Coalville

Coalville is a product of the Industrial Revolution. As its name indicates, it is a former coal mining town and was a centre of the coal-mining district of north Leicestershire. It has been suggested that the name may derive from the name of the house belonging to the founder of Whitwick Colliery: 'Coalville House'. However, conclusive evidence is a report in the Leicester Chronicle of 16 November 1833: 'Owing to the traffic which has been produced by the Railway and New Collieries on Whitwick Waste, land which 20 years ago would not have fetched 20 £/acre, is now selling in lots at from 400 to, for building upon. The high chimneys, and numerous erections upon the spot, give the…

Coalville has few listed buildings. The central core of the town is characterised by streets of homogeneous terraced housing, built toward the end of the nineteenth century and during the early part of the twentieth century, with detached housing concentrated on the London Road and Forest Road. In June 2014, it was reported that consideration was being given by the local district council to the designation of the Coalville town centre as a conservation area, something which English Heritage has encouraged. In a letter to the council, English Heritage stated, "Coalville is a good example of the type of commercial and industrial settlement that grew up rapidly in the 19th century following…