page_title: Measham
section_title: Industry
hierarchical_section_title: Measham / History / 18th–19th centuries / Industry
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo by the artist Steve Field, of his sundial at Measham, Leicestershire, commemorating Joseph Wilkes
context_page_description: Measham is a large village in the county of Leicestershire, England, close to its borders with Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. It lies off the A42, 4.5 miles south of Ashby de la Zouch, within the National Forest. Historically in Derbyshire, it lay in an enclave absorbed into Leicestershire in 1897. The name is thought to mean "homestead on the River Mease".
context_section_description: Around the time of Joseph Wilkes, Measham went through a prosperous period associated with the Industrial Revolution. This lasted into the 20th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ashby Canal was built through the village. The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway followed, opening towards the end of the century. The village was also on the main Birmingham–Nottingham road (later the A453). It became a hub of local industry, famous for its brickworks: Joseph Wilkes's "Jumb Bricks" were enlarged to reduce payments of brick tax. The village industry included banking, breweries, coal mines and brick-making (with clay from local clay pits), a tramway, and boot, lace, cotton, carding and bleach mills.
  A market hall was said to have been built by Wilkes about the turn of the 19th century, but by 1817 the market had ceased and the market-house at 58 High Street was being converted into a dwelling. This later became known as Cross House. The original market place was an area to the rear in Queen Street, now a car park.
  The village Baptist chapel was built in 1811, although Baptist ministers had been active since the 1730s. A Temperance Hall built in 1852 now serves as the Age Concern building.
  In 1839 the village received an official visit from Queen Adelaide, who in her widowhood frequented the area, staying at nearby Gopsall Park, home of her previous Lord Chamberlain, The Earl of Howe. Queen Street was named in her honour after her visit.
  By 1848 the population had reached 1,615. A further Methodist chapel and a Catholic church were built. The latter, funded by a local lady aristocrat, has since been demolished for housing.
caption: Sundial commemorating Joseph Wilkes, by the artist Steve Field, erected in 2009, near the former railway station
exif: {}