Search is on for 100 inspiration women from Notts

INSPIRATIONAL women from across Notts will be rewarded as part of a new project.The 100 Women of Substance scheme aims to celebrate women who have been an inspiration to others and has been launched to marked the 100th International Women's Day.

The Nottingham Post, along with Nottingham Women's Centre, the Women's Voluntary Action Network and other organisations in the city, are backing the initiative.  Joanne Glynn, the Post's managing director, will be on the judging panel. She said: "Quite simply, this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved.

"The Nottingham Post wishes to recognise the brilliant achievements that women have brought to the city and county. The Post is delighted to be involved, as there are some great stories to tell."  Councillor Penny Griggs, the Sheriff of Nottingham, is also a judge. She says the inspiration for 100 Women of Substance came from herself and High Sheriff of Notts Amanda Farr.  She said: "It's the first time in 1,000 years that two women have held the positions.  "We thought about it and realised it's been a good few years for women in the city – we've had the first woman chief executive, the first woman chief constable, the first woman who's a Member of Parliament for Nottingham.  I think it's important that we recognise the contribution that women have made to the city, and, most importantly, encourage young women to come forward and take a role in civic and public life."

Nominations were open to anyone. "We're looking for somebody who's made a contribution and been inspirational to other women." said Mrs Griggs. "It could be somebody who's very active in their community and had a real impact on just one or two people, or somebody like the chief constable who's been an inspiration to many, many women.  "We're looking for people of any age and any realm of life that you think should be acknowledged and celebrated.  "I think women often stand back and let other people take the credit, so this is a time for unsung women to take the limelight."

Marie Ashby of the BBC's Inside Out and Politics Show, is also on the judging panel. She said: "I think women do many inspiring things and it's great to hear stories about women who have achieved amazing things in their lives."  The final panellist is Faith Gakanje, director of the Nottingham African Women's Empowerment Forum, who said: "I'm looking for the women who have been contributing, volunteering and giving their time for free."

The 100th International Women's Day is on March 8, and a events will include a history walk organised by the Nottingham's Women History Group, a portraits exhibition at Nottingham Castle and a talk by feminist writer Nina Power at Nottingham Contemporary.

Anyone wishing to make a nomination has until 5.30pm on February 11 to submit 100 words describing why their choice should be recognised, along with a recent photograph and their contact details.  Nominations should be sent to 100women@nottinghamwomenscentre.com or posted to Nottingham's Women's Centre, 30 Chaucer Street, Nottingham NG1 5LP.

From:  http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Search-100-inspiration-women-Notts/article-3099832-detail/article.html

I'm not sure if this is open to historical figures so I thought better safe than sorry and include it on the blog.

Roche Abbey/Mexborough/Next meeting/Spam

This weeks BBC History magazine e-mail contains a link for Roche Abbey: http://www.bbchistorymagazine.com/visit/roche-abbey-yorkshire?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=History%2012%2F11%2F10  The way it describes the monks eviction seems quite polite!

Mexborough's now decommissioned fire station got a mention in yesterdays Yorkshire Post.  The story recounts how the stations plaque has been saved for posterity and donated to the Fire and Police Museum in Sheffield  http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/localnews/Slice-of-fire-service-history.6622896.jp

Don't forget next weeks meeting is on Monday at 19.30 and recounts the story of one of Sheffield's greatest tragedies when the Dale Dyke dam burst flooding thousands of acres of land and drowning many people and livestock 

Lastly, apologies for anyone who's received a spam e-mail from my personal e-mail address, seems some dodgy people have hacked my account! I've reported it so hopefully you won't receive any more.

A bumper chance to explain enigma of the lump From the Yorkshire Post

Many thanks to Terry (Regina Theresa) for finding this for us from the Yorkshire Post, I've e-mailed Community Archaeology for further details:

FOR centuries an inconspicuous bump in the ground has lain, unexplained, in the depths of Sherwood Forest.

But now, archaeologists from across the country are hoping to shed light on what could be one of the region's most mysterious – and most significant – ancient monuments.

Three years ago the Forestry Commission revealed that the Friends of Thynghowe group had found a Viking meeting place – known as a "Thing" – in the Birklands, near Worksop.

Such sites, of which there are only a handful in the British Isles, are thought to have been used in the Dark Ages as a landmark where people came together to resolve disputes.

Andrew Norman, from the Forestry Commission, which manages the Birklands, said: "What was once just a bump in the ground has now got lots of people excited up and down the country."

The earthen mound known as Thynghowe, which was first noticed on 19th century maps and then later identified through trawling the woodland landscape, has now been listed on English Heritage's National Monument Record.

New studies have also found the name Thynghowe in an ancient Sherwood Forest book dated to around the 1200s. However, more research is needed to understand the site's mysterious story.

As a result, Nottinghamshire County Council's community archaeology team is set to carry out a topographical survey of the hill in the New Year, after the Friends of Thynghowe made a successful bid for council funding.

At the same time, University College London plans to undertake a magnetometry survey, which can detect buried archaeology by registering anomalies in the earth's magnetic field.

The academics became involved after hearing about the Sherwood Forest site at a conference on Viking sites in Shetland and Orkney earlier this year, which was attended by representatives from the Friends of Thynghowe group.

Mr Norman added: "This is a major effort to unravel more of its secrets."

Thynghowe was discovered five years ago by husband and wife team Lynda Mallett and Stuart Reddish, along with their friend John Wood, who all live in the village of Rainworth.

Ms Mallett said: "My husband and myself own a woodland in Sherwood Forest. A 19th century document came into our hands which described a walk around Sherwood Forest, taking people around a very important boundary.

"We transcribed it and realised this went through our wood and all the way through Birklands as well. We asked the Forestry Commission if we could then go into Birklands and find anything mentioned in this 1816 document,

"One of the most significant places was a place called Hanger Hill, which is described as having two boundary stones and a stone on it. There were also apparently quite a lot of celebrations which took place there.

"When we did our research, having found this place in and amongst all of the trees, we realised Hanger Hill was also a place called Thynghowe, which is a Viking assembly site."

It is thought that Thynghowe may have marked the boundary between the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumberland. However, it may date back much further, as "howe" is a term often used to indicate a prehistoric burial place.

Ms Mallett said Thynghowe could date back 4,000 years – which would make it one of the most important sites not only in the region, but in Britain. She said: "It's a highly, highly significant place in Sherwood Forest and a national rarity.

"There are other 'Things' in Britain, but most of them you can't find a written record of. In this case we've found a written record dating back to the 1200s.

"Also, most 'Things' you can't actually see, because they've been built over or they're on private property. With ours, you can actually stand on it and look around and see some of the landscape that was there way, way back in the past."

To shed light on Thynghowe's history, archaeologists are set to arrive in January and analyse mysterious ancient stones in the area, which could be part of the complex or even predate it.

Ms Mallet said: "We need to bring this to national attention and find out as much as we can about this site.

"The more we can find out about it, the more chance we have of making it a scheduled monument, which gives it the highest level protection that we can get.

"We want to make sure local people know all about it. If this site has 4,000 years of history, there certainly isn't another site in Sherwood Forest as significant as this – and everyone in the world has heard of Sherwood Forest.

"To have a site in Sherwood Forest that is of this age, and that is still here, is really quite amazing."

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/A-bumper-chance-to-explain.6616462.jp

The Friends of Thynghowe website is located at http://www.thynghowe.org.uk/index.html