Misplaced Pages

#612387

108-456: The Cascelloid Company was founded by Alfred Edward Pallett in Coalville , Leicestershire in 1919 to produce celluloid and fancy goods . Their first toy was in 1920 and the first doll in 1925. Cascelloid was bought in 1931 by British Xylonite and the word "Palitoy" was created as a trademark in 1935 for their toy division. Injection moulding was developed by British Xylonite in 1941 and

216-463: A 'Blaby Grey' and the stonework was provided by the local Whitwick Quarry. Until the early 19th century, the parish church remained the only place of worship in the village. Then, in the 1820s, the Baptists erected a small chapel on Pares Hill and a society of Wesleyan Methodists opened a chapel on North Street (extended 1879). From its foundation in 1823 until 1855, Whitwick Baptist Church remained

324-518: A 'Cabbage Street Wakes', of rather obscure origin, when cabbages were used to decorate the lampposts in Cademan Street. A popular affirmation is that the village of Whitwick contains three 'cities'. The City of Three Waters and the City of Dan are official postal addresses, situated respectively at the foot of Dumps Hill and Leicester Road. Over the years, there have been many contenders for the location of

432-479: A Methodist church was also built at the other end of Hall Lane in 1966, close to the Broom Leys cross-roads. It is noticeable that in more recent years, structural alterations have been carried out to this building to replace the original flat roof with a pitched one. Due to the residency at Grace Dieu Manor of a zealous and wealthy convert to Roman Catholicism, Ambrose de Lisle , Whitwick became an important centre of

540-658: A branch of the Hugglescote Church. In 1855, both the Whitwick and Coalville Baptist churches separated from Hugglescote and both churches were held under the pastorate of the Revd John Cholerton. A new Baptist church was built at Whitwick in 1861 at a cost of £318.10.0 by William Beckworth, a local builder, alongside the original chapel. By 1890, the minister was the Revd J. J. Berry. It is recorded that for his payment, he accepted

648-470: A community governance review and made an Order on 12 May 2010 to set up the new Parish Council. Whitwick Parish Council held its Inaugural Meeting on 18 May 2011. Mount St. Bernard Abbey , a Cistercian monastery was established in 1835 in the parish of Whitwick on the Charnwood Forest. The current monastery was designed by the famous architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin , best known for his work on

756-487: A cottage can be found at the foot of the Dumps. During the 18th century, framework knitting became an important cottage industry in the village, taking over from agriculture. As early as 1723/24, William Clark, son of William, was apprenticed to Joseph Howe. This apprenticeship was to run from Michaelmas 1723/24 for seven years. By the beginning of the 19th century, Leicestershire , Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire had become

864-457: A cut off elsewhere and in the same year, a group known as 'The Campaign for Better Transport' petitioned for the freight track to be upgraded to mark the 50th anniversary of the network cuts introduced by Dr Beeching . The Leicester to Burton track was one of ten lines that this group called to be re-opened, with a proposal for it to be renamed the National Forest line. However, a spokesman for

972-618: A former coal mining town and was a centre of the coal-mining district of north Leicestershire. It has been suggested that the name may derive from the name of the house belonging to the founder of Whitwick Colliery : 'Coalville House'. However, conclusive evidence is a report in the Leicester Chronicle of 16 November 1833: 'Owing to the traffic which has been produced by the Railway and New Collieries on Whitwick Waste, land which 20 years ago would not have fetched £20 per acre (£50 per hectare),

1080-512: A fragment of pre-Norman cross shaft would appear to be incorporated into the chancel wall, supporting the idea that a church may well have existed on this site in Anglo-Saxon times. However, there is no mention of a priest or church connected with Whitwick in the Domesday Survey, and in the absence of conclusive structural evidence beyond the thirteenth century, it is perhaps more likely that

1188-626: A granite quarry at Bardon Hill appeared in 1622, in William Burton's "Description of Leicestershire". TEREX Pegson Limited is a UK manufacturer of mobile crushing machines, and is part of the Terex Corporation. Pegson is headquartered in Coalville, with a distribution centre for North America in Louisville , Kentucky. The manufacturing plant has been located for many years on Mammoth Street, off

SECTION 10

#1732858314613

1296-537: A large operational subsidy, the scheme was dropped, prompting outcry from proponents. In the 2011 census, the electoral ward of Coalville had 5988 inhabitants with religious affiliation as follows: 60.1% Christian, 32.4% No religion, 0.6% Hindu, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.2% Muslim, 0.1% Agnostic, 0.1% Sikh. The town has a rich and diverse history of Christian places of worship. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, numerous non-conformist chapels were established, some of which gave rise to break-away factions. Following

1404-507: A large tract of waste on both sides of the road, still traceable, covered with gorse-bushes, blackberry brambles, etc., with not a single house on either side of the way" until arriving at the Hoo Ash turnpike. Then, looking toward Hugglescote (down a track that is now Belvoir Road), "we see a magnificently timbered lane without a single house, with the exception of White Leys Farm and the Gate Inn on

1512-418: A level between the chancel and the nave due to the steepness of sloping ground at the east end. In the south exterior wall of the nave, close by the porch, there is a canopied recess, which according to tradition once contained a doorway leading to vaults beneath the south aisle. It is likely that this recess would once have contained a founder's tomb. From 1319 until its dissolution in 1536, Whitwick Church

1620-563: A local landowner, Joseph Almond Cropper, as almshouses for the poor. Between the defeat of Harold in 1066 and the creation of the doomsday book in 1086, William the Conqueror faced a number of rebellions which culminated in a "scorched earth" policy attack on the north of England destroying homes, food stores and farms. This attack resulted in the deaths of thousands by starvation and the elements. One such rebellion happened at Nottingham. Witewic Castle would appear to have been created in response to

1728-521: A local shop in Coalville owned by the Bloor family. By the 1960s the factory had begun to distribute its products nationally. The factory became known locally as "Piggy Bloor's". The Belvoir name was replaced by Tulip in 2003. In 2023 the factory was closed down and its future is not known. Numerous business parks and industrial estates have been established in and around Coalville following the decline of coal-mining and allied industries. Calder Colours, based on

1836-430: A mystery. (The nearby South Derbyshire village of Woodville has an old lane signposted as, simply, 'The City'). Equally obscure is the origin of the name 'Dumps Hill', a steep incline forming part of a staggered cross-roads at the northern end of the village. Many theories have been expounded to account for its origin, one being that the houses built on the righthand side after the old railway bridge were constructed on

1944-415: A piped outlet protruding from a stone wall at the east end of the churchyard. This spring is said to have been used during the 19th century as means of powering the bellows of the church organ. It is possible that this site was regarded as sacred in pre-Christian times, thereby influencing the choice of location for the church. It was also conjectured by the local historian, George Green of Loughborough , that

2052-462: A plain and routine example of Early English style revival, comprising nave, transepts, chancel and western tower. The nave is fairly unusual in that its north and south aisles are not separated from the nave by arcades. The tower contains four bells, played on a clavier and has embattled parapets; access to the church is via the main west door, located in the ground floor stage of the tower. The local historian, Edgar Hawthorn, claims that construction of

2160-430: A reference to the outcrop of white sandstone found here. It was listed amongst the lands given to Hugh de Grandmesnil by King William I . There was said to be land for half a plough and woodland which was a furlong by half a furlong. Its value was two shillings . Whitwick had a motte and bailey castle, although no remains are left. It was probably built originally during the spate of rapid castle building by William

2268-500: A small empire of Anglican expansion, wrought in part by a desire to counteract the 'papist' revival that he perceived to be sweeping the district, at the instigation of Ambrose de Lisle of Grace Dieu Manor . Whitwick National School, a stone building in the Early English style still stands in the market place , now a Grade Two listed building . An extension to the school was provided in 1903, with access on silver street. The school

SECTION 20

#1732858314613

2376-475: A small station at Long Lane (now High Street) in Coalville. Snibston Colliery opened in 1833. The railway was extended to Burton upon Trent in 1845, placing Coalville on an important route between Burton and Leicester . Heavy coal traffic encouraged the construction of further railways linking Coalville to Nuneaton and, later, Loughborough , over the Charnwood Forest Railway . In the 20th century

2484-476: A society of Strict Baptists built a chapel known as "Cave Adullam" on the opposite side of the road to the General Baptist Chapel on London Road. According to local writer, Elizabeth Hewes, this was erected by William Stenson – the founder of Whitwick Colliery – who was a staunch baptist, as a more "select place of worship" for himself and his wife. Stenson lived just a very short distance away, also on

2592-490: Is an ancient parish church set in a rural location close to Coalville. The church building is notable for being very small, no longer than twenty-four feet, comprising a nave and chancel in one. The fabric is mainly medieval, though the current lancet windows were installed in 1847. The foundations of a tower were discovered in 1930. Until a Coalville parish (the Christ Church parish) was created, Snibston parish covered much of

2700-509: Is an itemised list of the establishments: Whitwick Working Mens Club & Institute (1920) Whitwick Snooker & Social Club North Street Working Mens Club The Beavers Lodge "The Pink Pig" (1983 ) The Railway Hotel (1882) The Three Crowns Hotel (1881) Whitwick Constitutional Club (1925) In the 2007 North West Leicestershire District Council elections, the British National Party won both Hugglescote and Whitwick –

2808-416: Is important to note that the word ' gatehouse ' is likely a corruption of ' guardhouse '. A gatehouse is usually an entrance to a walled city or a castle entrance. In the case of Whitwic Castle, the castle is in the centre of the town and thus there is no 'gatehouse'. The mound retains the title of Castle Hill and is surmounted by a 19th-century folly , with a castellated roofline. This was built in 1846 by

2916-572: Is listed as simply Horace Stinson and it had disappeared from the Whitwick Directories by 1928. The firm of Richard Massey appears from 1916, listed at 36, Castle Street, Whitwick. Massey's has disappeared by 1941. A Stinson Bros codd bottle appeared among lots listed for auction in Barnsley (BBR Auctions) on Saturday 8 January 2006. It was described as a 9 inch tall emerald green glass codd bottle, embossed, 'STINSON BROS/WHITWICK.' The guide price

3024-409: Is now Mantle Lane and Belvoir Road. The Red House, an eighteenth-century building, close to this cross-roads, was one of very few buildings then standing. Samuel Fisher, writing his memoirs at the end of the nineteenth century, described what the area looked like in 1832. Standing close to the position of the present-day clock tower, Fisher describes how, on looking down Long Lane towards Ashby, "we see

3132-524: Is now selling in lots at from £400 to £500 per acre (£1,000 to £1,200 per hectare), for building upon. The high chimneys, and numerous erections upon the spot, give the neighbourhood quite an improved appearance. We hear it is intended to call this new colony "COALVILLE" - an appropriate name.' In the early nineteenth century, the area now known as Coalville was little more than a track known as Long Lane, which ran approximately east–west, stretching between two turnpikes , Bardon and Hoo Ash. Long Lane divided

3240-440: Is said to have been a giant, and this accounts for the exceptional length of the monument. The church was a victim of aggressive restoration during the 19th century, when the chancel was rebuilt by James Piers St Aubyn , 1848–1849. A vaulted substructure or crypt is situated beneath the chancel, but is not thought to have ever been used as a charnel house . The building of this understructure would have been necessary to maintain

3348-610: Is sometimes described as 'the Father of Coalville'. Coal-mining came to an end in Coalville during the 1980s. Six collieries – Snibston, Desford, Whitwick, Ellistown, South Leicester and Bagworth – closed in and around Coalville in an eight-year period from 1983 to 1991, resulting in about five thousand men being made redundant. The disused colliery at Snibston was regenerated into Snibston Discovery Park but controversially closed in 2015 by Leicestershire County Council . The area formerly occupied by Whitwick Colliery has been redeveloped as

Palitoy - Misplaced Pages Continue

3456-647: The A511 between Leicester and Burton upon Trent , close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Leicester. It borders the upland area of Charnwood Forest to the east of the town. Coalville is twinned with Romans-sur-Isère in southeastern France. Coalville is a product of the Industrial Revolution . As its name indicates, it is

3564-526: The Care Bears . The company was founded by Alfred Edward Pallett in 1909 to produce celluloid and fancy goods. Their first toy was in 1920 and the first doll in 1925. The Palitoy site was closed in 1994. Aggregate Industries has its headquarters at Bardon Hill Quarry and is one of the five largest construction material suppliers in the UK. The company was originally established in 1858, though an early reference to

3672-506: The Church of England for use as a parish hall in about 1966. In 1972, a new Methodist church was built at the foot of Hall Lane and the Vicarage Street chapel (an example of 19th-century non-conformist architecture in the village) was demolished circa 1980, having fallen into a state of disrepair. The site is now occupied by a car park. Due to extensive housing development during the 1960s,

3780-517: The Skylink bus service to East Midlands Airport and Nottingham . The nearest passenger railway station is Loughborough , about 8 miles (13 kilometres) northeast of Coalville. There have been calls to reinstate passenger services through the town on the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line . However, following Leicestershire County Council 's 2009 report citing construction costs of £50 million and

3888-717: The Snibston Colliery . There is a memorial to the fallen of the parish of both World War I and II in the Lady Chapel. This is in the form of a reredos behind the chapel altar. In 1859, an Act of Parliament decreed that 'for the protection of the public health', no further burials should take place in the church yard, 'with the exception of the part of the ground on the south of the church, in which no burial shall take place, except in brick graves, in which each coffin shall be separately entombed in an air-tight manner'. The same legislation also ordered that 'burials be wholly discontinued in

3996-590: The United Kingdom (named BHX2). Reportedly occupying an area equivalent to 19 football fields, the centre employs hundreds of citizens in the Leicestershire region and is operational twenty four hours a day. Arriva Midlands are the main operator for services from Coalville. Its buses operate to Leicester , Loughborough and Swadlincote . Roberts Travel Group operate service 159 to Hinckley and 125 to Leicester and Castle Donington . Trent Barton operate

4104-482: The patron saints of Great Britain : St George's, Swannington was built in 1825; St Andrew's, Thringstone was built in 1862 and St David's, Broom Leys was founded in 1933. Christ Church, Coalville , was also formed partially out of Whitwick Parish in 1836, though the church here stands on land which was originally in the ancient parish of Ibstock , within the chapelry of Hugglescote . The churches at Swannington, Coalville and Thringstone all owe their existence to

4212-427: The 'third city', the most popular being The City of Hockley – an area located midway between the cities of Three Waters and Dan, close to the parish church, and alongside the watercourse passing through the village. However, older residents have always maintained that this area was known simply as The Hockley, the prefix 'city', they suggest, being a retrospective appendage. Even the place-name 'Hockley' would appear to be

4320-536: The 2001 census was 10,815 persons. 8,092 of these fell into the 16–74 working age range, although only 4,689 were employed. The population of the village at the 2011 census had fallen to 8,612. One of the earliest mentions of the place, as Witewic , is in the Domesday Book , the name of the settlement possibly meaning either guardhouse "The White Farm" or "Hwita's Farm" The last two appear to rely on later meanings for both particles Wite and Wik and may have been

4428-534: The Ashby Turnpike". In the direction of Bardon, there were no houses until arriving at a group of five or six cottages on the corner of what is now Whitwick Road and Hotel Street, and in the direction of Whitwick (the modern day Mantle Lane) there was nothing apart from a smithy and a carpenter's shop, and the houses of these tradesmen. These would have stood on the site of what is now The Springboard Centre (formerly Stablefords wagon works). From this wilderness emerged

Palitoy - Misplaced Pages Continue

4536-570: The Califat Colliery site. A life-sized horse gin has been built on the Hough Mill site and craters can be seen in the ground, where the medieval villagers dug out their allocation of coal. The seam is at ground level in Swannington, but gradually gets deeper between Swannington and the deepest reserves at Bagworth ; consequently, it was not until mining technology advanced that shafts were sunk in

4644-537: The Coalville Business Park, are manufacturers of art and craft materials. In 2014 this company produced the hundreds of litres of red top coat and terracotta base coat paint for the commemorative art installation at the Tower of London entitled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red , marking the centenary of the outbreak of World War I . In October 2016, Amazon opened in Coalville its biggest fulfilment Centre in

4752-525: The Conqueror following the spate of rebellions leading up to the harrowing of the north. There appears to be evidence of a timber castle and later stone castle. The timber castle was more likely in place in the 11th century and to have been later held by 'Henricus de Bello Monte, Consanguineus Regis' (Henry Beaumont, blood-relative of the king). In 1320 he was granted a licence to crenellate the structure. The building work resulting from this licence may have provoked an attack by Sir John Talbot. Beaumont's claim to

4860-562: The County Council said, "We have been unable to reintroduce Leicester to Burton passenger trains because the costs of about £50 million to upgrade the route and £4 million per year to operate services do not represent good value for money." There are two tiers of local government covering Coalville, at district and county level: North West Leicestershire District Council and Leicestershire County Council . The district council meets at Stenson House on London Road in Coalville. When

4968-469: The Ebeneezer Baptist Church on Ashby Road, which was completed in 1881. Whilst the church was being built, services were conducted in an old wagon repair shop. Structural alterations and additions were made to the building in 1908 and instead of two entrances to the church, one main entrance was made, as it is today. The church once played a prominent part in the musical life of the town, and it

5076-556: The General Baptist Chapel Burial-ground', which was located just a short distance away from the church, near the present day council offices. The small churchyard contains the grave of Amos Clarke, who, although blind from the age of eight days, was organist at Christ Church for some fifty years. Following his death in 1930, he was buried on the south side of the church as near to the organ as possible – at his own request. The longest serving vicar of Christ Church

5184-620: The London Road, on a site which is today marked by a brass plaque. The local historian, Dennis Baker does not mention Stenson's involvement with this chapel, attributing its formation to a break-away movement from the General Baptist chapel as a result of doctrinal differences. Stenson was undoubtedly a pioneer of the Baptist mission in Coalville however, and his grave can be found in the old Baptist cemetery off Grange Road, Hugglescote. This chapel

5292-524: The Roman Catholic revival. It was due to De Lisle that a Cistercian monastery , Mount St. Bernard Abbey , was established within the parish in 1835, and a church (designed by Pugin ) was built on Parsonwood Hill in 1837. In 1875, a small convent of Rosminian nuns was established in the presbytery, which had been built adjacent to the original church in August 1848, and which transferred to Loughborough in

5400-501: The Stinson or Massey enterprises, both of which later moved to Hermitage Road. Both firms are listed on Hermitage Road (under Coalville) in a trade directory of 1941. There are also known to have been examples of 19th-century bottles bearing the name of McCarthy and Beckworth, Coalville. Whitwick Colliery is remembered for an underground fire in 1898 that killed 35 miners in Leicestershire's worst mining tragedy. Whitwick railway station

5508-655: The Whitwick Business Park and which incorporates a Morrison's supermarket . There is also a small memorial garden here, established in memory of 35 men who died in the Whitwick Colliery Disaster of 1898, which occurred as a result of an underground fire, though the etched metal plaque commemorating this terrible calamity has (of 2014) been removed from the large granite memorial boulder. The Leicester and Swannington Railway – Leicestershire's first railway – opened in 1832, reaching Coalville in 1833, and had

SECTION 50

#1732858314613

5616-487: The Whitwick Road and the company is able to trace its origins to the company of Samuel Pegg and Son, which was originally set up on Alexander Street, Leicester in 1830, when its main concern was connected with hosiery machinery. Tulip Foods (formerly Belvoir Bacon) on Mantle Lane was incorporated as a limited company on 1 July 1954, having started about twenty years previously, as a slaughterhouse supplying pork products to

5724-412: The acquisition. However, the cost of servicing the debt meant Tonka itself had to find a buyer and it was eventually acquired by Hasbro in 1991. Hasbro closed the former Palitoy site in 1994 with manufacture of the last product made there, Play-Doh , being transferred to Hasbro's Irish factory. In 2016 fans of the popular Palitoy Action Man toy gathered to celebrate his 50th birthday at the site, and in

5832-490: The building was occupied by "Kemp's grocery store". The stone plaque, bearing the name, "Cave Adullam" can still be seen set above the frontage; this term has its origins in the Bible (I Samuel, 22:I). In 1879, further doctrinal differences led to 149 members of the General Baptist Chapel being erased from their communion. Seventy three of these individuals then formed themselves into a Particular Baptist Chapel and went on to build

5940-453: The catholic faith as a result of Gentilli's outreach. The present Roman Catholic Church was built in 1904 from the designs of Thomas Ignatius McCarthy . This was built on the opposite side of Parsonwood Hill, at which time Pugin's church was demolished, though the cemetery of the old church remains. A school was also built to the rear of the new church to replace the original school at Turylog (Thurlough), which had been opened in 1843. A tower

6048-519: The centre of the British hosiery trade, taking over from London. In 1832, it is recorded that there were some 33,000 knitting frames in use in the Midlands , of which the majority – 11,200, were in Leicestershire. In 1844, there were 423 knitting frames in Whitwick and by this time, the cottage industry had been in decline for some years. This appears to have been as a result of a change in fashions and also to

6156-452: The church was built as a later adjunct to the nearby castle. The church we see today is mainly of 14th-century construction, with only the south doorway seeming to go back to the 13th century. The massive decorated western tower contains a peal of eight bells, four of which were cast in 1628, and in the north aisle can be found the mutilated alabaster effigy of a knight, which tradition has to be that of Sir John Talbot, who died in 1365. Talbot

6264-466: The church was funded by George Stephenson, though this assertion has been called into question by more recent historians. The tower contained a single bell until 1936, when a further three bells were presented by Dr Francis E. Knowles of America. Dr Knowles had ordered these bells from the foundry of John Taylor at Loughborough, but in the meantime, the church in America was destroyed by a tornado. Through

6372-410: The coal below. This effectively opened up the 'concealed coalfield.' This was followed by the mine at Snibston, by George Stephenson in the early 1830s, and Stephenson was also responsible for the creation of the Leicester and Swannington Railway at the same time. Quarrying , textile and engineering industries, such as railway wagon production, also grew in the town during the 19th century. Stenson

6480-631: The decision to merge Kenner and Parker into one entity and to sell off Fun Dimensions. This decision impacted Palitoy which adopted the Kenner Parker name and withdrew from the model and craft sector to help form one uniform global toy and games company. It sold the Airfix business to Humbrol and a large part of Mainline Railways to Dapol . On 1 May 1985, most of the work at Palitoy ended with 327 staff in manufacturing and distribution out of 585 made redundant and manufacturing shifted overseas. The restructure

6588-508: The decline in the membership of traditional non-conformist societies, the town has seen the establishment of numerous evangelical free churches in more recent years. An official town guide, produced by the Coalville Urban District Council, circa 1968, has proved to be a useful source in chronicling the development and histories of early religious groups. The Anglican, Evangelical, Roman Catholic and 'non-conformist' churches in

SECTION 60

#1732858314613

6696-405: The development of Coalville began in the 19th century, the area straddled the four parishes or townships of Whitwick , Hugglescote and Donington , Snibston and Swannington . The parish of Whitwick was made a local government district in 1864, which therefore had authority over the north-eastern parts of Coalville which lay within that parish. In 1892 the Whitwick local government district

6804-488: The district co-operate in an ecumenical alliance known as Coalville Christian Church Unity. The Jehovah's Witnesses and Spiritualist Church in the town are unconnected with this movement. Coalville was in earlier times divided between the parishes of Snibston and Whitwick. The parish of Christ Church, Coalville, was established in the mid-19th century. Since 1926 Coalville has been in the Diocese of Leicester ; from 1539 to 1926 it

6912-452: The district now known as Coalville, beginning with Whitwick in 1824 and at Snibston in 1831. Deep coal mining was pioneered by local engineer William Stenson who sank the Long Lane (Whitwick) Colliery on a relative's farm land in the 1820s. In doing so, Stenson ignored an old miner's dictum of the day, "No coal below stone", and sank his shaft through a layer of 'Greenstone' or 'Whinstone' to

7020-621: The first seats to be won by the BNP in Leicestershire and Whitwick gained its first Conservative councillor. As of October 2024 the Councillors for Whitwick are currently Peter Moult (Labour); Tony Gillard (Conservative) and Anthony Barker(Labour). Whitwick County Councillor, as of October 2024 is Tony Gillard (Conservative). Following a campaign by local people, the District Council carried out

7128-471: The following year Palitoy was honoured with a green plaque for helping "stoke children's imaginations" by Leicestershire County Council at Coalville Business Park, which now stands on the site of the former factory. Coalville Coalville is a town in the district of North West Leicestershire , Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. In 2011, it had a population of 34,575. It lies on

7236-602: The influence of the then vicar, the Reverend W. A. J. Martyr, Dr Knowles (originally of Melbourne in Derbyshire) was persuaded to present them to Christ Church, Coalville. The church houses a brass memorial plaque to the victims of the Whitwick Colliery Disaster (1898) and the gravestone of James Stephenson, who came here through the influence of his brother, George Stephenson , the engineer, to work as an official at

7344-614: The junction on which it had stood was still referred to as 'Chapel Corner'. Following the chapel's closure, the congregation transferred to a new premises at Greenhill known as the Charnborough Road Baptist Church, which was registered for solemnising marriages on 15 March 1955. This church is still in use and is now known as the Greenhill Community Church, being affiliated to the Baptist Union. In 1852,

7452-452: The land was from his wife's inheritance and, it seems, Talbot felt he had a claim to Whitwick. Twenty years later the capital message was worth nothing. This stone castle was later held by the Earls of Leicester, though it was recorded as being ruinous by 1427. The foundations are said to have been visible at the end of the 18th century and a wall was still to be seen on the north side in 1893. It

7560-404: The modern town of Coalville, on a rapid scale, following the advent of deep coal mining. Despite its emergence as one of the largest towns in Leicestershire, Coalville's history was not well documented until the establishment of historical societies in the 1980s, though some information had been put on record by a few independent local historians. In more recent years, a wealth of material charting

7668-484: The new type of hose being produced, which required fewer skills in the manufacture. From the middle of the 19th century, framework knitting began to be transferred from homes to the factories in larger towns. By 1851, it is recorded that the number of frames in Whitwick had dwindled to 240. Large hosiery factories appeared on Church Lane and at the top of The Dumps, shortly before the First World War . In addition to

7776-509: The northwest of the county. It lies in an ancient parish which formerly included the equally historic villages of Thringstone and Swannington . It was an important manor in the Middle Ages , which once included Bardon and Markfield , parts of Hugglescote , Donington le Heath , Ratby , Bocheston, Newtown Unthank and Whittington. As early as 1293, Whitwick had a weekly market and a four-day fair. The population of Whitwick, according to

7884-425: The old urban district, being Ellistown and Battleflat in 2002 and Hugglescote and Donington le Heath and Whitwick , both created in 2011. Thringstone and the central part of Coalville remain unparished. The old Municipal Offices were extended to become the headquarters of North West Leicestershire District Council, and were renamed Stenson House after Coalville's founder, William Stenson, whose house had stood on

7992-401: The parishes of Swannington and Whitwick (both lying to the north of Long Lane) from the parishes of Snibston and Ibstock (both lying to the south). Hugglescote and Donington-le-Heath were part of Ibstock parish until 1878. A north-south track or lane stretching from Whitwick to Hugglescote crossed Long Lane, at the point where the clock tower war memorial now stands. This track or lane

8100-460: The patronal festival of the parish church . At the height of its popularity in the early 20th century, it is remembered that the larger amusements stood in the opening in front of the White Horse public house and there were wild beast shows including seals swimming around in tanks. The local photographer would take snapshots (on glass) and deliver them while the customers waited. There was also once

8208-477: The platform and the old station building, now the home of the Whitwick Historical Group, while the railway trackbed towards Coalville has been turned into a footpath. The parish church of St. John the Baptist is an ancient structure, nestling in a natural amphitheatre , close to the confluence of two streams. A spring, emanating from under the chancel, is also discharged into the watercourse, through

8316-465: The present day 'futuristic' church, work on which was commenced in 1964. The foundation stone (a piece of Welsh slate from St David's in West Wales and presented by the dean of that cathedral) was laid on 26 September 1964 in the presence of about five hundred people. Above the front entrance of the church is the figure of St David , cast in 'ciment fondu' and coated with a bronze resin. The bricks are

8424-588: The railways to Nuneaton and Loughborough were closed and dismantled. Passenger services were withdrawn from the Leicester to Burton line in September 1964, but it remains open for goods traffic. After 1993 there was a plan to restore passenger trains on the Leicester-Burton line through Coalville as an extension of Leicestershire 's Ivanhoe Line . In 2013 a passenger train made a very rare pass through because of

8532-635: The receivers of another British toy group, Tri-ang . Palitoy effectively ceased to be an independent business in 1984 when its parent company, CPG, part of General Mills, closed its entire design department leaving it effectively just a sales and marketing operation. In January 1985, General Mills announced it would be quitting the toy business. In the US, its toy business was split into three distinct companies: Kenner (focused on toys), Parker Brothers (focused on games) and Fun Dimensions (focused on crafts, model kits MPC and model trains Lionel ). General Mills made

8640-422: The regular local stallholders a number of Leicester tradesmen attended and it is remembered that old ladies used to bring their butter and other farm produce and line up alongside the gutter. In the years following the First World War , competition from the larger and newer market at Coalville eventually resulted in its discontinuance. The annual fair, or wakes , was once a hugely popular event and coincided with

8748-463: The same period meaning 'dwelling' (c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8512 Iosæp..bærenn ure laferrd crist..Fra land to land. fra tun to tun. Fra wic to wic i tune.) It would appear that the castle was a "guard-house" and the town that sprouted up around it took its name. From 1838 until the early 20th century, there was a thriving weekly market held in Whitwick Market Place. As well as

8856-506: The same time the parishes within the urban district were merged into a single parish of Coalville. The urban district council built itself a headquarters called Municipal Offices on London Road in 1934, designed by Herbert Langman. Coalville Urban District was abolished in 1974, becoming part of the new district of North West Leicestershire. No successor parish was created for the former urban district, and so it became an unparished area . New parishes have since been created from parts of

8964-484: The seat rents and weekly collections. A Primitive Methodist chapel appeared at the foot of Leicester Road (the present day Vicarage Street) in 1864 and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built on North Street in 1822 and which was extended in 1879. Wesleyan Reform Methodists also opened a chapel on North Street toward the end of the 19th century, and also in New Swannington in 1906. The Reform Chapel on North Street

9072-576: The site of the old 'Dumblies' pig farm. Sheila Smith, in her 1984 history of Whitwick suggests that the name may be linked to framework knitting as in 1845 one Joseph Sheffield, giving evidence before the Commission into the plight of the framework knitters, makes reference to a type of stocking called 'dumps'. There are several surviving examples of framework knitters' cottages in the village, which can be recognised by elongated first storey windows, designed to allow greater inlet of light. A good example of such

9180-497: The site. Since 2012, the building has also served as the town's register office . Within thirty years of the town's birth as a result of the collieries, many additional industries became established within the town, such as flour milling, brick making, engineering and the manufacture of elastic web. During the twentieth century, Coalville was home to Palitoy , a toy manufacturer that made Action Man , Action Force , Tiny Tears , Pippa , Tressy , Merlin , Star Wars figures and

9288-405: The south-westerly part of the area that is now Coalville. St David's (Church of England, founded in 1933) is in a northerly suburb of Coalville. The present building was built in the 1960s. There were, at one time, three different Baptist churches within the town of Coalville – belonging to General Baptists , Strict Baptists and Particular Baptists . The General Baptist chapel in Coalville

9396-495: The threat from the north. There have been no signs of a pre-Norman occupation and it is known that the rapid creation of motte and bailey castles by William was in response to the rebellions. It is, therefore, possible that the town grew around the castle and not the other way around. The middle-English proves difficult however when considering the 1000ad meaning of Wite as Guard (c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 154 Þæt bið god swefen, wite þu þæt georne on þinre heortan.) and Wic from roughly

9504-576: The town's history has been published through the combined efforts of the Coalville 150 Group and the Coalville Historical Society and in 2006, these two groups amalgamated to form the Coalville Heritage Society. Coal has been mined in the area since the medieval period, a heritage also traceable in the place name Coleorton , and examples of mine workings from these times can be found on the Hough Mill site at Swannington near

9612-466: The twentieth century. The presbytery, still referred to as 'The Old Convent' is now a private residence and was designated a Grade II listed building in 1983. In establishing his mission, De Lisle recruited a charismatic priest, Aloysius Gentili , from Rome, who arrived at Gracedieu in June 1840 and by May of the following year, De Lisle claimed that some five hundred and twenty persons had become converted to

9720-447: The urban district: a reduced Whitwick parish to the north, a reduced Hugglescote and Donington parish in the south, and a new Coalville parish in the centre. These three were urban parishes and so did not have parish councils of their own but were instead directly administered by the Coalville Urban District Council. In 1936 Thringstone was absorbed into the urban district, alongside boundary changes with other neighbouring parishes. At

9828-500: The usual village trades, Whitwick also once had three mineral water factories. The largest of these was the firm of Bernard Beckworth on Cademan Street, which was established in 1875 and ran until the 1970s; it is listed in Kelly's Directories of Leicestershire from 1904 through to 1941 as 'Beckworth and Co. Ltd, Charnwood Mineral Water Works'. By 1904, the firm of Stinson Brothers, based on Loughborough Road, had appeared. By 1912, this firm

9936-488: The zealous missionary drive of the Reverend Francis Merewether MA (1784–1864), Vicar of Whitwick for more than fifty years, and also Rector of Coleorton . Merewether, a low church theologian who preached and wrote prolifically against Roman Catholicism , was also successful in getting national schools established in these outlying parts of the parish as well as in Whitwick itself. He left behind him

10044-440: Was abolished and replaced by a larger Coalville district, covering the whole parish of Whitwick and parts of the neighbouring parishes of Hugglescote and Donington, Ravenstone with Snibston and Swannington. Such local government districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894. Also in 1894, the parishes in the area were reorganised to stop parishes straddling district boundaries, after which there were three parishes in

10152-563: Was added to the new church in about 1910, from funds bequeathed by Samuel Wilson Hallam, landlord of the Queen's Head, Thringstone. The tower contains a chime of fifteen bells operated by a baton keyboard, located in the first storey chamber of the tower and which was installed by Taylors of Loughborough in 1960. In Whitwick there has been, at one time or another, thirty-nine licensed establishments, either an Inn, Public House, Hostelry or Social Club. Most have now closed and even been demolished. Below

10260-658: Was an endowment of the Benedictine chapter of Up Holland Priory , near Wigan , Lancashire . Following royal sequestration, the patronage of the living passed to the King and Whitwick Church remains one of forty-two churches nationally which are in the patronage of the Monarch (in the rights of the Duchy of Lancaster ). Today, the church forms part of a united benefice with Thringstone and Swannington. The registers date from 1601. The churchyard

10368-583: Was built on land provided by the Whitwick Colliery Company and occupied a site close to the present day council offices, at the junction of London Road and Whitwick Road. This church, which became known as the London Road Baptist Chapel, became the first permanent place of worship in Coalville when services began in 1836. Built at a cost of £560, the chapel had 600 sittings and a Sunday School attached. For many years after its demolition,

10476-450: Was closed for burials many years ago. In more recent years, many of the 18th- and 19th-century slate headstones were uprooted and moved in a line around the periphery of the southern portion of the graveyard; a 20th-century concrete war memorial now occupies the centre. Other stones were taken up and used for paving around the church. Whitwick Cemetery, off Church Lane, was consecrated on 24 June 1874 and consists of about four acres. It

10584-584: Was divided into three sections: Church of England , Catholic and Nonconformist and placed under the control of a joint burial committee. It contains four Commonwealth war graves of service personnel, one from World War I and three from World War II . In the 19th and 20th centuries, new churches were built within the vast, ancient ecclesiastical parish of Whitwick as a result of population growth, all of which later came to serve independent parishes in their own right. Possibly more by coincidence than design, these daughter churches are dedicated respectively to

10692-543: Was here that the Snibston Colliery Miner's Welfare Silver Prize Band was formed. Congregationalism would appear to have been the first Protestant non-conformist religion active in the Coalville district. Whitwick Whitwick / ˈ w ɪ t ɪ k / is a village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire , England, close to the town of Coalville in

10800-399: Was in the Diocese of Peterborough . Coalville's parish church , Christ Church on London Road, was built between 1836 and 1838. The architect was H. I. Stevens of Derby . In 1853, a chancel was added, making the building cruciform, and the church was restored between 1894 and 1895. Vestries for the clergy and choir were erected on the north side of the chancel in 1936. The building is

10908-629: Was on the Charnwood Forest Railway which was constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. This branch line ran from Coalville East (joined to the Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR)) to the town of Loughborough , at the Derby Road Station. Passenger services ceased to operate on 13 April 1931, with freight services ceasing to operate on 12 December 1963. Whitwick railway station still has some surviving structures,

11016-529: Was replaced later in the 20th century by a new Church of England school located at the foot of Parsonwood Hill. The old school is now used as a day nursery. St David's, Broom Leys was for more than thirty years served by a small wooden church which had originally served as a chapel at the Mowsley Sanitorium near Market Harborough , Leicestershire and was brought over to its present site in sections and duly re-erected. This small structure still stands near

11124-528: Was still flourishing in 1907, when it was redecorated, with "Strict Baptist" newly painted on the door. It was probably this chapel that was the one referred to as a "Calvinist chapel" in Kelly's Directory of 1881. Another source has it as a "Calvinistic" chapel. The building still exists and is now occupied by the Balti Tower Indian restaurant and an oriental food store. For many years after its closure, part of

11232-488: Was the Reverend William Gardner, who held the living for thirty-three years. The east window was installed as a memorial to Gardner, his wife and daughter. Due to the rapid growth of the town in the 19th century, a mission church known as "All Saints'" was erected on Ashby Road in 1895, on a site given by Messrs T. and J. Jones of Coalville. This was served by the clergy of the parish church. St Mary's, Snibston

11340-477: Was undertaken in advance of the spin-off of General Mills' toy division CPG, separated from its parent in 1985 as Kenner Parker Toys, Inc. There were many potential acquirers of the business but the subsidiary was floated on the stock exchange with General Mills' shareholders getting equivalent shares in Kenner Parker. This was more tax efficient for General Mills. In 1987, Tonka purchased Kenner Parker including Palitoy for $ 555 million, borrowing extensively to fund

11448-466: Was used as a warehouse by 'Gracedieu Windows' until its demolition early in the twenty-first century, when the site was used for building development. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists united nationally in 1932 and the two societies in Whitwick finally merged in 1965, after which time the Vicarage Street chapel was used by the amalgamated congregations, the North Street chapel eventually being sold to

11556-748: Was used for the Palitoy toy ranges. In 1978, the Chad Valley toys company was sold to Palitoy. Palitoy was sold to US food company General Mills in 1968, and formed part of the company's toy division, sometimes known as CPG Products Corp (Creative Products Group Products Corp). In 1981, British toy group Airfix Products fell into receivership. Palitoy's owner General Mills acquired the Airfix kit range and its Great Model Railways (GMR) range. General Mills also snapped up UK rights to Meccano . Back in 1971, it had acquired non-UK rights when it bought Meccano in France from

11664-406: Was £80 – £100, the relatively high estimate presumably reflecting the rarity of the glass, but the bottle was in fact sold for £515. The bottle was turned up by a plough in a field opposite A.W.Waldrum's Coal Merchant's premises on Grace Dieu Road, Whitwick and is the only known example. There is also known to have existed a 'Botanical Brewery', though it is believed that this may have been a part of

#612387