As part of the work to attract tourists to our area and also to make local people more aware of their local heritage, Adrian Gray has published a new book in partnership with Bookworm of Retford. The book explains how people from North Notts (here including Mansfield, Worksop, Retford and surrounding villages) together with those from West Lincolnshire have played a hugely significant role in the development of Christianity worldwide, especially between 1500 and the present day. The book gives a short historical summary of the story, and then provides a guide as to what happened in many specific places across our region. Fully illustrated, it covers everything from Protestant martyrs to Quakers and some significant missionaries from the last 200 years. Available from usual bookshops, online retailers or direct from Bookworm in Retford.
More information at www.facebook.com/PilgrimsandProphets or www.pilgrimsandprophets.co.uk

Hello everyone
I am currently working with the Pentrich Revolution Bi-Centenary Group towards putting a funding bid together to run various commemoration activities during 2017, the bi-centenary year of the uprising. The 1817 Pentrich Revolution or Uprising is often referred to as England’s last revolution. Regarding the funding bid, and under the banner of “need and demand”, we need evidence that people are interested in commemorating the bi-centenary of the event in addition to taking part in the various activities. To that end, any comments in favour of the commemoration would help towards a successful bid. Any comments can made by email to:

david.amos99@ntlworld.com

or visit the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pentrichrevolution/

On 9th June 1817 over 300 men set out from villages on the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border to march to Nottingham. They thought that they were part of a general rising across the North and Midlands to bring down an unjust and oppressive government. They were motivated by poverty and the hunger of their families, and with all efforts to gain a hearing suppressed they saw armed revolt as the only alternative.

Unkown to them the Government was fully aware of their plans, and their agents had actively encouraged the rising. Rebel leaders in other areas had already been arrested. The Derbyshire men were to be used as an example to others. After a trial in Derby, with a carefully selected jury, three were executed , hanged and then beheaded, fourteen transported and others imprisoned. Their families were evicted and homes destroyed.

There was a national scandal at the time due to the role of the government agents provocateur, but the events were soon largely forgotten. Yet they are a significant step in the long story of the fight for universal suffrage and a just society.

The significance for Nottinghamshire.

While most participants came from Derbyshire communities the place of Nottinghamshire in these events is significant.
1. The uprising was planned and coordinated by a “secret community” in Nottingham , which had close links to the Luddites.
2. The man who led the march , and was one of those executed,was Jeremiah Brandreth, a stocking frame knitter, living in Nottingham with his wife and children, though originally from Sutton in Ashfield.
3. The initial objective of the march was Forest in Nottingham where more than a hundred men gathered believing an uprising was to take place, according to witnesses at the trial.
4. The march was halted at Gilt Brook by Dragoons from Nottingham.
5. The man who led the march , and was one of those executed,was Jeremiah Brandreth, a stocking frame knitter, living in Notingham with his wife and children.
6. Many rebels were initially imprisoned at Shire Hall before trial in Derby, where the Government felt more secure that a jury would convict.

The Pentrich and South Wingfield Revolution Bicentenary Group has been set up to commemorate these events. Supported already by Derbyshire County Council, local councils along the route in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Derby University and many local organisations, with the active participation of descendants in England, Australia and the U.S.A.. A range of events are planned through 2017. These will include:

A day festival at Wingfield Manor on 10th June 2017 , supported by English Heritage.
A festival of walks , including 13 guided walks to tell the story of the uprising and its participants, both along the route of the march and in Nottingham, Derby, Sutton in Ashfield and in Australia. A re-enactment of the full march will also take place in June.
Orientation Boards are to be placed along the route of the march.
An exhibition is being organised by Derby Museum, and , if possible, to come to Nottingham Castle Museum and the Galleries of Justice. Exhibitions will also be held in local communities along the route. It is hoped that a permanent exhibition will remain at one of these centres.
Derby University is organising an international conference on “Radicalism 1790 – 1820” on 8th and 9th June 2017. A student conference will also be taking place.
Local research into the events and into family heritage is already taking place , involving many local groups, and publication of results is being supported. The story is being told through a variety of ways, incluing art, music and drama. An exhibition of work , inspired by the rising, by local artists is already underway. A choirs workshop is planned for Saturday 15th October led by singer and song writer Lester Simpson.
What you can do.

1. Include the bi-centenary of the Pentrich events in your programme for 2017 and help to publicise the planned events.
2. Research into the events in your community or consider any possible involvement of your family.
3. Participate in the events organised throughout 2017 to commemorate the Pentrich Revolution and its legacy.
4.The Bicentenary Committee are happy to provide speakers to come to your organisation to talk about the Pentich Revolution and the bicentenary.

Contact: Roger Tanner – email: rogerntanner@yahoo.co.uk
Sylvia Mason – email: sylviamason@uwclub.net

An Invitation from the Nottinghamshire Building Preservation Trust

Does anyone know of a recently-restored Nottinghamshire building which exemplifies enlightened restoration, or a new building which enhances its surroundings?

Entries are now invited for the increasingly popular and prestigious HARRY JOHNSON AWARD 2016 – run every alternate year jointly by the Nottinghamshire Building Preservation Trust and the Nottingham Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, both energetic guardians of Nottinghamshire’s heritage.

Projects should have been completed within three years prior to the application deadline of 15th May this year. Judging is scheduled for June/July 2016.

The support of the building owners is, of course, essential for the provision of detailed information and co-operation with the judges to arrange a visit.

Further details and/or nomination forms are available from the Nottinghamshire Building Preservation Trust, Minster Chambers, Church Street, Southwell NG25 0HD (01636 819555), by e-mail to nbpt@btclick.com and via the Trust’s website.

A modest entry fee of £15 is required to cover the costs of administration and the Award certificates.

Background Information:

Previous award-winners have ranged from centuries-old to post-Victorian, and favour domestic buildings from tiny terraced cottages to country houses, almost-derelict farm and canal-side buildings rescued and converted for alternative use, and include a number of new homes sensitively built-in conservation areas . All showed a love of the building, an appreciation of its history and consideration for its place in the environment.

Architect Harry Johnson, who died in 1988, was an outstanding advocate for Nottinghamshire’s historic vernacular architecture – the Award was instigated in his memory to encourage sensitive restoration or new building which blends sympathetically into an existing area of heritage value.

(Further details may also be requested from Marion Edwards (NBPT Administrative Assistant) on 0115 9392459 or by e-mailing mimsie@nannas.fsnet.co.uk

Hello from the Harley Gallery

Join us this March to see The Portland Collection and The Grand Tour: Season 2.

We’re very excited to announce our new Gallery for The Portland Collection, designed by Hugh Broughton Architects, will open its doors to the public on March 20th, and will be open 11am-4pm daily. The Collection includes works by Stubbs, Van Dyck and Michelangelo. Sir Peter Blake has selected a display of Miniatures from the Collection, which will be on show in the new gallery’s ‘Miniatures Octagon’ designed by John Ronayne.

Season two of The Grand Tour will coincide and will show a two-part display of original collages from Sir Peter Blake’s celebrated ‘World Tour’ series, and an exhibition from influential performance artist Rose English which explores equestrian themes by juxtaposing her own work with objects from The Portland Collection.

There’s plenty of things to do and with the weather finally picking up be sure to try one of our recommended Welbeck walks.

We look forward to seeing you soon!
The Harley Gallery

The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour reinterprets world-class collections through contemporary art across four venues in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. It is a partnership between Chatsworth, Derby Museums, The Harley Gallery and Nottingham Contemporary together with Experience Nottinghamshire and Visit Peak District and Derbyshire. Funding for The Grand Tour was awarded as part of the joint Arts Council England and VisitEngland Cultural Destinations programme.

For more information visit thegrandtour.uk.com

On 9th June 1817 over 300 men set out from villages on the Derbyshire-Nottinghamshire border to march to Nottingham. They thought that they were part of a general rising across the North and Midlands to bring down an unjust and oppressive government. They were motivated by poverty and the hunger of their families, and with all efforts to gain a hearing suppressed they saw armed revolt as the only alternative.

Unkown to them the Government was fully aware of their plans, and their agents had actively encouraged the rising. Rebel leaders in other areas had already been arrested. The Derbyshire men were to be used as an example to others. After a trial in Derby, with a carefully selected jury, three were executed , hanged and then beheaded, fourteen transported and others imprisoned. Their families were evicted and homes destroyed.

There was a national scandal at the time due to the role of the government agents provocateur, but the events were soon largely forgotten. Yet they are a significant step in the long story of the fight for universal suffrage and a just society.

The significance for Nottinghamshire.

While most participants came from Derbyshire communities the place of Nottinghamshire in these events is significant.
1. The uprising was planned and coordinated by a “secret community” in Nottingham , which had close links to the Luddites.
2. The man who led the march , and was one of those executed,was Jeremiah Brandreth, a stocking frame knitter, living in Nottingham with his wife and children, though originally from Sutton in Ashfield.
3. The initial objective of the march was Forest in Nottingham where more than a hundred men gathered believing an uprising was to take place, according to witnesses at the trial.
4. The march was halted at Gilt Brook by Dragoons from Nottingham.
5. The man who led the march , and was one of those executed,was Jeremiah Brandreth, a stocking frame knitter, living in Notingham with his wife and children.
6. Many rebels were initially imprisoned at Shire Hall before trial in Derby, where the Government felt more secure that a jury would convict.

The Pentrich and South Wingfield Revolution Bicentenary Group has been set up to commemorate these events. Supported already by Derbyshire County Council, local councils along the route in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Derby University and many local organisations, with the active participation of descendants in England, Australia and the U.S.A.. A range of events are planned through 2017. These will include:

• A day festival at Wingfield Manor on 10th June 2017 , supported by English Heritage.
• A festival of walks , including 13 guided walks to tell the story of the uprising and its participants, both along the route of the march and in Nottingham, Derby, Sutton in Ashfield and in Australia. A re-enactment of the full march will also take place in June.
• Orientation Boards are to be placed along the route of the march.
• An exhibition is being organised by Derby Museum, and , if possible, to come to Nottingham Castle Museum and the Galleries of Justice. Exhibitions will also be held in local communities along the route. It is hoped that a permanent exhibition will remain at one of these centres.
• Derby University is organising an international conference on “Radicalism 1790 – 1820” on 8th and 9th June 2017. A student conference will also be taking place.
• Local research into the events and into family heritage is already taking place , involving many local groups, and publication of results is being supported. The story is being told through a variety of ways, incluing art, music and drama. An exhibition of work , inspired by the rising, by local artists is already underway. A choirs workshop is planned for Saturday 15th October led by singer and song writer Lester Simpson.

What you can do.

1. Include the bi-centenary of the Pentrich events in your programme for 2017 and help to publicise the planned events.
2. Research into the events in your community or consider any possible involvement of your family.
3. Participate in the events organised throughout 2017 to commemorate the Pentrich Revolution and its legacy.
4.The Bicentenary Committee are happy to provide speakers to come to your organisation to talk about the Pentich Revolution and the bicentenary.

Contact: Roger Tanner – email: rogerntanner@yahoo.co.uk
Sylvia Mason – email: sylviamason@uwclub.net

Visit the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pentrichrevolution/

Do you know of a recently restored Nottinghamshire building which exemplifies enlightened restoration, or a new building which enhances its surroundings?

Entries are now invited for the increasingly popular and prestigious HARRY JOHNSON AWARD 2016 – run every alternate year jointly by the Nottinghamshire Building Preservation Trust and the Nottingham Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, both energetic guardians of Nottinghamshire’s heritage.

Architect Harry Johnson, who died in 1988, was an outstanding advocate for Nottinghamshire’s historic vernacular architecture – the Award was instigated in his memory to encourage sensitive restoration or new building which blends sympathetically into an existing area of heritage value.

Projects should have been completed within three years prior to the application deadline of 15th May. The support of the building owners is, of course, essential for the provision of detailed information and co-operation with the judges to arrange a visit.

Previous award-winners have ranged from centuries-old to post-Victorian, and favour domestic buildings from tiny terraced cottages to country houses, almost-derelict farm and canal-side buildings rescued and converted for alternative use, and include a number of new homes sensitively built in conservation areas. All showed a love of the building, an appreciation of its history and consideration for its place in the environment.

Nomination forms are available from the Nottinghamshire Building Preservation Trust, Minster Chambers, Church Street, Southwell NG25 0HD and via the Trust’s website www.nbpt.co.uk
. A modest entry fee of £15 is required to cover the costs of administration and the Award certificates. Judging is scheduled for June/July 2016.

Further details available by e-mail from nbpt@btclick.com

or from Marion Edwards (01636 819555 or 0115 9392459)

In 1995 Keyworth & District Local History Society prompted Keyworth Parish Council to create a Conservation Area Advisory Group, dedicated to identifying, preserving and protecting Keyworth’s historical environment. Several people worked very hard for the next couple of years establishing the village’s merit and collecting and collating evidence from a variety of sources, including maps and historical publications, and also fielding concerns from residents.

A site assessment was undertaken in June 1997, a working group was established towards the end of the year and Cllrs Hyman, Abbey, Armstrong and Barton, together with others, Messrs Hammond, Roper, Starkey and Adlington, prepared for a presentation.

A public meeting in March 1998 and a Full Council agreement by Keyworth Parish Council in September 1998 supported an application, which led to the Development Services Committee of Rushcliffe Borough Council designating a Conservation Area in Keyworth.

Keyworth Parish Council (KPC) has previously supported the activities of the Conservation Area Advisory Group (CAAG) by funding a small annual budget, which enables us to continue working to value the historic environment in which we live.

Liaising with the Keyworth & District Local History Society (KDLHS), CAAG have completed a project with Keyworth & Ruddington Rotary; and since 1995 has

• established a Conservation Area
• Identified and caused to be listed 6 major historical buildings
• designed, produced and continue to update information leaflets
• designed, funded and erected a Heritage Plaque for the information of residents and visitors – in the Square (October 2010)
• Extended the Conservation Area (2011)
• Designed, funded and erected a Heritage Plaque for the information of residents and visitors – on Main Street (2012)
• Designed, commissioned and installed a date (1784) to 3 Main Street (“Village Hair”) to replace that lost under paintwork (2012)
• Engaged with Heritage Weekends, Open Churches events and The Village Show
• Installed Blue Plaques:

George Martyn’s Barn (Main Street)

Ridge and Furrow (on Village Hall opposite the site, Rectory Field)

St Mary Magdalene Parish Church

• Continue to plan for additional Blue Plaques
• Continue to offer advice to owner/occupiers of properties in the Conservation Area and listed buildings outside of the Conservation Area.

The Census – an official enumeration of the population – was begun in 1841. The latest Census in 2011 may possibly be the last one to be conducted by the ONS (Office for National Statistics).

Local interest in the Conservation Area was generated by its extension in 2011, which was invaluable in successfully defeating a proposed development, which was found to be unacceptable to the community. It seemed appropriate that the material collected by K&DLHS and CAAG over the previous 15 years should be reviewed, collated and expanded.

Documents relating to the Keyworth Conservation Area Advisory Group (CAAG) from its earliest beginnings (minutes of meetings, correspondence, photographs, maps and drawings, guidance notes and statutory directives) were collected and filed for future reference; preparatory photographs and documentation prepared in order to record details about individual properties over time.

To consolidate the material, and in celebration of the continuing close working partnership with Keyworth & District Local History Society and others, this Census of the buildings within the Conservation Area (and those outside of it which may have historical significance) was begun, so that information will be available for future local historians.

The Keyworth Conservation Area Census could be extended in the future to include land use, commerce, and activities of the village – perhaps as a series of projects to be undertaken by others such as local schools, churches and other social groups. The template format could be a useful starting point for any group to use.

Since 2011, there have been two free CA Census events each year, in spring (February) and autumn (November): we have a display of maps, materials and artefacts, and invite anyone with historical documentation (letters, documents, photographs, artwork) relating to the Conservation Area to bring them along to be recorded. Refreshments are available. Themes have included “Our Listed Buildings”, “Faces and Places|”

Next event: “Local Businesses” Saturday 13^th February 2016 In the Centenary Lounge of Keyworth Village Hall, 2.00pm – 4.00pm. Free entry, refreshments and Keyworth & District Local History Bookstall will be available.

If you wish to discuss this project, or are able to offer help, please contact

Sheila Barton, e.mail: sheilakingdom@gmail.com or telephone 0115 937 3068

SMB January 2016

Keyworth Conservation Area Census

CONSERVATION AREA ADVISORY GROUP (CAAG) and KEYWORTH & DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY (KDLHS)

An exhibition of found and donated items illustrating the vanished world of the former country house in the Apsidal Gallery at Rufford Abbey. Opens on 18th January 2016, 10:30am to 3:30pm. Admission is free, normal car parking charges apply/

An event to mark 400 Years since the death in Newgate Prison of Thomas Helwys Founder of the Baptist denomination, Pioneer of Religious Liberty for All.

10.30am, 12^th March 2016, at The Well, Hospital Road, Retford

Who was Thomas Helwys?

Helwys was from a north Nottinghamshire family and probably born at Askham. The family held lands there, at Saundby and in Lincolnshire. His uncle Gervase was governor of the Tower of London but was executed after an important prisoner was poisoned. Thomas moved to Broxtowe Hall but became a friend of the puritan and separatist, John Smyth, and helped finance the escape of the ‘Pilgrims’ to the Netherlands in 1608. There, Smyth and Helwys became Baptists but Helwys felt called by God to return to England to start an illegal Baptist church – the first congregation of the Baptist denomination. He also wrote the first book in English to argue that all people should have freedom of religion, for which he was imprisoned by King James and was never released. The message of freedom was taken up by other Baptists, such as John Murton of Gainsborough, and taken to America by Roger Williams who was married to Mary Bernard, daughter of Helwys’s friend who had been vicar of Worksop.

Thomas Helwys is of global significance because:

• He founded the English-speaking Baptist denomination – the largest single Christian group in the USA and with nearly 50 million Baptists worldwide
• In an age dominated by strict Calvinists, he preached that God’s love was available for any person who wanted it
• Helwys was the first Englishman to explicitly state that people of any religion – Christian, Jew or Muslim – should be free to exercise their faith without government interference; the importance of this view has increased greatly in recent times

How are we marking 400 years since his death?

We have chosen to hold this event at The Well, otherwise known as Retford Baptist Church. This is the nearest Baptist church to Helwys’s most likely place of birth and has been part of his denomination since at least 1691 when Baptist churches became legal.

The commemoration event will include two keynote speakers:

BARONESS ELIZABETH BERRIDGE: Elizabeth became Baroness Berridge of the Vale of Catmose on 20th January 2011 and is a working peer. She sits on the Select Committee for Social Mobility and Ecclesiastical Committee, is a member of the London Policing Ethics Panel and the Co-Chair of the All Party Group on International Freedom of Religion and Belief. Since 2012, Elizabeth has become a key voice in the deepening worldwide discussion on freedom of religion and belief as defined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 2014 saw the beginning of a partnership between the British APPG and United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which resulted in the launch of an International Panel of Parliamentarians (from 18 different countries), of which Elizabeth is Chair, whose pledge is to work together to end belief based persecution worldwide. In addition to her Parliamentary work, Elizabeth is a trustee of the think tank British Future which focuses on identity, integration, migration and opportunity. She is a member of the advisory council of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East and an active member of her local Church, St. Michaels, Chester Square. She has lived in Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana and continues a special friendship with British African Caribbean and British African Church leaders. Elizabeth will explain the importance of Helwys in the World today.

REV TONY PECK: Tony is General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation and also an ordained Baptist minister. He has spoken widely on religious freedom and wrote a well-received report on the history of religious freedom in central Europe. Following his upbringing in Scotland he studied music and education at the Guildhall School of Music and the University of London, and theology at the University of Oxford. He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1984. He has worked as the pastor of a local church, a regional minister and a Baptist college teacher, before taking up his present post in 2004. In his work for the EBF he has travelled widely in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East visiting the 57 member bodies of the EBF. His main academic research interest is in the concept of religious freedom, especially as pioneered by the English Baptists in the 17th century, as well as its contemporary role in the modern concept of human rights.   He has written on this theme, as well as on aspects of Baptist identity and contemporary missiology.   Tony has participated in several ecumenical dialogues, most recently between the Baptist World Alliance and the Roman Catholic Church. He is a past member of the CEC Commission on Church and Society and its Human Rights Group. Tony will introduce us to the life of Helwys.

There will also be a short film about Thomas Helwys, some music, and a chance to talk with representatives of groups campaigning for religious liberty today.