trade is recalled in the coats of arms above the door of All Saints’ tower. They depict the arms of Ralph Lemyngton, who was a prosperous wool merchant, and the Staple of Calais, the French port to which most wool was sent.