Upcoming Heritage Group events
Coleorton Parish Council is holding "a Community Christmas event" on Sunday 8th December
3.45pm - 6pm at The Beaumont Centre, Peggs Green, LE67 8HN
Music, stalls, fun. The Heritage Group will have a stall there.
Previous Heritage Group events
2024
"Medieval Coalmining in Coleorton"
Viscount Beaumont's School Wednesday 16 October
Stuart Warburton, industrial archaeologist and former curator of Snibston Museum, on 'Medieval Coalmining in Leicestershire - Coalmining around Lount at the time of the War of the Roses'.
He told us about the excavations at the Lounge Opencast, Coleorton, which produced discoveries which re-wrote the mining history books, and looked at the finds such as tools, boots, mine shaft and the unique Lount (Lounge) Tunic. Stuart explained how the Lounge excavation proved the role Coleorton made towards, not just the 18th century industrial revolution, but what is today regarded as the first industrial revolution during the 14th-16th centuries,
A fine crowd came including some quite knowledgeable people from the mining community and Stuart answered a number of questions.
More about coal mining in Coleorton >>
Exhibition: "Coleorton People"
Saturday 21 September at the Beaumont Centre, Nottingham Road, Peggs Green. Part of NWLDC Hello Heritage festival.
Coleorton, like most towns and villages, has been built over centuries by the efforts of its people: Some like the lords of the manor, in our village the Beaumont family, and the clergy like Francis Merewether and Canon William Beresford Beaumont are well-known and celebrated in the stain-glass windows of St Marys Church and St Johns Chapel and by giving their names to local places like Viscount Beaumont's School and the Beaumont Social Centre. Others are less well-known like Cynthia Moseley and Mike Cox, but have made a huge contribution to the life of the village.
Our exhibition celebrated some of the people who have made a difference to the life of Coleorton, who have made a name in their chosen field or who are just remembered for the people they were.
Three Coleorton people who gave their names to local places: William Bakewell, William Elverstone and John Tugby
Rectors at St Mary's Church and history of The Rectory
Memories of Bill Platts
Levi Fox of Outwoods, Coleorton, director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT)
100 years since New Lount pit sunk
Saturday 14 September at New Lount Nature Reserve we joined with Newbold Heritage Group to celebrate 100 years since the opening of the mine at New Lount. Coleorton Heritage displayed the history of coal-mining in Coleorton including the Bug'n'Wink and New Lount where many Coleorton people worked as well as much earlier mining enterprises which gave Coleorton its name and wealth to the Beaumont family.
Open days and exhibition at St Mary's Church, Coleorton
Friday 17th and Saturday 18th May.
Our open day and exhibition at St Mary's in conjunction with the church congregation were a great success. The film "The Gift" was played maybe twenty times over the two days to groups of between two and a dozen people, the displays were studied with great interest and photos taken, the church windows and features admired, books, notelets and other items purchased and coffee, tea and delicious cakes consumed in quantity. (Thank you to the wonderful cooks - "bake-off" be very afraid!) The weather was kind and the visitors took advantage of Coleorton Hall residents' invitation to stroll around the grounds and see the magnificent views and the various monuments placed in the garden by the 7th baronet Sir George Beaumont.
Open days at St Marys and photos >>
Drama film and talk: Sir George Beaumont and the National Gallery was shown for the first time on Wednesday 6 March 2024 at Viscount Beaumont's School, Coleorton.
Sir George Beaumont 7th baronet was a prime mover in establishing the National Gallery which first opened its doors in 1824. In particular he donated 16 of his own paintings - by Claude, Canaletto, Rembrandt, Poussin and others - to start off the collection for the nation.
Local film-maker Wendy Freer from Pudding Bag Productions approached Coleorton Heritage Group last year for ideas about a film featuring Coleorton and we suggested the 200th anniversary of the National Gallery. Residents of Coleorton Hall kindly allowed filming in their apartment with actors playing Sir George and his wife Lady Margaret, William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy and in the grounds with Sir George and John Constable, while he was sketching the Reynolds Cenotaph, later to be painted in oils.
Wendy Freer introduced the film and afterwards spoke about the production. Copies of some of the works Sir George donated were also on show. Over 90 people attended.
"Coleorton Past - a Village History"
4 January - 31 March 2024
Ashby Museum
Temporary display January - March 2024 at The Louden Room, Ashby Museum
About the dispay and photos >>
2023
"How Coleorton people made their living" September 2023
During the North West Leicestershire "Hello Heritage" fortnight on Saturday 9th September Coleorton Heritage Group held a mini-exhibition / open day at the Beaumont Centre on the topic of "How Coleorton people made their living".
Coleorton Pottery
Lace-making
Coal Mining
County Studios at Outwoods Lane
Snibston Colliery Open Day
On Sunday 10 September we took our mining displays to Snibston Colliery Open Day. There was a lot of interest in the old tools and Tudor-era shoe fragment - the children were especially fascinated - and also in our display about the New Lount Colliery.
Table-top sale 10 June 2023
We held a Table-top sale in the garden of the New Inn 12 noon - 3.00pm. Books, Jams, Chutneys, Bric-a-brac, Crafts & more to some funds to support our Coleorton Heritage work.
2022
"Coleorton's Monuments and Memorials - what they mean to us today"
Saturday 8th October 2022 6.30pm at Viscount Beaumont's School, Coleorton
Presented by Coleorton Heritage Group. We talked about some of the monuments and memorials that have been erected in our village and consider why, what message they were intended to convey and how we see them now.
Saturday 3 September 2022. A mini-exhibition / open day "Homes and buildings of Coleorton"at the Beaumont Centre
Our "Homes and buildings of Coleorton" exhibition last Saturday was a great success with a lot of enthusiastic input from local people poring over maps and also bringing information about their own houses. Shaelyn's House History project is starting off well.
Friday 9 September and Saturday 10 September 2022 - Open Days at St Mary's Church, Coleorton.
The Heritage Goup and St Mary's parish congregation collaborated on two days of exhibitions and tours around the church building.
Hello Heritage
Each year North West Leicestershire sponsor Hello Heritage fortnight and work with local groups to bring heritage to villages and towns in North West Leicestershire. They provide information boards, designed by the local groups, to display around their locality. This year Coleorton heritage displayed 5 information boards. See them here >>
Coleorton History Walks
Thursday 15 and Sunday 18 September starting and finishing at Peggs Green Recreation Ground opposite The New Inn on Zion Hill. More >>
.Other events in 2022
- "Sleuthing" get-togethers - informal get-togethers to identify places and faces in old photos. We'll be holding more "Sleuthing" get-togethers during the autumn.
- Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Peggs Green Rec
Saturday 4 June 2022. Page contains links to earlier Jubilee and Coronation celebrations at Coleorton
2021
- "Sleuthing" - informal get-togethers to identify places and faces in old photos
- Christmas on the Green 2021
- This is Coleorton open day and mini-exhibition 10 & 11 September 2021
2019
- Quiz Night at The Kings Arms - Wednesday 10 April (click for pdf poster)
- Childhood in Coleorton - Saturday 5 October 2019
Earlier
- Blue Plaque scheme launch - Saturday 13 October 2018
- Memories book launch in 2015
- Queen's Diamond Jubilee 2012
- Launch of the Millennium Garden - June 2001
General
Coleorton History Walks
Coleorton has more footpaths than any other parish in Leicestershire. We regularly organise guided walks around some of the historically interesting parts of Coleorton. Details on our History Walks page.
If you want to discover at your own pace you can follow the Coleorton Heritage Trail. Details and map also on the Walks page.
Keep up to date and get the news about our events and walks: subscribe to our regular email newsletter >>.
Blue Plaques
We have launched "the Coleorton Blue Plaque" scheme to commemmorate buildings and sites in the village which have historic significance.
Research Resources
We have brought together some sources of information about social, family and economic history of Coleorton.
Articles
We publish articles in local press inc. Community Voice, St Mary's Church monthly email magazine and on the Coleorton website.