Quorndon

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Updated September 3rd 2007 What’s it all about? Quorn Parish Council has been offered the chance to buy the ‘Old St Bartholomew’s School’. A condition requires that it be used by and for the community. If the Parish Council does not buy the school, it will be sold on the open market. Then, it is likely that the site will be redeveloped for private use, possibly entailing demolition of the old buildings. The Parish Council is consulting with the village to decide what to do. What is the story of the 'Old School’? The old school lies in the eastern corner of Stafford Orchard on School Lane. Some parts of the building date from 1834. When the village outgrew the premises the ‘new’ St Bartholomew’s school was built in 1969 off Warwick Avenue. At that time ownership of the old school transferred from the Church to Leicestershire County Council. Since then the old buildings have been used by various organisations including a dance school, a play school and as an annexe for examinations by Rawlins. Virtually no repair or maintenance has been undertaken for several decades. The buildings have deteriorated and are now boarded up and unoccupied. In 2006 LCC decided to sell the whole site on the open market. Quorn Parish Council took the view that the old school is an important part of the village’s heritage. It could and should be restored to provide a whole range of community amenities. Following an exchange of letters, talks at County Hall and a public meeting in Quorn Village Hall, Leicestershire County Council agreed to sell the building to Quorn Parish Council provided a tight timescale could be met. A local pressure group called STOPS (Save The Old Primary School) was formed. Its aim was to explore ways of funding such a purchase and return it to community use. You will probably have seen their publicity and activities in the village. The options for funding the purchase of the old school have been reduced to two. It is now decision time. Both options involve important issues and Quorn Parish Council decided it would not be acceptable to choose either option without the support of the village. That is what this vote is about. The purchase price is of course not the whole funding story. Repair and restoration costs will be substantial. These costs will be sought mainly from grants and other sources. What is the deal? Leicestershire County Council has agreed to sell the old school to Quorn Parish Council for £300,000 provided that contracts can be exchanged by the end of 2007. Payment would be by two equal stages in April 2008 and April 2009. There are various terms and conditions attached to the sale but these are reasonable and acceptable given the nature of the offer.

Quorn is not as old as some villages. It is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. The reason for the village's existence is probably down to its position near to Barrow and the hunting habits of the aristocracy. Quorn lies on the ancient London to Manchester road, now called the A6, although a bypass now skirts this road around the village. Coaching inns in the centre of the village would service travellers passing between the two main cities. Most of these inns still survive today as busy village pubs. The area has always been prone to flooding and still is. The Soar river snakes around the outskirts on the south east side and still floods the Soar Valley each year. In the nineteenth century, employment was mixed. Farming, The Quorn Hunt, textiles and Mountsorrel Quarry were the main forms of employment. By the late 1840s there were seven hosiery and lace factories in the village. The Hunt employed kennel boys, blacksmiths and servants. The quarry employed stoneworkers and labourers. In the same century, the village's prosperity caused it to expand with new housing and shops. Along with this came investment in its infrastructure. The canal had already been built which brought such things as coal directly to the village. In the latter part of the century, the textile industry declined, probably in some measure due to competition from the nearby town of Loughborough. Quorn still shows clearly the legacy of its past. Quorn park still exists although development has nibbled at its edges. The last remaining mill still stands, to be developed into apartments. The buildings used by the Quorn Hunt are used as an outdoor centre for youngsters visiting from abroad. Quorn today is mainly a residential village. The majority of its industrial roots have gone but many small businesses thrive. Socially Quorn retains a sense of community normally associated with villages smaller in size. The overriding opinion of people active in the village is that Quorn's a great place to live.