Mansfield Woodhouse

Mansfield Woodhouse
Saint Edmund's Parish Church
Mansfield Woodhouse  Mansfield Woodhouse shown within Nottinghamshire
OS grid reference	SK540632
District	Mansfield
Shire county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MANSFIELD
Postcode district	NG19
Dialling code	01623
Police	Nottinghamshire
Fire	Nottinghamshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Mansfield
List of places UK England Nottinghamshire

Mansfield Woodhouse is a large village about 2 kilometres north of Mansfield itself, in Nottinghamshire, England,^[1] stretching alongside the main A60 road in a wide, low valley between the Rivers Maun and Meden. With a history dating back before the Romans, it is still noteworthy for its stone-built town centre.

Mansfield Woodhouse was a separate entity with its own UDC, but after continuous development is now simply a large section within the larger Mansfield development area. Following a change in local government structure, in 1973 Mansfield Woodhouse and Warsop UDCs merged with the municipal borough of Mansfield to form a new council administration known as Mansfield District Council.

Mansfield Woodhouse's wealth was traditionally based on local quarrying, mining, farming and textile industries.

History

The Romans had a fortress and a civilian settlement in the area (remains of a Roman villa were famously found here by Hayman Rooke in the 1780s). The area declined after the Romans left, but by the 13th century there was a growing settlement of smallholders.

On 12 September 1304, fire completely destroyed Mansfield Woodhouse, including its timber-framed church. The town was rebuilt, using local materials - the new stone-built church, dedicated to St. Edmund, still stands today.

The town recovered, and by Tudor times was home to a number of wealthy families. Farming and quarrying were the main livelihoods, and Mansfield Woodhouse also prospered with the growth of the textile and hosiery trades into the 19th century. One thing not commonly known about Mansfield Woodhouse is that locally quarried stone was used to build the Houses of Parliament. On the road to Edwinstowe stands the Parliament Oak, which, according to legend, was once the location of a session of Parliament held by the king. There is a plaque commemorating this.

During the UK miners' strike (1984-1985), Mansfield Woodhouse's coal miners of nearby Sherwood Colliery decided not to strike. This decision was made as part of the Nottinghamshire Union of Miners. The pit closed in 2002.^[2] The Colliery's football and cricket teams still carry on today through Sherwood Colliery Football Club and Sherwood Colliery Cricket Club.

Natives of Mansfield Woodhouse include D'Ewes Coke (1747-1811), an unusual combination of clergyman and colliery master. Mansfield Woodhouse is actually a village and known to be one of the biggest in the United Kingdom and is still growing by expanding into former farmland.

Mansfield Woodhouse today

The Village now has a population of over 18,000.^{[citation needed]}

It has a number of schools; the larger primary schools are St. Edmund's Church of England Primary School, Northfield Primary and Nursery School, Peafield Lane Primary and Nursery School, Leas Park Junior School and Nettleworth Primary and Nursery School. The largest school is The Manor Academy, originally a comprehensive school opened in September 1973 consisting of the former Forest View school buildings at Park Hall Road and at Yorke Street. After a major fire in 1996 the Park Hall Road buildings were enlarged during rebuilding to incorporate the former Yorke Street facility, which was sold for housing land. Near to the school is the The Manor Sport and Recreation Centre, a public amenity which forms part of the school’s facilities.

High Street

Mansfield Woodhouse Station

The Co-op in Mansfield Woodhouse closed on 10 January 2009, and was later replaced by a Morrisons store on 29 June 2009. The town is being redeveloped in other areas, including replacing the older terraced housing around Thoresby Road, near the train station, and at Sherwood Street/Blake Street with new housing estates. A new police station has served the town since 2007,^[3] but in late 2013 it was earmarked for possible closure by Nottinghamshire Police Commissioner, Paddy Tipping.^[4]

The town is served by Mansfield Woodhouse railway station, on the Robin Hood Line.

The town also has a volunteer-run newsletter called The Woodhouse Warbler, produced quarterly since late 2000, with a circulation in the thousands. They also produced a magazine collating locals' World War II memories. It was funded by the Big Lottery Fund.^[5]

Skate area at Yeoman Hill Park

Sport

The Manor Sport and Recreation Centre is a £1.9 million indoor and outdoor sports facility opened on 11 May 2002, largely funded by a £1.4 million Sport England Sports Lottery grant, with the remainder from a variety of organisations and sponsors.^[6]

From 29 September 2012 the Manor Park, adjacent to the Sports complex and accessed from Kingsley Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse, has regularly hosted a Park Run,^[7] an informal, timed 5K (five-kilometre) fun-run for any class of participant.^[8]

Mansfield Woodhouse is known around Nottinghamshire for its junior football clubs: Woodhouse Colts JFC and Manor 4th FC, both of which offer football to youngsters from the age of 6-18.

Speedway racing, then known as Dirt Track racing took place at Mansfield Woodhouse in the pioneer days of 1928.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mansfield Woodhouse.

• Mansfield Woodhouse Genealogy & Census Information
• Mansfield Woodhouse Community Website
• The Woodhouse Warbler Website
• Chesterton Humberts, History of The Priory and Debdale, Mansfield Woodhouse
• The Manor Academy, formerly known as Manor Comprehensive School
• The Manor Sport and Recreation Centre