Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre

About the museum

The Heritage Centre grew out of a volunteer project that began in 2007 to bring back the Mountsorrel Railway, a short line that once carried granite from the local quarries. By October 2015 more than 100 volunteers, local companies and community donors had restored the line and the first trains ran again. The Heritage Centre site beside the disused Nunckley Hill quarry opened in April 2016, together with Granite's Coffee Shop.

The centre was built from three historic buildings that were saved from loss, taken apart and rebuilt on the site. They are a 200-year-old granite barn from Kinchley Lane in Rothley, the quarry's Victorian time office and the remains of a stable and explosives store. Together they now house the Heritage Rooms and the coffee shop. The land and much of the funding came from the quarry owner Tarmac, with further grants and public donations.

The Heritage Rooms tell the story of the villages of Mountsorrel and Rothley, including the medieval castle at Mountsorrel and the links with the Knights Templar, and are developed with the local history societies. Down in the quarry, a recreated stonemasons' yard and a small quarry museum show granite working in the late 19th century, and a railway museum displays vehicles connected with the line. The quarry is also recognised as a regionally important geological site, and nature trails, gardens and a garden railway complete the site, which is run mainly by volunteers.

Highlights

• Heritage Rooms on the history of Mountsorrel and Rothley
• Railway museum with restored granite wagons and a Wickham trolley
• Recreated stonemasons' huts and quarry museum in the old quarry
• Nunckley Trail nature walk with Braille notices and tapping logs
• Garden railway, crazy golf and a play area for children

Permanent exhibitions

• Heritage Rooms – Displays and objects on the history of Mountsorrel and Rothley, including the castle and the Knights Templar, on two floors.
• Mountsorrel Railway Museum – Railway vehicles linked to the Mountsorrel Railway, such as restored granite wagons, a Wickham trolley and a diesel shunting locomotive.
• Quarry Recreation Area – Stonemasons' huts, a loop of narrow gauge railway and a small quarry museum that recreate granite quarrying of the late 19th century.

Founded

2016

Admission & discounts

Entry to the car park, Granite's Coffee Shop, the patio, the play area and the Heritage Rooms is free. The site charge of £2.50 per adult and £1.50 per child (1 to 15 years) applies to the rest of the site, including the quarry, the museums, the nature trails, the garden railway and the crazy golf. Tickets are stickers that are valid only on the day of purchase and allow unlimited entry and exit that day. Some special event days cost more, and train rides and cab rides in shunting demonstrations are charged separately. Parking is free.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The Heritage Centre and coffee shop have level access from the car park, and a lift serves all floors. The quarry buildings and platform are reached by a ramp with a gradient of 1:15 and regular level rest areas. The woodland Nunckley Trail has a bark surface that is hard to push a wheelchair on without help, and a RADAR key for its gate can be borrowed from the coffee shop against a deposit. There are 3 disabled parking bays at the Heritage Centre. Accessible toilets are in the coffee shop and behind the railway museum. A quiet room on the first floor, reached by the lift, is available for visitors who need a rest or have to take medication. Display boards carry Braille and bar-codes that link to audio descriptions, and the trail has tapping logs for visually impaired visitors. A hearing loop is available in the coffee shop only. Assistance dogs are welcome everywhere; other dogs on leads are allowed only on the patio.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

Families can use a play area, a den-building area on the Spinney Trail, a garden railway, crazy golf, a digger play area and balance beams, and press a button to start a working model train in the wagon museum. Seasonal events such as an Easter trail hunt and ghost train rides are held. Pushchairs can use the ramp to the quarry, but the bark path of the Nunckley Trail is not suitable for them. A baby changing facility is in the coffee shop.

Getting there & parking

The Heritage Centre is on Swithland Lane in Mountsorrel, about 100 m north of the junction with Halstead Road. If a satnav does not recognise postcode LE7 7UE, try LE7 7SJ, which is about 200 m away. Mountsorrel station (Bond Lane, LE7 7SD) is about 500 m away.

Amenities & dining

• Café

Granite's Coffee Shop serves home-made food, coffee and ice cream, indoors and on a patio with views over the quarry and railway. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are available on request. A picnic area is on the Nunckley Trail, and plants grown in the on-site nursery are sold.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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