News - Mining memorial bid gets cash boost (Hucknall)

A BIG cash boost was given this week for a memorial to miners who died working at pits in Hucknall and the surrounding area.


Hucknall members of Ashfield District Council agreed to make a total grant of £2,400 for the highly-praised project, which has been backed by the Dispatch.

The decision was made at a meeting of Hucknall Area Committee.

The proposal is to record the names of the pitmen who lost their lives. As part of the scheme, memorial stones owuld be placed on the site of the iconic miners’ statue on Station Road, Hucknall.

The campaign was started by former miner Barrie Lewis, of Hucknall, whose father, Lawrence (34), was killed in an accident at the former Hucknall ‘Top Pit’ on Christmas Eve 1960, and has received full backing from the Dispatch.

A suggestion is for the memorial to be backed by a book featuring the names of those killed at the two Hucknall Collieries or Linby, Bestwood, Newstead and Annesley Pits.

On Friday and Saturday, November 9 and 10, Barrie will sit at a table in Hucknall Library to meet members of the public and raise awareness about the campaign.

“I hope people will take advantage of this opportunity to find out more about what the project is all about,” he said.

Area committee chairman Coun Jim Grundy (Lab) said he hoped the grant would act as a catalyst to attract further funds for the scheme.

A total of £9,000 or £10,000 is needed and donations so far received include £500 from the grant-making Nottinghamshire Community Foundation.

Barrie said he hoped the work would be completed in time for the proposed memorial to be unveiled at a ceremony next summer.

A report to the committee stated that publicity in the Dispatch had shown ‘considerable support’ for the project. The work will be carried out by a stonemason and other contractors.

Research into the names of miners to be remembered had been a painstaking task carried out at such locations as libraries and archive offices, the report added.

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/news/local-news/mining-memorial-bid-gets-cash-boost-1-5093317

Events - Merlin Pageant/Robin Hood Fly In (Hucknall)

This year the Merlin Flying Club will be hosting two fly-in weekends at the former RAF base at Hucknall, near Nottingham.

The first is on 16th June entitled the Merlin Pageant opening at 10am and the second on 18th August is the Robin Hood Fly-in with several competitions.  There should be several vintage aircraft and vehicles on show.

For further information visit their website at http://www.merlinflyingclub.co.uk/index.html

Events - Celebration events to mark 125 years of Hucknall Library

CELEBRATION events to mark the 125th anniversary of Hucknall Library are set to come thick and fast over the coming months.

The Market Place venue was built in 1886 at a cost of £2,000, although the official opening was delayed until the following year because of a lack of books.

Staff are continuing celebrations of the landmark with a talk by Annesley Woodhouse author Martin Weiss on Saturday March 17.

His presentation will cover 250 years of history in 30 minutes with a focus on mining and railways.

Other attractions lined up later this month (on dates to be announced) include a visit by thriller author Stephen Booth and a schools’ visit aimed at bringing the world of books to life.

A talk by a Nottingham archivist is scheduled for Friday March 23.

Well-known Hucknall historian Maureen Newton will host a question-and-answer session on Friday April 13.

On Friday May 18, the anniversary celebrations take flight with a talk on Nottinghamshire’s aviation heritage by Howard Heeley, of the Newark Air Museum.

And then an illustrated talk, entitled ‘Byron And Sport’ by Ralph Lloyd-Jones, on Friday June 8 will coincide with the Hucknall-based International Byron Festival.

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/community/celebration-events-to-mark-125-years-of-hucknall-library-1-4316727

News - Protection for war memorials from metal thieves (Hucknall)

ACTION has been taken to protect plaques on Hucknall’s precious war memorial from being targeted by metal thieves looking to cash in.

The value of scrap metal has shot up in recent years and this has sparked a huge rise in the number of theft offences.

Metal roadside grates have been taken, lead from churches stolen and even drainpipes from Newstead Abbey pilfered.

Nothing is safe.

That’s why Ashfield District Council, the War Memorials Trust and Ashfield Memorials Group have joined forces to ensure that all metal plaques on war memorials within the district are marked with SmartWater and registered on a database.

The SmartWater is invisible to the eye but appears when scanned using an ultraviolet light. It is also almost impossible to remove once marked and can even withstand being burnt.

Plaques on the cenotaph to remember Hucknall’s war dead in the town’s Titchfield Park have been treated.

If a plaque now gets stolen and taken to a scrapyard anywhere in the country, police can locate exactly which one it is and where it has been stolen from.

Also, a thief who tries to remove Smartwater risks inadvertently spreading forensic evidence on to their clothes and any tools. This can be used by police to link a suspect directly to the crime scene.

Local groups, parish and town councils across Nottinghamshire are being reminded of the scheme to use this forensic technology to help reduce the risk of thieves and vandals stealing or damaging metal from war memorials.

Notts County Council has worked with local groups since 2006 to fund projects and create 23 war memorials in the county through its Local Improvement Scheme at a cost of £364,500.

It is estimated that on average one war memorial a week across the UK is being targeted by thieves intent on stealing bronze, copper or other metals to sell on for scrap despite the metal having relatively little monetary value.

Ashfield councillor Warren Nuttall (Lab) said: “We are very pleased to be involved in this scheme and are doing all we can to help try to reduce this sort of crime.

“The SmartWater technology is very impressive and we hope it will help to protect our war memorial plaques.”

Coun Richard Butler (Con), the county council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “War memorials are an important focal point in our communities and are a crucial reminder of the sacrifice of those who lost their lives for their country. It is shameful if any are stolen.”

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/news/local-news/protection_for_war_memorials_from_metal_thieves_1_4246373

Event - Family History Session (Hucknall)

This Saturday 7 January 2012between 10:00am - 12:00pm at Hucknall library.

Free event. Family history experts on hand to offer help and guidance with family trees.

Futher details at: http://ht.ly/8hUOI

News - Luddite show in pipeline (Ashfield)

A THEATRE company is on the hunt for researchers to help create a show based on the impact of the Luddite rebellions in Hucknall and the rest of Ashfield 200 years ago.

Nottingham-based Hanby And Barrett is working with Ashfield District Council.

It is hoped a show could coincide with the bicentenary of the famous rebellion by a group of skilled textiles workers who claimed that changes during the Industrial Revolution left them without work. They vented their anger by protesting and destroying textiles machinery.

Hanby And Barrett is planning to find out as much as they can about the Luddite movement. It is hoped this can be specific to Hucknall, Kirkby and Sutton, with a focus on locals involved.

Anyone with information should ring Andy Barrett on 07986 594395.

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/lifestyle/luddite_show_in_pipeline_1_4059418

Book - Booklet celebrates local airfields and memorials (Nottinghamshire)

HUCKNALL’S rich and historic connections with aviation are celebrated in a new booklet that has taken off thanks to Newark Air Museum.

‘Aviation In Nottinghamshire’ is a 48-page guide that delves into the background of the county’s airfields and pinpoints the locations of memorials. Hucknall features heavily with a page dedicated to the town’s airfield off Watnall Road.

The famous site was used for the testing of the Flying Bedstead — a vertical take-off rig designed by Rolls-Royce that was the forerunner to potent fighter-planes. The Bedstead first took off in 1953 and had its first free flight in 1954.

Twice the Hucknall airfield was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) — from 1917 to 1919 and then from 1928 to 1957, which encompassed the Second World War when it was a base for Polish pilots.

The airfield achieved notoriety in December 1940 when it was the scene of the capture of infamous German prisoner of war, Franz von Werra.

The member of the Luftwaffe was shot down over Kent and after escaping and being recaptured, he was transferred to Swanwick, Derbyshire. He and fellow prisoners spent a month digging an escape tunnel and von Werra eventually fled the camp.

Using forged paperwork and assuming false identities, he eventually made it to the Hucknall RAF site where he was captured at gunpoint while in a cockpit attempting to make off in an aircraft.

He was transferred to Canada where he again escaped and made it back to Germany where he was given hero status. The story was the subject of the book and film, ‘The One That Got Away’.

Hucknall and nearby Annesley are also the sites of aviation memorials explained by the booklet.

Two intriguing ones sit side by side on West Street in Hucknall. The first relates to a crash on September 23 1940 when an aircraft from Hucknall airfield, with a Polish pilot at the controls, crashed at the corner of Ruffs Drive and Laughton Crescent.

The pilot and several members of the Evans household were killed. The pilot was buried with full military honours at Hucknall Cemetery.

The second plaque remembers Sally, a collie dog dubbed the ‘Pride Of Hucknall’ and owned in the 1970s and 1980s by Hucknall-based Pole Stefan Sztejer. She helped raise funds for the Royal Air Force Association (RAFA), Royal British Legion and Polish Red Cross.

The memorial at Annesley remembers January 14 1945 when the crew of a Stirling bomber were killed when en route to making an emergency landing at Hucknall.

The book also mentions the naming of Hucknall’s Flying Bedstead pub on Watnall Road to continue the town’s connections with aviation and a statue of the Bedstead rig on the traffic island at the Annesley Road end of Hucknall bypass.

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/community/booklet_celebrates_local_airfields_and_memorials_1_3952807

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 - Father of Council House listed in national archive (Thomas Cecil Howitt)

A HUCKNALL-BORN architect who designed some of Nottingham's most celebrated buildings has been included in a national historical database.

Information about the life of Thomas Cecil Howitt will be featured in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Mr Howitt designed the iconic Council House in Old Market Square, Nottingham Trent University's Newton building and the former Raleigh headquarters.

He is also renowned for designing the YMCA building in Shakespeare Street, Staythorpe Power Station and the Home Ales building in Mansfield Road, Daybrook.

His entry was written by architectural historian Doctor Elain Harwood, who said Howitt's influence on the city was vast.

She said: "He is the great Nottingham architect of the 20th Century and someone the city should rightly be proud of.

"One just needs to look around Nottingham and you can see his wonderful designs.

"The other thing that sets him apart was his range of influences and styles, from homes in the 1920s through to the fantastic Newton building in the 1960s."

The Oxford DNB, which is online and available free in libraries, features famous individuals as well as 400 entries on historical groups.

Mr Howitt began his career designing telephone exchanges and shops for Boots before the First World War.

He later joined the Nottingham city engineer's department and helped develop new housing estates in the north and west of the city to tackle a shortage of houses.

In 1923 Mr Howitt proposed a replacement for the old 18th century Corn Exchange which would become the Council House. Work started in 1927 and the building was opened by the Prince of Wales two years later.

Howitt died in 1968 at a home he designed in Orston, east Notts.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Father-Council-House-listed-national-archive/story-13378748-detail/story.html

Event - Girlguiding exhibition (Nottingham)

AN EXHIBITION has been launched that traces the history of Guiding in Hucknall, Bulwell and the rest of Nottinghamshire.

Entitled ‘Look How Far We’ve Come’, the attraction is at Central Library on Angel Row, Nottingham.

As Girlguiding Nottinghamshire celebrated its 100th birthday last year, the exhibition is packed with memorabilia, including badges, uniforms and photographs.

The display also focuses on the opportunities available to the current 8,000-plus members of Girlguiding Nottinghamshire.

The exhibition will run until the end of the month and has attracted rave reviews from county commissioner Kate Royse.

From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/community/girlguiding_exhibition_1_3769390

Article - Lost Byron memorial found in church sale returns to UK (Scotland/Hucknall)

A book picked up at a church bring and buy sale in America has been identified as a lost memorial to Lord Byron.

Marilyn Solana, who bought the book for $35 (£22) in Savannah, Georgia, in 2008, has now returned it to the UK.

After online research, she contacted experts at the National Library of Scotland.

A curator realised it was the memorial book from Byron's family vault in Nottinghamshire, where he was buried after his death in Greece in 1824.

The book records the personal tributes and several poetic laments left by more than 800 people, many of them famous figures of the day, who travelled to the poet's final resting place.

'Remarkable find'

The visitors' book was placed in the vault at St Mary Magdalene's church in Hucknall, outside Nottingham, in 1825. By 1834, it was full.

David McClay, the library curator who uncovered the book's identity, said: "What happened next is unclear. One report from 1849 says the parish clerk gave it to a friend.

“I'm thrilled to be able to bring this wonderful little book to the National Library of Scotland, where it can be treasured and studied and cared for professionally”Marilyn Solana

"Another from 1890 suggests the book was in the United States, having come into the possession of a family who moved there.

"This is a remarkable find which offers a fascinating insight into Byron's posthumous reputation. I'm sure there will be international interest in what has come to light."

Working from transcripts and without having seen the original text, he recognised the names of important figures who had left tributes and began to realise what it might be.

Mr McClay said this was confirmed when he attended a conference in the US and was able to inspect the original book.

The National Library of Scotland's John Murray Archive holds the world's most extensive collection of Byron works.

Mrs Solana has travelled to Edinburgh to donate the book to the library.

"I'm thrilled to be able to bring this wonderful little book to the National Library of Scotland, where it can be treasured and studied and cared for professionally," she said.

The National Library of Scotland holds the world's most extensive collection of Byron works The book, which was dirty and missing its cover, generated little interest among bargain hunters at the St John's Episcopal Church sale and was unsold at the end of the day.

Mrs Solana, a retired speech pathologist who had been helping out at the sale, had spotted the book earlier and decided to buy it.

Martyn Wade, national librarian and chief executive of the National Library of Scotland, said: "We are all extremely grateful to Marilyn Solana for generously donating the book to the National Library.

"It has obviously been well-handled over the years but is generally in a sound condition. We will need to do conservation work on it but once that is done, people will be able to see it for another couple of hundred years."

There are also plans to create digital images of the book and put them online.

A digital copy will also be given to Mrs Solana and St Mary Magdalene's church in Hucknall Torkard.

From:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-14059723

New project to research history of our churches (Hucknall)

A SMALL team has begun the challenging task of researching the history of Hucknall’s Anglican churches.



The members have been recruited by Professor John Beckett, of Nottingham University. The ultimate aim of the project is for details of all churches in the Southwell and Nottingham Diocese to be included on the diocesan website, freely available to interested researchers and tourists.


Hucknall’s local historian Maureen Newton, who has been appointed as team leader, said: “This is a pioneering project because, so far, no-one has really worked on the churches in Hucknall.


“We are looking at the history of the buildings, any alterations, stained-glass windows, monuments, bells, organs, fonts and gravestones or, in fact, anything that might be of interest.


“We will be taking photographs and notes of anything we deem is important evidence around and inside the buildings. So if you see any of us crawling, climbing or wandering round your church like lost sheep, please come and have a chat since you might know of something we are unlikely to find.


“We are starting with the newest, St Peter and St Paul’s Church on Ruffs Drive, and we will also take in the former St Peter’s, which hsd been converted into Watnall Road Community Centre.


“We will next deal with St John’s Church, which has played an integral part in the life of the Butlers Hill community for many years. Of course, there is also the parish church on the Market Place, which is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene.


“The parish church is obviously world-famous as the last resting place of the poet Lord Byron but there is much more to it than that.”


The church is grade-two listed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and has been described by many experts as a “particularly significant building of more than local interest”.


The church was built on the site of an old Saxon church and the tower, which stands high above the town, was built in stages between the 12th and 14th centuries.


The Lady Chapel has been praised as a “beautiful example of 19th-century craftsmanship” and the Victorian baptistry, which used to contain the 14th-century font, has now been converted into a popular visitor-centre.


The parish church is also notable for having the largest collection of stained-glass windows by Charles Eamer Kempe, a key figure in 19th-century decorative art, of any building in the country.


Anyone able to help with the survey is asked to contact Maureen by writing to her at 64 Bestwood Road, Hucknall, Nottingham, NG15 7PQ or by phoning her on 0115 9631705.


“We would appreciate any information anyone is able to offer about any of these churches,” said Maureen.


“For instance, there is not a lot of documentary evidence about the old St Peter’s Church, so any details about its history would be gratefully received.”#


From: http://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/news/local-news/new_project_to_research_history_of_our_churches_1_2920287