Loughborough’s historic Carillon Tower has re-opened its doors to visitors following around £110,000 of improvements.

 

Charnwood Borough Council has worked with the Carillon Memorial Trust to revamp the ground floor of the Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial Museum.

 

The improvements include new displays that tell the story of the First World War, the history of the Carillon Tower and pays tribute to those from Leicestershire who served in the armed forces.

 

There is also new information boards and war time letters, medals and uniforms on display for visitors.

 

The war memorial received £110,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and was one of the projects to be chosen by Charnwood Borough Council in the first round of funding. The Council was allocated £4 million from the fund to invest in communities, support local businesses and improve skills.

 

Cllr Jennifer Tillotson, the Council’s lead member for housing, economic development, regeneration and town centres, said: “It is pleasing to see that the Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial Museum is back open and that we were able to support them with funding through the UKSPF.

 

“We have worked with the Carillon Memorial Trust over the period to develop the stories that you will see on the displays and the catalogue of war time memorabilia throughout the ground floor.”

 

Cllr Anne Gray, the Council’s lead member for open spaces, said: “We are so proud of the Carillon Tower which has been standing for over a century.

 

“It is so important that we pay tribute to those who fought in conflicts and made the ultimate sacrifice and the improvements to the museum certainly do that. I’d encourage anyone who is taking a walk through Queen’s Park to come in and have a look around.”

 

The Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial Museum worked closely with Leicester-based design company Vertigo Creative to produce the displays and information boards.

 

Mel Gould, chairman of the Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial Museum said: “To open the doors to the museum once again is a proud moment and lots of hard work has gone into the stories, displays and information that is available to view by visitors.

 

“The funding was vital in being able to modernise the ways of presenting artefacts and information at the museum.

 

“I’d like to thank the volunteers from the Carillon Memorial Trust, Vertigo Creative, Charnwood Museum and the Council for working together to make sure we can reopen and keep telling the stories of the Carillon Tower and those who served in our armed forces.”

 

The Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial Museum will be open from Wednesday – Saturday at 11am-4pm each week.

 

Carillion recitals also take place every Thursday and Sunday between 1pm and 2pm.

 

The Loughborough Carillon Tower is a grade two listed building and was built after the First World War to commemorate the men of Loughborough who gave their lives for their country. It carries the names of 800 men who died in both world wars and other conflicts. Construction was completed in 1923 and is 150ft high.

 

A total of 47 bells are housed in the Carillon Tower which were cast at Loughborough based John Taylor and Co Bell Foundry, the last major bell foundry in Britain.

 

You can find more about the Loughborough Carillon and War Memorial Museum on its website: https://carillontower.org.uk/.

 

To find out more about the UKSPF and the projects in Charnwood that it is supporting, visit: www.charnwood.gov.uk/UKSPF.

 

ENDS