Excavation - Digging for windmill evidence (Bingham)

A heritage group has been given permission to dig an archaeological pit near the site of a former mill in Bingham as it bids to uncover the town’s historic origins.


Bingham Heritage Trails Association is being allowed to dig a one metre square pit on land owned by Bingham Town Council at the top of Mill Hill.

It will search for evidence of a windmill dating from the late 18th or early 19th Century as the group continues its efforts to piece together the history of Bingham.

It has already dug 29 test pits and has so far uncovered Medieval and Roman rubbish pits, and evidence of Roman and 15th Century houses.

The group’s chairman, Mr Peter Allen, said: “We want to look for further evidence of a windmill at the top of Mill Hill.

“We will get an idea of what was going on in the yard and near the mill in the late 18th or early 19th Century.”

He said pits dug so far had proved very productive, with only two not turning up any evidence.

“We don’t know where Bingham originally was and so our purpose is to look for Anglo-Saxon origins,” he said.

“It is quite amazing what we have found. We find bits of pottery and work out the story from there.

“We have found evidence of a Roman house in the rectory garden so there could even have been pre-Anglo-Saxon habitation in Bingham.”

He said samples were sent off to experts who could date them and give an indication of their significance.

The pits typically take two or three days to dig and are then filled in.

The project is being paid for through a £32,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Mr Allen said all the information would be put on the association website and some funding had been put aside for a publication, possibly a book.

From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Digging-for-windmill-evidence

Event - Savour flavours of medieval food (Newark)

An exhibition about medieval food has opened in the undercroft of Newark Castle.


The display has been created by the Friends of Newark Castle and Gardens.

It provides information about food production between 1066 and 1566, when produce from the Continent and the new world was introduced to Britain.

The exhibition is in what would have been the castle storeroom.

The room is linked by stairs to a water gate that leads directly on to the River Trent, where supplies to the castle were delivered.

Beer barrels, imitation fruit, and period cups, plates and jugs create the feel of a medieval food store.

A variety of birds and a rabbit hang from the pillars as they would have done in the Middle Ages, although those in the exhibition have been stuffed.

The chairman of the friends group, Mr Allan Towler, said the stuffed animals attracted attention from children.

He said they hoped to add to the exhibition over time as more money became available.

The project has been supported by the Trent Vale Landscape Partnership, an initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Money has also been provided by Yorkshire Bank, Lincolnshire Co-op, and Nottinghamshire county, Newark and Sherwood district and Newark town councils.

The exhibition can be viewed as part of castle tours every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 1pm, or at other times by arrangement.

The tours, which cost £2.50, can be booked at the tourist information centre.
  From: http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Savour-flavours-of-medieval-food

Event - Medieval Castle Clash (Conisbrough Castle)

The mighty castle of Conisbrough becomes the stage for the pageant of the Knights this Saturday and Sunday between 12.00 and 16.30

See Escafeld re-enactors gather for courtly pursuits of archery and dancing, presentations of arming a knight and then witness the dramatic conclusion of a tournament of Knights.

Main combat at 3pm.


From: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/events/medieval-castle-clash-coca-18-aug/

Event - Robin Hood Festival starts in Sherwood Forest (Clipstone)

Today marks the start of the Robin Hood Festival - an annual celebration of the UK's most famous outlaw.


The event will run for seven days and will take place in Nottingham's Sherwood Forest.

Award-winning street artists will perform 'Medieval' battles

The festival will showcase archery, falconry, jousting and medieval entertainment in the form of music, street performance, and adventure tales.

Timetable of activities:
Wednesday - Falconry 12.00 noon & 2pm, Jousting 2.30pm
Saturday - Falconry 12.00 noon & 2pm, Jousting 2.30pm
Sunday - Falconry 12.30 & 2.15pm, Jousting 3pm

The event is free and will take place at Sherwood Forest's Visitor Centre

Nottinghamshire County Council have organised the event, which is now in it's 28th year.

Things you might not know about the Legend of Robin Hood:

The earliest reference to Robin Hood was in 1377, in a poem by William Langland called "The vision of William concerning Piers Plowman". Other historical evidence places Robin anywhere between 1190 - 1307.

The longbow was Robin's weapon of choice, made from the English yew tree.

One legend says that Robin Hood was killed by his cousin, because she didn't want him to find out that she was having an affair. Another tale is that a monk murdered him, even though he'd been brought in to help.

From: http://www.itv.com/news/central/2012-08-13/robin-hood-festival-starts-in-sherwood-forest/

Book - Smiling German in tank said: 'Come on Tommy. For you the war's over'

IT all began for Stephen Staples, from Daybrook, in July 1940.

It's a date emblazoned in his memory, after which life would never be the same again.

He has documented his tale of capture in Tobruk, experiences in prisoner of war camps and his eventual escape in a book called Caprice Italien – British Style.

Lieutenant Bombardier Staples, now 93, said his incredible journey began manning guns on his own doorstep. "I was stationed at Yorker Site 276 HAA BTY RA at Gainsford Crescent, off Oxclose Lane, then on to Sugar Site at Beechwood Road, Aspley," he recalled.

"It was while there that I fired a 3.7 HAA gun at a German plane which came in over Wollaton Hall. I was the one who pressed the firing handle down. We didn't hit it, but we scared the occupants of Wollaton to death when the shrapnel pieces from the shells dropped down upon them!"

Stephen stayed with this unit until they were captured in Tobruk in June 1942.

He was among troops shipped to Egypt. "Although we were not told where we were going it soon became clear that it was Tobruk," he said.

"My unit was the headquarters staff of the 68th Regiment, Heavy Anti-Aircraft Royal Artillery, billeted about a mile outside Tobruk, just past the famous Hell Fire Corner sign.

"This was our second visit to Tobruk. The first occasion was when we had passed through on our way in the advance to Benghazi, which hadn't lasted long before being chased back again by our old friend General Rommel and his men, who now sat on the perimeter of Tobruk, amassing his forces for the final attack on the town."

The men lived in dugouts and earned themselves a famous nickname. "The Germans called us Desert Rats and the name stuck. It is now carried with pride by all who served there," Stephen said. On June 20 Rommel unleashed a surprise attack on Tobruk and a succession of bombing raids involving every German and Italian bomber in Libya – plus some from Crete.

Stephen said: "I expected to be killed as there didn't seem any alternative. The tanks veered away and gave us some respite for a short time, but then I heard an ominous clanking about 50 yards away, and there advancing towards us was a Tiger tank – the pride of the German Army.

"I pulled the cocking handle out of my rifle and buried it, then I raised my hands the best way I could in a prone position. I braced myself expecting the machine gun to riddle me. The tank pulled up barely ten yards away, the turret cover flipped open and a smiling German officer stood up and shouted 'Come on Tommy. For you the war is over'.

"The tanks circled around us, herding us into the centre. Then all hell let loose. Three German Stukas had begun their dive directly overhead. We dived under the projecting front of the nearest tank. If it had moved we were dead."

It was the start of a trek to a succession of prisoner of war camps. At the time of his capture Stephen describes himself as 23, very fit and weighing 13 stones: "When we first set eyes on Camp 78 Sulmona in Italy, I weighed about nine stones, was physically exhausted, mentally very depressed, dirty, lice-infested, hungry, dehydrated and wearing the same shirt and shorts in which I had been captured three months earlier."

The camp was home to 3,000 British and Commonwealth officers and other ranks captured in North Africa.

In September 1943, as the Italian government neared collapse, the inmates of Sulmona heard rumours that the evacuation of the camp was imminent. They awoke one morning to discover that their guards had deserted them.

"A mass meeting was held and we were informed that arms were to be airlifted to us and that anyone leaving the camp would be classed as a deserter. We waited days but no arms came. We decided that it was just a ploy to keep us together," Stephen added.

He joined a small group – one of many – who escaped into the hills surrounding Monte Morrone and set off on a hazardous journey which eventually led him to Naples on June 20, 1944 – two years to the day when he had been taken prisoner in Tobruk.

Later, long days were spent in this country at York Hill Barracks, before Stephen was sent home for three weeks' leave. He said: "When I reached the Midland Station in Nottingham – the same platform I left three years previously – it was a Sunday morning.

"I sat on my kit bag in the entrance hall but found out that there were no buses until mid morning. So it was a case of hitchhiking and my luck was good as an ATS girl driver with a small truck was going to Bestwood Camp.

"I eyed every shop and every inch of the way along Mansfield Road. I stopped at the bottom of Morris Street, thanked the girl and began to walk up the hill.

"At 7.30 I was alone. I had dreamt of this moment many, many times, but not like this. Just one person I knew would have been enough. I knocked on the door. I was home. The next three weeks were spent meeting family and friends but it didn't seem real. I couldn't take it all in. I needed time to myself."

Stephen was demobbed in June 1946.

"I was discharged at York and so it ended, back home and free at last. But my street had moved on from 1939 at a very fast pace. Everything and everybody had changed, there was no looking back," he said.

"A few weeks after getting home, an Army sergeant came to see me about re-signing. I was out at the time – and I still am!"

Stephen, who has lived in the same house in Daybrook since 1948, worked at Home Brewery and then spent 30 years on the coal face at Gedling pit, retiring in 1979 at the age of 60.

A few copies of the book remain available from Colin Staples on: 0791 0452 012.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Smiling-German-tank-said-Come-Tommy-war-s/story-16660980-detail/story.html

Event - See new film on history of carnivals (Nottingham)

A FILM charting the history of Nottingham's carnivals will be screened in Hyson Green.


An exclusive premiere viewing of the documentary will be shown at New Art Exchange on Friday.

This is ahead of the full-length feature due for release in 2013 and one week ahead of the annual carnival celebrations in Nottingham.

The documentary will discuss the origins of the first carnival of 1958 and chart its development as a multicultural event at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham.

The screening will be followed by a question and answer session.

Visitors will then be able to enjoy carnival-themed live music, entertainment, food and drink event in the café-bar with amazing costumes, modelled by carnival queens.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/new-film-history-carnivals/story-16655458-detail/story.html

Event - Great Nottinghamshire Local History Fair (Mansfield)

In May 2013 the Nottinghamshire County Council Libraries Archives and Information Service is planning to host a new Local History fair at the refurbished Mansfield Central Library.

This will form part of the Nottinghamshire Ancestral Tourism Partnership Nottinghamshire Peoples programme

A whole floor of Mansfield Library will be given to the fair, and vital to the success of this new venture will be the participation of as many local history societies as possible.

They also hope to feature live demonstrations of local crafts, storytelling, talks and other local history presentations.

All in all th concil would aim to make the Great Nottinghamshire Local History Fair the premier showcase for local history in Nottinghamshire, where local societies will find a forum to showcase their work, attract new members, sell their publications, and share expertise with other groups.

The date they are initially proposing for the fair is Sunday 19th May 2013 (there being free parking on Sundays between 10am and 4pm at the Four Seasons shopping centre next to Mansfield library). If, however, you know that this date clashes with any other important local event, we would be grateful if you could let them know.

If you would like to find out more about our plans for the Great Nottinghamshire Local History Fair please reply to tim.warner@nottscc.gov.uk by 30th September 2012 and to ensure that further information, including how to book your place, is sent to you as soon as it is ready.