Event - Centenary celebrations (DH Lawrence/Eastwood)

AN EXHIBITION in Eastwood is celebrating 100 years since the publication of the first DH Lawrence novel.

The exhibition celebrates 100 years since the publication of The White Peacock and contains photographs of key locations that appear in the novel, quotations relating to each site and contributions from The University of Nottingham’s DH Lawrence Research Centre.

Audio devices will be provided along the exhibition route to take people into the lives of the main characters and show the relationships that Lawrence was trying to convey. The novel, set in countryside surrounding Eastwood, demonstrates the writer’s passion and knowledge of the area and shows how he used real locations in his fiction from the outset – something he continued to do throughout his career.

The exhibition will run at the Durban House Heritage Centre until Sunday October 30.

From: http://www.eastwoodadvertiser.co.uk/news/eastwood-kimberley-news/centenary_celebrations_1_3845447

News - Lottery revamp for ruined Annesley village church

A RUINED church in Annesley with links to Lord Byron and DH Lawrence is to be transformed with the help of £450,000 of lottery cash.

All Saints’ Church - known locally as Annesley Old Church - is set for a new lease of life following the award by the Heritage Lottery Fund, with Ashfield District Council also contributing cash.

The church, built in 1356, is in a sorry state after falling into major disrepair since the building of the newer Annesley All Saints’ Church in 1874, a response to the needs of miners working at Annesley Colliery.

The roof collapsed decades ago and the site is normally off limits to the public because of safety issues.

But now there are plans to bring the site into the 21st Century by making it safe for visitors and using its redevelopment to provide training and skills for local community groups.

Dennis Hill, heritage development officer for Ashfield District Council, said: “This is fantastic news and we cannot wait to get started on the project.“

The site’s historic links to the poet Lord Byron stem from his romantic involvement with Mary Ann Chaworth, who lived yards from the old church at Annesley Hall.

Mary ended up marrying another man, John Musters, in 1805 at the church. Lord Byron wrote about Annesley in some of his early work.

The church also gets a mention in the work of Nottinghamshire writer DH Lawrence. In The White Peacock, published in 1911, he has some less than kind words to say about the ‘rotting’ old building.

The church held its last service in 1942, despite being in poor condition and was sold to Ashfield District Council in 1981.

The authority lowered the roofless walls and part of the tower.

Gregory Pickup, grants officer for the Heritage Lottery Fund, said the project would have a number of benefits for the local area.

“This is going to be a project that will involve the whole community,” he said “Credit must go to Ashfield District Council who put the time and money into putting the application together for this grant.”

Ashfield district councillor Steve Carroll said: “We must thank our officers who worked so hard to secure this money.”

Ashfield MP Gloria De Piero said it was time more local groups benefitted from lottery cash.

The district ranks 339th in the country in terms of total grants received since the Lottery scheme was set up in 1995. Mansfield is ranked 225th and South Nottingham is 31st.

“This is a great deal of money and it is about time this area started to get its fair share. We have got so many areas of huge historical interest which need this funding.”

from: http://www.chad.co.uk/news/lottery_revamp_for_ruined_annesley_village_church_1_3545980

News - New tour of Nottingham set to launch

THE promotional material for David Cross's new Heroes and Villains of Nottingham tour asks a somewhat provocative question: Was Robin Hood gay?

The on-a-postcard answer: er, no.

But the reality of the time was a bit more sexually diverse than later history re-writers, like those priggish Victorians, may have liked to admit.

"That (question) was very tongue-in-cheek," Mr Cross said. "There's absolutely no evidence. But Richard the Lionheart absolutely was, as were many other historical characters."

That said, Mr Cross expects that at some point in the near future, Hollywood will try a Robin Hood tale that uses sexuality as a plot point.

"They've kind of run out of things to say about Robin Hood," he said.

That is not a problem shared by Mr Cross. He's always had a passion for history. Nearly two decades ago, he began translating that passion into something fun – history-laden "ghost tours" of Nottingham.

"We've been doing the Nottingham Ghost Walk since 1993," he said. "I've always wanted to develop a new tour alongside the ghost walk and now that I'm semi-retired, I've got the time to do it."

The new tour took eight or nine months to develop but if the ghost tours are any example, it will be an ever-evolving work in progress.

Storytelling, he finds, is an odd beast. An idea that sounds great on paper can fall flat, while a story thrown into a tour at the last minute can become a winner. One thing he has learned is that you can research a story, write it out, practise it and have it down perfectly, but until you try it out in front of a group of expectant faces, you won't know how it's going to go down.

The new tour won't revolve simply around Robin Hood and that well-known cast of characters from his stories, though they'll loom large.

The tour will start near the castle, wind past Old Market Square to the Lace Market and then double back just about to where it started. Those, Mr Cross said, were the necessary locales to explain a city that developed from a Saxon enclave near what is now the Lace Market and a Norman stronghold near the castle.

While he's at it, Mr Cross will also take the opportunity to take his guests through other eras in Nottingham history. Characters such as Lord Byron will also make appearances. Even more modern heroes, such as DH Lawrence and Torvill and Dean, will warrant a mention.

"There's a lot more walking than in the ghost walk," Mr Cross said.

And during all that walking, he won't shy away from the difficult queries.

"The big question that everybody has is 'Did Robin Hood exist?' And that's a very complicated question to answer."

Modern Robin – the Hollywood Robin who married Marian at the oak and got misty-eyed while reminiscing about Nottingham Castle – no, of course he didn't exist.

But what about the guy from the medieval ballads? "The consensus is probably not."

Still, though, it's a good yarn. Particularly the way Mr Cross tells it.

For more information, visit toursofnottingham.co.uk or phone 07850 145642.

From: ThisisNottingham website