The steeple was built after a fire of 1304, the church in 1804-10 but much restored in 1847-50 by Sir G. G. Scott … [in] an imitation of Notts traditions, neither original nor sensitive. Norman pillar piscina. Monument [to a] knight and lady, c.1300, in the churchyard. (1)
[The] 1804-1810 date (1) appears to make little sense and it is likely that it should say 1304 - 1310 as in (2). (3)
'The Towne ... was burned … M.CCC.IIII [1304]. And the Kirk Stepull, with the belles of the same, for the Stepull was afore of Tymber worke.' [A] new steeple in stone was commenced in 1306. Early English south arcade. Sir Gilbert Scott, in the year 1847 … did away with the clerestory, substituted the present high-pitched roof and built the north aisle. (4)
Investigation by English Heritage showed the restoration of the church to be the work of William Bonython Moffatt (1812-1887). The work included a new north aisle, reseating, a new tower gallery and repairs to the roof, walls, etc. In the event, more work had to be undertaken than was originally expected with the chancel arch, south aisle and south porch also being rebuilt. The restoration was completed by 1853. Subsequent alterations include the enlargement, re-roofing and restoration of the chancel, the conversion of the vestry into an organ chamber and the erection of a new vestry on the north side of the chancel by the prominent Nottingham ar-chitect T.C. Hine in 1875. (5)
The present pews date from the restoration by Moffatt in 1848-53 and are of high quality, in mahogany. The poppy heads are individually carved dated to 1800. The decoration is intend-ed to emulate the lively and humorous carving found in medieval pews. The subjects depicted include a boar, a beehive, a fox jumping to catch acorns, an eagle killing a snake, strange two-headed faces, an alligator. The carving is carried out with considerable skill and succeeds in capturing the spirit of medieval work. In terms of choice of subject, the figure work is based on medieval precedent, grotesque heads, strange creatures and familiar animals being fre-quently found. (5)
The provision of poppyhead bench ends in parish church seating of the 1840s and 50s is rela-tively rare, on the basis of the available, albeit limited, evidence. St Edmund’s is exceptional in that many of the bench ends display elaborate carving of high quality inspired by humorous and lively medieval work rather than the simple fleur-de-lis designs more commonly found. Although these do make up a proportion of the bench ends at Mansfield Woodhouse, the in-tegrity of the seating scheme, despite some nibbling at the edges in the past, is still largely complete, representing a hierarchical arrangement with the bench ends in the central aisle the most ornate and those to the rear of simpler design. This seating scheme complements an interior largely of the nineteenth century with good quality carved stonework and an impres-sively large ashlar pulpit. (5)

Listed buildings slides, 5 slides (Photograph). SNT2648.

<1> Pevsner N, 1979, The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire 2nd ed., pp 174-5 (Monograph). SNT4.

<2> DOE, Listed Building Description (Published document). SNT228.

<3> Newsome SE, 2000, Pers Comm (Personal comment). SNT1452.

<4> Thoroton Society, 1904, TTS, pp 22-6 (Published document). SNT331.

<5> English Heritage, 2006, An Assessment of the Pews at St Edmund's Church, Mansfield Woodhouse (Unpublished document). SNT4824.