Loughborough

Loughborough is a short trip from Leicester, but has  a lot less clocks that its neighbour.

The first sighting is of All Saints church. Dating originally from about 1330, it underwent a major refurbishment under the direction of Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1859 - 1862.

Next up is Loughborough Town Hall, built in 1855.

 

Opposite the Town Hall is the Carillon Court Shopping Centre. The current building was opened in 1993 and has "35 high street names under one roof" - yippee. Far more interesting is that the old Green Man pub is hidden underneath the shopping centre.

One assumes that the shopping centre is named after the Loughborough Carillon, and that the single bell above the clock also makes reference. The Carillon is far more interesting, so don't waste your time in this shopping centre and go and visit the real thing. The Carillon is a 46 metre high tower, housing a carillon of 47 bells (a carillon is a set of fixed bells played by hammer strikes rather than the usual bell rope and clapper). It was built in 1922 - 23 as a memorial to the local dead of the First World War.

This is the Loughborough Carillon tower:

Emmanuel church in Forest Road was built in 1835 - 37.

And finally, the Great Central station. First, the clock in the booking hall:

...and the on Platform 1:

..and on Platform 2:

..and finally in the museum (although not really a proper clock I suppose):