Lutterworth

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Lutterworth

Coordinates: 52.456° N 1.1992° W
Population	8,293 (2001)
OS grid reference	SK5484
Parish	Lutterworth
District	Harborough
Shire county	Leicestershire
Region	East Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LUTTERWORTH
Postcode district	LE17
Dial code	01455
Police	Leicestershire
Fire	Leicestershire
Ambulance	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Blaby
European Parliament	East Midlands
List of places: UK • England • Leicestershire

Market Street

Whittle memorial

Lutterworth is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. The town is located in southern Leicestershire, 11 km (7 miles) north of Rugby, in Warwickshire and 25 km (15 miles) south of Leicester.

1 Transport
2 History
3 Sir Frank Whittle
4 Local economy
5 Education
6 Green Britain
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Transport

Lutterworth lies on the A426 Leicester-Rugby road, adjacent to the M1 motorway at junction 20, and close to the A5. The town once had a station on the Great Central Railway; however, since its closure the nearest railway station is now at Rugby. Some 4 km (2.5 miles) to the west of the town is a large logistics and distribution centre called Magna Park, which is the main source of employment in the Lutterworth area. Magna Park is built upon the site of the old Bitteswell aerodrome. Nearby to Lutterworth is Stanford Hall.

[edit] History

The name of Lutterworth is probably derived from the Old Norse name "Lutter's Vordig" meaning Luther's Farm.

The town was granted its Market Charter in 1214 by King John and continues to hold a market to this day.

In the 14th century religious reformer Canon John Wyclif was Rector in Lutterworth's Parish Church of St. Mary between 1374 and 1384, and it was here that he produced the first ever translation of the Bible from Latin into English.

Lutterworth's biblical connections continue as it houses the British Isles headquarters of Gideons International^[1].

In the days of the stagecoach, Lutterworth was an important stopping place on the road from Leicester to Oxford and London, and many former coaching inns remain in the town. The town also contains some historic Half-timbered buildings, some of which date back to the 16th century.

Altogether three railway stations have borne the name Lutterworth, but only one was actually in the town. The first was "Ullesthorpe & Lutterworth," about 5 km (3 miles) to the north west, on the former Midland Railway (later part of the LMS) line from Rugby to Leicester, closed in January 1962. The second was "Welford & Kilworth", at one time known as "Welford & Lutterworth," some 8 km (5 miles) east on the London and North Western Railway (also later LMS) line from Rugby to Market Harborough and Peterborough, closed in June 1966. The third (the one that was actually in Lutterworth), was on the Great Central Railway mentioned above (later part of the LNER), the last main line to be constructed from the north of England to London, opened in March 1899. Detractors of the Great Central will point out that Lutterworth was the only town along its whole route not previously served directly by another line, and that the Great Central's presence had no real effect on the town, since it remained at roughly the same size throughout the line's existence, only growing substantially since its closure in May 1969.

The parish church is St Mary's.

[edit] Sir Frank Whittle

Lutterworth's other main claim to fame is that Frank Whittle, inventor of the jet engine, developed some of the world's first jet engines at the British Thomson-Houston works in Lutterworth, and in nearby Rugby, during the late 1930s and the 1940s. The engine for the UK's first jet aeroplane the Gloster E.28/39 was produced in Lutterworth. A statue of the plane stands in the middle of a roundabout just south of the town as a memorial.

[edit] Local economy

Controversy rages in the town about how to manage the traffic flows emanating from Magna Park and the nearby M1 and A5 trunk roads. Some 3,000 heavy goods vehicles pass through the town every day and pollution levels are amongst the highest in the country. The Town Council has established a task group to try to resolve the issues surrounding the proposed Lutterworth Western Relief Road (or bypass) following extensive publicity in the local press.

There is a Co-op on George Street, and a Morrisons (former Safeway) on Bitteswell Road. There is also a Netto which opened in November 2006, on part of the De Bradlei Mill store.

[edit] Education

There are two primary schools in the town; John Wycliffe Primary School and Sherrier Primary School. The local secondary schools are Lutterworth High School (for ages 11-14) on Woodway Road and Lutterworth Grammar School (for ages 14-18) on Bitteswell Road, both of which achieve good results in applicable exams.