The Nottinghamshire Heritage
Few counties can claim such an infinite variety of landscapes as Nottinghamshire.  There’s prehistoric remains, ancient ‘castle’  motte and bailey sites, wonderful mediaeval churches, lovely fields and farms, country houses, former colliery sites, market towns, canals, railway tracks…and , well, the list goes on and on.



Chris’ talk is in the form of a visual tour around our wonderful county.  At Creswell Crags the ‘lofty and precipitous rocks’ once sheltered  reindeer, bears and mammoths and there is evidence of human settlement over thousands of years.  Since Domesday Norman settlement resulted in castles, churches, manor houses and the growth of key town.  Pevsner described Newark church as ‘among the 2-3 dozen grandest parish churches in England.’



The arrival of the stocking frame was followed by the growth of the hosiery trade and then lace, with the transformation of whole communities. The growth of industry was encouraged by improvements to roads, the digging of new canals and laying down of miles of railway lines.  As roads developed so coaching inns like the Hop Pole at Ollerton were established for travellers.  At the Hop Pole James Byng, wrote that it is ‘a house of good stop and station and the host was of a communicative turn.’





Chris also highlights several country houses, including Wollaton, Newstead and Clumber.  Some were occupied by notable eccentrics such as Pendock Barry at Roclaveston Manor, Tollerton – but more of him in the talk!

There’s lots to enjoy in this relaxing tour round Nottinghamshire, and the audience won’t need to leave their seats once!