Nottinghamshire History Blog

Event: 'New windows on our past: recent archaeological discoveries in Nottinghamshire', 31 March 2012

2012-02-23T02:29:00.000-08:00

The Nottinghamshire Local History Association has organised a day-school on Saturday 31 March devoted to recent archaeological work in the county. The programe includes:

12 years of excavation on the Romano-British site at Besthorpe Quarry in the Trent valley
Archaeology under the A46: results of the initial assessment
Roman remains at Southwell
Community excavation of Kirkby Hardwick manor house

The event will take place at the Village Hall, Ravenshead between 10 and 4.15.

Fee £6.50 for members of the NLHA, £7.50 for non-members.
Please contact David Anderson, 35 Sycamore Road, East Leake, Loughborough LEI2 6PP or telephone 01623 870515, to secure your place or for more information. Attendance is possible without booking, although it is helpful to the Association to know how many are attending.

New book: 'Awsworth through time' by Bryan Maloney

2012-02-23T02:06:00.001-08:00

Amberley Publishing have recently published another attractive book in their 'Through Time' series. Awsworth is a little known village on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border about 6 miles north-west of Nottingham. Glass was made here in the late 17th century and mining was the principal occupation of its inhabitants by the late 19th century. The Nottingham Canal was constructed around the village in the 1790s and two monumental railway viaducts were built nearby to carry lines across the Erewash valley in the 1870s: the brick-built '40 Bridges' was sadly demolished in 1973 but the impressive iron-built Bennerley Viaduct still stands.

The author, Bryan Maloney, has assembled a fine selection of images to show how the village and its people have changed over the last 120 years. What is striking is just how much of the industrial past has vanished from the area: much of Nottingham Canal in the area was removed as part of open-cast coal mining or to make way for roads, the chemical works and Bennerley ironworks have long since vanished, the railway network torn up and the mines closed.

Rather than just provide an endless succession of photographs of streets and buildings Bryan has wisely opted to give equal weight to the human dimension so there are many photographs of village events, sporting teams, school classes and local characters. I was particularly struck by the photograph of Don Brown which shows him seemingly leaping to his doom from the 40 Bridges railway viaduct (he was, in fact, jumping onto the earth embankment at the western end of the viaduct). The sepia image of the Awsworth Bicycle Club, gathered in an orderly fashion outside The Gate pub in the early 1900s is another favourite.

Bryan should be commended for making this collection available to the wider public as many of the photographs are from private sources and have not been seen before. I should admit a personal interest here as I had a minor role in helping to prepare the photographs for publication and it is rewarding to see how well they look on the page despite the poor quality of some of the originals.

It is a splendid collection of images with very informative captions.

Book details on the Amberley Publishing website

New entries on the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway website

2012-02-04T01:37:00.000-08:00

The latest history research guides to be added to the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway website over the last few months include:

English Civil War museum planned for Newark

2012-02-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

Newark and Sherwood District Council has agreed to submit a bid for £3m to the Heritage Lottery Fund to establish a "national Civil War museum" in Newark. The plan is to use the Old Magnus Buildings (which ironically used to house the town's museum until a few years ago) on Appleton Gate to accommodate the new museum.

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."