News - Newark gets £3.5m fund to create national Civil War museum

Buildings in a Nottinghamshire town are set to become a National Civil War Centre after a £3.5m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund was secured.


Newark and Sherwood District Council plan to restore Newark's Magnus buildings into a museum about the 17th Century war.

The project will cost £5.4m in total and will open in September 2014.

The centre could attract more than 60,000 visitors each year, according to the authority.

Councillor Roger Jackson, the district council's cabinet member for leisure and culture, said: "The new museum will provide a hub for tourism, directing visitors to attractions across the district and Nottinghamshire."

Newark Torc
Newark and Sherwood District Council said it has applied to other grant-funding bodies to make up the rest of the money needed.

The authority has worked with the Heritage Lottery Fund to put together plans to renovate the Magnus buildings, part of which date to 1529.

The Royalists surrendered Newark following a siege in 1646 towards the end of the civil war, which resulted in the defeat of King Charles I by the Parliamentarians.

In addition to Civil War displays, exhibition galleries will focus on the local history of the towns and villages of Nottinghamshire.

The Newark Torc, an Iron Age necklace found using a metal detector near the town, will also be displayed in the centre.

It will be the first time the item will be displayed in the district after being loaned to the British Museum.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-18267068

News - Cannon ball kid digs up Civil War relic (Balderton)

A youngster has had his enthusiasm for history fired up after unearthing a cannon ball in his back garden.


Charlie West, 8, of Kennedy Walk, Balderton, was digging a vegetable patch for his mum at the weekend when he made the discovery, which is believed to date back to the English Civil War.

“I don’t know exactly how old it is, but I know it’s very old,” he said. “I would like to do some research and find out where it came from.”

Charlie’s mother, Mrs Lorraine West, said they hoped to visit Newark and Sherwood District Council’s resource centre on Brunel Drive to try to verify the date of the cannon ball.

“His spade just hit metal. It is amazing it happened to be in the dirt and not under the garage or the path,” she said.

Charlie, a pupil at Chuter Ede Primary School, Balderton, plans to take the cannon ball to show his class on Monday.

During the English Civil War Newark was under siege three times. In the final siege in 1645 Colonel Rossiter, a Parliamentary commander, was camped at Balderton.

Mr Glynn Hopkins, of Carlton-on-Trent, a member of the English Civil War Society, said it was likely the cannon ball wasn’t fired but was left behind by the Parliamentarians.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Cannon-ball-kid-digs-up-Civil-War-relic

News - Newark's £5.5m Civil War museum plans move forward

Plans to turn historical buildings in a Nottinghamshire town into a £5.5m national centre about the English Civil War have moved a step closer.

Newark and Sherwood District Council wants to restore Newark's Magnus buildings into a museum incorporating exhibiting about the 17th Century war.

The authority has now submitted a bid for £3.5m of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

It will learn if the application has been successful in May.

'Exciting time'

Councillor Roger Jackson, the district council's cabinet member for leisure and culture, said the museum and learning centre could be opened in 2014 if the funding bid was successful.

He said: "It's a very exciting time for Newark. We've got a business plan put together and hopefully we could generate an income from having the museum. 

"Hopefully it will bring a lot more people into the town as well and bring more money into the town."

The council has been working with the HLF to put together plans to renovate the Magnus buildings, part of which date back to 1529.

The Royalists surrendered Newark following a siege in 1646 towards the end of the civil war, which resulted in the defeat of King Charles I by the Parliamentarians.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-16808781