This is an historical archive for  Hathern, a village 3 miles north of Loughborough. The Rector of Hathern in the early 19th described it as "a wicked place and a cage of every unclean beast". A settlement probably existed here in the Saxon period but the first written record was in the Domesday book where it was called Avederne, old English for hawthorne.  Prominent in the centre of the village is Hathern Cross, dating from the 14th century. Like most villages in this part of the country, farming and framework knitting were major sources of employment. All farmhouses in the village have become private dwellings but the hosiery connection remains with the factory of J .Alex Swift. Our most famous resident was, briefly, John Heathcoat inventor of the bobbin lace machine that sparked the Luddite riots. The Parish Church dates mainly from the 14th century although a place of worship probably existed on the site in earlier times. An ancient font, one of the oldest in the county is regularly used for baptisms. In the nineteenth century in particular the village was home to many non-conformist movements. Over the past 20 years the local history society has produced a number of booklets containing pictures and stories of old Hathern. Many of these  pictures  can be viewed in our gallery. The site also contains searchable census and parish records and inscriptions from all the headstones in Hathern Churchyard. Information about Hathern on this website has been obtained from many other sources including the British newspaper archives and local libraries.