Event - Ollerton history at the gallery (Thoresby Gallery)

A SERIES of talks detailing the history of the Ollerton area will take place at Thoresby Gallery this month.


On Wednesdays throughout May at 2pm, visitors can find out more about the area’s past by attending events being developed with local history groups and enthusiasts.

The secrets of the internees at Boughton camp are uncovered today and the history of coal mining in Ollerton will be unearthed on 16th May.

Anyone interested in the natural history of the area can discover how local farmers are managing landscape, wildlife and archaeology on 9th May. While open field strip farming at Laxton will be the topic of a talk on 23rd May.

There is a new regimental museum at Thoresby Courtyard, and on 30th May visitors have the opportunity to listen to a talk by its curator on the subject of Nottinghamshire’s cavalries.

For a further trip down memory lane people can see penny farthing racing at the Pennies in the Park Festival of Cycling on 19th and 20th May in Thoresby Park.

Tickets for the history talks are £4 and available on Mansfield 01623 822009. For further details visit http://www.thoresbycourtyard.com/

From: http://www.chad.co.uk/lifestyle/ollerton-history-at-the-gallery-1-4495560

News - Call for Ollerton Colliery memorial at Tesco store

Hundreds of people have signed a petition calling for a memorial at a supermarket built on the site of a former Nottinghamshire colliery.

Former miner Carl Pickering and his wife Maureen are calling for a tribute to miners who worked and died at Ollerton Colliery, which shut in 1994.

They want a memorial put up at the entrance of the Tesco store, which was built on part of the former pit.

Tesco said it was working with the town council to find space for the tribute.

'Very dangerous'

Mr Pickering, who worked at the colliery for 20 years from 1973, said it was important for future generations in the town to remember the colliery.

"It was very hard work, very dangerous work at times," he said.

"It's trying to remember where the village comes from. Things do progress but if you forget where you've come from how are you going to think about where you're going to?

"Whatever form it takes, if it's a memorial to those who died and worked there I'd be quite happy," he said.

A Tesco spokesperson said: "We are committed to working with Ollerton Town Council to find a space for a miners' memorial at our New Ollerton store and recognise how important this is for residents who live in the local community.

"We have plans to build an extension to the store and want to make sure that the memorial's position will not impact on any new road layout that would be required by the county council."

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-16758535

Event - Mining memories to pass on to kids (Newstead)

CHILDREN will be able to discover what it was like to work at a pit when a mobile mining museum rolls into Newstead next week.

The event at the Newstead Centre on Tilford Road will also allow residents of the village who remember the halcyon days of local collieries to record their memories for a mining-heritage initiative.

The attraction on Thursday October 13 is being run by the Nottinghamshire National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Ex and Retired Miners Association.

Entitled ‘Mining Memories’, it will feature the mobile museum, complete with artefacts dating from the 1800s to the present day.

Youngsters from Newstead Primary School will get the chance to quiz association members about local pits, including Newstead, which closed in 1987.

Eric Eaton, chairman of the association, said: “A lot of children haven’t got an idea about mining, so it is important that we educate them.

“Generations of families worked at local pits until they closed.

“Mining is a crucial part of the heritage of this area and we will be forever linked with coal mining.”

On the day, residents who worked in mining are invited along to take part in a project to record memories of the pits.

The scheme run by the association aims to create a website and DVD featuring accounts of miners who worked at Linby, Newstead, Hucknall, Ollerton, Blidworth and Rufford Collieries.

The two-year initiative is backed by £46,500 worth of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

“Parents and grandparents are welcome to come along and revive memories of their life at the pit,” added Mr Eaton.

“It looks like it should be a good day with lots of activities.”

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/community/mining_memories_to_pass_on_to_kids_1_3851064

News - Ollerton residents push for pit memorial

PLANS by Ollerton councillors to submit a planning application to build a new miners’ memorial on the site of the town’s former colliery have been welcomed by residents.

Ollerton Colliery closed in 1994 and the land is now owned by supermarket giants Tesco, but talks between the council and store bosses over the location of a proposed new memorial have stalled recently.

At a meeting of Ollerton and Boughton Town Council, members voted to submit a planning application to have a memorial built on what was knows as Pit End Lane.

The move has also been welcomed by Ollerton residents, including Maureen Pickering whose husband and father-in-law both worked down the mine for many years.

“Without the colliery, there would be no Ollerton, the public wants a visible memorial that people can see and is not hidden away,” she said.

“People feel let down by the situation. It is a lost bit of history and a lost community if something is not built to remember all those people who worked there.”

Maureen says that it is important for the next generation of young people to know the history of their home town.

“We need something to show young people who may not have heard of Ollerton Pit and visual references are always more potent,” she added.

“Tesco takes a lot from this community but gives nothing back, that piece of land does not mean anything to them but it means a lot to local people.”

Boughton resident Elizabeth Tilstone gathered more than 375 signatures and raised nearly £600 in a bid to get the memorial built.

“Every other pit village has a tribute to their miners but Ollerton has nothing, we spoke to some kids who didn’t realise we had a pit but some remembered their grandfathers working there,” she said.

During the council’s monthly meeting, members said that submitting a planning application would force some movement from Tesco on the issue.

Tesco’s regional corporate affairs manager Jonathan Simpson said that the store is in talks about the memorial and is happy to discuss the plan with residents. He added: “If this is land that does not cause any problems in terms of access we will be very happy for a memorial to go there.”

From: http://www.chad.co.uk/news/ollerton_residents_push_for_pit_memorial_1_3851217?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

News - Determined to honour miners (Ollerton)

Calls have been made for plans to erect a miners’ memorial in Ollerton to move forward.

A site for the memorial, at the old mine entrance near the Tesco roundabout off Forest Road, has been identified.

However, the land is owned by Tesco and talks over siting the memorial there have stalled.

Residents attended a meeting of Ollerton and Boughton Town Council to voice their disappointment that the project was being delayed.

The Mayor of Ollerton, Mrs Abbie Truswell, said: “Members of the public are very disappointed that this seems to have been lost track of.

“Although the mine is no longer there, the community spirit is and we still want something to recognise the miners.

“Tesco doesn’t seem to realise how strongly people feel about it.”

The council agreed to submit a planning application for the memorial to Newark and Sherwood District Council to try to force some movement on the issue.

The chairman of the memorial committee, Mrs Irene Miller, said the roundabout site was the ideal location for a memorial and that a resolution was needed.

“Hopefully we can try and get over this because it has gone on too long,” she said.

“We have been in negotiations with Tesco and hopefully we can get it resolved.”

She said the possibility of renting the land from the supermarket for a peppercorn rate had been looked at, but talks seemed to have hit a dead end.

“The mine closed in 1994 so it really is time we had something there,” she said.

“We have dragged our heels over this for long enough. That road was what we called Pit End Lane and opened out on to the colliery site.

“The consensus of everybody in Ollerton is that it would be the ideal place for a memorial. Two elderly miners have given donations towards it and we want it to be done so they can see it.

“Some local contractors have offered their services for free as well so it needs to be done.”

A design for the memorial, featuring the names of miners who died working at the colliery, has been drawn up. It features a mining wheel with a red brick backdrop.

Tesco corporate affairs manager Mr Jonathan Simpson said: “We are certainly in talks about this and are happy to meet with representatives of the group to discuss it with them.

“If this is land that does not cause any problems in terms of access we will be very happy for a memorial to go there.”

Mr Simpson said there were a number of groups across Nottinghamshire in discussion with him about memorials, and that he would be happy to talk personally to representatives of the Ollerton group if they contacted Tesco.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Determined-to-honour-miners

Event - CBA Festival of Archaeology (Worksop Library)

The Priories Historical Society's first exhibition for the Festival of British Archaeology held at Worksop Library on Saturday and Sunday was a great success.

Above: Members of the public looking at one of the displays. 

The society had boards of information on the Luddite uprising, Raymoth Lane, the Roman landscape of Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire, Throapham and Dinnington historical records as well as a photographic exhibition with explanations about each photo and examples of archaeology the group has found over the past several years.


The star find brought in by a member of the public were 3 Romano-British beehive querns found by Robin Orr near Ollerton.  Robin found these Hunsbury Hill type querns 15 years ago but didn't think anyone would be interested in them.  All three were in brilliant condition but were missing the bases. 

Above: One of the Romano British Hunsbury Hill type beehive quern tops. This top half would be rotated over a base stone. Note the moulded rim, U-shaped hopper and handle socket towards the bottom.

If you missed the Society's exhibition not to worry they will be at Throapham Church on July 30th and 31st for the final weekend of the Festival.


Thanks go out to Pam Cook, Sarah Perry, David Cook, Fiona Green, Roy and Pauline Haslehurst for helping out with the exhibition and answering the members of public questions as well as Friends of Throapham Church for lending us their display boards. Also big thanks to Worksop Library to lending us the room for the weekend and to everyone who publicised the event.