Parish Boundaries

Parish Boundaries

Swannington Civil Parish

Civil parish boundaries tended to be based on Manor boundaries.  The Manor of Swannington was a separate entity from the Manor of Whitwick from at least 1278.  The manor was bought by William Wyggeston in 1520 who gave it to the Wyggeston’s Hospital almshouse in 1521 to help finance its activities, a situation that continues to the current day.

Coalville didn’t exist 200 years ago, it came into being as a result of railway and mining developments.  As a result there were three sets of changes to Swannington’s parish boundaries:

• 31st December 1894 when Coalville Urban District Council was formed.
• 1st April 1912 when Coalville Urban District Council expanded.
• 1st April 1936 when Coalville Urban District Council expanded again and various other changes occurred.

Read Parish Boundary Changes

Swannington Ecclesastical Parish

Swannington and Thringstone were part of the ecclesiastical parish of Whitwick.  St George’s Church was built in 1825, but did not open until 1827 and it was allocated a district within Whitwick parish.  In 1875 St George’s became a parish in its own right.   The ecclesiastical parish boundaries are somewhat different to the civil parish boundaries, as they included Peggs Green and Stordon Grange, while excluding New Swannington, Thornborough and what is now Ashby Road in Coalville.

Parish Boundaries Changed With The Creation Of Coalville Urban District Council 31st December 1894

The Coalville clocktower was built in 1925 as a memorial to those who died during the First World War.  The land was acquired from Wyggeston Hospital, as the clocktower was sited in what used to be the south east corner of Swannington.  The crossroads:

• Long Lane (now Ashby Road, High Street, Hotel Street and London Road) divided Swannington and Whitwick on the north side from Snibston and Hugglescote on the South Side,
• Whitwick Lane (now Memorial Square and Mantle Lane) divided Swannington on the west side from Whitwick on the east side,
• Hugglescote Lane (now Belvoir Road) divided Snibston on the west side from Hugglescote on the west side.

 

When William Stenson sunk his mine at Long Lane (now Whitwick Retail Park with Morrisons etc) in 1827 apart from the Red House coaching inn at the crossroads very few buildings could be seen from that point.  George Stephenson, Sir Joshua Walmsley and Joseph Sanders formed the Snibston Colliery Company that opened their No1 colliery in 1831-2 and their No2 colliery (now Snibston Colliery Park) a while later.  The Leicester and Swannington railway reached a growing Coalville in 1833.

However it was not until the 31st December 1894 that Coalville Urban District Council came into being, taking parts of Swannington, Snibston and Hugglescote parishes plus the whole of Whitwick.  Whitwick had lost the battle for the coal mine – Whitwick Pit with a rateable value of £6,000 was allocated to Coalville so the parish decided to join the UDC.

This was part of a widespread reorganisation of local government that included the first elected Swannington Parish Council.

Parish Boundaries Since Coalville Expansion 1st April 1912

Coalville made a modest expansion in 1912, extending its reach westwards along Ashby Road.  The main reason for this was the need for sewerage for the houses build along the road that the Swannington and Ravenstone with Snibston parishes did not wish to pay for as the houses were mainly for miners in Coalville’s collieries.

Parish Boundaries Since Major Coalville Expansion And Thringstone Changes 1st April 1936

The 1936 boundary changes had a big impact on Swannington:

• Coalville expanded northwards, taking the Thornborough area (now Stephensons College) and New Swannington from Swannington parish.
• Coalville also absorbed what is current day Thringstone village, this created a knockon effect with other parts of Thringstone parish being transferred to Belton, Osgathorpe and Worthington parishes.  As part of this Peggs Green transferred to Coleorton Parish and the “Thringstone finger” between Mill Lane and Workhouse Lane (now Moor Lane) and including Olga Terrace on Loughborough Road became part of Swannington.  The Thringstone Finger included Thringstone Smock Mill, now known as Hough Mill.
• There was also a readjustment in the south west of Swannington where the Swannington/Coleorton boundary moved to the east so that houses on both sides of The Moorlands, plus the Kings Arms, became part of Coleorton.