Loughborough

Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England. The area has been represented since 2024, by Labour Party MP, Jeevun Sandher. Loughborough is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council and according to the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a population of 64,884.

It is the second largest settlement in the county after Leicester. Loughborough is close to the Nottinghamshire border and is located near Leicester, Nottingham and Derby. It is notable for its university, marketplace, and fair. Loughborough is home to the world's largest, and the UK’s only, bell foundry, John Taylor Bellfounders, which has produced bells such as, Great Paul, the largest bell in the country, at St Paul's Cathedral, Big Peter, the third largest bell in the country, at York Minster bells for New York’s Saint Thomas Church, Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral, Cape Town’s City Hall and Ann Arbor’s Burton Memorial Tower. The foundry became internationally recognised in 1980 after Australian hard rock band AC/DC had 2,000-lb bell specially cast for the song Hells Bells, one of only 4 contemporary songs to feature a genuine cast bell, and on the subsequent tours Back In Black, For Those About To Rock, Flick Of The Switch, Fly On The Wall and Blow Up Your Video.