Heritage Open Days in Nottinghamshire, 7-9 September 2017

Details of all 114 of this year's events and venues in Nottinghamshire are now available on the Heritage Open Days website. There are a very wide range of attractions open from a 'behind the scenes' tour of the Manuscripts & Special Collections department at Nottingham University to Mr Straw's house in Worksop.

Heart of Nottingham Heritage Action Zone

Central Nottingham is among the first wave of Heritage Action Zones announced by Historic England. According to Historic England:

'The objectives of the HAZ are to use the historic environment of Nottingham to reveal the city's history and in turn secure its future conservation. We'll achieve this through various means from research and listing, through to innovative conservation area management and grant assistance.'

Further information is available on the Historic England website.

New books on Worksop and East Midlands Canals

Amberley Publishing have sent me copies of two new titles in their attractively produced 'Through Time' series.

'Worksop through time' by Retford author and photographer, Sally Outram, includes a good selection of photographs showing how the town has changed over the past 130 years or so. She also includes images of the country houses in the neighbouring Dukeries, such as Clumber, Welbeck and Rufford.

Worksop's history tends to be overlooked so it is good to have reminders of its best built heritage: for example, the early 12th century priory church, the impressive 14th century priory gatehouse, the earthworks of the castle, Worksop Manor Lodge (dating from 1590), the railway station and Albion Mill. Unfortunately, some of the then-and-now images give a sadder impression of Worksop in the early 21st century. For example, the decline of the pub is exemplified by The French Horn on Potter Street, a splendid example of Edwardian exuberance with its distinctive green-glazed tiling and colourful architectural details, which closed in 2007 and now has boarded-up windows. Other photographs record architectural losses in the town, for example, the charming cottage hospital that stood on Memorial Avenue was demolished in 1996 and replaced by an undistinguished Farmfoods store and the fine Victorian Priorwell Brewery was pulled down in 1962; a dull red-brick archway and some office buildings are all that survive.

Ray Shill's contribution to the series is 'East Midlands Canals - Soar, Trent, Derby, Leicester & Nottingham - Through Time'. The author takes a chronological approach to the development of canals in the region and has chosen his images well. Nottinghamshire canals mentioned and illustrated are the Nottingham Canal, the Trent Navigation, the Chesterfield Canal and the Grantham Canal.

Heritage Open Days in Nottinghamshire, September 2013

Heritage Open Days celebrates England’s fantastic architecture and culture by offering free access to places that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission. This September over 70 events and places can be seen, including:

• Bromley House Library in Nottingham
• Classic cars and buses at Bartons in Chilwell
• Tour of Lilac Grove Sewage Treatment Works in Beeston (!)
• The thatched dovecote at Thoroton, near Bingham
• Guided walks around the timber-framed buildings of Newark and Civil War sites
• Tour of the D10 factory at Boots and a chance to browse through the Boots archives
• North Leverton windmill
• Trinity Hospital, Retford (established in 1671)
• Worksop Priory gatehouse

Full details are available on the Heritage Open Days website.