What to see in Hinckley

Opened in 1804, this lock-free canal skirts Hinckley and offers a continuous towpath for walkers. [Various leaflets are available.] Narrow boats may be hired from the Ashby Boat Company at Stoke Golding (tel. 01455 212671)

200 acres of woodland, scrub and grassland are home to a variety of flora and fauna. The area offers opportunities for walking, horse-riding, nature study, and environmental education. Wheelchair accessibilty on some paths. Bird hide and picnic tables. Visitor centre (tel. 01455 633712). Signposted car parks off the B4668 (old A47) and B4669 (old A5070).

Argents Mead Only the bailey and part of the moat remain of the Norman motte and bailey castle erected before 1151. The bailey is now a Memorial Garden to the dead of the two world wars. The moat, with its fountain, is home to a collection of ornamental waterfowl. The Argents Mead is a landscaped garden, open freely to the public, around the offices of the Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council.

The pedestrianised shopping area has many Georgian facades remaining above the modern shop fronts. One of the town`s oldest buildings is now the Four Seasons grocery shop.

The theatre, in Stockwell Head, is housed in the former Britannia Hosiery Works, and opened in 1973. Telephone the box office on 01455 615005 for details of what`s on.

The restored seventeenth century cottages in Lower Bond Street were once used for framework knitting. They now house Hinckley & District Museum. The museum, with its garden and tearoom, is open from Easter Monday to the end of October on Saturdays and Bank Holiday Mondays 1000 - 1600 and Sundays 1400 - 1700.

The chapel in Baines Lane was built in 1722 and it contains many original fittings. The oldest of the town`s non-conformist places of worship it is the home of the Unitarian congregation. Philip Doddridge, celebrated eighteenth century theologian and hymn-writer, preached his first sermon here at the opening of the chapel in 1722.

Blue Plaques have been erected by Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council on buildings associated with famous inhabitants including Charlotte Mary Brame at 35, Castle Street; Joseph Hansom at the NatWest Bank, The Borough; and William Iliffe at the museum in Lower Bond Street.

Ghostly sightings have been reported at the Union Inn, The Borough, and at the Concordia Theatre, Stockwell Head.

A multi-purpose leisure and sports centre in Coventry Road, which opened in 1977. For details of events and activities telephone 01455 610011.

The former `Free Library` in Station Road was built to the design of Isaac Barradale in the `arts and crafts` style in 1888. The present Library and Tourist Information Centre opened in a converted hosiery factory in Lancaster Road in 1975.

The earliest recorded market in Hinckley was in 1311. In 1551 Edward VI granted a charter for a market to be held every Monday. Today there is a market on Monday (except Bank Holidays), Friday (mainly bric-a-brac), and Saturday. On the third Thursday of the month a Farmers` Market also takes place. Shakespeare made reference to Hinckley in his play `Henry IV, part 2`.

The largely fourteenth century church was extended and altered by William Smith and Ewan Christian in the 1870s. The spire of 1788 is by John Cheshire. The tower houses a chiming apparatus installed in 1792, and there is a fine peal of bells. In the churchyard Richard Smith`s tombstone is claimed to "sweat blood" at midnight on the anniversary of his murder by an army recruitment officer on 12th April 1727.

Built up after the railway came to Hinckley in 1862. Buildings of note include St.Mary`s C.of E. Primary School dating from 1850, the Post Office of 1902, and the former Constitutional Club, also of 1902, with its art noveau balcony and bell tower.

Notice the plaques on the gable wall of no.7, dated 1777, 1837 and 1958 indicating the history of the building