What's New

Did you know it was only 30 years ago that the last pit pony finished working in British mines? Their service was over in Nottinghamshire’s pits by the 1970s, but prior to mechanical removal of coal, pit ponies were used in large numbers. By 1913, 70,000 pit ponies and colliery horses were at work in Britain’s mines. This book traces the lives of the pit ponies from the collieries around Sherwood Forest through exploration of their underground stables. Miner2Major, a landscape partnership scheme aimed, with support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to explore and celebrate the built heritage of the Sherwood Forest area including these fascinating stables.

This new publication examines the colliery stables around Sherwood Forest through the twentieth century. Based on archival research, photographic evidence and oral histories, this book examines the stables built to accommodate the huge equine workforce that were hidden underground.

Loan copies are available in all Nottinghamshire libraries. Printed copies will be available free of charge from larger Nottinghamshire libraries while stocks last (at Hucknall, Mansfield, Mansfield Woodhouse, Ollerton, Southwell, West Bridgford and Worksop). Also available at Five Leaves bookshop in Nottingham and ‘The Bookcase’ in Lowdham, Bilsthorpe and Kirkby Heritage Centres. It is also available to download as an e-book here.

Colliery Village Records on the Historic Environment Record (HER):

Annesley

Bestwood

Bilsthorpe

Blidworth

Clipstone

Edwinstowe

Newstead

Ollerton

Welbeck

www.miner2major.org.uk

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Miner2Major is a Landscape Partnership scheme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, focusing on the natural and cultural heritage of the Sherwood Forest area. It is one of the aims of Miner2Major to explore and celebrate the built heritage of its area.

Nottinghamshire County Council’s Historic Environment Officer for Buildings, Janine Buckley, delved into the country house stables of the Sherwood Forest region. Often overlooked in historical narratives, this new publication tells their story.

The horse was vital to the country estate. Stables to accommodate carriage and riding horses as well as hunters and racehorses were erected on a grand scale. Just as horses were status symbols, the buildings that housed them conveyed their owner’s status both in their external architecture and as technologically advanced buildings that restored horses back to full health after work.

Through four case studies (Rufford Abbey, Rufford Farm Stud, Park Hall and Newstead Abbey), this publication examines the form and function of country house stables, the architectural significance of the buildings, their history, and their eventual adaptation for other purposes. Discover how the buildings themselves reveal details of those who worked in them, the experience of the horses that lived in them, and the relationships between man and horse. Learn about messages found under floorboards and how the marks made by horses tell their own stories.

Printed copies of Country House Stables of Nottinghamshire are available free of charge in larger Nottinghamshire libraries and The Book Case bookshop in Lowdham and Five Leaves bookshop in Nottingham. It is also available to download as an e-book here.

Links to the Historic Environment Record:

Rufford Abbey Stables

Rufford Stud Farm Stables

Park Hall Stables

Newstead Abbey Stables

www.miner2major.org.uk

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Nottinghamshire County Council and Forestry England have worked together to help shed more light on the archaeology buried within Sherwood Pines. A crew of volunteers assembled from Operation Nightingale and Forestry England have excavated three archaeological targets within the WWI training trenches within the forest. These features were selected over the course of several months, where specialists consulted the HER, conducted thorough archival research, and carefully studied the LiDAR survey data in the area (more information can be found here: The Veiled Landscape: Sherwood Lidar Project - Nottinghamshire Historic Environment Record) . Soil samples were collected on site and processed to help us understand the environment of the past, and a metal detector and unexploded ordnance officer were also on site to lead in the discovery of a number of fascinating finds (and help keep us safe while doing so!)

A huge thanks goes out to the volunteers who braved the very wet conditions to help us better understand this important relic landscape and improve the management of the WWI trench network within the Sherwood Pines.

To find out more about the Clipstone Camp and the effects of WWI in Nottinghamshire:

• 'Clipstone Camp and the Mansfield Area in World War One: The impact of a large military presence in a North Nottinghamshire community',Pauline Marples. 2013.
• https://www.ourmansfieldandarea.org.uk/content/place/clipstone/clipstone_camp_and_the_mansfield_area_in_ww1
• From Forest to the Frontline: Understanding Clipstone Camp through Archival Research

Check out some more photographs from the excavation below:

Delivered as part of the Miner2Major Landscape Partnership scheme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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This coming week will be very exciting for heritage lovers in Nottinghamshire with the return of Heritage Open Days’ annual community festival!

The festival, which has been running for over 25 years in the UK, provides individuals with the chance to get involved in heritage through exclusive local events. This festival contributes to the European Heritage Days in which 50 signatory states celebrate diversity, culture, and heritage every September.

Heritage Open Days aims to celebrate heritage and community by organising talks, workshops, and tours of historical sites. All the events in this festival are free. This includes rare visits to selected sites that normally ask for an entry fee. For example, usually closed on Sundays, the DH Lawrence Birthplace Museum will be opening its doors to the public, for free, on Sunday 10th September. Other sites included in this festival are Newstead Abbey, Bromley House Library, and The Workhouse and Infirmary. Visit the Heritage Open Days website for the full list.

Running from Friday 8th September until Sunday 17th September, there are over 70 exciting events happening in the Nottinghamshire area.

A member of our Historic Buildings team, Jason, will be running behind the scenes tours of the Walks of Life Museum in Newark. Come and say hello to him on Friday 15th September! Visit the event page for information here: Walks of Life Museum - Carts Inspire Creativity

Here are some of the other events we’re excited about:

• Focusing on ten amazing artefacts, join the Manuscripts and Special Collections team at the University of Nottingham for a talk on how their amazing items reflect the significant people, places, and events in Nottingham’s history. There will be 2 identical talks on Friday 15th September (booking required). See the event and booking information here: University of Nottingham - Archives Unwrapped Talk: Nottinghamshire's History in Ten Treasures
• In partnership with Polish Village, Newark Castle has organised a fun day of activities for the family on the castle grounds. Enjoy exploring the castle towers, making Polish eco-friendly crafts, face-painting, and listening to fantastic tales by a storyteller. This Creativity Unwrapped event is due to take place on Saturday 9th September (no booking required). See the event information here: Newark Castle - Creativity Unwrapped
• Take a behind the scenes tour of the Nottinghamshire Archives’ storage areas and conservation studio. Learn about the archives and how to maintain them like an expert on Tuesday 12th and Thursday 14th September (booking required). See the event and booking information here: Inspire -  Nottinghamshire Archive Behind the Scenes Tours
• Exploring the rich history and heritage secrets of Nottingham, two guided tours have been organised by local experts of Mansfield and Beeston town centres. A member of the Mansfield Townscape Project will be leading a guided tour Mansfield town centre on Wednesday 13th September (no booking required) and on Sunday 10th September, Professor John Beckett will be performing a tour around central Beeston (booking preferred). See event information for the Mansfield town tour here: Mansfield Town Centre Heritage Walk. See event and booking information for the Beeston tour here: Walk with an Expert: Heritage Beeston
• Come and enjoy author Sally Mitchell’s exciting presentation on the dangers women faced when riding side saddle and some of the famous ladies who experienced them. Sally will also be showing many interesting costumes and items alongside a tour of the collection at the Museum of the Horse in Tuxford on Thursday 14th September (booking required). See the event and booking information here: Museum of the Horse - The Dangers of Side Saddle!

To find out about all the events being offered in Nottinghamshire, including dates and booking information, please visit: Heritage Open Days

Please be aware that free entry to some sites is only on specific set days and some events may require booking.