On Wed. 16th February, members of the Edwinstowe Historical Society met for their first meeting since the advent of Covid. The illustrated talk focussed on Edwinstowe, Tourism and Sherwood Forest.
Sherwood Forest and the Major Oak’s attraction for visitors to the Edwinstowe area began in the 19th century, bringing artists, writers, and poets who all found inspiration in the leafy glades. The newly opened railway station in 1896 brought in the tourists, who were met at the station and had the opportunity to be driven through the forest in horse drawn coaches. Of course, hungry and thirsty travellers could find sustenance at the Dukeries Hotel (built especially for “The Dukeries Line” coming to Edwinstowe), and other inns and boarding houses in the village. As the 20th century developed visitors continued to arrive, not necessarily by train but in coaches or their own transport. In 1976 a Visitors’ Centre opened in the forest, but after many years the decision was taken to demolish the centre and erect a new one that opened in 2018 on a site near the cricket ground. In 1984 the first Annual Robin Hood festival took place.
The Edwinstowe Fire Brigade
An enquiry has been received from a member of the Fire Brigade Society requesting permission to use some of the information on Edwinstowe Historical Society’s website relating to the Edwinstowe Fire Brigade. This is to be included in an article for publication in their quarterly magazine Fire Cover.
The original Fire Station was situated at the junction of High Street with West Lane, and in the early years the fire engine used a manual pump pulled by a horse, which was kept in the field near the River Maun. No doubt there were occasions when a bag of oats failed to coax the horse into harness, which must have added to the delay in the firemen setting off. In the 1930’s the first mechanical fire engine arrived, and was named “Mona”. The Fire Station was replaced in 1958 by a new building located on Mansfield Road, and is staffed on a Wholetime basis.
There were three major fires which the firemen were called upon to deal with. One occurred in 1907 when fire broke out in the Co-operative Society Stores; another in 1929 when the Dukeries Hotel was seriously damaged; then in the early 1940’s the Methodist Chapel on High Street was damaged by fire. More detailed information may be found on the website www.edwinstowehistory.org.uk
The website continues to expand, with additions to St Mary’s Church, St Mary’s Church School, the Major Oak, Visitor Centre, NCB, Festivals, and Edwinstowe Businesses.
FOOTBALL – PIT BOYS v PUBLIC SCHOOL BOYS
In November, last, the Edwinstowe Historical Society was contacted by the Editor of the Royal Windsor website asking for information relating to a football match that had taken place at Windsor in 1927, between Thoresby Colliery Football Club and the Imperial Service College. A photograph was provided of the match, which showed the players wearing the kit from Edwinstowe’s St Michael’s football team, and in goal was the College’s Headmaster. The result of the match was 13 goals to 3 in favour of the pit boys.
This was the first information the Society had about the event, so the researchers began to make enquiries. Reports from local newspapers were scrutinised and revealed that a party of Notts pit lads, pony drivers and haulage boys had played a football match with a team of public-school boys at Windsor. The match had been organised by Major Moncur who was responsible for the Bolsover Colliery Company’s Welfare Centre, based at Edwinstowe Hall, and the boys were selected from each of the company’s pits to make up an eleven to meet the Imperial Services College XI Windsor.
The boys were accommodated in one of the college houses, and the following day were shown round Windsor Castle followed by a visit to see places of interest in London. The reason why the team travelled all the way to Windsor from Nottinghamshire remains a mystery.
The Society has arranged a collection of photos depicting Sherwood Forest during the winter months. These are on display in the Craft Centre, Forest Corner.
The Society plan to hold the first meeting of members on Wednesday, 16th February, 2022 at 2.00 p.m. in St Mary’s Church Rooms, Mansfield Road, Edwinstowe. WE CAN CONFIRM THAT THE MEETING WILL GO AHEAD.
Visitors will be welcome for a charge of £3.
The duration of the meeting will be shorter than usual, lasting one hour, including a power point presentation about Edwinstowe, Tourism and Sherwood Forest.
Refreshments will NOT be served, but anyone wishing to bring their own drink is welcome to do so.
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A case of Mistaken identity
Edwinstowe Historical Society’s website continues to attract interest. One of the recent enquiries has concerned an old postcard. When the Edwinstowe Historical Society was inaugurated in the 1960’s, among the many photographs added to the collection was one that is displayed on the current website, and refers to “Mrs Robinson” selling refreshments from a stall in Sherwood Forest. However, a recent communication from a reader, included a photograph of his Great Grandmother (Mrs Bullimore) which was the same image, with an inscription naming the lady as “Granny Bullimore” and indicating her death on 28th December, 1917. Once again, the researchers got to work and discovered that the 1871 census recorded a Bullimore family lived on Mill Lane in Edwinstowe and the neighbour was Mrs Robinson. Perhaps this is a reason for the confusion over the identity. Now it’s back to the drawing board!
The Society plan to hold the first meeting of members on Wednesday, 16th February, 2022 at 2.00 p.m. in St Mary’s Church Rooms, Mansfield Road, Edwinstowe. Visitors will be welcome for a charge of £3. The duration of the meeting will be shorter than usual, lasting one hour, including a power point presentation about Edwinstowe, Tourism and Sherwood Forest. Refreshments will not be served, but anyone wishing to bring their own drink is welcome to do so. We will confirm nearer the time.
Snow Sculptures
The thought of winter sends shivers down the spine for many people. This must have been the feeling in Edwinstowe in March 1909 when there was a snowstorm. To commemorate the event a member of the Tudsbury family, who lived in the village, modelled several snow sculptures, which were recorded on picture postcards.
During the 19th century the family became involved in working with wood and produced an outstanding woodcarver, Richard, who exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. Richard John Tudsbury is reported to be the carver of the magnificent chimneypiece, which can be seen in the library at Thoresby Hall. His youngest son, Walter Albert, became a well-known local artist painting mainly woodland scenes and also carved the oak lectern, which may be seen in St Mary’s church Edwinstowe.
Additions to the website relate to the National Coal Board’s No. 3 Area headquarters for the East Midlands Division, based in Edwinstowe House. The building was occupied from the onset of Nationalisation of the Coal Industry in 1947 until January 1995.
“A Committee of Fun” and a “Gathering of the Foresters”
In November 1841 Edwinstowe witnessed a “Gathering of the Foresters”. However, this wasn’t a military operation but a bringing together of a group of people who were interested in literature, science, and art.
When the members of the Edwinstowe Lodge of Oddfellows met in the Jug and Glass they set up a ‘Committee of Fun’ to make plans for village festivities to be held from the 1st to 6th November 1841. During the week there would be various races, competitions and concerts, and the evening of 3rd November would be devoted to an intellectual gathering in honour of the celebrities who had added to the renown of Sherwood Forest. This became known as the ‘Gathering of the Foresters’. One hundred farmers, artisans, woodmen and agricultural labourers were present. The poet, Spencer T Hall, known as the laureate of Sherwood Forest, was the chief guest and was presented with an oak walking stick carved by local resident Richard Tudsbury, junior.
The event was so successful that on 5th July, 1842 several hundred people attended the second Sherwood Gathering which took place in a marquee in the forest. In the evening the whole party danced to the accompaniment of a band of music beneath the Major Oak. Edwinstowe was proud of its literary heritage and people walked from miles around to join the festivity. Unfortunately, the custom could not continue because all the organisers were working men dependent upon their labour, and did not have the time to fulfil their obligation.
Recent additions to the website include the Edwinstowe Labour Party, Methodist Drama Group, and Windmills.
Readers of last month’s article about the Edwinstowe Cricket Club, may be interested to know that there are some copies of the Commemorative brochure (price £3) available from Stone Treasures in the Craft Centre, Edwinstowe.
An enquiry has been received from a gentleman who emigrated to Australia in 1972, having been born on the Welbeck estate, and had ancestors in Edwinstowe. He provided some interesting information about his family, which has been added to the website, and the location of family gravestones in the church yard have been forwarded to him.
Images on the website have been in demand, with one used for inclusion in a forthcoming publication about Nottinghamshire Literary History, and others for use as part of a Heritage Hub in a local Aurora Wellbeing Centre.
The school photos stirred memories, with people contacting the Society after recognising themselves or family members, and putting names to faces. This is always useful information to have. The Society continues to work with St Mary’s School which used the new Village Trail for children as part of their school work. By all accounts this was a successful project.
Committee members visited Edwinstowe Hall where businessman, Nik Teal, showed them the work he was undertaking to return the Hall to a comfortable residence once again, after being used for different purposes over many years.
Edwinstowe Cricket Club
The sound of leather on willow is synonymous with the game of cricket. It conjures up an idyllic scene of sun (and often showers); of a lush green sward; of a team of white clothed players enjoying an opportunity to better their opponents – in a friendly manner of course. Which brings to mind the saying “it’s not cricket”. In other words when an action isn’t fair or sportsmanlike.
Edwinstowe’s cricket club, being situated on the Forest Corner and in the heart of Sherwood Forest, provides a perfect location for players and watching cricket. There are records which indicate cricket being played on the same field for more than 150 years, during which time the accommodation has been somewhat makeshift. A team photo of 1880 shows players proudly sitting in front of a tent used as the pavilion. At one time a small wooden structure was used, followed by a new pavilion in 1933. Then a change of site in the 1950’s from the bottom of the ground to the current location occupying the “Legion Hut”, where the present-day pavilion was officially opened in 2004.
Maintenance of the grounds continues to be of high priority. In the early days Charles and Harry Mendham fetched water from the river in Harry’s horse-drawn cart, and one groundsman could be seen rolling and watering the wicket at 6 a.m. before going to work.
Many of the players were renowned for their batting and bowling, and came from families who had lived in the village for several generations. Great excitement abounded when the team had the opportunity to play against Surrey players Alec and Eric Bedser and Derbyshire’s Cliff Gladwin and Les Jackson (both test players). Those games brought in hundreds of onlookers, whose cars were closely parked all the way round the ground, which is now encircled by commemorative seats.
The opening of the new pavilion in 2004 was due to the hard work and sheer determination of those involved in obtaining funding from several agencies, including Sport England with the stipulation that the Club had to produce a sports development plan. Consequently, several members gained their E.C.B. Coaching Qualifications and links were forged with local schools to provide coaching sessions. Fund raising included “Buy a Brick” which enabled the construction of a memorial wall inside the building, and a Social Committee was formed to look after and organise social events.
Today Edwinstowe Cricket Club is part of the village community with facilities being used by other groups and organisations. The pitch is used by senior and junior cricket teams for playing friendly and league games. Friday night is practice night for the under 11’s when parents enjoy meeting for a drink and refreshments. It is no surprise that a number of other cricket clubs are keen to use the facilities. Improvements include a new batting cage; mobile pitch covers and replacement synthetic match pitch.
Viewers familiar with the BBC Antiques Show Bargain Hunt will be aware that during the course of the programme visits are made to local places of interest. The BBC contacted the Edwinstowe Historical Society and asked for cooperation with a section regarding Sherwood Forest. while filming at the Newark Antiques Fair in June. The interest was focussed on the sustainability of the oak trees in Sherwood Forest and how they’ve shaped the furniture landscape in some of the most iconic places, such as St Paul’s in London and Lincoln Cathedral, also the Royal Navy’s ships. The film crew visited the Church, and were shown W. A. Tudsbury’s carvings in oak. Centuries ago, travellers through Sherwood Forest would have quaked at the prospect of meeting outlaws such as Robin Hood and his merry men. However, this was not the case when the BBC team came face to face with local resident Robin Hood (Greg Abbott) who accompanied them to the Major Oak.
The crew spent many hours ensuring that people were in the right place for a specific time knowing that the end result would be an “insert piece” lasting a few minutes. Viewers will be interested to see the final result when televised at a future date – hopefully the contribution won’t end up on the cutting room floor.
In the absence of the Annual General Meeting in May, both the Chairperson’s and Treasurer’s reports were published in a Newsletter which was circulated to the members advising them that no date had been decided for the resumption of monthly meetings. However, they were assured they would be notified as soon as it is safe to be together.
Courtesy of the BBC – Bargain Hunt
Edwinstowe Historical Society