Thringstone

The most tangible way of understanding the population growth relevant to the place defined as Thringstone since World War II is that evidenced by large-scale residential development in the village proper, from the late nineteenth century.Following the demise of the local coal-mining industry, population has been sustained due to the development of alternative commerce in nearby towns and cities, easily accessed by improvement in transport.In 1552, this Beaumont, who had been given the office of Master of the Rolls, was 'discovered to have grossly wronged the King', having purchased for himself lands with royal funds, amongst a host of other dishonest deeds.It was this same John Beaumont who, in 1534, had abused his position as one of the commissioners appointed to visit Gracedieu Priory following its dissolution, by buying the nunnery buildings at his own valuation.When his misbehaviour at the Treasury was uncovered twenty years later, Gracedieu was also granted to the Earl of Huntingdon, though Beaumont's widow managed to regain possession of it in 1574.[9] The expansion of the local coal mining industry, beginning in the first third of the 19th century, induced still further demographic change and the population had grown from a figure of 901 in 1801 to 1,298 by 1851, of which some 52% was non-native to the village, having migrated here from other areas.The Woodside Estate was completed in 1964, bringing a large influx of families from Scotland and north-east England into the village as a result of northern colliery transfers.A walk along Brook Lane, The Green, Main Street and Lily Bank reveals some pleasing domestic architecture, ranging from the 17th century to present day.It served as a small hosiery factory until the 1980s, after which it was converted into a restaurant, operating under a succession of names, including Lal Quila (Indian); La Dolce Vita (Italian) and School Cross (English).Small coal workings existed in the area from medieval times, but until the 20th century, the coalfield was hampered in its competition with the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire fields even for the Leicester market owing to poor transport facilities.These railroads are said to have been the first in the world to use the standard gauge, and a deep cutting left by one of its branches can still be found in the field at the back of the Glebe Road housing estate in Thringstone.That proved to be the last straw for the Leicestershire coal-owners and the getting of coal hereabouts was to remain a modest concern until the arrival of the Leicester and Swannington Railway some thirty years later.There can be little doubt that, quite apart from the rapid population growth that affected the area following the opening of large collieries, Merewether was motivated to build the church (and also a school) to help counteract the perceived papist revival.The church contains some stained glass by Kempe and Co, including the War Memorial Window, unveiled in 1920 by Lt Col Tom Booth DSO of Gracedieu Manor.[16] This window was originally intended as a personal memorial to Theophilus Jones, the Thringstone headmaster and depicts St Alban (Britain's first Christian martyr).Relatively few men from the Thringstone district enlisted in the armed services during World War II due to the country's need for increased coal production.[18] Elsdon had been decorated with Britain's highest military honour following an act of bravery whilst serving as private soldier in the Royal Fusiliers in 1880, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.[25] This venture, which became known as the 'Thringstone House Club', proved so successful that in 1911 Booth engaged his cousin, the architect Harry Fletcher of London to add the imposing two-storeyed hall to the rear of the premises and founded The Thringstone Trust, a registered charity.The Trust deed states that the institute and its grounds shall be used in perpetuity for the benefit of the inhabitants of Thringstone and the surrounding parishes of Whitwick, Swannington, Worthington, Osgathorpe, Coleorton and Belton.Architecturally, the community centre buildings have a great deal of character, comprising a gabled, white-washed 17th-century farmhouse fronting The Green with, at the rear, a large two-storeyed hall overlooking the rural valley of Thringstone Brook.The hall carries a louvred ventilation turret on its western gable which, together with brick buttresses erected to reinforce the north and south walls in the late 20th century, gives the building a distinctly ecclesiastical appearance.Thringstone is represented on the North West Leicestershire District Council by David Everitt and Leon Spence, who maintain the village's long tradition of electing Labour candidates.The most famous sighting is said to have occurred in 1954, when a 'bus driver is said to have stopped to pick up a woman waiting by the shelter opposite the ruins, only to find on drawing up his vehicle that she had vanished.[28] Sightings of unexplained phenomena in this area are well documented[29] and are also referred to in Paul Devereux's book, 'Earth Lights' (1982)[30] Following its dissolution as a religious house, the priory came into the possession of the Beaumont family, who converted it into a residence, so that the few remaining ruins are partly medieval, but chiefly domestic Tudor (e.g. fireplaces and chimney-stacks).Grace Dieu Wood is traversed by the redundant track bed of the Charnwood Forest Railway, which also passes over an impressive six arch viaduct near the priory ruins.