Fire Brigade Display

Last chance to see artefacts and photographs telling the story of Loughborough’s Fire Brigade from 1592 to 1974 now on display  at Loughborough Library.

Available for viewing until 9th March.

Where were you in ’62?

Syston Library will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary in March 2012 and is asking for your help to create a 1960s reminiscence display.

If you have any memories, pictures or newspaper clippings from Syston in the 1960s or if you would like to share a picture of yourself or a memory from wherever you were in 1962, Syston Library would love to hear from you.

Syston Library moved from Chapel Hall in Chapel Street to its current building in Upper Church Street in 1962. The library has changed a great deal in the last 50 years and in addition to the children’s and adult’s book collections it provides a DVD hire service and offers free internet and Wi-Fi access.

If you can help with the display or if you would like more information about the library please phone 0116 3053500, email systonlibrary@leics.gov.uk or drop in and speak to the library staff.

Exploring the River Soar Navigation

Local Historian  Brian Williams will be giving at talk at Loughborough Library on Tuesday September 6th,  6.15pm – 7.15pm  ‘Exploring the River Soar Navigation’. The talk is to support his exhibition that will be on display in the Local Studies area of the library from the 1st September.

Brian is a very interesting and fascinating speaker, and for anyone who lives near the River Soar or is thinking about going on a river trip or even just interested in exploring the local area it will be very informative. The event is free so to book your place please contact Loughborough Library
Tel: 01509 212985

Four new Family and Local History displays at Loughborough Library

Display 1: is the ‘lost’ Athletic Grounds on Nottingham Road Loughborough. Displaying club photos and details of a number of sporting clubs that used the grounds among them Soar Valley Cricket Club and Loughborough Corinthians. Any more information about the clubs and the Athletic Grounds would be gratefully received.

Display 2: is Births, Deaths, Marriages and related artefacts.

Display 3: is Historical information about the Wolds villages.

Display 4: is a photograph album belonging to Mrs Joseph Griggs the first Mayoress of Loughborough 1889.

Available at usual library opening times: http://www.leics.gov.uk/loughborough_library

80th birthday for Resource Box

England’s longest running museum loan collection, the Resource Box in Leicestershire, is celebrating its 80th birthday this year, and a special display will be stopping off in Melton Library for the next few weeks for local people to come and view.

 

The full collection is one of Leicestershire County Council’s best-loved museum services, and lends a vast range of museum objects to schools, colleges and community groups, enabling anyone to get up close and personal with history and heritage.

 

The display at Melton Library runs until Monday July 25th and is free to view for visitors.

 

Also at the library there will be regular Wriggly Readers sessions every Tuesday and Thursday  10 – 10.30am. These free sessions are for children aged up to four years of age with their parents or carers.

 

9th July also sees the start of the Summer Reading Challenge, the theme of which for this year is Circus Stars.

Diseworth and its Baptist Chapel Exhibition

Photos of the current local history exhibition at Loughborough Library:

Diseworth display

 

Display cabinet

 

Display cabinet 2

 

 

Children’s Dahl pictures to adorn library

The Twits, The Witches and The B.F.G. will be coming to Groby Library in the month of May, courtesy of schoolchildren at Martinshaw Primary School.

Year 5 and 6 pupils have been hard at work after being inspired by the weird and wonderful writings of Roald Dahl, and have come up with their own drawn and written work based on his creations.

These will be diplayed in the library from the 6th to the 31st of May and are free for all to come and see.

There is also a free Family Fun session at Groby Library on the 31st of May between 10am and 12noon, where families can turn up and join in with crafts, activities and stories.

At Hinckley Library there will be a family history session run at which local people can research their roots using parish records available at the library. This free event is being put on by the Hinckley Local Sudies Group and takes place on Tuesday 3rd of May between 2pm and 4pm.

Also at Hinckley Library there will be the regular coffee & chat session on Monday 9th May between 10am and 11.30am, the Knit & Stitch Group between 10.00am and 12noon on the 5th and 19th May and the weekly Wednesday Work Club from 11am until 2pm, which offers help with CVs, online job searches, applications, and interview techniques.

Also in the Hinckley & Bosworth area next month, staff at Newbold Verdon Library will be serving afternoon tea with bingo on Wednesday 11th between 3pm and 4.45pm, and a coffee morning on Friday 27th between 10am and 12noon, at which dog trainer Fiona Sangster will give a talk on guide dogs for the blind. Both events will cost £1 to attend, and include a drink, a biscuit and a raffle ticket.

And for people who want to get onto the world wide web but are not sure how, there will be a free Silver Surfer session at Earl Shilton Library on Friday 20th May between 10am and 11.30am. Places should be booked in advance on 0116 3058392.

Legion memorabilia ‘Antiques Roadshow’ launched

Thought to be the only one of its kind in the country, this ambitious initiative aims to gather the memories of veterans of all ages to make sure the group’s history is documented and preserved for future generations.

Since its launch last month, it has already unearthed an ashtray marking the 50th anniversary of the Ashby de la Zouch branch and a scrapbook recording Leicestershire’s first female standard bearer’s experiences in the early 1960s.

All the information collected will be recorded and copies stored in the Record Office at Wigston Magna as a legacy of the project, and to ensure that the history of the Legion is not forgotten.

Richard Foster, County Manager for the Royal British Legion in Leicestershire and Rutland, said: “Local branches of the Legion are getting involved in the library events, by putting on displays, and members will be there to tell people about the work of the charity today.”

The workshops are taking place at:
Market Harborough Library – Thursday 3rd March, 3pm – 6pm
Oadby Library – Wednesday 9th March, 10am – 1pm
Coalville Library – Saturday 19th March, 10am – 1pm
Wigston Library – Tuesday 22nd March, 3pm – 6pm
Melton Library – Saturday 2nd April, 10am – 1pm
Hinckley Library – Thursday 7th April, 3pm – 6pm
Loughborough Library – Friday 15th April, 10am – 1pm

To find out more or to get involved in the project, please contact
Margaret Bonney, Project Coordinator, at The Record Office, Long Street, Wigston Magna, Leicestershire LE18 2AH, on 0116 257 1080 or email: margaret.bonney@leics.gov.uk . More details are available at www.leics.gov.uk/britishlegion

2,000 year old treasure visits Fleckney Library

2,000 year old treasure will be arriving at Fleckney Library on Tuesday 7 December as the library and Fleckney History Group host an exhibition on a wonderful local find, the Hallaton Treasure.

In the year 2000, amateur archaeologists from the Hallaton Fieldwork Group were fieldworking near the village of Hallaton, Leicestershire.  They found what would eventually be described as one of the most important archaeological finds of recent years.

The Hallaton Treasure is a nationally significant find and has shed light on the Corieltavi, the inhabitants of the East Midlands in the Iron Age period. Over 5,000 Iron Age and Roman coins were found at the site along with a Roman cavalry parade helmet, mysterious silver objects and the remains of hundreds of pigs.  The site has been interpreted as a mysterious 2,000 year old shrine of the local Corieltavi tribe.  Most of the objects were buried on the eve of the Roman invasion of AD 43 so it has been suggested that the tribe were making sacrifices to their gods, possibly asking for protection from the threat of invasion.

Visitors to Fleckney Library will be able to marvel at 20 of the actual gold and silver coins from the 2,000 year old site as the Hallaton Treasure Travelling Exhibition goes on display from 7 December until 26 February next year.

The exhibition was written by members of the Hallaton Fieldwork Group, Vicki Score, Site Director from University of Leicester Archaeological Services and Roman military expert, Dr Simon James from the University of Leicester.  It offers their views on what was happening at this mysterious site and why.  The stunning replica objects on display include a replica Iron Age tankard based on a tankard handle found with over 300 pig bones, the remains of huge feasts which accompanied the sacrifices.

Children will be able to try on a replica Roman cavalry helmet, similar to the one found at Hallaton and take part in a special quiz about the exhibition.  Visitors can also explore the site through a touch screen which features a movie about the discovery and interpretation of the Treasure, artefact slideshows and a 3D model of how the shrine developed.

Fleckney History Group has been working with the Hallaton Fieldwork Group and will be showcasing other archaeological discoveries made by the group in their display cases which are a permanent fixture in the library.

A special Hallaton Treasure Roadshow event will take place at the library on Saturday 19 February featuring Roman soldier Nigrinus, children’s craft activities and storytelling.

www.leics.gov.uk/fleckney_library