Edwinstowe

Edwinstowe is a large English village in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, associated with the legends of Robin Hood and Maid Marian and known for the proximity of Thoresby Colliery. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 5,188.[2] A 2019 estimate put it at 5,261.[3]

Edwinstowe

Sherwood Forest Art & Craft Centre, Forest Corner (off the B6034 Swinecote Road, Edwinstowe towards Budby road). Originally stables for Edwinstowe Hall, then used as laboratories for the coal mining industry.
Edwinstowe
Location within Nottinghamshire
Population5,188 (2011)
OS grid referenceSK6266
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMANSFIELD
Postcode districtNG21
Dialling code01623
PoliceNottinghamshire
FireNottinghamshire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament

Heritage

The etymology of the village name, "Edwin's resting place", recalls that the body of Edwin of Northumbria, King and Saint, was hidden in the church after he was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase, near Doncaster, probably in AD 633. The battle against King Penda of Mercia occurred near the present-day hamlet of Cuckney, some five miles north-west of modern Edwinstowe.[4]

Edwinstowe is referred to twice in the Domesday Book as having five households, in addition to a priest and his four bordars, living in the hamlet in 1086.[5]

Legend has it that Robin Hood married Maid Marian in St Mary's Church. Edwinstowe is known for the presence near the village of the Major Oak, a feature in the folk tales of Robin Hood, and Robin Hood's Larder.

Edwinstowe by the turn of the 20th century consisted of a cluster of houses along Town Street, East Lane, Church Street and High Street. A hamlet called Hazel Grove was bordered by Mill Lane and the railway line, while a cluster of houses at the top of Rufford Road was another hamlet called Lidgett.[6][7] Lidgett was the site of a fireworks factory owned by F. Tudsbury and Co. before George Pinder, a local wine, spirit and porter merchant who resided at Lidgett House, took over ownership by 1886.[8][9] These settlements eventually merged due to infill building from World War I, much of which was housing for colliers, and named after the largest area.

Economy

Thoresby Colliery served as Edwinstowe's main source of employment until July 2015, when the mine was permanently closed.[10] The loss of one of the last remaining deep coal mines in the country has left tourism as the main factor in the local economy.

Nottinghamshire County Council's nearby Sherwood Forest Visitors' Centre is scheduled for redevelopment and improvement. A contract awarded to RSPB intended for completion by late 2017 had a projected cost of £5.3 million.[11][12]

Centre Parcs' Sherwood Forest holiday village is a local employer established in 1987, close to the edge of the village.[13][14]

There was a post windmill south of the Mansfield Road with a small box-style roundhouse. It was driven by two common sails and two double-patent sails.[15]

Amenities

Edwinstowe Cricket Ground
St. Mary's Church, Edwinstowe, England. (Alleged site of the wedding of Robin Hood and Maid Marian)

The two schools in the village are St Mary's Primary School and King Edwin Primary School. The former Rufford School on the north side of the village closed in 2003 and has become residential housing by Barratt Developments, known as Friars Park.[16][17] A skate park on the development proved controversial with concerns over noise and anti-social behaviour.[18][19][20]

The village also has a business services provider, a St John's Ambulance amenity, an antiques centre, workshops, a fun park, a youth hostel, two arts and crafts centres, a village hall, and a community pest-control centre. Leisure facilities include Thoresby Colliery Band and Youth Band, a high-wire forest adventure course, a mountain biking, cyclo cross and forest walks centre, a forest fun park, and an outdoor adventure park.

Edwinstowe still has five pubs: the Black Swan, the Dukeries Lodge, Forest Lodge, Hammer and Wedge, and the Royal Oak. Other caterers include the Edwinstowe Bistro Restaurant, the Cottage Tea Rooms, and Launay's Restaurant.

Environmental concerns are addressed under the Maun Valley Project Conservation Area.

Transport

Edwinstowe railway station functioned between 1897 and 1955. A goods line remains. The nearest passenger railway stations are at Mansfield Woodhouse and Mansfield, both about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Edwinstowe.[21]

The village is served by half-hourly daytime Monday–Saturday bus services to Mansfield and Ollerton, six buses a day Monday–Saturday to Worksop, and one bus a day Monday–Friday to Nottingham. Services run twice a week to Newark and once a week to Lincoln.[22]

Notable people

In order of birth:

References

  1. http://www.edwinstowe.co.uk/
  2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistice. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. City Population. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  4. "Edwinstowe History". Edwinstowe Parish Council. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  5. "Place: Edwinstowe". Domesday Book. Open Domesday. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  6. "War Memorial" (PDF). Edwinstowe Village News (8): 10. March 2014.
  7. "Edwinstowe Parish Council | Edwinstowe Village Magazine". www.edwinstowe.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  8. "Fire Brigade". Edwinstowe Historical Society. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. "First World War" (PDF). Edwinstowe Village News (17): 23. March 2017.
  10. "Nottinghamshire's Thoresby Colliery closes after 90 years", BBC News (Nottingham), 10 July 2015, retrieved 30 December 2015
  11. Sherwood Forest Country Park Nottinghamshire County Council, Retrieved 30 December 2015
  12. RSPB chosen to build Nottinghamshire's Sherwood Forest visitor centre, BBC News (Nottingham) 12 August 2015, Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  13. Centre Parcs Sherwood Forest Village Retrieved 30 December 2015
  14. Centre Parcs history Retrieved 30 December 2015
  15. Earlier photograph. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  16. Edwinstowe Village News edwinstowe.co.uk, July 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2020
  17. 151 new homes (Friars Park) southkesteven.gov.uk, July/August 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2020
  18. Our concern still remains over skate park Chad, local newspaper, 22 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2020
  19. Noise pollution from a controversial village skate park may have to be tackled, a parish council has admitted Chad, local newspaper, 3 June 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2020
  20. Edwinstowe Skate Park edwinstowe.co.uk, 16 September 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2020
  21. Distance calculator Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  22. Notts bus times Retrieved 26 June 2016.
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