LOUGHBOROUGH, a market-town and parish, in
the western division of the hundred of GOSCOTE, county
of LEICESTER, comprising the townships of Knight
Thorpe and Wood-Thorpe, and containing 7494 inhabitants,
of which number, 7365 are in the town ot
Loughborough, 11 miles (N.) from Leicester, and 100
(N.W.) from London. The name is probably derived
from Lough, a lake, or a large extent of meadow occasionally
overflowed. The noble family of Despenser, anciently
possessors of the manor, obtained the grant of a market
and fairs for the town. In 1564, the assizes for the
county were held here, on account of the plague raging
at Leicester at that time. From its size and population
this may be considered the second town in the county,
and it was so reckoned three centuries ago: it is a
great thoroughfare, being situated on the high road from
London to Manchester. The buildings in general are of
brick, and a great proportion of the houses is modern:
plaster, which is made of alabaster obtained from the
quarries of Burton on the Wold, is mostly used for the
floors of the lodging-rooms. The streets are paved and
partially lighted by subscription, and the inhabitants
are well supplied with water. A.neat theatre has been
recently built: there is likewise a subscription library.
The manufactures comprise hosiery of all kinds, cotton
goods, and bobbin net-lace, for which last article a
patent was obtained by the manufacturer, and the
machinery is worked here under his license, giving employment
to nearly five hundred persons: the manufacture
of what is termed patent fleecy hosiery is
confined entirely to this town. The Loughborough
canal, which communicates with the Union canal, the
Leicester navigation, the river Soar, and the lime-works
at Barrow hill, has been very beneficial to the town,
and abundantly profitable to the proprietors; the shares,
which originally cost but £ 120 each, are now worth
about £4000. There are some quarries of slate in the
neighbourhood. The market is on Thursday; and fairs
are held February 14th, March 28th, April 25th, Holy
Thursday, August 12th, and November 13th, for horses,
cows, and sheep j March 24th and September 25th, for
cheese; and November 14th is a statute fair for hiring
servants. An ancient cross and the old market-house
having been removed, the market-place is now open.
The town is under the superintendence of a constable,
headborough, meadow-reeves, and street-masters, all
of them chosen at the annual court leet of the lord of
the manor. A court baron is held annually, and the
petty sessions for the hundred are held here weekly.
The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Leicester,
and diocese of Lincoln, rated in the king's books
at £40. 16. 3., and in the patronage of the Master and
Fellows of Emanuel College, Cambridge. The church,
which is dedicated to All Saints, is a handsome edifice,
in the later style of English architecture, and has a fine
tower, which was built by subscription towards the close
of the sixteenth century. There are places of worship
for General and Particular Baptists, Independents, the
Society of Friends, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians.
The free grammar school is endowed with
rents arising from lands originally bequeathed by Thomas
Burton, in 1495, for the maintenance of a chantry in
the parish church, but appropriated, at the Reformation,
to the endowment of a free grammar school, the
repair of certain public bridges in the parish, and in aid
of parochial rates; these estates are called " Burton's
Trust," and their present rental is about £1500 per
annum: as a principal object in the expenditure is the
repair of the roads and bridges, an officer is annually
elected, under the name of bridgemaster, to superintend
its execution. The school is open to all the children
residing in the parish; it is entirely under the direction
of the trustees, and consists of three establishments, under
separate masters; namely, a Latin school, in which
there are from fifteen to twenty scholars; a school in
which reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught to
about twenty-five boys; and a National school for two
hundred and fifty more: the surplus of the annual income
is appropriated by the trustees to charitable uses.
Two exhibitions, of £30 each, to Emanuel College, Cambridge,
are attached to this institution: the school-house
is a handsome new building, erected near the churchyard.
A free school for twenty girls was founded, in 1683, by
means of a bequest from Bartholomew Hickling, and
endowed with land; and, in 1717, Joseph Clark bequeathed
land, directing the proceeds to be applied
for the instruction of children. Various benefactions
have been made, at different periods, for apprenticing
poor children, and for annual distribution to the poor.
A public dispensary is supported by voluntary contributions.
Dr. Richard Pulteney, a distinguished physician
and writer on botany, was born here in 1730.
Loughborough conferred the title of baron on Alexander
Wedderburn, an eminent lawyer, who held the
office of Lord High Chancellor, and who was subsequently
created Earl of Rosslyn.