Site Event/Activity record ENT5296 - Desk-Based Assessment at Clipstone Camp, Clipstone

Location

Location Clipstone, Nottinghamshire
Grid reference Centred SK 58407 63363 (1833m by 1322m)
Map sheet SK56SE
District Newark
Civil Parish Clipstone, Newark

Technique(s)

Organisation

Hampshire Community Heritage

Date

Not recorded.

Map

Description

Extensive research into Clipstone camp has been published by several local historians. A camp plan drawn by the War Office (War Office, 1915) very clearly shows the layout of the camp and this fits neatly over modern mapping of new Clipstone village, with modern roads following the camp lines. Archaeological evidence has been found of extensive training features in the area of Sherwood Pines (Casswell, 2023) and Strawberry Hill Wood (Gillot, 2021). First-hand accounts mention route marches of 20 miles, and men marching 3 to 4 miles almost daily, to rifle ranges and trenches. Several photos show soldiers marching along Clipstone Drive (the distance from the camp across Vicar Water to Sherwood Pines or Strawberry wood is approx. 3 miles, or 4 miles if going by road through Forest Town). Potentially, any of the area surrounding the camp, could have been used for training (excluding three known areas of pre-existing land use). The U.P. S (U.P.S, 1917) write about trench training as far away as Rufford. As a post-war forest, Sherwood Pines should not be considered as a boundary in terms of WW1 activity. Therefore, areas to the north, west and south should be further investigated too, to complete the story. The area of the camp has not been investigated archaeologically, for the Major to Minor project. LiDAR coverage of the camp area is incomplete but does reveal some areas that would benefit from ground-truthing. By overlying the camp plan on google maps, it is possible to identify undeveloped areas that may also benefit from ground survey, fieldwalking and possibly excavation. These areas are listed in the following table. Sources used during the DBA: - Maps - Aerial Photographs & Drone Survey - Archaeological Evidence - Archive Sources and Archive Visits - Newspapers - Personal Accounts - Historic Photographs - Postcards - Secondary Sources

Sources/Archives (1)

  • --- Unpublished document: Helen Wallbridge. 2023. From Forest to Frontline: Understanding Clipstone Camp through Archival Research.

Related Monuments/Buildings (7)

  • Clipstone Camp (Monument)
  • Clipstone Park (Park/Garden)
  • Hospital at Clipstone Camp (Monument)
  • Huts at Clipstone Camp (Element)
  • New Clipstone Colliery Village (Building)
  • Practice trenches at Clipstone (Element)
  • WWI Hut at Station Street, Bingham (Building)

Record last edited

Jul 2 2025 2:44PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the website maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.