Lost village sites of Nottinghamshire

[Beekay 5,279]

Approximately when wouuld that be Phil? We lived across the road from you and I don't recall seeing one.

[philmayfield 6,309]

Late 50's, early 60's l would guess. We moved here in July 1962. I don't remember seeing you across the road. 

[LizzieM 9,541]

1 hour ago, philmayfield said:

Late 50's, early 60's l would guess. We moved here in July 1962. I don't remember seeing you across the road. 

Yes I remember being a little girl living on a hill in Arnold and seeing the Vulcan bomber for the first time, it was amazing and equally quite frightening to see from our garden as it was flying quite low too.  

[letsavagoo 972]

On 6/25/2024 at 3:56 PM, philmayfield said:

I thought the battle of Stoke Field in 1487, ‘Red Gutter’, was further up towards Newark. The site can be accessed from the old Fosse at East Stoke and is close to Stoke Hall and St. Oswald’s church. I have been there some years ago to a ploughing match where, strangely enough, I met our MP Robert Jenrick.

Contemporary reports of the battle are quite scarce apparently and as ever written by the victors but the main area of fighting  appears to have been just south west of East Stoke. Red Gutter is about half way between Fiskerton and Bleasby, south of the Trent obviously. There is a suggestion it was known as red gutter due to red clay deposits but the Trent was said to run red with blood. 

[Beekay 5,279]

1 hour ago, philmayfield said:

Late 50's, early 60's l would guess. We moved here in July 1962. I don't remember seeing you across the road. 

I were figuratively speaking Phil. When I said over the road, I meant Mansfield road. But we didn't move there until c1966, ( off Valley road, on Upton drive). Perhaps the big aeroplanes had finished by then.

[philmayfield 6,309]

Yes, I believe they had Barrie, my nearby former neighbour! I know Upton Drive and regularly still go down Valley Rd. I’ve flown in to Hucknall airfield many times. They had the big paved runway and a transverse shorter grass one. It was the headquarters of the Rolls Royce Merlin flying club.

[Dark Angel 149]

    Have written a lengthy post in another thread about the battle as I perceive it.

 

    It’s likely Francis Lovell crossed the Trent at Fiskerton, escaping the battle and capture. No doubt remembering the fate that befell his grandfather.

    Was he wounded? As many believe.

    Did he arrive late from Newark where some of Lincoln’s men were billeted? By which time it had become a lost cause. Travelling West south of the river would have been out of the question. He had to cross it. To the rear of the Vanguard Henry’s main army was moving eastwards along with a Welsh contingent of 3000 men.                                                                                                                                    
   To say he was a main player, he doesn’t get a mention in the battle itself. Nor was his body identified after.

    He gets a mention for a successful skirmish on June 10th. He then seems to disappear.

 

    The river did become red from the blood of the dead and dying, however, that was a bit further upstream around Hazelford Ferry. The blood may have flowed towards Fiskerton as the river flowed. Maybe the river deposited bodies at Fiskerton?

 

   On a more scientific note, around 1970 I took my future wife to Hazelford Ferry. On exiting the car, she looked across the river and said, “ let’s go, this place is bad.” Promptly getting back in the car. We never returned. However, she has been to the Bromley Arms without a murmer.

[Oztalgian 3,408]

3 hours ago, Dark Angel said:

On a more scientific note, around 1970 I took my future wife to Hazelford Ferry. On exiting the car, she looked across the river and said, “ let’s go, this place is bad.” Promptly getting back in the car. We never returned.

I agree with your future wife the weir used to foam up the river from all the detergents in the sewers and stink terribly at times. We often walked from Fiskerton, the nearest bus stop, to Hazelford along the river with our fishing gear. Across the river on the bridge below the weir and then over the island to fish above and below the East Stoke weir. Often better fishing than in the main river. If the fishing was not the best walked further along to have a beer or two in the Star and Garter pub before heading back to Fiskerton for the bus home. I remember that as a kid there was a small model village in the pub grounds.

[mary1947 2,108]

When we first moved to Hucknall it was  small /happy community , the folk made myself and family very welcome. at the time it was said Bulwell would never join up with Hucknall. Then the by-pass was built to take all the pit lorries out of going though the centre of Hucknall. Before it was finished the pits had closed down. Next the Robin Hood Line then TESCO'S  also 3 other quite nice village's  who would never hurt a fly, no longer stand on their own Papplewick / Linby / Newstead. Then the Tram came along!!!! so this is progress????? say know more.

 

[mary1947 2,108]

I have just read some post about plane crasher's at Rolls Royce Watnall rd Hucknall one not mentioned was the Roll's Royce spitfire. I am not sure how many Spitfire we have left now.   The one that crashed was maintained and looked after by one of my friends.

[Stuart.C 501]

If anyone is planning on landing at Huckanll Airfield nowadays, they're in for a bumpy landing.

 

[philmayfield 6,309]

You could possibly land in the area of the old grass runway but the clubhouse is no more.  The Merlin Flying Club (Rolls Royce) have moved to Tattenhill in Staffs. I remember Allan Burton, the flying instructor and vegetable grower who operated from there. 

[Willow wilson 902]

Re overhead Hucknall Airfield. In the late 50s I and my classmate, Jeff Edwards(RIP), would cycle up to there in the school hols and stand by the fence bordering the clump of trees in the bottom left of the picture. It gave an excellent view of the runway and its comings and goings, thus we filled our box brownie cameras with aero pictures. Prior to its demise we regularly got pics of VX770 maneuvering for take off. It would go into the 'panhandle' at the bottom of the picture, do a u turn and take off with a thunderous roar. Looking at the picture the runway barely seems long enough but it always got off alright. I think by '58 it was running the Conway engines.

From memory We spotted Lightning, Elizabethan, Canberra and an assortment of others, I forget without finding my old photos, wherever they are. And of course the airshow. Happy days with a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of lemonade,  we were witnessing the brave new world of fantastic flying machinery.

[philmayfield 6,309]

Some school friends spotted the famous ‘flying bedstead’ at Hucknall airfield. Does the pub of that name still exist?

 

The main tarmac runway, 08/26 was 2134 metres.

The grass one, 12/30 was 735 metres.

[trogg 2,037]

6 minutes ago, philmayfield said:

Does the pub of that name still exist?

It was demolished a few years ago and a Co-op was built there , parking around that area is terrible.

[mary1947 2,108]

On the Rolls Royce site was also the test beds for the Merlin engine's, If you live in the Hucknall area  you must have heard them.

[IAN FINN 835]

When we were kids we walked across the fields from where i lived and came out across the runway opposite the Watnall/Hucknall main road and could watch them testing the Flying Bedstead.A pilot by the name of Parish did the vertical take off flight test. He passed away ffrom some illness and is buried in the little village cemetery on New Farm Lane Nuthall his grave is facing towards Hucknall aerodrome which is only a mile away as the crow flies.I have been in the Flying Bedstead pub i am not sure but think it is not there anymore.The old aerodrome is no more and i believe is going to be or has become a housing estate surprise surprise. They are currently  building a Rolls Royce museum with the help of some enthusiasts it sounds like they have quite a few old jet engines to put on display.It might be worth a run out there phil to check it out.

 

 

 

 

[philmayfield 6,309]

1 hour ago, mary1947 said:

On the Rolls Royce site was also the test beds for the Merlin engine's, If you live in the Hucknall area  you must have heard them.

We could hear them in Woodthorpe if the wind was blowing our way!

[IAN FINN 835]

We did the same thing Willow can you remember seeing the Gloster Javelin flying around?

[Willow wilson 902]

Can't remember seeing a Javelin around Hucknall. That would've been a good un for my photo collection. 

[Beekay 5,279]

During our habitacion at Sellars Wood, Bulwell, we could often hear them testing engines. That was our reign of 1977-87.

I also recall going to a couple of boot fairs up that way somewhere. Was there a Hucknall brickworks or ssomething of that ilk?

[Stuart.C 501]

B-K,
(the old) Watnall brickworks had Sunday markets

[philmayfield 6,309]

I believe my old acquaintances Chris Gibson and Gordon Ferriman owned the Watnall brickworks site and organised the Sunday markets. They had their fingers in a few pies!

[Beekay 5,279]

Thank you StuartC., and Filipe for enlightening me.

Much obliged.  Your servant Sirs.

[LizzieM 9,541]

4 hours ago, philmayfield said:

I believe my old acquaintances Chris Gibson and Gordon Ferriman owned the Watnall brickworks site and organised the Sunday markets. They had their fingers in a few pies!

Ah, Chris Gibson’s son Steve was a boyfriend of mine around 1967-8. He used to take me out in his Dad’s Jag!  The first colour TV I ever saw was at their house in Widmerpool.  It was also the first time I’d ever seen gambling chips, they were piled high on the sideboard.  It was like another world for this young Arnold girl, they had a full-time live-in groom and from their grounds you could see half a dozen power stations in the distance!  I haven’t seen Steve for 50 years but I’ve been told he owns that big area of land between M1 and EMA,  think it’s called East Midlands Gateway and full of hundreds of shipping containers.  
Later I’d see Chris in The Punchbowl on Porchester Road, drinking with his motor trade buddies, always a very generous man but pretty strict with Steve by all accounts.