50 years of Charnwood

The borough of Charnwood is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. 

The borough was created on April 1, 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 when three former districts – Barrow upon Soar Rural District, Loughborough Municipal Borough and Shepshed Urban District – were all abolished. 

Charnwood was formed, and Charnwood Borough Council followed soon after. 

To celebrate its golden anniversary, the Council will be highlighting everything that is great about the borough, including its landmarks, open spaces, businesses and its people, on social media and its other online channels. 

The Council will also be looking back on the past 50 years and is asking people from Charnwood and beyond to take part in the celebrations by sharing their favourite memories, moments or places about Charnwood on social media.

Send us your photos and videos

Please consider including details about what the picture/video shows and when it was taken.

Memories shared will be posted on our social media channels and will also feature on this webpage.

Memories and Fun Facts

Founder Members

In 1974, Charnwood Borough Council had 58 Founder Members across the political parties.

• Labour – 14 Councillors
• Conservatives – 35 Councillors
• Liberal – 5 Councillors
• Independent - 4 Councillors

First Mayor of Charnwood elected

The first Mayor of Charnwood was Cllr L.H. Bradley, pictured below with the Mayoress. On the right is a picture of a board that shows the Mayor's of Charnwood from 1974 to 1998.

50 Mayors in 50 years

Councillor Margaret Smidowicz is the current Mayor of Charnwood for 2023/24. View the full list of Mayor's over the past 50 years.

First Leader of Charnwood Borough Council

The board below shows the Leaders of the Council at Charnwood from April 1974 to the present day - from Cllr L.H. Bradley and Cllr E.M. Shardlow in 1974/75 to current leader of the Council, Cllr Jewel Miah, who was elected in May 2023.

Royal visits

As part of the borough’s 50^th birthday celebrations, we’ve been looking back at Royal visits to Loughborough over the years.

On November 17, 1989, HM Queen Elizabeth II visited Loughborough University.

On April 24, 1990, Diana Princess of Wales visited various sites in Loughborough, including Mountfield County Junior School, Barnardo's, Ladybird Books and Charnwood indoor bowls centre.

The Mayor’s Parlour at Loughborough Town Hall has several artefacts with a Royal connection, including a thank you letter from the Chief Clerk to HM Queen Elizabeth II to the Mayor and Mayoress and the people of Charnwood for their 90^th birthday wishes, back in 2016.

A commemorative plate for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee from 2012 also sits proudly in the parlour.

Loughborough Library Exhibition

Alongside the Council’s celebrations, Loughborough Library will be hosting their ‘50th Anniversary Exhibition 1974-2024’ from May 9 until July 27, 2024. A poster for the event can be found below:

• Charnwood Borough Council 50th Anniversary Exhibition at Loughborough Library Poster (PDF Document, 2.32 Mb)

The exhibition will be hosted in the Local and Family History Centre section of the library and will feature photos and monuments from the past half century. 

The exhibition has been collated by the Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer Group. 

The Council will also be looking at other opportunities to mark the milestone year. 

Royal visits