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Swannington is a former mining village in Leicestershire, England. It was a terminus of the early (1832) Leicester and Swannington Railway that was built to carry away its pits' output. Administratively, Swannington is a civil parish now forming part of the District of North West Leicestershire and, prior to 1974, the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Rural District. As stated below, before it became a separate civil parish, it was a township and chapelry inWhitwick ancient parish. 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 (the 8th Baronet, 1799–1845) of nearby Coleorton Hall. (Further references will be found under Coleorton). 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 (a 19th-century mine). It has been claimed as the birthplace of Robin Hood. A History of Britain through Time provides the following description of Swannington from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
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