D H Lawrence centre in Eastwood gets a reprieve

Durban House, the D H Lawrence centre in Eastwood, was threatened with closure as Broxtowe Borough Council tries to plug a £1.4 million hole in its budget. However, the council has decided to close it on Saturdays and Mondays which will save £40,000.

D H Lawrence on BBC1's One Show, 9 November

The 'A Place in a Book' feature on the next edition of BBC One's The One Show will focus on D H Lawrence's controversial novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover. Presenter Giles Brandreth will visit places associated with the novel in the author, including High Park wood at Moorgreen and the D H Lawrence Birthplace Museum on Victoria Street, Eastwood.

The One Show is broadcast on BBC1 at 7pm, 9 November 2009.

Creswell Crags: Art & Photography Exhibition

Creswell Crags starts the search for the next big thing in the creative industry
Deadline for entries 15th November

For the next exhibition to be held in our dynamic temporary gallery space, we want to showcase local creative talent. Are you an artist or photographer? Be inspired by the stunning scenery of Creswell Crags to produce your own piece of art. We will choose five entrants from each age range to be displayed in the new exhibition. One over-all winner will be chosen by art professionals to have their entry made into a postcard which will be sold in Creswell Crags gift shop to commemorate the opening of our new visitor centre.

Use any medium, colour or black and white, to create a unique piece of art. For full details of entry requirements, please contact us at the centre:

• Tel: 01909 720378
• E-mail: info@creswell-crags.org.uk
• Web: www.creswell-crags.org.uk/

Please find attached competition entry form which includes the rules for entry:

• Competition Entry Form

"The Trent Valley: Advancing the Research Strategy" - Third Trent Valley GeoArchaeology Conference 2009

A one-day conference exploring the results of recent research into the landscape and archaeology of the Trent Valley is being held on 18th November 2009 at the British Geological Survey in Keyworth.

Further information at http://www.tvg.bham.ac.uk/conference.htm.

Roman well found near Bingham

A stone-lined Roman well has been uncovered near Bingham by archaeologists working on the dualling of the A46. Further details are available on the Nottingham Evening Post website:

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Roman-A46-works/article-1353567-detail/article.html

Strongholds and mansions: castles in Nottinghamshire

The Nottinghamshire Local History Association is holding an event on Nottinghamshire castles on 24th October 2009 at the village hall in Oxton. The programme include:

• The castle in the landscape (David Mercer)
• Castles of Nottinghamshire: a thematic approach to recent fieldwork (James Wright)
• Seen and unseen: landscape narratives and fresh perspectives on Laxton castle (Keith Challis)
• Nottingham Castle: 'Noble Pallace of the Duke of Newcastle' (Trevor Foulds)

Contact: Mrs M Woodhead, 12 Church Street, Edwinstowe, Mansfield, Notts NG21 9QA.

The Nottinghamshire Historian, Autumn/Winter 2009

The latest edition of The Nottinghamshire Historian has just popped through my letterbox. Articles include:

• A new map of Sherwood Forest
• Did a Keyworth man meet Napoleon?
• The Somme, Nottingham and the local press
• Diary of events

Further details on the Local Historian website:

• http://www.local-history.co.uk/nlha/nottshistn.html

Lunchtime talks at Nottinghamshire Archives

Details of forthcoming lunchtime talks, promoting the 60th anniversary of the opening of Nottinghamshire Archives, have been published on the County Council website:

• www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/leisure/archives/archivesevents.htm

Subjects include:

• Rufford Abbey and the Savile family (14 October 2009)
• Researching parish church histories in the Nottinghamshire Archives (28 October 2009)
• The workhouse and its records (11 November 2009)
• Discovering Nottingham's architectural heritage (25 November 2009)

Talks start at 1pm and cost £3.50 per person.

Worksop Heritage Trail launched

A fantastic new online resource for anyone interested in Worksop's history was officially launced by Sir Andrew Buchanan on Saturday. The website contains a series of illustrated essays on aspects of the town's history and also essays on the Dukery estates (Clumber, Thoresby, Worksop Manor, Welbeck and Rufford abbey). You can also view over 2000 photographs from Bassetlaw Museum's collections.

The project also includes the publication of a 20-page guide book and the setting-up of five interpretation boards at strategic points around the town.

• www.worksopheritagetrail.org.uk/

Heritage and Conservation News, Summer 2009

I've only just stumbled across the latest edition of the County Council Community Department's Heritage and Conservation News. Contents include:

• Southwell Roman villa
• Worksop Heritage Trail
• Jacksdale war memorial and community archaeology
• Medieval Sherwood Forest map
• Mansfield Woodhouse ‘Little Big Dig’
• Heritage events over the Summer

Download from: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/heritagenews.pdf

Open day at Beauvale Priory

Just returned from a fascinating afternoon wandering around the ruins of the Carthusian priory of Beauvale, a couple of miles north-east of Eastwood. The site was made accessible as part of the Heritage Open Days initiative. The current owners have restored the farmhouse (which has lost its render revealing timber framing with brick in-filling) and at long last a start has been made on conserving the priory thanks to funding from English Heritage (see http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.21048 for further information).

The priory was founded in the 1343 by local lord, Nicholas de Cantilupe. The Carthusians were the strictest of any of the religious orders and each monk lived in his own separate dwelling, and none of them were allowed to go out of the bounds of the monastery except the priors and proctors, and they only to attend to the necessary affairs of the house. They were enjoined to study, and to work with their hands, their labour consisting in cultivating the fields and gardens, and in transcribing books.

DH Lawrence Festival, 27th August - 30 September 2009

The 6th Annual D.H. Lawrence Festival opens next week in Eastwood.

It promises the "fullest and most diverse programme to date, with something for everyone". Highlights include:

• "Eastwood: the way we lived" - an exhibition at Durban House of historic photographs of Lawrence's hometown of Eastwood


• Outdoor concert at Collier's Wood featuring the Pye Hill Male Voice Choir


• Screening of the classic 1949 film of Lawrence's short story, "The Rocking Horse Winner"


• Outdoor sketching and painting workshops


• Lectures and talks on aspects of Lawrence's work and related subjects


• Talk on Beauvale Priory


• Guided walks around the area

The programme can be downloaded from the Broxtowe Borough Council website:
http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4706

Keep it Local audio tour of Newstead Abbey

The CHAD newspaper has launched the first in their 'Keep it local' audio tours and it's a guided tour of Newstead Abbey by Stephen Thirkill.

Listen to it on the CHAD website:

http://www.chad.co.uk/keepitlocal/Keep-it-Local-Audio-Tour.5501382.jp

Nottingham Castle: 'Walk with Me' binaural audio tour

Artist Lucy Stevens has produced a 'surround sound' audio tour of Nottingham Castle. The walk "encompasses the history of the castle [and she has] selected dates and events from 1212 to the present day." The tour is available to listen to on the Walk with Me blog:

http://castlewalkwithme.blogspot.com/

In the footsteps of Lord Byron

The actor Rupert Everett is presenting a two-part documentary on the travels of Lord Byron. The first episode is tonight (27 July) at 9pm.

The Channel 4 website describes Lord Byron as a "sex explorer, celebrity, and the original 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' hero of the Romantic movement" so it should arouse some interest!

Further information is available here:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-scandalous-adventures-of-lord-byron