Nottinghamshire History Blog

King John's Palace at Kings Clipstone on Time Team

2012-01-29T01:17:00.000-08:00

The new series of Channel 4's Time Team has just started and the episode devoted to the excavation of the medieval royal palace and hunting lodge at Kings Clipstone will air on 1st April. At long last the programme has made it to darkest Nottinghamshire - it's only taken 19 years!

While we wait with eager anticipation there are some nice photos of the dig on the Nottingham University website and a report and photos on the Mansfield Chad site.

For Sale: 43 to 59 Castle Gate and Severns House, Nottingham

2012-01-14T02:22:00.000-08:00

A substantial part of Castle Gate is being put on the market by Nottingham City Council. The fine Georgian terrace which once housed the Costume Museum and the 14th century Severn's House are being sold on behalf of the council by Bruton Knowles. The medieval Severn's House was originally located on Middle Pavement but was dismantled, moved, and re-erected in its current position back in 1968 to make way for the Broadmarsh Centre.

Tours of Welbeck Abbey, August-September 2012

2012-01-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

This year there will be a rare opportunity to see the state rooms at Welbeck Abbey. The Harley Gallery is organising tours of the house (though sadly not the underground ballroom or tunnels) in August and September. Tickets are selling fast so if you are interested see the Harley Gallery website.

Nottingham University Local History Seminars, January-March 2012

2011-12-22T01:05:00.000-08:00

Nottingham University's School of History is running a series of Saturday Local History Seminars early next year. They take place at the School of History in Lenton House, start at 10am and admission costs £5. The programme is as follows:

14 January 2012 – Researching Nottinghamshire's Architectural History by Elaine Harwood (English Heritage)
11 February 2012 – Going Local with the National Trust by Ben Cowell (National Trust)
10 March 2012 – The South Oxfordshire Project: Perceptions of Landscapes, Settlement and Society, c500-1650 by Stephen Mileson (VCH and editor of the Oxoniensia journal)

Full details from Professor John Beckett at john.beckett@nottingham.ac.uk

The latest from Nottinghamshire Archives

2011-12-19T03:58:00.000-08:00

Two new publications from Nottinghamshire County Council's Libraries, Archives and Information department offer a bit of a contrast:

A Grisly History of Nottinghamshire is aimed at children and "reveals the gory details of the bloody and gruesome history of Nottinghamshire" - sounds fun!
Stone Age Nottinghamshire, written by David Budge and Chris Robinson, is a well illustrated guide to the archaeology of Stone Age Nottinghamshire and includes the recent discoveries from Creswell Crags caves

Nottinghamshire Archives is also offering free 15-minute 'taster sessions' to introduce new users to the search room (how to use the microfiche machines, finding your way around the catalogues and indexes etc). You can also take part in one of the 'special interest' topics on offer:

Cemetery records
Electoral registers
Building plans
Maps
Poor law records.

More information is available on the Nottinghamshire Archives website.

Friends of Newark and Sherwood Museum Service launch, 15 December

2011-12-12T00:47:00.001-08:00

The Friends of Newark and Sherwood Museum Service are holding a launch event this Thursday between 6 and 9pm at the Millgate Museum in Newark.

The group has been set up to "to educate, promote, support, assist and improve the Newark and Sherwood Museum Service" and alongside the launch event they are promoting their "Adopt an Object" project which encourages members of the public to adopt objects in the museum collections.

More information on the Friends' website: www.civilwarnewark.co.uk/

The Victoria County History of Nottinghamshire

2011-11-03T01:36:00.000-07:00

There's an article in Tuesday's Nottingham Evening Post on the VCH Nottinghamshire project.

The first two volumes of the Victoria County History of Nottinghamshire were published in 1906 and 1910 and some 100 years later work is now underway to produce parish histories.

A draft of the first parish history (Plumtree with Clipston and Normanton-on-the-Wolds) is now online, with others in preparation.

A printed volume of 10-15 parish histories is planned for 2012/13.

Listed buildings in Nottinghamshire on the English Heritage 'Heritage At Risk' Register

2011-10-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

The ruins of Haughton chapel

English Heritage has just published its 2011 Heritage At Risk register for listed buildings in England. The Risk Register "includes grade I and II* listed buildings, listed places of worship, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, protected wreck sites and conservation areas that are at risk as a result of neglect, decay or inappropriate development.

Pages 59-68 of the East Midlands summary document highlight the heritage assets at risk in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Entries include Annesley Hall (last occupied in 1974 and a worry to locals ever since), the Roman fort at Scaftworth near Bawtry, the ruins of the medieval chapel at Haughton near Walesby, the west front of Newstead Abbey, Worksop Manor Lodge (seriously damaged by arsonists in 2007) and the Roman vexillation fortress at Osmundthorpe near Southwell.

Heritage At Risk Register 2011 - East Midlands

Open day at Kirkby Hardwick excavation, 15 October 2011

2011-10-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting time on Saturday morning wandering around the archaeological excavation at Kirkby Hardwick near Sutton in Ashfield. The ruins of an impressive house dating from the 16th century stood here for many years until the wrecking ball demolished most of it in 1966. Nottinghamshire County Council's Community Archaeology Team, along with local volunteers, have spent the last fortnight trying to determine how much of the complex has survived among the trees.

The archaeologists were very informative and helpfully explained the site and its potential. It is hoped that the Heritage Lottery Fund will provide sufficient funding for further seasons of work on this intriguing site.

G G Bonser's article on Kirkby Hardwick on the Notts History website

Kirkby & District from Old Photographs

2011-10-05T02:21:00.000-07:00

Amberley Publishing has just sent me a review copy of 'Kirkby & District from Old Photographs' published last year. Kirkby-in-Ashfield was a predominantly agricultural village until the mining industry and the railways transformed it in the late 19th century.

The photographs are from the archives of the Kirkby & District Conservation Society and they have been carefully selected to reflect all aspects of life in the town: work, sport, education, religion, entertainment and heritage. There are some evocative images of some of the fine houses, such as Kirkby Hardwick and the Manor House, that were lost in the destructive 1960s and of well attended Whitsuntide marches which, to my surprise, continued into the 1960s. One of the most eye-catching photographs is the snapshot of a bricklayer balancing 10 bricks on his head!

It is a fine collection of images with very informative (and occasionally amusing) captions.

Amberley Publishing website

Kirkby Hardwick excavation: 3-14 October 2011

2011-09-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

Kirkby Hardwick in 1912.

Community archaeologists from Nottinghamshire County Council have teamed up with volunteers from Kirkby and District Archaeology Group to run a two-week excavation of Kirkby Hardwick, a large house with medieval origins, which is located near to Sutton Parkway railway station. The house was demolished in the mid-1960s and the aim of the excavation is to "uncover some of the foundations and footprint of the building, and start to understand how the building developed over time." A brief history of the house is available on my Notts History website.

The dig will be open to the public on Saturday, 15 October between 10 and 4. Information is available on the Nottinghamshire County Council website.

Thanks to the Southumbria blog for alerting me to this project.

Request for help with the Nottinghamshire Great War Centenary Exhibition (2014)

2011-09-27T01:31:00.000-07:00

Major John Cotterill is organising an exhibition on Nottinghamshire in the Great War to be held at Nottingham Castle in 2014. The exhibition will "cover all aspects of the part played in the Great War by the men, women, institutions, industrial enterprises and regiments of Nottinghamshire." John is putting together a team of volunteers to undertake research and also act as guides for some of the events and if you would like to take part please email him at john.cotterill@btinternet.com.

Event: 'People, places ... and baskets' A Nottinghamshire historical miscellany (29 October 2011)

2011-09-27T01:13:00.000-07:00

The next Nottinghamshire Local History Association conference will give several local history societies the chance to "offer short presentations on aspects of their particular local interest and the fruits of their labour in pursuing it." Presentations include 'Ravenshead- birth of a community', the effect of WW1 on Bramcote, the history of basket-weaving in East Leake, Thynghowe ("a Viking age assembly site in Birklands on the western edge of Sherwood Forest"), the Elston Heritage Project, Cuckney village history and George Freeth (a Victorian solicitor). The conference will take place at Ravenshead Village Hall on Saturday, 29th October, 10am-4.30pm.
See the Nottinghamshire Local History Association website for further information.

The Nottinghamshire Historian, Autumn/Winter 2011

2011-09-27T01:01:00.000-07:00

The latest edition of The Nottinghamshire Historian has just arrived. There is a fascinating article on the development of Nottinghamshire County Council's CLASP (Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme) modular building system. These distinctive buildings can be found all over the county (and country!) and I spent many 'happy' hours being educated in the ones at Rampton Primary and Retford Grammar schools in the 1960s and 70s. Other articles cover the work of the Norwell Parish Heritage Group, reminiscences of Vernon Radcliffe (curator of Newark Museum from 1964-1991) and a profile of Arthur William Brewill, architect and soldier.
Further details (and downloadable documentation on CLASP buildings) are available on the Nottinghamshire Local History Association website.

Hyson Green flats feature on BBC2's 'The Reel History of Britain programme

2011-09-23T23:50:00.000-07:00

The Hyson Green local history project, 'On the Flats', will feature on next week's 'The Reel History of Britain' programme, presented by Melvyn Bragg.

Entitled 'Streets in the sky', the programme "will explore housing redevelopment in the ‘60s and ‘70s – including how high-rise housing like Hyson Green Flats was said to promise a better way of living when it was first built."

The programme goes out at 6.30pm on Tuesday, 27 September on BBC2.

The Reel History of Britain: Streets in the Sky page on the BBC website

Romano-British village found near Collingham

2011-09-19T02:43:00.000-07:00

There's a report in today's Nottingham Evening Post covering the excavation of a Romano-British rural settlement at Tarmac's Langford Quarry, near Collingham.

A team from Trent and Peak Archaeology has spent the past year working on the site and have uncovered eight stone-lined wells, containing worked timbers, and a wide range of small finds.

Archaeologist Lee Elliott commented that "the exceptional range of artefacts for a rural community suggests prosperity, possibly built on large-scale animal husbandry and associated products servicing the nearby Romano-British towns at Brough and Lincoln."

Open Heritage Day events: 8-11 September 2011

2011-08-30T01:58:00.000-07:00

"Heritage Open Days celebrates England’s fantastic architecture and culture by offering free access to properties that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission." A wide range of properties in Nottinghamshire will be open, including Nottingham Central Fire Station, Sneinton Hermitage caves, Barton's bus garage in Chilwell, St Ann's Heritage Gardens, Pleasley Pit and Retford's Majestic Theatre in addition to behind-the-scenes tours of Nottinghamshire Archives and the Local Studies Library.

A full list of events in the county is available here: http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/county/Nottinghamshire

There is also a booklet for events in Nottingham: http://nottinghamcivicsociety.org.uk/images/pdf_files/heritage2011v3.pdf

News from Nottinghamshire Archives (July 2011)

2011-07-20T02:23:00.000-07:00

Nottinghamshire Archives is running a talk on Sherwood Forest. The talk is part of the 'Creative Perambulations' project and will cover medieval perambulations of the Forest, the courts that administered justice and Forest Law and the various medieval inhabitants of the area. A medieval perambulation and other relevant documents will be available to view.

Archives have also recently produced a new well-illustrated book, 'Turning back the pages on Maid Marian Way', which looks at the history of this controversial road project. The architectural historian, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, commented on the road's ugliness and many historians have deplored the way the road disrupts the medieval street pattern and led to the destruction of some fine buildings.

Further information is available on the Nottinghamshire Archives website.

Hyson Green History

2011-07-20T01:42:00.000-07:00

'On the Flats' is a Heritage Lottery-funded project to research the history of the Nottingham suburb of Hyson Green. The project is using oral history interviews and archive-based resources but is also gathering material from former residents to deposit in the archives.

A website (www.hysongreenhistory.org) has been launched and at the end of 2011 the team will produce a booklet and stage an exhibition at Brewhouse Yard on the Hyson Green Flats Story.

The project is looking for ex-residents to interview, anyone who worked in key services connected with the Flats (e.g. health, social work, council officials, police) and any materials and items which have a connection with the Flats.

Open Churches Weekends in Nottinghamshire, July 2011

2011-07-08T05:54:00.000-07:00

The Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham has launched the Open Churches Project as part of the Church History Project (which intends to provide detailed historical and archaeological information about every church in the Diocese).

71 churches in the south and west of Nottinghamshire are open over Saturday and Sunday 9th-10th, 16th-17th July 2011. Further details (including downloadable church guides, church trail leaflet and posters) and a full list of participating churches are available on the website: www.nottsopenchurches.org.uk/index.html

New Woodborough Heritage website

2011-07-04T04:07:00.000-07:00

The Woodborough Heritage website has recently been "overhauled, extended and improved in its presentation and ease of reference."

The website has been reorganised into major themes and now contains an impressive total of 200 articles most of which are illustrated with photographs taken from a database of more than 4,500 images (an example is shown below).

www.woodborough-heritage.org.uk

"This 1913 photograph shows the Bugle Horn Pub, Old Post office, butchers shop and also the blacksmiths, this really was the centre of the village in 1913 as it is today but without the trades. The only building that has been demolished is the Bugle Horn and that happened in the 1960’s. On the opposite side of the road but out of view is St Swithun's Church. From left to right Mrs. Martha E Foster, with Miss. Gertie Foster and Tommy Burnett RN. Also Mr. Henshaw with his horse and trap, the main lettering on the rear states ”Hygienic Bakery - Lambley”, lettering on the side states P Henshaw. The Foster’s ran the Post Office and the Burnett’s lived for a short time at the Manor House leaving around 1915."

Roman Nottinghamshire Blog

2011-07-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Mark Patterson, author of a new book on Roman Nottinghamshire, has emailed to tell me about his new blog.

The blog includes news on the book and a useful gazetteer of Roman sites in the county.

romannottinghamshire.wordpress.com/

Exhibition: 'Dinner with a Duke' at the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Abbey

2011-06-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

'Dinner with a Duke - Decoding food and drink at Welbeck 1690 - 1910' is an intriguing exhibition showing at the Harley Gallery, Welbeck Abbey until February 2012.

The exhibition "focuses on 400 years of entertaining at Welbeck, looking at the lavish and fashionable tableware, entertaining as social duty, and the specialist departments that included hothouses, bakehouse, poultry house, dairy, fruit and vegetable gardens along with stories of servants eating and drinking too much while the family was away."

There is also an accompanying programme of talks.

More information is available on the Harley Gallery website.

Besthorpe Quarry excavations

2011-06-25T04:12:00.000-07:00

There will be an Open Day at Besthorpe Quarry on Sunday 24 July with site tours and a finds display as part of the CBA's Festival of British Archaeology (though I can't find it listed on their website!).

Later in the summer, Nottingham County Council's Community Archaeologists will be running further open days and a community dig at the Mons Pool part of the site.

Further information and contact details are available on the Nottinghamshire County Council website. A press release on the work done here by Salford University's Centre for Applied Archaeology has been published on the Lafarge website.

CBA Festival of British Archaeology 2011: 16th - 31st July.

2011-06-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

The Council for British Archaeology is holding another national Festival of British Archaeology next month.

The Festival "showcases the very best of British archaeology, by presenting hundreds of special events organised and held by museums, local societies, national and countryside parks, universities, and heritage organisations across the UK" and offers "everyone the opportunity to learn about their local heritage, to see archaeology in action, and to get involved."

Events in Nottinghamshire include:

Moor Pond Wood Project in Papplewick (Excavation and exploration of an 18th-century water system designed to serve cotton mills along the River Leen).
A display at Mansfield Museum of 12th century pottery found last year in Skegby
Iron Age roundhouse open day (Calverton)
Pageant at King John's Palace, Kings Clipstone (includes display of some of the results of Time Team's excavation a couple of months ago)
Guided walks to the Queen's Sconce, an English Civil War defensive work south of Newark
A display by Priories Historical Society at Worksop Library of finds from recent archaeological work and Nottinghamshire/South Yorkshire local history
Behind-the-scenes tours of Nottingham City Museums & Galleries
Living history and family-oriented activities with Nottinghamshire County Council's Community Archaeologists at Riverside Park, Newark

Further information is available on the CBA Festival of Archaeology website.

The Manorial Documents Register now online

2011-06-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

National Archives have launched an online version of their Manorial Documents Register, which identifies the nature and location of manorial archives. The Register includes "court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and all other documents relating to the boundaries, franchises, wastes, customs or courts of a manor" and Nottinghamshire is one of the counties included.

The Manorial Documents Register

Excavating Southwell's Roman past

2011-06-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Staff and students from Nottingham University's Department of Archaeology have been digging 1 square metre test pits in Southwell to try and find out more about the development of the Roman settlement that underlies the present town.

A large number of Roman and Anglo-Saxon finds have been discovered during excavations in 25 gardens in Southwell.

Video on BBC Nottingham website

New book on Roman Nottinghamshire

2011-05-31T04:09:00.000-07:00

Nottingham-based author, Mark Patterson, is to be commended for making recent archaeological research on Roman Nottinghamshire available "in accessible narrative form." Motivated by a desire to correct the widely-held view that the county is a black-spot for Roman archaeology, Mark has trawled through academic journals, talked to professionals and experts and visited the sites to produce a readable and comprehensive synthesis of the latest thinking on this 400 year period of Nottinghamshire history.

The book covers the standard themes of pre-Roman tribal society, Romano-British religion and culture, military sites, villas and roads. The author also devotes space to every major Roman site in the county and summarises past and present discussions about their development; from the 17th/18th century fantasies of the antiquarians to the more scientifically based conclusions of modern archaeologists. The roadside settlement of Margidunum on the Fosse Way near Bingham is given the most attention and Patterson challenges some of the conclusions drawn by Felix Oswald who excavated it in the 1930s. I was, however, sometimes surprised by the order of the sections, particularly the one on post-Roman Nottinghamshire which appears at the end of the 'life's essentials' chapter after a discussion on diet and food!

The book is well illustrated but would be improved by the addition of detailed maps showing the distribution of villas, forts and roads in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding area: the two maps that are included depict some of the information but they don't show the full picture.

Minor criticisms aside, it remains a very useful and eminently readable summary of the latest research on the Roman archaeology of Nottinghamshire and is highly recommended.

Laxton Heritage Day, 3 July 2011

2011-05-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

The heritage day is being held at Crosshill Farm on July 3rd to celebrate "the amazing story of Laxton and how it came to be the last open field farming village in the country where strip farming is still practised, the manorial system still operates and the farmers are bound by the rules of the Court Leet."

Events on the day include:

Guided tours of the Open Fields , the church and the motte & bailey castle
Talks by Professor John Beckett, the authority on the history of Laxton
Display by Laxton History Group featuring many items not normally on view to the public and incorporating Newark & Sherwood Museums Service and Tuxford Windmill
Heritage films and photos
Vintage tractor and horse ploughing
Craft demonstrations and information stands
Morris dancing from Rattlejag Morris of Retford – the people who dance in the May at Laxton castle
Notts Wildlife trust
Medieval Lives demonstration
Refreshments, sandwiches, cakes, bar
Raffle and lots more

See the Laxton Heritage Day 2011 website for further information.

Transactions of the Thoroton Society, Volume 114 (2010)

2011-05-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

The latest Transactions of the county historical society has just been published. Contents include:

Cranbrook House, Cranbrook Street, Nottingham: An Archaeological Excavation Revisited by Scott Lomax
Tree-Ring Dating and the Historical and Social Context of Timber-Frame Buildings, Norwell, Nottinghamshire by Matthew Hurford, Michael Jones and Cathy Tyers
Ergotism? A Seventeenth Century Demographic Crisis in Bassetlaw by Jean Nicholson and Hannah Nicholson
The North Nottinghamshire Coal Trade in the Eighteenth Century by Philip Riden
The Nottinghamshire History Lecture 2010. Harmony and Good Company: The Choir-Band as a Vehicle of Sociability in Nottinghamshire, c.1750-1830 by Katie Holland
The Library World of Nottinghamshire in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century by Peter Hoare
Burgage Manor: New Perspectives on Georgian Southwell by Stanley Chapman
Byron at Burgage Manor, 1803-08 by Geoffrey Bond
Cheering the Member: Gladstone Election Songs at Newark by Richard A Gaunt
The Clergyman, The Widow, and The Milkman: An Examination into the Landlords of Working Class Housing in Edwardian Nottingham by Maureen Cooper
Archaeology in Nottinghamshire 2010 edited by Keith Challis

Further information is available on the Thoroton Society website.

"East Retford and the Dukeries"

2011-05-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

The latest addition to my Nottinghamshire History website is "East Retford and the Dukeries", a guide to the town and the surrounding area dating from 1908. I was delighted to find the book at Ken Spelman's bookshop in York a couple of months ago and particularly enjoyed looking at the adverts: many of the names (e.g. Northern Rubber, Jenkins, Bamforth, Curtis) are familiar from when I lived in Retford during the 1970s.

Notts History website

Graffiti at the site of the Southwell Roman villa

2011-05-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

On a recent visit to Southwell I was amused to see that not only do the locals write graffiti in Latin but that fellow citizens helpfully correct their grammar! What an educated place....

Fading Faces exhibition at the Central Library in Nottingham

2011-05-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Fading Faces Project is recording gargoyles, grotesques & reliefs in Nottinghamshire. The aim is to "document, archive and record these stone sentinels of history in anyway possible before they disappear completely."

A photographic exhibition showing examples of Nottinghamshire gargoyles is running throughout May at Nottingham Central Library.

BBC Nottingham gallery

John Speed's map of Nottinghamshire available online

2011-04-25T01:45:00.000-07:00

Cambridge University Library holds one of five known sets of proof maps prepared for John Speed's Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, which was published in 1611/12. The University Library has digitised the atlas and full-sized prints can be purchased online.

The Nottinghamshire map depicts towns and villages in the county and includes a detailed street plan of Nottingham and information on the Battle of Stoke (1487). A zoomable image can be viewed on the website.

Cambridge University Library

Time Team in Notts!

2011-04-09T02:20:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago I bemoaned the fact that Time Team had consistently ignored Nottinghamshire over 18 series of exploring the archaeology of the UK (and occasionally beyond). I now learn that this week the team have been working on King John's Palace, a medieval hunting lodge and royal palace at Kings Clipstone, near Mansfield - that'll teach me!

There are some nice photos on the Nottingham University website and a report and photos on the Mansfield Chad site.

Nottingham Civic Society celebrates demolished hotel

2011-04-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

Nottingham Civic Society has unveiled a plaque on the site of the long-demolished Nottingham landmark, The Black Boy Hotel. This impressive 1887 building was designed by the flamboyant architect Watson Fothergill and regrettably destroyed in 1970 to be replaced by a dismal Littlewoods store (now occupied by Primark).

Ken Brand of the Civic Society commented that "its demolition was considered by most to be the worst example of architectural vandalism of that era in Nottingham."

BBC Nottingham news item

New Nottinghamshire community history website

2011-03-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

The 'Our Nottinghamshire' website has been launched with the aim of encouraging people to add their memories, stories, photographs and comments on Nottinghamshire.
The website is available at http://www.ournottinghamshire.org.uk/

D H Lawrence Heritage Centre reprieve

2011-03-24T10:16:00.000-07:00

Nottingham University has come to the rescue and agreed a £105,000 grant to ensure Durban House in Eastwood remains open for the next two years. Originally, it was built as offices for the Barber Walker Colliery Company and was bought and restored by Broxtowe Borough Council in the 1990s. It houses the D H Lawrence Heritage Centre which is under threat because of cuts in council funding.

"From Villa to Minster, Southwell - its origins, and place in our national heritage" on 29 March 2011

2011-03-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

A public meeting has been organised by Southwell heritage groups to discuss the national significance of the town's Roman archaeology and will feature leading experts on Roman and ecclesiastical archaeology.
The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of the remains recently uncovered on Church Street prior to council planners considering an application for 31 houses on the site.
Further details are available on the Southwell Archaeology website.

Free access to Nottinghamshire museums, 20 March 2011

2011-03-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

BBC Nottingham has organised another "Big Day Out" - "a celebration of the county's history and heritage" for 20 March. Many museums in Nottinghamshire will offer free entry and those participating include:

Clumber Park
D H Lawrence Birthplace Museum and Heritage Centre
Flintham Museum
Brewhouse Yard, Nottingham
Iron Age Roundhouse, Calverton
Galleries of Justice, Nottingham
Laxton Heritage Centre
Newark Air Museum

and many more!

See the BBC Nottingham website for further details.

Metal-detectorist uncovers Bronze Age tools near Newark

2011-03-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

Maurice Richardson, who discovered an impressive Iron Age Torc near Newark a couple of years ago, has uncovered a cache of Bronze Age tools 8 miles outside Newark. The cache includes "several well-preserved socket axe handles, chisels, a spear head, broken sections of swords, and unmoulded clumps of bronze."

Story in the Newark Advertiser

Time Team avoid Nottinghamshire again

2011-02-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying the current series of Time Team (while quietly hoping that Channel 4 don't mess about with the scheduling like they did last year) but find myself musing on the fact that this is series 18 of TV's longest-running archaeology show and yet again the team give Nottinghamshire a wide berth! Is it something we said???

What sites in the county would be sufficiently interesting to lure Tony and his chums here? Here are a few suggestions:

Haughton Hall, near Walesby, was a magnificent medieval house, surrounded by a moat, set in impressive parkland. There is a ruined medieval chapel a short distance away from the site of the hall, presumably associated with the deserted settlement of Haughton, and a duck decoy refashioned from a motte and bailey castle (see the following articles on the Notts History website "Haughton to the verge of splendour" and "Haughton Hall")
Greasley Castle, a mid-14th century fortified manor house near Eastwood (see article covering brief excavations in the 1930s and the Greasley Parish website for further information)
Cromwell Roman villa just north of Newark is clearly visible from the air but (as far as I know) hasn't been excavated
Medieval-18th century coal pits near Strelley village on the western outskirts of Nottingham
The English Civil War defensive earthworks around Newark-on-Trent
Clipstone Peel in Sherwood Forest, identified by Dr David Crook, was "a sophisticated wooden palisade with external ditch and gates ... [it] included a gatehouse, hall, royal chamber, a chapel, bakehouse, grange, and animal sheds" - it only lasted a few years in the early 14th century before being dismantled (further information on The Gatehouse website)

Any others?!

Nottingham University Museum of Archaeology 'Prehistory Day', 23 February 2011

2011-02-22T06:33:00.000-08:00

There's a chance to connect with our prehistoric forbears at the The University of Nottingham Museum of Archaeology's 'Hands on Prehistory Day' tomorrow. See the article on the BBC Nottingham website for further details:

BBC Nottingham article

Latest 'The Nottinghamshire Historian' published

2011-02-19T00:09:00.000-08:00

The Spring/Summer edition of The Nottinghamshire Historian has just arrived through my letterbox and contains the following articles:

Sutton-in-Ashfield: The Unwin Dynasty and the Bag Hosiers
Homes fit for Heroes: Nottingham's First Council Houses, 1919–1927
The centenary of the first cinemas in Nottingham

Further information is available on the Nottinghamshire Local History Association website.

Searching for the grave of the 5th Duke of Portland

2011-02-18T03:58:00.000-08:00

During a recent visit to London I spent a couple of hours wandering around the impressive monuments of Kensal Green Cemetery. Not only is it a superb example of an early Victorian cemetery but it also contains the grave of the eccentric 5th Duke of Portland, best known for being "The Underground Man" or "Mole Duke" who spent much of the family fortune constructing tunnels and underground rooms at Welbeck Abbey.

The Duke's monument is quite difficult to find*, despite being the largest plot in the cemetery, and is surprisingly plain (in stark contrast to those of many of his contemporaries). It consists of a pink Peterhead granite slab surrounded by grey granite kerbs and posts. The memorial was damaged by World War 2 bombing and bronze chains and fittings were stolen in the early 1950s. The inscription reads "SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE MOST NOBLE WILLIAM JOHN CAVENDISH BENTINCK SCOTT FIFTH DUKE OF PORTLAND. BORN 17TH SEPTEMBER 1800. DIED 6TH DECEMBER 1879."

* Thanks to John Clarke of Brookwood Cemetery for help with locating the monument.

Bid for funds to investigate prehistoric site near Newark-on-Trent

2011-02-14T02:40:00.000-08:00

Farndon Archaeological Research Investigations (FARI) are applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund for £50,000 to enable them to further investigate a prehistoric site in the fields near Farndon. It is likely that the site was a camp (or several camps) where hunters processed killed animals.
Further information on the BBC Nottingham website:

Archaeologists look to protect rare prehistoric site

Notttinghamshire Archives news

2011-01-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

Nottinghamshire Archives has purchased a 12th century charter at auction in London. The charter dates from the 1180s and records a grant by Rufford Abbey of land in Eakring to Osbert de capella and his wife Emma.

Article in the Nottingham Evening Post, 18 January 2011

A £38,000 project to catalogue the archives of Southwell Minster now held at Nottinghamshire Archives has been completed. Information on the 7,000 documents is available on the Nottinghamshire Archives Online Catalogue:

Nottinghamshire County Council press release

Society of Landscape Studies Study Weekend in Nottinghamshire, May 2011

2011-01-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Society of Landscape Studies has organised a study weekend for the 14-15 May 2011 which will focus on the area around Norwell, Ossington and Egmanton on the first day and the parkland landscape of Thoresby Hall on the second day.
Further details are available on the society's website.

New book on the Pierrepont family

2010-12-31T02:58:00.000-08:00

Ashbracken of Radcliffe-on-Trent has recently published a lavishly-illustrated, comprehensive history of one of Nottinghamshire's most illustrious families, the Pierreponts. Their extensive estates were centred on Holme Pierrepont and Thoresby and members of the family were prominent in military, political and sporting fields. Amongst their strong-willed women were "a daughter whose broken marriage laid the way for modern divorce; another who introduced inoculation against smallpox; and a bigamous duchess."
Further information is available on the Ashbracken website.

Recent publications from Nottinghamshire County Council

2010-12-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

The County Council has recently published the following:

Turning Back the Pages on Nottinghamshire Canals by Ray and Joanne Bickel (see article in the Nottingham Evening Post)
An outline history of the Railways of Nottinghamshire by Michael A. Vanns
Map of Nottinghamshire from The English Counties Delineated by Thomas Moule, 1837
Politics, Law and Society in Nottinghamshire: The Diaries of Godfrey Tallents of Newark 1829-1839, edited by Richard A Gaunt

See the local studies publications page on the County Council website for further details and an order form.

Watson Fothergill's buildings in Nottingham

2010-12-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

The BBC Nottingham website has an interesting article on the exhuberant buildings of Victorian architect, Watson Fothergill, which are a characteristic feature of Nottingham. The article is accompanied by two short videos presented by Dominic Heale:

A bus tour of central Nottingham to show some of Watson Fothergill's finest buildings
A look at the restoration of the impressive former Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Bank on Thurland Street

For further information on the architect and his buildings see:

The Watson Fothergill website
Ken Brand's article on Fothergill and other Nottingham architects on the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway website

Archaeologists to study Viking meeting place near Warsop

2010-11-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

A mound in Sherwood Forest ("Thynghowe") is to be investigated in January by archaeologists from Nottinghamshire County Council and University College, London. The County Council team will be conducting a topographical survey of the mound and its surrounding landscape and the University College archaeologists will undertake a magnetometry survey.
Thynghowe is said to be a Viking meeting-place, also known as a "Thing", and was discovered five years ago by a couple from Rainworth.

BBC's Turn Back Time Flickr project

2010-11-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

"Turn Back Time is a new BBC TV living-history series that transports four empty shops and a group of contemporary shop-keeping families back to the high street's heyday in the 1870s." The series will also cover the families through the following 100 years.

The BBC have a number of projects and activities accompanying the series, including a group on the photo-sharing website, Flickr, that allows people to upload "then and now" photos of high street shops in their area.

Nottinghamshire museums, libraries and the archives office are also running events (workshops, talks, walks and exhibitions) in association with the project.

Nottingham University Local History Seminars 2010-11

2010-10-22T03:31:00.000-07:00

Nottingham University's School of History is running a series of Saturday Local History Seminars this autumn/winter. They start at 10am and admission costs £5. The programme is as follows:

9th October 2010 - Prof J V Beckett: The state of local history today
13th November 2010 - Sue Clayton: Counters and conflicts? Village shops c.1880-1954
11th December 2010 - Dr Kate Holland: The forgotten world of the choir-band
12th March 2011 - Prof David Hey: Surnames, DNA and family history

Further information is available on the School of History website.

Durban House, Eastwood, under threat again

2010-10-19T01:35:00.000-07:00

It is depressing to read that the future of Durban House in Eastwood, home to the D H Lawrence Heritage Centre, is under threat yet again. Broxtowe Borough Council, who owns and runs the building, is trying to save money in the face of severe cuts to its budgets. Prominent figures in the arts such as Salman Rushdie, Glenda Jackson, Martin Amis, Lord Putnam and Ken Russell have published an open letter arguing "DH Lawrence is one of the world's most important writers and that he has a unique place in British culture that should be celebrated" and expressing their disquiet at the council's proposal to close the DH Lawrence heritage centre in his home town of Eastwood.

Laxton on TV

2010-10-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

The open field system at Laxton was featured on the second episode of Michael Wood's fascinating series, the Story of England. The episode (and the previous one) can be viewed on iPlayer. Further details are available on the BBC FOUR website.
Other websites on Laxton:

TO THE CASTLE! A walk through Nottingham retracing the 1831 Reform Riots, 10th October 2010

2010-09-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

The Nottingham and Notts Radical Histreh group have organised a walk retracing the 1831 Reform Riots on Sunday 10th October at 2pm.

Council plans to set up new museum and national centre for the English Civil War in Newark

2010-09-11T01:57:00.000-07:00

Newark & Sherwood District Council have applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a £2.8 million grant to support a project to turn the 16th century Magnus Buildings on Appletongate into a museum incorporating galleries devoted to the English Civil War.

Newark and Sherwood District Council press release

Prehistoric and Roman remains uncovered during widening of the A46

2010-08-26T05:25:00.000-07:00

Archaeologists working as part of the Highways Agency scheme to widen the A46 between Newark and Widmerpool have uncovered prehistoric flint tools and flint knapping debris dating from 11,000BC, beaker pottery and a Bronze Age ring ditch near Stragglethorpe. Roman buildings, including a stone-lined well and building foundations have also been excavated.

New exhibition on the history of Nottingham Castle

2010-08-14T03:04:00.000-07:00

A new exhibition, 'Fragments from Nottingham Castle', tracing the history of this city landmark from medieval fortification to the country's first municipal art gallery outside London, has recently opened. 100 objects from the site, including stone, furniture and furnishing along with models and paintings tell the story of the castle. The exhibition is in the Nottingham Story gallery.

Further information is available on the Nottingham City Council website:
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=11051

Who do you think you are? Monty Don's Retford connections.

2010-08-14T01:50:00.000-07:00

I was interested to see my old home town of Retford make an appearance on this week's edition of "Who do you think you are?" Monty Don's great-great-grandfather, the Reverend Charles Hodge, was vicar of St Saviour's church on Welham Road in the 1840s and 1850s. Monty found several of his printed sermons at Nottingham University manuscripts department, one of which was a "fire and brimstone" tirade against the poor of his parish for not being sufficiently pious!

Intriguingly, his wife Anne emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1850s, leaving Charles and their nine children behind. A few years later she came back to Retford and most of the family emigrated to New Zealand. However, in 1859 Charles left the family and headed back to England but tragically drowned when the steam clipper Royal Charter sank off the coast of Anglesey on its way to Liverpool. Anne remained in New Zealand and died there in 1890.

The programme can be viewed on the BBC's iPlayer site:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tfpvn/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are_Series_7_Monty_Don/

BBC Hands on History website

2010-08-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

The BBC Hands on History website has recently been launched. Initially the website focuses on the Normans and includes an interactive map of the UK featuring walks, trails and great day trips to Norman sites and buildings around the country: Southwell Minster and the early Norman church of St Mary and St Martin in Blyth are included.

The website also includes free activity packs which families can download, including 'I Spy' guides for Norman churches and castles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/

New Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway entry on railways in Nottinghamshire

2010-07-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

I've added a section to the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway website on how to go about researching the history of railways in the county. The introduction offers an overview of railway developments, from the construction of Midland Counties Railway's line from Derby to Nottingham in 1839 to the opening of the East Midlands Parkway Station near Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009. I've also produced a series of maps of the railway network in 1880, 1922, 1946 and 2010 to demonstrate the rapid growth of the lines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the dramatic shrinkage of the network by the close of the last century.

www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/themes/railways.htm

The Road to Fotheringhay, 21st - 29th July 2010

2010-07-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Wakefield Historical Society is organising a journey starting this week to commemorate the 550th anniversary of the death of Richard, Duke of York, at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. The journey will follow the route along which his body was later taken for reburial from Pontefract to Fotheringhay, staying each night at the places where the body rested. The Nottinghamshire section of the journey include the following events:

Friday 23^rd July 2010 at the Church of St Mary and St Martin, Blyth

6 pm Vespers of the Dead

6.30 pm Talk Seeing salvation and sacred imagery at Blyth Priory Church by Dr Jenny Alexander

Saturday 24th July 2010

Morning walk west of Retford

Two-mile walk led by local historian Joan Board, along a most atmospheric section of the route to the west of Retford, little altered by the developments of the last centuries but part of the main road to London at the period of Richard's funeral. Two ancient inns with a colourful history, now private houses, mark the start and finish of the walk. The walk is open to anyone, but please contact us in advance to arrange final times and place to meet on 01924 373658.

At the Church of St Nicholas, Tuxford le Clay

6 pm Vespers of the Dead

6.30 pm Talk Laxton - a medieval agricultural survival by Professor John Beckett

Sunday 25th July 2010

Afternoon walk at North Muskham

Walk led by local historian Madge Brown and the North Muskham History Group from North Muskham to South Muskham just north of Newark. The walk is open to anyone, but please contact us in advance to arrange final times and place to meet on 01924 373658.

At the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Newark

6 pm Vespers of the Dead

6.30 pm Talk Medieval Pilgrimage by Dr David Marcombe

See the Road to Fotheringhay website for further information.

Politics, Law and Society in Nottinghamshire: The Diaries of Godfrey Tallents of Newark, 1829-1839

2010-06-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

An edition of the diaries of a Newark solicitor which throws light on the early days of the future Prime Minister, William Gladstone, when he was a local MP is being launched today.

Dr Richard Gaunt of Nottingham University has edited the diaries of Godfrey Tallents into one volume which mentions Tallent's friendship with Gladstone in the 1830s. "The diary also presents a vivid picture of local and national politics at the time of the Great Reform Act of 1832 and details some of the violently contested parliamentary elections in Newark."

Further information is available from the Nottinghamshire County Council website:

http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/prarticle.htm?id=133096&Leisure=t;

Thoroton's History of Nottinghamshire online

2010-06-27T23:25:00.001-07:00

Dr Robert Thoroton's History of Nottinghamshire, originally published in 1677 and re-published by John Throsby in three volumes with additions in the 1790s, has been transcribed and the full text made available on the British History website:

www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=442

Two volumes of this edition of the book are also available courtesy of the Google Books digitisation programme:

Volume 1 - www.archive.org/details/historynottingh00thorgoog
Volume 2 - www.archive.org/details/historynottingh01thorgoog

Online exhibition on medieval Nottingham

2010-06-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

Nottinghamshire Archives have put together a fascinating online exhibition on medieval Nottingham. Subjects covered include:

the town's topography
governing the town
churches
guilds
markets
law and order
trades

A wide range of historic documents have been included to provide insights into life in the town. I particularly enjoyed reading the complaints to the Mickeltourn Jury in 1395: it appears that Nottingham was full of traders overcharging the townsfolk for poor quality goods and the inhabitants were being reported for flinging "ordure" all over the place! Some things never change...

Nottinghamshire Archives

The Festival of British Archaeology 2010 in Nottinghamshire

2010-06-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

Details of events in Nottinghamshire are now available on the CBA website. These include open days at the Besthorpe and Langford excavations to the north of Newark, sessions with Finds Liaison Officers, an open day at the Calverton Iron-Age roundhouse, behind-the-scenes visits to museums, family-orientated activities etc.

Go to the What's on page of the CBA website and type in "nottinghamshire" in the search box (the interactive map doesn't seem to be working at the moment!):

festival.britarch.ac.uk/whatson

English Heritage research reports

2010-05-27T09:42:00.001-07:00

Buried deep inside the English Heritage website are a handful of research reports on places and buildings in Nottinghamshire:

Event: Landscape History of Sherwood Forest and Nottinghamshire, 11 September 2010

2010-05-23T02:38:00.000-07:00

"This one day meeting will consider new and exciting research by archaeologists, geographers, historians and other scholars on the landscape history of Sherwood Forest and Nottinghamshire from the Bronze Age to the Twentieth Century. The meeting will be at The Space in the Nottingham Contemporary art gallery in the Lace Market, Nottingham."

Booking form and further details can be downloaded from here:

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B9vaVw1tjA5LOGUzMjBjZGYtNTkxMC00YTcwLWEyYTQtMjZhYmRlNTgxZDVl&hl=en

British Pathe newsreels - help wanted for Nottinghamshire collection

2010-05-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

The archive of over 90,000 British Pathe newsreels has been digitised and made available online. Approximately 75 clips of Nottinghamshire-related material has been identified and grouped together here:

http://www.britishpathe.com/workspace.php?id=5334&display=list

British Pathe are keen to engage with local historians and experts in the county to develop a more accurate description of these clips. The attached letter from Jack Cullen, Media Officer at British Pathe, provides further information on the project:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AdvaVw1tjA5LZHI2Yzg4Zl8xMjY0dGQ5emZy&hl=en

Jack's contact details are:

Email: notts@britishpathe.com

British Pathé Ltd

The Media Centre

3 – 8 Carburton Street

London

W1W 5AJ

Tel: 0207 665 8349

Project to laser map Nottingham's ancient caves

2010-05-16T10:54:00.001-07:00

Dr David Walker of Nottingham University is running a two-year project to map the exact shapes of all Nottingham's sandstone caves by using laser technology.

The plan is to produce an online virtual tour of all 450 caves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8682000/8682884.stm

The project website is here:

http://nottinghamcavessurvey.org.uk/

Transactions of the Thoroton Society, vol 113 (2009)

2010-05-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

The latest Transactions of the Thoroton Society - the journal for Nottinghamshire history and archaeology is now available. Contents include:

A Late Third-century Coin-hoard from Little Morton, Babworth, Nottinghamshire by Malcolm J. Dolby, Jen Eccles, Daryl Garton, Ruth S. Leary and Gwladys Monteil
Excavations outside Church Hole, Creswell Crags: The First Three Seasons (2006-8) by Paul B. Pettitt, Roger M. Jacobi, Andrew T. Chamberlain, Alistair W.G. Pike, Danielle Schreve, Ian Wall, Robert Dinnis and Rebecca Wragg Sykes
The Nottinghamshire History Lecture 2009. Stevenson Revisited: A Fresh Look at Nottingham's Borough Records, 1400-1600 by Judith Mills
Timothy Pusey of Selston Hall, Nottinghamshire (c. 1560-1647) by Clive Leivers
Landlord and Tenants: The Impact of the Civil Wars on the Clare Estates in Nottinghamshire, 1642-1649 by Peter Seddon
Early Nineteenth Century Weather Records taken at Bromley House, Nottingham by John Wilson
A Nottinghamshire Historian: Arthur Cossons (1893-1963) by Neil Cossons
The Thoroton Society and the Victoria County History by John Beckett
Archaeology in Nottinghamshire 2009 edited by Christopher Robinson

Further information on the Thoroton Society website.

World War 2 Heritage at Wollaton Hall

2010-05-11T04:26:00.000-07:00

Having just revisited the Trent & Peak Archaeology Trust website I was interested to learn of their recent project to explore the WW2 history of Wollaton Park in Nottingham. I was aware that the elite 508 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US 82nd Airborne Division was based there in 1944 prior to taking part in D-Day but hadn't realised that a POW camp for 4,000 German prisoners had been built in 1945.

A report, brochure and podcast can be downloaded from here: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/tpa/news_and_events/index.htm

Heritage Day in Jacksdale, 24 April 2010

2010-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Spent an interesting hour or so wandering around the stalls at Jacksdale's Heritage Day this lunchtime. It was a fascinating mix of themes and periods: from medieval finds uncovered by Channel 4's Time Team at Codnor Castle a couple of years ago to lengths of late 18th/early 19th century iron rails (for transporting coal from pit to canal wharf) discovered locally a few weeks ago. It was delightful to see so many people milling about!

Robin Hood Month, May 2010

2010-04-23T01:24:00.000-07:00

The county and city councils are busy promoting a wide range of Robin Hood-related events planned for next month. 'Robin Hood Month' is designed to tie in with the release on 14 May of the blockbuster movie, starring Russell Crow and Cate Blanchett.

There are talks on Nottinghamshire in the middle ages, the medieval architecture of the county, medieval herbs, a day school organised by Nottinghamshire Archives, story walks in Sherwood Forest, archery lessons and much, much more:

Nottingham City Council: The Home of Robin Hood

Nottinghamshire County Council: Robin Hood Month

Evelyn Gibbs and the Murals at St Martin's Church, Bilborough (14th April 2010)

2010-04-14T01:29:00.000-07:00

Robin Hood in The Guardian

2010-04-14T01:14:00.001-07:00

There's an very interesting and entertaining article in today's Guardian newspaper about the Robin Hood legend. Among the several experts the journalist talks to is David Crook, editor of the Thoroton Society Record Series publications and former assistant keeper at The National Archives. David is currently writing a book about Robin Hood and thinks he has traced him to Yorkshire in 1225 (not music to the ears of Nottinghamshire's tourist industry!). He has discovered a character called Robert Hod (described as 'an outlaw and evildoer of our land') who may be the same person as Robert of Wetherby who was hunted down by the Sheriff of Nottingham and his men.

Fascinating stuff so I recommend you take a look at the whole article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/14/robin-hood-russell-crowe

Pentagon Local History Society exhibition at Elston: 8-9 May 2010

2010-04-09T05:58:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend of 8th and 9th May, the Pentagon Local History Society will be holding a second exhibition to display the results of their Lottery-funded heritage project. The exhibition will include a photographic archive, oral history from the last 100 years, the history of the parish church and details of burials, and a computerised archive containing details of a wide range of historical material and press releases from 1900 to today which are relevant to Elston. The Society would particularly welcome visitors from other local history societies in the county.

The exhition will be held at Elston Village Hall between 10.00am and 4.00pm. For more information contact Stan Firth, Secretary of the Pentagon Society, on sfirth7@talktalk.net.

The Pentagon Society covers the following villages in south-east Nottinghamshire: East Stoke, Elston, Shelton, Sibthorpe, Syerston, Flawborough, Kilvington, Alverton and Staunton.

Recent additions to the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway

2010-03-13T01:23:00.000-08:00

The latest research pathways to be added to the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway website are:

Sherwood Forest by Andy Nicholson

Police and Policing by Dr Denise Amos

Go to: www.nottsheritagegateway.org.uk/

The Nottinghamshire Historian (Spring/Summer, 2010)

2010-02-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

The latest edition of The Nottinghamshire Historian has just been published. Articles include:

Two Daves and the 1984 miners' strike
On the campaign trail Georgian style: the Newark by-election of 1829
Nottingham and the great influenza pandemic of 1918–1919
Matthew Clay

More information is available on the Local Historian website: http://www.local-history.co.uk/nlha/nottshistn.html

Grants for Nottinghamshire churches

2010-02-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund have awarded grants amounting to £250,000 to restore a handful of Nottinghamshire churches. £107,000 will be given to St. Martin of Tours church in Bilborough and smaller awards will be given to St. George's in North Clifton and St. Wilfrid's in South Muskham and The Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Woodthorpe, Nottingham.

English Heritage press release: http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=411359&SubjectId=15&DepartmentMode=true
Nottingham Evening Post article: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Notts-churches-given-163-250-000-boost-preserve-heritage/article-1842283-detail/article.html

Blue plaques for Nottingham buildings

2010-02-02T01:21:00.000-08:00

Nottingham Civic Society is starting a scheme to commemorate famous people and places in the city by erected Blue Plaques. The first two plaques will go up in the Spring on the Primark Store on Long Row (to commemorate the long-demolished Black Boy Hotel) and on a house on Manton Crescent in Lenton (marking the birthplace of Alan Sillitoe, author of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning).

The society is compiling a plaque list and asking for suggestions: please email hilarysilvester2002@yahoo.co.uk.

New publication on life in Newark during the English Civil War

2009-12-29T01:23:00.000-08:00

Dr Stuart Jennings, an academic from Warwick University, has used previously unpublished records from Nottinghamshire Archives to write a book about life in Newark-on-Trent during the English Civil War. The book, 'These Uncertain Tymes' - Newark and the civilian experience of the Civil Wars, 1640-1660, describes the many problems and hardships faced by the inhabitants of the town during the three sieges of the town. A full review has been published on the Thoroton Society website:

www.thorotonsociety.org.uk/publications/reviews/bookreviews23.htm

The publication can be obtained from Nottinghamshire County Council Libraries:

www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/leisure/libraries/libraries-publications.htm

D H Lawrence centre in Eastwood gets a reprieve

2009-11-28T00:21:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-29T05:07:00.000-07:00

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:

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

2009-09-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T10:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-14T04:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-13T10:13:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-27T00:50:00.000-07:00

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

New publication: Nottinghamshire coal mines remembered

2009-07-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

AD Newspapers has recently published "Coal mines remembered", subtitled "a special souvenir picture book of local coal mines with 20 pages devoted to the Hucknall collieries story." The book is full of fascinating stories from the coal industry and is richly illustrated with photographs. The book concentrates on Nottinghamshire collieries but also includes a small number from Derbyshire and Leicestershire.

It is priced at £12.99 and can be bought from newsagents around Hucknall, Selston and Eastwood.

AD Newspapers can be contacted at PO Box 7196, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham NG17 9AA.