Saturday 1st April 2023  

Woodthorpe and Quorndon Parish Boundary Marker

This boundary marker was originally sited on the A6 Trunk Road to indicate the position of the Woodthorpe and Quorndon Parish Boundary.
In the late 1960’s the A6 highway improvement scheme was instigated and the road in the area of the ‘Bull in the Hollow’ was widened and levelled. This marker was removed and was to be discarded when it was rescued by one of the Bowler brothers, who lived in Woodthorpe at Renals Farm (Reynells Farm) and installed it at the farm entrance.

The original marker would probably have been stone later being replaced by this cast iron post. It is similar in design to local mile makers which were manufactured by Wootton Bros Ironworks in Coalville. They were in business from 1893 to 1947. The 1883 Ordinance Survey map (see extract below) shows that there were two boundary markers on the A6 in this area, one north of the ‘Bull in the Hollow’ (Woodthorpe Nursery) on the north bound carriageway indicating the then boundary between Woodthorpe and Loughborough and this one south of the hollow southbound, indicating the then boundary between the Woodthorpe and Quorndon parishes. The boundaries were changed in 1936 when the Woodthorpe Parish was divided between Loughborough, Quorndon and Woodhouse.

The marker’s current position has certainly been a talking point and centre of much boundary debate.

Submitted on: 2020-11-05 Submitted by: Dennis Marchant with additional information from Chris Sibcy Artefact ID: 2416 Print: View artefact in printer-friendly page or just on its own.