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Home > Loughborough Building Society Timeline

Loughborough Building Society Timeline

Proud of our history

looking forward to the future

1867

The Loughborough Permanent Investment, Land and Building Society was founded

On 21 June a group of worthy citizens of the town of Loughborough held a meeting at which they decided to form the Loughborough Permanent Investment, Land and Building Society, as we were known in those days. The Society was registered on 31 October with the first paying in day on 12 November. The following day £35. 3s. 6d. was banked and by the end of that first year the assets totalled £662. The Society was run out of the offices of Samuel Cattell, Coal Merchant, at 45 Baxter Gate. This location continued to be our home until 1937.

1870

Samuel Cattell was appointed Secretary and went on to serve the Society for 44 years

1875

Bank of England base rate

Bank of England base rate ended the year at 4%.

1882

John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough, cast ‘Great Paul’ bell

Great Paul was cast by John Taylor & Co. of Loughborough for St Pauls Cathedral. It is the largest bell ever cast in Britain at 16.5 metric tons and was rung for the first time on 18 March 1882 in Loughborough. In May 1882 it took 11 days for a traction engine to haul it to London where it was raised 125 feet to hang in the south-west tower. Great Paul was dedicated on 3 June 1882. Churches around the world have used bells cast at Taylors.

1883

Society reported profits of £806. 11s. 1d

In this year the Society reported a profit of £806. 11s. 1d. The Bank of England base rate ended the year at 3%* while the average weekly wage was the equivalent of 75p* in today’s terms.

1891

The population of Loughborough reached 18,196

The population of Loughborough had reached 18,196 according to the census. The Society reported a turnover of £11,690. The Bank of England average annual base rate was 3.33%* and the average annual mortgage rate 4.50%*.

1900

At the turn of the century the Society’s assets reached £39,443

At the turn of the century the Society’s assets had risen to £39,443. The annual average Bank of England base rate was 3.88%* and the annual average mortgage rate 4.50%*

1915

First book published under the Ladybird imprint

The first book published under the Ladybird imprint was produced by Wills and Hepworth, based in Angel Yard, Loughborough. The company also traces its origins to 1867 when Henry Wills opened a bookshop in Loughborough.

1916

Society’s assets reached £51,673

1923

Loughborough Carillon Tower & War Memorial completed

Loughborough Carillon Tower & War Memorial was built after World War 1 to commemorate the men of the town who gave their lives. It was designed by Sir Walter Tapper, built by William Moss and Sons Ltd. of Loughborough and completed in 1923. Unique in Britain, it is the only purpose built Carillon Tower and is now grade II listed. The dedication of the tower was held on Sunday 22 July, led by Bishop of Peterborough, Frank Theodore Woods and Field Marshal Sir William Robertson.

1924

Shareholder numbers reached 2,168

1937

Society moves to first official premises.

It was in this year, when the average house cost less than £500, that the Society moved into its first official premises at 16 Baxter Gate. On August 18, the new building was opened by the Mayor who stated that the work of the Society should be recognised as necessary and beneficial to the community.

1967

Centenary of Loughborough Permanent Building Society

Loughborough Permanent Building Society celebrated the Centenary of its founding on 31 October, with a dinner at the Kings Head Hotel, Loughborough which was attended by Coun. J. E. Hammond, J.P., Mayor of Loughborough. In this memorable year the Society reported that assets had reached £4 million and it had over 6000 members.

1974

Society moves Head Office building

The Society stayed in Baxter Gate for 37 years until it outgrew the premises and moved to a site at 6 High Street on 15 July. By that time the Society had seven staff and assets of around £8 million. The average UK mortgage rate was 10.69%*, the average house price £9,000*, a Mars bar around 6p and an average cinema ticket about 45p.

1976

Great results for Society in new home

In its new home Loughborough Permanent Building Society continued to grow, reaching assets of £10 million.

1976

Loughborough Building Society opened a branch in Long Eaton

A new branch was opened in Long Eaton in this year and by October the Bank of England base rate reached an astonishing 15%* while the average UK house price was £11,000**.

1978

Best year ever for Society with record assets of £13.7 million

1987

The Society dropped ‘Permanent’ from its name and reported assets of over £42 million

1988

Loughborough Building Society opened a branch in Derby

1996

Society growth in Loughborough

On August 1 the Society opened a separate branch in Loughborough at 4 High Street, just a few doors away from the Head Office building. At that time we had 31 staff and assets of £120 million.

1998

Loughborough Town Hall and Sockman statue

The Sock sculpture in Loughborough Market Place was unveiled

The Sock, created by the sculptress Shona Kinloch, was unveiled in April. It depicts a man seated on a bollard, wearing only a sycamore leaf and a sock, which he is looking down at admiringly. His sock is symbolic of Loughborough’s hosiery industry, and the rest of the sculpture contains images from the town’s history. The Sock was far from universally admired when unveiled but hearts have warmed to it and it is now a well-loved feature of the Loughborough scene.

1999

A number of firsts for the Society

During this year the Society had a number of firsts, our first website launched on March 12; our first ever fixed rate saver, the Debut Account with a top rate of 6.4%, launched on October 29; lending was up 25% to £25 million and assets reached £157.8 million.

2002

The Society sponsored Loughborough Town Hall Panto for the first time

2009

Bank Base Rate fell to 0.5%

March 5, the Bank base rate fell to 0.5% and stayed there until 2016 when it reduced again to 0.25% on August 4.

2017

The Society Celebrates 150th Anniversary

150 years of helping people buy their home and save for the future.

2022

Anstey Branch

Loughborough Building Society opened a branch in Anstey

2024

Society moves to new Head Office building

In June 2024, The Loughborough moved Head Office to newly refurbished premises at Woodgate in Loughborough Town Centre.