Lubenham
Lubenham is a small rural village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Market Harborough, a market town in the south of Leicestershire, England. The first National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup[1] was held in Lubenham, on the grounds of what is now Thorpe Lubenham Hall. Lubenham Parish extends to Gartree in the north and Bramfield Park in the west.
Lubenham was justly judged to be Midlands Calor Village of the year in 2001 because of its vibrant and inclusive community activities. Lubenham has a lively community with a number of events that welcome people to the village. Among them its popular Scarecrow weekend now in its 16th year. During the weekend visitors will find attractions on the Village Green, Scarecrows scattered around the village, musical entertainment, refreshments and an opportunity for a great weekends entertainment. The event supports Lubenham Village Charities and charities across the wider community. The regular Open Gardens event in aid of All Saints Church held in June each year provides an opportunity for visitors to visit around 20 private gardens , some of them hidden, and each of them individual. Resulting from the event the very popular refurbished second hand tools sales enables many old and cherished tools to be refurbished and made available for purchase.
The Coach and Horses Lubenham is a very popular community venue and Lubenham's modern Village Hall also hosts many popular village clubs and events. Lubenham has a beacon which was made for HM the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The beacon designed and made by an apprentice has been lit on special royal occasions such as the jubilee and the Queens 90th birthday.
All Saint's Church, the medieval Church at the centre of the village which holds regular services, is an impressive structure with medieval wall paintings and box pews among its architectural features. The peal of 6 bells (augmented in 2000) is regularly rung by a band of volunteer ringers. Practice nights are Wednesdays from 7.30pm and visiting ringers of all standards are very welcome.
Lubenham lies on the route of the A4304 road which connects the M1 to Market Harborough, thus it is a route for heavy goods vehicles. A young schoolboy from the village was killed on the road in 2006 and as a result the Adam Smile Project exists to create an off-road cycle route to Market Harborough using the track of the former railway and improve road safety.
There is a public house, the Coach and Horses. The area boasts some lovely walks with lots of wildlife. Otters and kingfishers have been seen on the River Welland in 2015.
In 2008/2009, the Lubenham Heritage Group published a Heritage Trail with an interpretation panel on the village green, a pamphlet and placed plaques on buildings of interest. The Tower House was built in 1771. The village appears in 4 entries in the Doomsday book.
A cycling club known as the 'Lubenham Raiders' operates on Monday evenings, during the summer and has done so for many years, while other activities including short mat bowls, quizzes, heritage group and monthly coffee mornings take place in the Village Hall.
On 6 June 1966, Lubenham railway station on the Rugby and Stamford Railway line closed in the Beeching Axe.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lubenham. |
- Images of Lubenham
- Lubenham Village website old
- Parish Council
- History of the Parish
- OS Map of Lubenham from Multimap
- Lubenham Parish Walks
- Friends of Adam
Coordinates: 52°28′47″N 0°57′54″W / 52.47983°N 0.96503°W
References
- ↑ "National Hunt Chase, Leicestershire | Leicester Mercury". thisisleicestershire.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2016.