Quorn | |
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Quorn High Street |
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Quorn shown within Leicestershire | |
Population | 5,177 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SK561164 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Loughborough |
Postcode district | LE12 |
Dialling code | 01509 |
Police | Leicestershire |
Fire | Leicestershire |
Ambulance | East Midlands |
EU Parliament | East Midlands |
UK Parliament | |
Quorn is a village in Leicestershire, England, situated next to the university town of Loughborough. Quorn's name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889, to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity to the name of another village, Quarndon, in neighbouring Derbyshire. The toponym of the village's original name is thought to be derived from the Old English cweorndun, meaning "hill (dun) where millstones (cweorn) are obtained".
The first known evidence of the village is in the Lincoln Episcopal Registers for 1209–1235, as Quernendon. Other variations of the village name over the centuries include Querne, Quendon, Querendon, Quarendon, Qaryndon, Querinden, Querondon, and Quernedon.
The quarrying of stone in Quorn began at a very early age at Buddon Wood, on the edge of the parish. Granite millstones were quarried in the early Iron Age, and under the Romans stone was quarried for building in Leicester. Some of the larger millstones can still be seen in the area, however these days they are either used as garden ornaments, or worked into seats or slabs.
Quorn Hall, off Meynell Road on the eastern edge of the village, was built for the Farnham family in about 1680. It became the home of renowned fox hunter Hugo Meynell in 1753. He established his pack of hounds there, where it continued under later masters until 1905, thus giving a name to the famous Quorn Hunt. Three Royal Navy ships have been named HMS Quorn after the hunt.