Swannington, Leicestershire
Swannington is a former mining village situated between Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. A document of 1520 mentions five pits at Swannington. It was a terminus of the early Leicester and Swannington Railway that was built to carry away its pits' output.
The parish church of Saint George was opened in 1825 to serve the townships of Swannington and Thringstone and is built on a spot reputedly chosen by William Wordsworth, a frequent guest of Sir George Beaumont of nearby Coleorton Hall. It is possible that the dedication of the church to Saint George is derived from its association with this George Beaumont.
A windmill in Swannington called Hough Mill was built near a nature reserve established on the remains of Califat colliery. It has been claimed as the birthplace of Robin Hood.
Administratively, Swannington is a civil parish forming part of the district of North West Leicestershire in Coalville. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,270. Nearby villages and hamlets include Whitwick, Coleorton, Thringstone, Ravenstone, Gelsmoor, Peggs Green and Sinope.
Swannington is also home to junior Great Britain track cyclist Alistair Fielding. Alistair is currently 1x British national track champion and currently holds the junior team sprint British record. Alistair has represented Great Britain at European and world championships. Most recently the 2017 junior world track championships where he finished 4th in the team sprint, smashing the national record by a second to post 45.127.
