Loughborough Carillon
Loughborough Carillon & War Museum
The First World War 1914 to 1918 was the most terrible in man's history and there is hardly a town and village in Britain that that has not got a memorial to those who fell.
In 1919 the population of Loughborough was asked to vote for the kind of memorial they wished to see in the town to commemorate those who had died in the First World War; they voted for a carillon. There are a number of carillons on the Continent and Loughborough had a bell foundry so it was thought fitting to build a bell tower and there was a sentimental and romantic idea that we would have a little piece of Flanders here in Loughborough.
The foundation stones were laid in 1922. Mrs Godber mother of Pte W Godber who had had been killed in the war laid one of the stones, Mrs Godber was chosen by lot to represent the relatives of the fallen
The bells were made by Taylor's bell foundry; Mr John William Taylor had lost three of his four sons in the war and his family paid for the largest bell. The foundry is still going today. The bricks were made by Tuckers the Loughborough brick makers, it is a red brick that that sits very comfortable with the surroundings and stays clean, all that's left of Tuckers is the waste ground behind Tesco and the clay pit on Leicester Road, filled with water and grandly re-titled,'Charnwood Water' the steel work was produced by Herbert Morris of Empress Road. The roof is covered in copper that has oxidized turning green in the process.
There are, recorded on the bronze plaques the names of the 480 men who died in the Great War, the names of over 200 were added after World War 2 and the names of three servicemen, one killed in Korea in 1952 one in Cyprus in 1956 and one in the Falklands in 1982.
The carillon tower's height is 46m and contains 47 bells, each of the bells carries an inscription giving the name of the donor, and the men commemorated. 138 steps will take you to the balcony.
Three floors of the tower are now home to a museum display objects from the two World Wars and other conflicts.
Location:
Queens Park,
Loughborough
LE11 3DU
Open Good Friday till 30th September every day except Monday 1:00pm to 4:30pm
Email: carillonmuseum@gmail.com
Tel: 01509 233754
The ground floor museum is free but a small charge (Adults £1.00, accompanied children free) is made to climb to the other floors and the viewing balcony.
The museum is run by volunteers and is almost entirely dependant on donations from the public.
Website: http://www.carillontower.org.uk/
