Quorn Virtual Museum Wins Prestigious Award

July 28th 2010

Quorn Virtual Museum has won the Best Project category of the Leicestershire and Rutland Heritage Awards 2010.

The presentation was made at a special awards ceremony at Snibston Discovery Park in July. Sue Templeman, who collected the award on behalf of the museum team said “We are absolutely thrilled! We get lots of great feedback, but having our work recognised in this way is a real boost”. The team received a plaque and a cheque for £100. The museum was congratulated on the range of artefacts and the innovative ways in which it reaches such a wide range of people.

Quorn Virtual Museum was developed and is run by volunteers Sue Templeman and Kathryn Paterson. A lack of permanent premises led them to develop a virtual museum on the Internet - www.quornmuseum.com. Artefacts have been contributed by Quorn villagers, local organisations, local historians and people connected with the village who have moved away or who had relatives in Quorn.

To date, the site contains almost 800 artefacts including old postcards, school photos, parish magazines, newspaper cuttings, Roman coins, WW1 and WW2 information, aerial photographs and a wealth of other information. The site is fully searchable, and where information is missing or uncertain, people are encouraged to contribute their knowledge. Being on the Internet, the museum is "open" throughout the year and is accessible to a truly worldwide audience.

If you have any photographs or items that may be of interest to Quorn Virtual Museum, the team would love to talk to you. Items can be scanned or photographed and then returned. Please contact Sue on 01509 412112, sue@quorndon.com, or pass a message through the Parish Office and someone will get back to you.

The photograph shows Sue Templeman receiving the museum award.

Local History Exhibition to feature Quorn

Loughborough Library starting 5th July and throughout August
Posted June 23rd 2010

A special village and a village of contrasts. Quorn has long been associated with the hunt, being described in Victorian times as 'the most famous village in England'. The hunt bought the aristocracy to the village in droves and with it came the building of grand houses, employment for the villagers and curiously, an early form of tourism.

This new exhibition in Loughborough Library starting 5th July and throughout August demonstrates the effect of the hunt on the village, through old photographs, holiday postcards and souvenirs.

But there was much more to Quorn than this sophisticated veneer, as the hilarious extracts from the Victorian school log books on display show. See how the master at the time complains bitterly of the abuse he receives from the women of Quorn, and learn why the school got through six headmasters in seven years. Come and see the photograph of the beautiful Louise Burrows, a mistress at the school and destined to have a doomed romance with the most infamous author of the time - DH Lawrence.

All this plus a woolly rhinoceros, the best known knicker elastic factory in England and of course an explanation of where the village got its peculiar name from.

Stafford Orchard Redevelopment

May 6th 2010

Park Closure Imminent
The park redevelopment programme will commence in May and last through to the Autumn. During much of this period the park will be fenced off and closed, although the public footpath from School Lane to the Station Road car park will remain open.

Alternative Play Equipment
There is some play equipment for younger children on Caves Field, which is off Spinney Drive / Cradock Drive. This area can also be accessed via the footpath across Tom Long's Meadow off Sanders Road.

More information and your feedback
More detailed information about the scheme, including the latest Stafford Orchard newsletter, is available on this website - see the Stafford Orchard Redevelopment section. You can also download the lastest Stafford Orchard Newsletter [PDF].

If you wish to raise any issues relating to the park construction works, please contact the Parish Clerk for Quorn Parish Council.