The Edwinstowe Historical Society did not hold a meeting in December, but in January members enjoyed their annual lunch at the  Forest Lodge Hotel.

Behind the scenes enquiries continued to be received from people anxious to learn more about their ancestry and the village.

Recently an enquiry arrived from a gentleman in Canada regarding his ancestors who came from Edwinstowe.  In fact, 2019 has been a busy year dealing with similar enquiries, especially one from a retired portrait conservator at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, relating to Dr George Aldridge who lived at Cockglode during the 18^th century.  All of these enquiries take up a great deal of time, expertise and patience, but are always fully appreciated by the recipients.  In fact, while resourcing some of the enquiries, the Society often comes across previously unknown details of village life.

Following Pete Smith’s talk about Rufford Abbey, in February, the next meeting on the 18^th March, will be presented by Sam Glasswell, entitled “Pilgrim Links – Mayflower Celebrations”.

At a meeting of the Edwinstowe Historical Society on Wed, 19^th November, Chris Weir’s illustrated talk provided members with details of some of Nottinghamshire’s “Secrets, Curiosities and Mysteries”.  These included reference to a stand-off at the Greendale Oak, Cuckney, in 1392 between villagers and the King’s officials when a request was refused for horses to free a cart stuck in mud, so the Court Rolls of the King’s Bench could proceed to Welbeck Abbey. Then there was the court case concerning Pendock Barry of Tollerton Hall who didn’t leave his son anything in his will.  Apparently, the only way to receive his inheritance was to prove his father had been insane.   Consequently he filled a book with examples of his father’s strange actions.

On view was a photo taken in 1902 of a statue that once fronted a shop in Pelham Street, Nottingham.  This depicted traveller Jonas Hanway holding an umbrella, as it was, he who introduced the umbrella to England in the early 18^th century following his visit to Asia.  The shop sold items for travellers and the owner thought the statue a fitting tribute to Hanway who, incidentally was out of favour with the hansom cab drivers, who lost trade when it rained!

In the late 19^th century suffragist, Lady Laura Ridding, wife of a bishop, won an election and became the first female guardian of the local workhouse in Southwell, and ensured a difference to the lives of the women there.

No meetings planned for December and January.  On 19^th February Pete Smith’s talk will relate to Rufford Abbey.

At their October meeting, Edwinstowe Historical Society heard Andy Gaunt’s illustrated talk “Ancient Wood Pasture to National Nature Reserve”, instead of “Sherwood Forest Outlaws and Villains”.

Andy described the landscape history of Sherwood Forest and the shaping of the ancient woodlands and heathlands, of Birklands and Bilhaugh and the National Nature Reserve. He discussed Medieval Forest Laws and Courts (Edwinstowe held a Verderers’ Court), complete with foresters, keepers, judges, verderers and tax collectors and how settlements grew. In order to preserve the diversity of the flora and fauna rarely seen outside the forest, Sherwood Forest was designated a “Site of Special Scientific Interest”.

On Monday, 4^th November, two Blue Plaques are to be unveiled in Edwinstowe. The first plaque recognises the site of the original Alms Houses founded by John and Ellin Bellamy in 1719, and the second plaque commemorates Christopher Thomson who lived in Edwinstowe in the 18^th century and started the first Library in the village.  (See website for details.) The Society has been instrumental in drawing attention to these residents, and acknowledges grants from the Newark and Sherwood District council, the Parish Council, St Mary’s Church, Fables Tea rooms, as well as the Edwinstowe Historical Society.

The next meeting will take place on 20^th November when Chris Wier’s talk will be “Mysteries of Nottinghamshire”.

Monday, 4^th November, was a “red letter” day for Edwinstowe, when 2 blue plaques were unveiled.  A group of spectators including local residents, Historical Society members,  representatives from the Newark & Sherwood District Council, Edwinstowe Parish Council, St Mary’s church, The Bellamy Trust, Sherwood Forest Trust, British Legion and the RSPB visitor centre watched as the Rev. Ian Webb unveiled a plaque at the entrance to the War Memorial Gardens, which recognises the site of the original Alms Houses founded by John and Ellin Bellamy in 1719 for the poor, and started a school for the education of 8 boys.

The second plaque, placed on the wall outside Fables Tea Rooms (formerly the Village Library) was unveiled by 3 great, great, great granddaughters of Christopher Thomson who settled in Edwinstowe in the 19^th century.  He was a strolling player, painter, artist and advocate for the local Oddfellows Society.  In 1838 he started the Penny Library, promoting self-help groups, financial support for the poor and “night classes”. The present building, built in 1913, carried on in a similar manner being used for educational purposes.   A collection of Thomson’s paintings is kept at Sheffield Art Gallery.

Edwinstowe Historical Society has been instrumental in drawing attention to these residents and appreciate grants and support from the Newark & Sherwood District council, Parish Council, St Mary’s Church, and Fables Tea Rooms.

Go to articles re: John Bellamy Trust and Christopher Thomson Life Story for further details.

On Wed. 18^th September a well-attended meeting welcomed guest speaker Chris Booth when he presented an illustrated talk about the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway.  The talk was well documented and illustrated with photographs of the development and history of the route from its inception to 2017.

William Arkwright’s intention had been to provide a rail link for the movement of coal between Warrington on the Manchester Ship Canal and Sutton on Sea on the east coast of Lincolnshire.  However, the only part of the line to be completed was between Chesterfield and Lincoln, and a branch line to Sheffield, which opened in 1897.  Taken over by the Great Central Railway in 1907 this became known as the Dukeries Route.   A passenger service lasted in parts until 1955.   With the closure of High Marnham power station in 2003 and the demise of the coal industry (Thoresby Colliery being the last Nottinghamshire pit to close in 2015) use of the line declined.    A small section of the line continues to have a future as a Network Rail Test Track.

On 16^th October Andy Gaunt will speak about “Sherwood Forest Outlaws and Villains,” and on 20^th November Chris Wier will unveil “The Mysteries of Nottinghamshire”.

In July, Edwinstowe Historical Society fulfilled a request to talk to the Edwinstowe Merry Women WI about the original village Women’s Institute.   Mrs Hawkes and Mrs Share outlined details of the events surrounding the formation of the WI organisation which originated in Canada in 1887 and was set up in Britain in 1915.  Reference was made to the people involved with the early days of Edwinstowe’s WI and various events which had taken place.    Photographs were of interest especially when some of the audience recognised people they knew.

To celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Edwinstowe’s first WI refreshments were provided in true WI style and included cakes, scones, jam and cream.

Visitors to the Craft Centre in Edwinstowe will have noticed that the display board has been re-designed to focus on Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest.  This was arranged by the Edwinstowe Historical Society which has also organised the photographic display about the Rev. John Bellamy, in the village library.

In 1719 the Rev. John Bellamy and Ellen Bellamy endowed alms houses for the poor “and other benefits for 4 necessitous widows” and started a school for the education of 8 boys.  These buildings were situated on the site of the present War Memorial.  The charity continues to support residents.

On Wed. 16^th October, Andy Gaunt’s talk will focus on Sherwood Forest Outlaws and Villains.

Edwinstowe’s Women’s Institute

On Wed. 19^th June members of the Edwinstowe Historical Society enjoyed an illustrated talk about the Women’s Institute Movement which originated in Canada in 1887, and was set up in Britain in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War.

Edwinstowe Women’s Institute was inaugurated in 1920.  Lady Sibell Argles became President, a post she held until her retirement in 1950.   In 1935, there were over 100 members who continued to meet during war-time learning various handicrafts, having debates, exhibitions of produce or listening to talks by visiting speakers.   WI members have passed several Resolutions which have been instrumental in calling upon the government to make changes which have benefited the general public.

1987 was the 70^th anniversary of the WI Federation and a County Wall Hanging was made with every WI having a “brick in the wall”. Edwinstowe’s brick depicted Thoresby colliery Headstocks, Edwinstowe Hall, St Mary’s Church and the Major Oak. The wall hanging is kept at Trent House, in Newark.

When the WI disbanded in 2002 money left in the fund was used as a contribution towards the purchase of bricks for Edwinstowe’s new cricket pavilion which opened in 2004.

To add an authentic “Jam and Jerusalem” atmosphere to the meeting, members provided sponge cakes, scones, jam and cream.  The Chair, Mrs Moore, thanked Mrs Hawkes and Mrs Share for the time spent on such a detailed and interesting presentation.

No meetings in July and August.

The next meeting will be held on Wed. 18^th September when Chris Booth will talk about the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway

Meetings are held in the Church Rooms Mansfield Road, Edwinstowe, NG21 9NJ on the third Wednesday of the month, commencing at 2.00 p.m. and lasting for approximately 2 hours.  Tea/coffee and biscuits are available.  Annual membership remains at £12 and visitors are welcome at a charge of £3.  Further information is available on the website www.edwinstowehistory.org.uk.  And enquiries may be made to EdwinstoweHistorySoc@gmail.com.

At the Annual General Meeting held on 15^th May, a minute’s silence was observed in memory of Mike Smith and Mac Mumford, two stalwart members of the Society who died recently.

In her report Shirley Moore, Chair, referred to the events that had taken place during the year.  Additions had been made to the website, exhibitions had taken place in the local Library, St Mary’s Church, and the Friendship Club.  Also at the request of the RSPB photos and information had been provided for the notice boards placed in the forest while the old Visitor Centre was demolished.

Earlier in the year Committee members enjoyed a pleasurable and informative afternoon during a visit to meet members of Thoresby Archive Group. This presented an opportunity for an exchange of historical information relating to the Manvers family. Enquiries had been received from people around the country asking for information, often about their relatives, and one particular request had been received from the Bodleian Library, Oxford, relating to Dr George Aldrich who had lived at Cockglode House in 1776.

A full programme of speakers had been arranged for the next year commencing with 18^th September when Chris Booth’s talk will be about the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway.  The financial situation had benefited from the sale of books, Christmas cards and notelets.  All the committee members agreed to serve for another year.

After the meeting members enjoyed a power point presentation of the Women’s and Men’s Bowls’ teams in the village.  Opened in 1932 by the Bolsover Colliery Company the teams had won many prizes but, sadly due to a decline in membership, they disbanded in 2017.

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Wed. 15^th May, 2019

Present:  Shirley Moore (Chair), O Hawkes, Janice Lane, Margaret Share, Liz Stewart-Smith,  Molly Wright, Pauline Cooper, Ann Haskins,  Ann Hough, Brian Lister, Sylvia Peace, Margaret Smith, and Margaret Woodhead.

A minute’s silence was observed in memory of Mike Smith and Mac Mumford, two stalwart members of the Historical Society, who had died recently.  Mary Jennings represented the Historical Society at Mike’s funeral which coincided with the meeting.

Min. 1.   Apologies for absence were received from Diane Roker, Elspeth Lindsey, Mary Jennings, Sue Stone, and Laurie Patterson.

Min. 2.   Minutes of the meeting held on Wed. 16^th May, 2018.  Copies of the minutes had been issued and accepted as a true record.  Proposer:  Liz Stewart-Smith; Seconder:  Brian Lister.

Min. 3.  Matters arising from the Previous Minutes.  See Chair’s report.

Min. 4.           Chair’s Report.

Shirley referred to the past year which had been very busy.  In addition to regular meetings, O. Hawkes had updated the news items and additional information was added to the website, including the Remembrance Day Parade, the unveiling of the monument to commemorate the ending of WW1 (which comes complete with a video of the ceremony), also photos of the fly-past on the way to honour the American Airmen whose plane crashed in Sheffield.

Exhibitions have been provided for the Library and St Mary’s Church, also the Friendship club.  These included the Village Fire Brigade, the Coming of the Postal Service to Edwinstowe, Village Football Teams, photos and information relating to local men who died in WW1.

Molly and Shirley had represented the Historical Society at the official re-opening of the Library after the refurbishment. In response to a request from the RSPB the Society had provided photos and information for the notice boards being placed in the forest while the old Visitor Centre was being demolished.  Business cards had been printed with contact information and members were issued with data-protection details.

Committee members had been invited to a meeting with the Thoresby Archive group to share historical information and photographs, which had been beneficial to both parties.

Shirley continued to say that a large deposit of photos, slides and documents had been received from the staff of the Old Visitor Centre.

The sale of the Edwinstowe Christmas cards proved very successful and plans are in hand for similar cards for next Christmas. In the meantime notelets and birthday cards are for sale. At this point Shirley recorded thanks to Richard for selling books and cards in his shop at the Craft Centre.

Following a request from the newly formed Edwinstowe Merry Women WI for a talk on the history of the Edwinstowe WI, O. Hawkes and Margaret had produced a power-point presentation which will be shown to the Group at their meeting on Tues. 16^th July.  In fact, that production will be shown at the June meeting of the Historical Society.

O. Hawkes had been successful in obtaining a grant of £200 from Newark & Sherwood District Council towards a plaque commemorating Christopher Thompson which will be placed outside the Old Library on High Street.  Shirley continued to say that with support from the Historical Society Richard Neely, Church Warden, had been successful in obtaining a grant from the Parish Council towards a plaque relating to the Bellamy Alms Houses, which were originally situated at the cross roads where the War Memorial now stands.  It was hoped to unveil both plaques in September.

There have been 18 website enquiries from individuals around the country requesting information often regarding family members.  Recently a request had been received from a curator at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, for any information available on George Aldrich who lived in Cockglode House in 1776. A painting of George Aldrich is to be featured in the channel 4 programme “Lost Treasures” later in the summer.

Information had been sent to the Sherwood Forest Trust reminding them of the history of the wetland area by the River Maun, also the background to the sponsored oak tree planting next to the village cemetery.

Shirley acknowledged how hard the committee had worked during the year, and had received many congratulations on the amount of information on the website.  She then thanked Liz for finding speakers, with a thank–you to her husband, Robin, for his eye-catching posters.  Thanks were expressed to Molly for keeping her on track and for providing detailed reports to the local press which helped to attract interest in the Society.  Janice received thanks for keeping her eyes on the finances which had expanded to include handling grant money, purchasing plaques, selling cards and books.

Min. 5.             Treasurer’s Report

Janice presented the accounts for the 12 months’ ending 31^st March, 2019.  The accounts held with Santander Bank and the Mansfield Building society had been closed and the balances transferred to the NatWest Bank current account bringing the total assets of the Society to £4,199.52.  The financial position of the Society had benefited from the income from the sales of books published by the Society (£264.50), and sales of our own Christmas cards (£230.94). Magazine sales totalled £19.50.   Donations have been received from individuals and combined with those for the refreshments and raffles (£61.72) provided a useful source of funds. Annual subscriptions amounted to £300.00, whilst those from visitors amounted to £105.00.

In spite of a general increase in the fees charged by invited speakers (£221.20) the overall cost for the year was lower than the previous year thanks to the presentations given by Shirley, Olwen and Margaret at no cost to the Society.

Costs associated with maintaining the website i.e. the renewal of the website security certificate and the domain name (£38.98).  Other costs included:  Room Hire (£143.00);  N.L.H.A. subs (£15.00), Notts Historian Magazine (£23.22); Ink cartridges (£54.47);  Velcro & laminating pouches (£34.87);  Printing of Christmas cards (£65.00).  In conclusion Janice was pleased to report that the society is in a good financial position and well able to cover its costs and obligations.

Min. 6. Election of Officers

All the Committee members agreed to serve for another year.  Chair:  Shirley Moore; Vice-Chair and Website Co-ordinator: O Hawkes;  Treasurer:  Janice Lane; Secretary: Molly Wright;  Speaker Finder:  Liz Stewart-Smith;  and Margaret Share.

Proposer:  Pauline Cooper;  Seconder:  Brian Lister.

Min. 7. Talks for 2019/20.

Liz named the speakers booked for 2019/20 as follows:  September – Chris Booth “Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway”;  October – Andy Gaunt “Sherwood Forest Outlaws and Villains”;  November – Chris Weir “Mysteries of Nottinghamshire”;  February – Pete Smith “Rufford Abbey”;  March – Sam Glasswell “Pilgrim Links – Mayflower Celebrations”;  April – Bob Massey “Skegness”.

Min. 8. Any Other Business

1. Refreshments.  In response to a request for help serving refreshments at the meetings, Pauline Cooper and Sylvia Peace volunteered for the duty. Their help was gratefully accepted.
2. Combined Programme and Membership Card. Shirley explained that in future the Programme would also act as a Membership Card.

On behalf of those present, Margaret Share gave a vote of thanks to Shirley for the amount of time and diligent work that she devoted to the Society.

Following the business of the meeting, members enjoyed a power-point presentation given by O. Hawkes, Shirley and Margaret about the Women’s and Men’s Bowling Clubs in the village. The bowling greens, sited in the centre of the village, were opened by the Bolsover Colliery Company in 1932. With the decline in membership they closed in 2017.

Now that the Bowls Club has folded, and if grants are available, it is the current intention to create a Community Park with seating and planting so that it remains an open space and an asset to the community.

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