Website: New website for Trent Vale (Notts)

At last! The long-awaited Trent Vale website is finally here after months of hard work.

The new website will act as the main noticeboard for all Trent Vale events, news and activities, as well as providing lots of information about the heritage and wildlife of the area. This is the place where you will, in time, be able to download all our circular walks and cycle routes. We are encouraging the community to suggest features and places of interest to add to our interactive maps, so feedback welcomed! View the new site at:www.trentvale.co.uk

From: http://trentvale.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/new-website-for-trent-vale/

News - Elsecar Heritage Centre receive funding for beam engine

Elsecar Heritage Centre has received £40,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

 

The money will be used to put plans together to restore the Newcomen Beam Engine, believed to be the only remaining engine of its kind in its original location. 

Elsecar Heritage Centre has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to the HLF to secure funding for redevelopment work. 

The aim is to secure a bid of over £400,000 to support a plan for a £500,000 project for the village and engine. 

Barnsley councillor Bill Newman said: "This is a crucial step in realising the full potential of this special place." 

The engine, which was built by John Bargh of Chesterfield in 1795 at a cost of £167, was used to pump water out of the colliery in Elsecar to allow the exploitation of deeper coal seams until 1923. 

The engine was later replaced with electric pumps, and remained working until the 1950s. 

The site of a former ironworks and colliery is now an antique centre and used by local craftsmen and women as workshops, as well as showcasing the village's rich past.

 

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sheffield/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9385000/9385591.stm

 

English Forests to be Leased Out (Sherwood Forest)

Around 18 per cent of England's publicly-owned forests - which the Government had planned to sell into private hands - are to be offered on 150-year leases. 

Environmental and countryside campaigners led nationwide protests against the planned sell-off, warning that the future of ancient woodlands could be threatened by developers or timber firms and that public access could be curtailed.

A range of celebrities, from Dame Judi Dench to the Archbishop of Canterbury, urged Ministers to think again about the sale, describing it as "unconscionable". And a poll carried out at the weekend found 75 per cent of those who responded were against a sell-off.

Now the Government's decided that the land won't just be sold off to the highest bidder - and wants charitable trusts, community and other local groups to take a role.

The consultation document calls for heritage and community forests with considerable public benefits to be protected, by asking charities to take them on. Forests with a commercial value will be leased to private operators, but public access and other rights will be preserved under the terms of the lease.

Ministers said they'd listen to all feedback before reporting back in the summer - and today the Evironment Secretary Caroline Spelman said it was time for the Government to "step back and allow those who are most involved with England's woodland to play a much greater role in the future...and we will make sure that public access is maintained, and biodiversity protected."

"We are not going to sell off our heritage forests to the highest bidder, we are not going to remove public access to forests - there will be strict rules in place to prevent that happening." Prime Minister's official spokesman

But the compromise means the Government will raise far less cash than it would have done under its original plans - with the value of leasing woodland estimated at between £140m and £250m.

The chair of the Forestry Commission, Pam Warhurst said the plans would require "a fundamental shift in our thinking and how we work".

The organisation was one of the few quangos to survive the Government's axe last year. Some of its functions are expected to be scaled back - but it will continue as a regulatory body, while providing advice on a range of environmental, social and economic issues.

However it'll lose its estate management role - and more than 80 per cent of its 1,200-strong workforce are currently employed in running the estate.

Staff numbers were set to be cut as part of the Government's efficiency savings - although today Defra said it was too early to say what the impact on jobs at the commission would be.

Downing Street played down fears over the future of the forests.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We are not going to sell off our heritage forests to the highest bidder, we are not going to remove public access to forests - there will be strict rules in place to prevent that happening.

"There is a consultation. We are going to have that consultation and listen to people's views and then come to some conclusions."

From: http://www.channel4.com/news/english-woodlands-to-be-leased-out

Budget Cuts: How are they Affecting Nottinghamshire & South Yorkshire

As the financial situation in the country seems unwilling to abate and money is being cut from most services it's important to keep up to date with how these are affecting our region.  At present there are five main areas within the Nottinghamshire & South Yorkshire area to note:

1) Nottinghamshire County Council Cuts

The Councils Conservation budget has been cut by a whopping 75% in an attempt to save £376,000.  This means only 6 out of the 33 staff in that department will remain and community help will be severely impacted.

In the proposal Nottinghamshire County Council state "...Reduced access to the Historic Environment Record for all external service users.

District, town and parish councils, community groups and individuals willl need to identify other sources for advice on conservation and heritage issues . External conservation and heritage partnerships, projects and events will need to secure any support they need from other sources. ..."

Libraries and Archives have also been impacted to save £3,306,000 over a three year period.  This involves reducing opening times at most libraries and costs for groups using libraries will be increased

For further information on all these cuts go to: http://www3.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/thecouncil/budget-proposals/communities/

2) Museums Sheffield

 In October 2010 the last "Keeper of Archaeology" left leaving no archaeologists employed by the trust.  The position wasn't offered out as a job vacancy due to the position being frozen due to lack of funds.

The trust is also no longer collecting archives from archaeological contractors,at present these contractors will have to hold on to their archives.

For further information go to: http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/coresite/html/

3) Doncaster County Council Library Closures

14 libraries are due to be closed in the Doncaster area. There is currently a campaign to save these valuable assets to the community with a planned "read-in" to be held on 29th January at Doncaster library between 1pm and 3pm.  The official "Save Doncaster Libraries" website can be found at http://savedoncasterlibraries.wordpress.com/

4) Cuts at English Heritage

English Heritage are having to deal with a 50% administration cost reduction in all of it's offices Government ministers have announced.  From: http://www.rescue-archaeology.org.uk/map2/reports/view/15

5) Portable Antiquities Scheme Cuts 

15% of the PAS budget was cut in November 2010 for the next four years and  running of this valuable commodity to historians and archaeologists alike will be taken over by the British Museum.

If you know of any more please let me know and I'll update this.

Cheers 

Dave Cook

York Model Railway Museum Moving to Lincolnshire

YORK Model Railway is quitting its traditional home at the city’s railway station for larger premises in Lincolnshire. 

Station operator East Coast says it is looking for a new tenant to take over the former tea room building in Tea Room Square, and hopes it can be restored to its former glory. 

Tim Hedley-Jones, property and projects director, said he hoped the character and charm of the building would generate interest from potential businesses. “The premises are particularly suitable for a restaurant, bar or other food and drink outlet,” he said. 

He revealed East Coast had been in discussion with the Railway Heritage Trust, which had made a principal funding contribution towards the restoration and redevelopment of the building.

Trust director Andy Savage said the model railway exhibition had hidden but not damaged the building’s “superb interior”.

An East Coast spokesman said, after many years at the station, the model railway was moving to Hemswell Cliff near Gainsborough, to where it would transfer its working miniature sized railway models, including Rail Riders World and the extended Museum of Model Transport.

He said the model railway shop would remain open until February 28, although the exhibition space closed for business on New Year’s Eve.

From http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8777183.York_Model_Railway_relocating_to_Lincolnshire/

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone, I’m really looking forward to this coming year despite the economic cutbacks which are affecting archaeology projects across the country (both in the amount of money available for grants and the lack of building work meaning less PPG16’s are being carried out). Hopefully the Priories Historical Society will be attending more archaeology days and heritage events this year so if you see us come over and have a chat.

I’m hoping to get a proper website up and running in 2011 too if we can get a grant or funding.  This will help us post more than just news stories and little bits and bobs. I’ve been amazed at the amount of people visiting the blog this month and am happy to note we’ve now had more than a thousand visitors.

If you see any news story you think should be on the blog or if you have any articles you’d like to publish in our magazine please e-mail us at priorieshistoricalsociety@rocketmail.com

Happy New Year
Dave Cook

A Family War of the Follies Leaves a Little Reminder of Rivals

DON'T you just love a story of family rivalry – that is, so long as it doesn't concern your own kith and kin? 

 

Strolling through the hundreds of graceful acres of some of Britain's large country estates, the visitor will appreciate the planning and hard work that went into creating the sumptuous gardens and views of mansion and monuments, but we don't necessarily understand how these vast properties came about.

Take Wentworth Castle. Five minutes from junction 37 of the M1, this is the only grade one listed landscape in South Yorkshire, and it encompasses a fascinating collection of 26 listed buildings and monuments. Among them are the Rotunda, Queen Anne's Obelisk, the Duke of Argyll's Column and the majestic Stainborough Castle, a large romantic folly built by Sir Thomas Wentworth the Earl of Strafford in 1730.

Designed as an "eyecatcher", this mock castle, believed to be the second oldest Gothic garden folly in the country, is a wonderful architectural flourish with four towers named Harriet, Anne, Lucy and William after the Earl's children. The interior of each was painted a different colour.

Patrick Eyres, a landscape historian and one of the trustees of Wentworth Castle Heritage Trust, clearly enjoys telling the story of the castle and the property on which it stands.

"In 1695, when Sir Thomas's father died, he expected to inherit the estate at Wentworth Woodhouse which had been in the family for generations, six miles as the crow flies from where Wentworth Castle now stands.

"But for some reason the inheritance was passed down the female line to a cousin called Thomas Watson, who added Wentworth to his name. He was a member of the gentry, whereas Sir Thomas was an aristocrat, a renowned and respected diplomat. Finding himself disinherited, Sir Thomas bought the 500-acre Stainborough Hall Estate nearby and set about building a castle and a series of follies around his land, including the mock castle. It had a bailey wall and four turrets, a gatehouse keep with four towers and a first floor banqueting room. It was properly plastered inside, and was used regularly to entertain. The name of the estate was changed to Wentworth Castle, probably to annoy the cousin down the road.

"A lovely letter exists, written by Sir Thomas, detailing how he entertained in the folly, and even enjoyed a 'breakfast' there with Thomas Watson Wentworth, although the two men were poles apart in many ways including politically."

The disinherited Sir Thomas went about adding to his acreage by secretly buying up land from local farmers and referring to his rival in documents by the codename "the vermin". The Earl of Strafford's son continued the rivalry, and the owners vied with each other to create eye-catching follies on their land.

The pinnacle of this "folly war" really was Stainborough Castle, says Patrick Eyres. "I think we can safely say that Sir Thomas Wentworth and his family's efforts outranked, outswanked and outshone those of the cousin at Wentworth Woodhouse – although over time the family at Wentworth Woodhouse rose to become more senior within the aristocracy. The castle folly at Wentworth Castle was placed deliberately so as to be seen from the highest point of the Wentworth Woodhouse Estate. Unlike most follies, though, it was useful for entertaining and for the children to play in."

Today, Wentworth Woodhouse is still in private ownership, whereas Wentworth Castle is now the Northern College, an adult education centre. The gardens and parkland are open to the public and are looked after by the trust. In the 1960s two of the castle folly's towers collapsed after the structure was destabilised by the opening up of new coal seams beneath it. The castle fell into disrepair and became overgrown, although some thought this added to its romance.

In recent years, Stainborough Castle has been expensively restored after a campaign to raise £20m to refurbish the mansion, gardens, parkland and follies, and it can be used for picnics or to hold events, seating hundreds of visitors for theatrical and musical performances.

The folly was featured in the BBC's Restoration series and will be seen again next year in another BBC series about Britain's "hidden" houses, which will examine the famous Wentworth family rivalry.


Wentworth Castle Gardens, Low Lane, Stainborough, South Yorkshire S75 3EN. 01226 776040 or www.wentworthcastle.org

From: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/A-family-war-of-the.6674450.jp

Goodbye Castle Market!

A BID to have Sheffield's Castle Market listed has been turned down by English Heritage – which said the building was "not notable", did not use high quality materials and was not of artistic interest.

 

Sheffield Council had objected strongly to the application, fearing a decision to preserve the post-war building would prevent redevelopment of the area, planned for when the market is moved to a new building on The Moor.

The site is earmarked for a new open space, where sections of Sheffield's old castle hidden beneath the market will be exposed.
There will also be offices, apartments and part of the planned pedestrian Steel Route, which aims to link Victoria Quays and the Wicker with the rest of the city centre.

Victoria Ellis, Heritage Protection Co-ordinator for English Heritage, said: "Externally the building's appearance is not notable, nor is its construction technologically innovative.

"The materials used in the main are concrete with terrazzo tiling, some now rendered and painted, and metal-framed windows. There is a lack of use of high-quality materials, in contrast to the nearby Castle House – listed Grade II – the contemporary former Co-operative department store.

"Castle Market is an intelligent design for a difficult site, done by a notable architect Andrew Derbyshire, though early in his career.
It is one part of the wider post-war regeneration of Sheffield, aimed to put the city at the forefront of modern urban planning.

"However, the building does not display the quality of design or materials, the technological interest in its construction or the artistic interest which is found in the best market halls of this era and consequently does not meet the criteria for listing."

The decision was welcomed by Sheffield Council.

Leader Coun Paul Scriven said: "I'm delighted the Liberal Democrats have been successful in persuading English Heritage not to list Castle Markets. If listed the building would have been a dead weight around the neck of Sheffield's local taxpayers for generations to come.
"Now we can get on with delivering the new market at the bottom of the Moor knowing that there won't be a spanner thrown in the works.
"I only wish that local Labour politicians had taken the same approach in previous years with other similar buildings when they ran the council, such as Park Hill.

"Past experience has shown that London-based experts listing local large unpopular 1950s and '60s buildings only leads to local taxpayers having to fork out for something that they don't want."

Sheffield Council previously failed in its appeal against the decision to list Castle House Co-op department store.

An appeal can be made to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport over the English Heritage decision on Castle House.

The identity of who made the application to have Castle Market listed has not been revealed.

From: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/39Market-will-not-be-preserved39.6668356.jp

Castle Market Sheffield NOT Listed

It's just been announced that English Heritage's bid to get Castle Market in Sheffield listed has failed.  I have to say on a personal level I'm glad Castle Market hasn't been listed, I've spent many hours man and boy shopping in there but I'll be glad when they pull it down and show the city's hidden jewel- Sheffield Castle.

I'll publish the news from one of the local papers as soon as I can find one.