Market Place, Loughborough - 01509 231914 info@goleicestershire.com

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University. The town had a population of 57,600 in 2004, making it the largest settlement in Leicestershire outside the city of Leicester.

In 1841, Loughborough was the destination for the first package tour, organised by Thomas Cook for a temperance group from Leicester. The town has the world's largest bell foundry — John Taylor Bellfounders, which made the bells for the Carillon war memorial, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, Great Paul for St. Paul's Cathedral, and York Minster.

To the north of the edges of Loughborough, Dishley Grange Farm was formerly the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell. The farm was also once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show.

In Domesday, Lucteburne. Possibly "Luhhede's fort".

The town has the world's largest bell foundry - John Taylor Bellfounders, which made the bells for the Carillon war memorial, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, Great Paul for St Paul's Cathedral, and York Minster. Loughborough's earliest historical reference was as Lucteburne in the 1086 Domesday Book.

In 2004, Loughborough University was ranked 9th among the British universities by the Times' Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough was ranked 6th. In 2007 The Guardian rated the university 8th, and 10th of 117 institutions by The Guardian League Tables 2009 (published online 1/6/08 for the 2009-10 academic year. The university is 5th in some rankings, behind Oxbridge and the London universities. The university has the largest sports scholarship in the UK. More than 250 international athletes study and train there. In 2008 Loughborough was named Sunday Times University of the Year.

Loughborough has five museums, the largest being the centrally located Charnwood Museum, which houses a range of exhibits reflecting the natural history, geology, industry and history of the area. Nearby in Queens Park is the Carillon and War Memorial, home to a small museum of military memorabilia from the First and Second World Wars. Loughborough Library is on Granby Street. Also to be found in the town centre, near the fine medieval All Saints parish church, is the Old Rectory. Dating back to 1288 the remaining portion of the Great Hall has been restored and houses a small museum run by the Loughborough and District Archaeological Society.

Loughborough has for more than a century been the home of John Taylor & Co bell founders and the firm has a museum - the Bellfoundry Museum - located on two floors telling the story of bell making over the centuries. The recording of the tolling bell at the beginning of Hells Bells, the first track on AC/DC's 1980 album Back in Black was made on a quarter weight near replica of the Denison bell in the Carillon war memorial, .

There is a museum at the Great Central Railway station illustrating the history of the railway from its earliest days up to its present state as a double-track preserved heritage railway.

Although it has no dedicated art gallery, fine pieces of sculpture can be found in the town's environs, including recently installed sculptures from a local artist in commemoration of the First World War Centenary outside of Charnwood Museum, and the 'Sock Man', a bronze statue celebrating Loughborough's association with the hosiery industry. This can be found in the Market Place near the Loughborough Town Hall, which itself contains a number of art works.

The Loughborough Town Hall is the venue for a range of events, including concerts, exhibitions, musicals, comedy shows and a Christmas pantomime. Groups make use of the town hall for their shows.

Events are also organised by Charnwood Arts, a voluntary managed and professionally staffed body, which promotes a year-round programme of professional performances across the borough. The organisation is responsible for The Picnic In the Park event, which was inaugurated in 1980 and is held in Queens Park in May. Streets Alive, jointly organised by Charnwood Arts and Charnwood Borough Council takes place at a similar time of year.

The Loughborough Canal Festival, which started in 1997, is an annual event in May centred on Chain Bridge.

Great Central Railway is a heritage railway based at Loughborough Central Station, which is south of the town centre. It is operated largely by volunteers and trains run every weekend of the year and bank holidays, as well as daily during the summer.

Every November, the street fair takes over the centre of the town and closes the A6 and other roads. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday night. The fair has many rides, amusement arcades, food stands and games.

The town has an Odeon cinema. This cinema was designed by Archibald Hurley Robinson. There are six screens in the theatre, which is built to an art deco style. The cinema was built in 1914 as the Empire Cinema, and was remodelled in 1936 by Archibald Hurley Robinson as the New Empire Cinema. Over the years it has been named the Palm Court and Ballroom, Empire, Essoldo, Classic, Curzon and Reel.