Edwinstowe

Edwinstowe

Sherwood Forest Art & Craft Centre
(off the B6034 Swinecote Road, Edwinstowe towards Budby)
Edwinstowe
 Edwinstowe shown within Nottinghamshire
Population 5,188 (2011)
Civil parishEdwinstowe
DistrictNewark and Sherwood
Shire countyNottinghamshire
RegionEast Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town MANSFIELD
Postcode district NG21
Dialling code 01623
Police Nottinghamshire
Fire Nottinghamshire
Ambulance East Midlands
EU Parliament East Midlands
UK ParliamentSherwood
List of places
UK
England
Nottinghamshire

Coordinates: 53°10′N 1°04′W / 53.16°N 1.07°W / 53.16; -1.07

Edwinstowe is a large village and civil parish in the heart of Sherwood Forest, north Nottinghamshire, England, with associations to the Robin Hood and Maid Marian legends. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 5,188.[1]

Heritage

The village name meaning Edwin's resting place recalls that King (and Saint) Edwin of Northumbria's body was hidden in the church after he was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase, near Doncaster, probably in 633. The battle against King Penda of Mercia occurred near the present-day hamlet of Cuckney, some five miles north-west of modern Edwinstowe.[2]

Edwinstowe is referenced twice in the Domesday Book. It records that there were five households, in addition to one priest and his four bordars, living in the hamlet in 1086.[3]

Legend has it that Robin Hood married Maid Marian in St Mary's Church. Edwinstowe's present-day popularity is due mainly to the presence near the village of the Major Oak, a feature in the folklore of Robin Hood.

Economy

Thoresby Colliery served as Edwinstowe's main source of employment until July 2015, when the mine was permanently closed.[4]

The loss of the colliery, one of the last remaining and part of a national closure of the British deep-mined coal industry, has left tourism as the primary branch of the local economy.

Nottinghamshire County Council's nearby Sherwood Forest Visitors' Centre is scheduled for redevelopment and improvement, with a contract awarded to RSPB, intended for completion by late 2017 at a projected cost of £5.3 million.[5][6]

Centre Parcs' Sherwood Forest holiday village is a local employer established in 1987, close to the edge of the village.[7][8]

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.

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 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,[9] a mountain biking, cyclo cross and forest walks centre, a skate park, a forest fun park, and an outdoor adventure park,.[10]

Edwinstowe currently has six pubs: the Black Swan, the Dukeries Lodge, Forest Lodge, Hammer and Wedge, the Manvers and the Royal Oak. Another, Ye Olde Jug and Glass, recently closed. Other catering facilities include the Edwinstowe Bistro Restaurant, the Cottage Tea Rooms, and Launay's Restaurant.

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

Transport

Edwinstowe had a railway station on the between 1897 and 1955. A goods line remains. The nearest railway station today is at Mansfield (6 miles, 10 km).[11]

The village is served by twice-hourly daytime Monday-Saturday bus services to Mansfield and Ollerton, six buses Monday-Saturday to Worksop, and one bus Monday-Friday to Nottingham. Services run twice a week to Newark and once a week to Lincoln.[12]

Famous people

References

  1. "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistice. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  2. "Edwinstowe History". Edwinstowe Parish Council. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  3. "Place: Edwinstowe". Domesday Book. Open Domesday. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. "Nottinghamshire's Thoresby Colliery closes after 90 years", BBC News (Nottingham), 10 July 2015, retrieved 2015-12-30
  5. Sherwood Forest Country Park Nottinghamshire County Council, Retrieved 30 December 2015
  6. RSPB chosen to build Nottinghamshire's Sherwood Forest visitor centre, BBC News (Nottingham) 12 August 2015, Retrieved 30 December 2015
  7. Centre Parcs Sherwood Forest Village Retrieved 30 December 2015
  8. Centre Parcs history Retrieved 30 December 2015
  9. Go Ape, retrieved 05.12.08
  10. The Adrenalin Jungle, retrieved 05.12.08
  11. Distance calculator Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  12. Notts bus times Retrieved 26 June 2016.
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