In September, at a well-attended meeting, members of the Edwinstowe Historical Society
welcomed Mo Cooper whose talk “The Clergyman, the Widow, and the Milkman” related to
the landlords of working-class housing in Edwardian Nottingham, based on Narrow Marsh,
St Ann’s and the Meadows areas. Mo’s research indicated that whilst individual men owned
the majority of property, women had a significant role. Their investment in bricks and
mortar would take into account the location and type of housing required, resulting in a
complex mixture of property ownership, which could have been a clergyman, widow or a
milkman.
On the first day of September, with the aid of a community grant, two blue plaques were
sited in the village. Olwen Hawkes, Chairperson of the Edwinstowe Historical Society
commented on the history of the two buildings and the reasons why they were worthy of
Blue Plaque recognition. Rev Stuart Ellis, Superintendent Minister of Sherwood Forest
Methodist Circuit unveiled the first which was placed on the Old Methodist Chapel on High
Street, now holiday accommodation by Village Holidays managed by Ross Morton and Laura
McLafferty. The second plaque was destined for Edwinstowe Hall, which after many changes
had returned to being a family home owned by Rachael and Nik Teal, who unveiled the
plaque.