On the 6th September, 2017, the Tour of Britain Stage 4 cycle race, with 120 world class cyclists on their 175km route, The turnout from the community, including many children from the local schools was tremendous.

One media report stated that, “the turn out from the Edwinstowe was one of the largest they had seen so far”.

Well done Edwinstowe.

Edwinstowe Historical Society received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2015. The grant has been used to create an archive of the many photographs and documents which the society holds, digitise them and create a website which is accessible to anyone interested in the history of Edwinstowe and the surrounding area.

The event was held on Saturday 8^th July at Edwinstowe House. There was a comprehensive display of photographs and maps, films of the Lantern Parade and the Pageant were shown and the website homepage was projected onto a screen.

Chairperson, Shirley Moore preparing for the event

A short speech was given by, Shirley, the Chairperson of the society. She thanked the people that had worked and helped to achieve the aims of the project and outlined how the grant had been spent.  She was presented with a gift to show appreciation and to thank her for all her efforts in obtaining the grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and co-ordinating the project.

Shirley speaking at the event

The archive is at Edwinstowe House, in a room kindly provided by Woodhead Enterprises.

Members of the Woodhead family with Chairperson and Committee Members

Mrs. Margaret Woodhead (on the left) is a founding member of Edwinstowe Historical Society. Standing at the back are Tom and David Woodhead.

The website is in the development stage, but there are already many interesting pictures and articles on it.

The web address is:  www.edwinstowehistory.org.uk

The next meeting will be on 20th September, 2017. The subject of ‘Wartime Nottinghamshire’ will be presented by Howard Heeley. Meetings are from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Refreshments will be available.

For more information contact: Chairperson Shirley Moore tel. no. 01623 822264.

Following a well attended Annual General Meeting held on the 17th May, in the Church Rooms,  Edwinstowe, the members were shown a video entitled ‘A Portrait of a Thoresby Miner’

On 21st September 2015 at Edwinstowe Library many former miners were reunited sharing memories with workmates (including 5 former managers).

The opening of  Edwinstowe Historical Society’s exhibition celebrating 100 years of Thoresby Colliery was accompanied by former members of Thoresby Colliery Brass Band led by Stan Lippeatt.

Photographic displays from sinking of the Colliery and building the colliery village cover many aspects, from work at the coal face and on the surface including the Medical Centre, to St Johns Ambulance, the Pit Trip, the Band, Cricket, Football and Bowls, and the retired miner’s annual tea at the Welfare Hall.

Former members of the Thoresby Colliery Band provided background music at the event.

Supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund the exhibition ran until 31st October when it was transferred to Ollerton Library for a further four weeks.

Edwinstowe Historical Society has been awarded a grant of £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable us to establish a Community Archive Centre in Edwinstowe House.

The grant of £10,000 will help us make full use of the room, kindly given to us by David Woodhead, the Chief Executive of Nuture Enterprises Ltd (now Woodhead Enterprise Ltd)

In a planned project over the next 18 months, the group intends to train members in the use of digital technology to enable us to catalogue, archive and make more readily available the wealth of material that we hold, to a wider audience.

Edwinstowe Historical Society members with David Woodhead. Back: Liz Stewart-Smith, David Woodhead, Janice Lane. Front: Di Roker, Margaret Woodhead, Shirley Moore.

The creation of a Community Heritage website will enable schools, groups and individuals to access our extensive collection of resources ensuring the local past of our village is not lost.

Our Chairman in 2015, Di Roker, commented,”  I am absolutely delighted that we have managed to secure this lottery grant and am extremely grateful to  Shirley Moore and her team who have worked so hard on the project. We have been aware for some years that our methods of storage and conservation were becoming increasingly outdated, but lack of funds prevented us from addressing the issue. When David Woodhead kindly offered us a room in Edwinstowe House, it felt like the beginning of a new era, and now the Lottery grant will enable us to update all aspects of the work we do, and to give the public greater access to our archives through a newly designed website. Here’s to the future!

New Book Charts the history of Edwinstowe

On September 16^th 2015, members of the Historical Society congratulated Mrs Margaret Woodhead on the launch of the latest volume of history of the village.

Margaret Woodhead with members of the Edwinstowe Historical Society

This generously illustrated volume covers a decade of rapid change which saw the coming of the railway and the opening of the Dukeries Hotel built by Mansfield Brewery to cater for the large number of day trippers visiting the Major oak, or touring the Dukeries Estates in heavily-laden carriages.

At the same time, Earl Manvers opened a pioneering co-operative store for the village.

Octogenarian local historian Margaret Woodhead presents a fascinating miscellany, drawing on newspaper reports, letters and documen
ts from local archives and photographs from the Societies Collection.

Welcome to our new website, which is currently under construction.