Cafe plans for historic home of lace maker

19TH CENTURY INDUSTRIALIST WAS TARGET OF ATTACK BY LUDDITES

- By JULIA BREENS

THE former home of an industrialist could become a restaurant and cafe with flats above.

Number 38 Leicester Road, Loughborough, was once home to John Heathcoat, owner of a lace-making factory which was stormed by Luddites fearing new textile machinery would mean the loss of their jobs.

The house was also the headquarters of homelessness charity The Bridge between 2006 and 2022, until its move to John Storer House, in Wards End.