Misplaced Pages

#548451

74-664: 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 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

148-666: 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 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

222-409: A gentler graded deviation line which bypassed the old incline and opened a new Bagworth railway station 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the centre of the old village in 1849. The new station was renamed Bagworth and Ellistown in 1894 to reflect the nearby colliery village that had developed since Ellistown colliery was sunk in 1873. British Railways withdrew passenger services from the line and closed

296-651: 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

370-535: 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

444-524: 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

518-458: A new modern church building that is unusual in being built of CLASP prefabricated concrete panels. This building decayed fairly rapidly and was unused for a number of years before its demolition in 2019. The site has now been grassed over. The graveyard and a few relics of the earlier church remain. Holy Rood is now part of the Church of England parish of Thornton Bagworth and Stanton , which

592-403: 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 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

666-404: 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 a small station at Long Lane (now High Street) in Coalville. Snibston Colliery opened in 1833. The railway

740-609: A road journey that competes with freight and heavy-haulage vehicles especially to the south and east. Since 2013 Norton Motorcycles has its head office in Donington Hall , Castle Donington . BMI (British Midland), an airline, was headquartered in Donington Hall. The airline moved its headquarters to Donington Hall in 1982. The subsidiary bmibaby also had its head office in Donington Hall. Prior to its disestablishment, Excalibur Airways had its head office on

814-634: 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 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

SECTION 10

#1732773015549

888-592: 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 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

962-484: 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

1036-530: 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), 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

1110-518: Is a village and former civil parish , now in the parish of Bagworth and Thornton , in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in Leicestershire , England, 9 miles (14 km) west of Leicester . In 1931 the parish had a population of 1568. The village's name means 'the enclosure of Baecga'. There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it

1184-481: Is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election , being run by an alliance of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and two of the independent councillors, led by Conservative councillor Richard Blunt. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside

1258-496: 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

1332-529: 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 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

1406-520: Is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the district has comprised 38 wards , each of which elects one councillor . Elections are held every four years. The district is coterminous with the North West Leicestershire parliamentary constituency . The council meets at Stenson House on London Road in Coalville. The building was built in 1934 as the headquarters of the old Coalville Urban District Council. Following

1480-481: 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 the church was funded by George Stephenson, though this assertion has been called into question by more recent historians. The tower contained

1554-459: 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 the modern town of Coalville, on a rapid scale, following the advent of deep coal mining. Despite its emergence as one of

SECTION 20

#1732773015549

1628-532: Is part of a united benefice with the parishes of Copt Oak and Markfield . By 1848 Bagworth had also a General Baptists ' chapel. Bagworth had a public house , The Maynard, opposite the former railway station. It was closed in 2008 due to a fire and has since been demolished to make way for development of a shop and houses. There were also 2 other public houses in Bagworth and they were The Barrel (closed in 1980s and demolished) and The Rose and Crown which

1702-534: 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

1776-676: 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 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

1850-469: 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

1924-604: 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

1998-503: The parish church of Saint Peter, Thornton. In 1848 Holy Rood was described as having a Saxon door and that its walls bore the date 1637. In 1873 the entire church except for the tower was rebuilt in granite with limestone dressings, with buttresses banded with red brick and blue vitrified brick . In the 20th century the Victorian church and medieval tower suffered subsidence so in 1968 they were demolished. They were replaced with

2072-550: 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

2146-661: 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 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

2220-476: 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

2294-603: 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 a cut off elsewhere and in the same year, a group known as 'The Campaign for Better Transport' petitioned for

Coalville - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-637: 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

2442-493: 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

2516-543: The area receive better TV signals from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter which broadcast BBC West Midlands and ITV Central (West) from Birmingham . Some eastern parts of the district are still able to receive the Waltham TV transmitter to get BBC East Midlands and ITV Central (East) from Nottingham . Radio stations for the area are: Most of the district is covered by civil parishes. Parts of

2590-471: 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 was abolished and replaced by a larger Coalville district, covering

2664-493: 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

2738-449: The castle developments at Ashby de la Zouche and Kirby Muxloe but there is no indication of any building by Hastings on the site prior to his execution by Richard III in 1483. A later moated house was developed on the site by Sir Robert Banaster in 1616. In 1761 Baron Maynard funded the building and endowment of a village school for Bagworth. The then Viscount Maynard had the first shaft of Bagworth Colliery sunk in 1828 and, initially,

2812-424: The coal to a rapid loader to the north of the site of Bagworth and Ellistown station. The colliery closed in 1991 when economic reserves were exhausted and the rapid loader was demolished. In the 1990s BR planned to restore Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line passenger services through Bagworth as the second phase of its Ivanhoe Line project. However, after the privatisation of British Rail in 1995 this phase of

2886-425: The coal was carried to Leicester by road. In 1832 the Leicester and Swannington Railway was opened. It passed within 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (800 m) of Bagworth and provided a railway station to serve the village at the foot of the rope-worked Bagworth Incline , and a convenient connection to the colliery at the top of the incline. The Midland Railway took over the Leicester and Swannington in 1845 and built

2960-424: The creation of North West Leicestershire in 1974 the building was significantly extended to the rear. In 2022 the extension was closed pending demolition, and the council opened a new customer services centre on Belvoir Road, retaining and refurbishing the 1934 front part of Stenson House to be used for meetings and civic functions. North West Leicestershire has experienced steady population growth in recent times as

3034-520: 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

Coalville - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-440: The district balances the agro-rural economy with the end of labour-intensive deep coal-mining. Alternative employment opportunities exist within the district in the services and distributive sectors, together with local or nearby manufacturing and extractive/transformative/construction industries. The lack of rail services to/from Leicester , Loughborough and other nearby centres limits access for employment, commerce and leisure to

3182-493: 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

3256-641: The former Coalville Urban District covering the main part of Coalville and the Thringstone area are unparished areas . The parish councils for Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Ashby Woulds have declared their parishes to be towns, allowing them to take the style "town council". (Whilst Ibstock is a post town and Castle Donington is sometimes called a town, neither parish council has formally declared them to be towns.) The parishes are: 52°43′01″N 1°22′12″W  /  52.71694°N 1.37000°W  / 52.71694; -1.37000 Bagworth Bagworth

3330-571: 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 the County Council said, "We have been unable to reintroduce Leicester to Burton passenger trains because the costs of about £50 million to upgrade

3404-608: The grounds of East Midlands Airport in Castle Donington. Prior to its disestablishment, Orion Airways had its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport. In 2011 Coalfield Resources plc were given permission to develop an opencast coal mining pit on the site of the former Minorca colliery between Measham and Swepstone on a seam which will be 1 mi (1.6 km) across and extract 1,250,000 tonnes (1,380,000 tons) of coal over five years, and 250,000 tonnes (280,000 tons) of clay. In terms of television,

3478-643: 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,

3552-544: 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 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

3626-417: 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 the parishes of Swannington and Whitwick (both lying to

3700-452: 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 is now Mantle Lane and Belvoir Road. The Red House, an eighteenth-century building, close to this cross-roads,

3774-410: 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 the same time

SECTION 50

#1732773015549

3848-424: 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

3922-435: The outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1974 political control of the council has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 2003 have been: Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and two of the independent councillors sit together as the "Alliance Group" which forms the council's administration. The next election

3996-489: 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

4070-630: The products. All the deep coal mines in the area have closed, but opencast mining still continues. The district is also home to part of the Battlefield Line and the Ibstock Brick . The neighbouring districts are Charnwood , Hinckley and Bosworth , North Warwickshire , Lichfield , South Derbyshire , Erewash and Rushcliffe . The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering

4144-610: The project was discontinued. In 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies published a £49 million proposal to restore passenger services to the line that would include reopening a station at Bagworth. On 1 April 1935 the parish of Thornton was merged with Bagworth, on 13 August 2001 the parish was renamed "Bagworth & Thornton". The Chapel of the Holy Rood, Bagworth was a dependent chapelry of

4218-520: 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 the General Baptist Chapel Burial-ground', which

4292-408: 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 the development of Coalville began in the 19th century,

4366-495: 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

4440-405: 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

4514-403: The station in September 1964. The railway remains open for freight. Bagworth Colliery was connected underground to Nailstone Colliery in 1966. There the coal was raised, washed, and transported by train back along a branch line to interchange sidings next to the site of Bagworth and Ellistown station. In 1980 the branch line from Nailstone colliery was replaced by a conveyor belt which transported

SECTION 60

#1732773015549

4588-506: 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 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

4662-405: The whole area of five former districts plus a single parish from a sixth, which districts were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named North West Leicestershire, reflecting its position in the wider county. North West Leicestershire District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council . Much of the district

4736-419: 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 the urban district: a reduced Whitwick parish to

4810-603: 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,

4884-491: 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 the railways to Nuneaton and Loughborough were closed and dismantled. Passenger services were withdrawn from

4958-626: Was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton . Bagworth Park is first recorded in 1279 under ownership of the Bishop of Durham. In 1318 Roger de Holland was given permission to fortify his property at Bagworth. It is recorded under the ownership of Matilda Lovell in 1411. The Lovell family later sold the land to the Hastings family. Development of the site was granted to William, Lord Hastings by Edward IV in 1474 for "crenellation and emparkment of 2000 acres of land" along with

5032-554: 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. North West Leicestershire Castle Donington is notable as the location of Donington Park , a grand-prix circuit and a major venue for music festivals. The area has a long history of mineral extraction, with coal , brick clay, gravel and granite amongst

5106-522: 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 a plain and routine example of Early English style revival, comprising nave, transepts, chancel and western tower. The nave

5180-426: 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

5254-428: 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 a large tract of waste on both sides of the road, still traceable, covered with gorse-bushes, blackberry brambles, etc., with not

5328-568: 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 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

5402-538: 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

5476-497: 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

#548451