ANNALS OF MANSFIELD FROM 1086 TO 1999

1086 “Mammesfelde” was mentioned in the Domesday Book.

1093  William II gave the church of SS. Peter and Paul to the Church of St. Mary, Lincoln, as an endowment to the See of Lincoln.

1227  Henry III granted the people of Mansfield a market charter.

1377  Richard II granted a Fair to the men of Mansfield.

1559   October  Mansfield parish registers began.

1567  Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Church Side, was built. The letters patent authorising it had been granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1561.

1648   George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), visited Mansfield.

1702   5 October  The Old Meeting House was opened, originally as a Presbyterian place of worship, later Unitarian.

1704   13 February  Robert Dodsley, poet, playwright and publisher, author of the play “The King and Miller of Mansfield”, was born in a house on Ratcliffe Gate on the site now occupied by the Brown Cow Inn.

1711   September  Samuel Brunts died leaving much of his fortune to the charity which bears his name.

1729  Mansfield’s first workhouse was built on Nottingham Road.

1752  The Moot Hall was erected by Henriette Cavendish Holles (d. December 1755), Countess of Oxford and Mortimer, then Lady of the Manor.

1784   14 December  Charles Thompson died, leaving his fortune to various local charities. His grave is near the junction of Southwell Road and Berry Hill Lane.

1787  Thompson’s School opened on Toothill Lane.

1788   Methodism first preached in Mansfield by John Adams, a Nottingham Methodist                       preacher.

Sherwood Foundry, Nottingham Road, was established.

1791  Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Stockwell Gate (Later, 1815, building sold to Baptists).

1810  Stanhope House, Bridge Street, bought by Wesleyan Methodists.

1812   4 July  After conversion, Stanhope House opened as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel.

1819   13 April  The Mansfield to Pinxton Railway was opened.

1823   17 June  The Mansfield Improvement Act received the Royal Assent.

1824   10 July  Mansfield was lit by gas for the first time. The Mansfield Gas Light Company had obtained an Act to light Mansfield by gas in 1823.

1834  The Mechanics’ Institute was founded in Queen Street.

1835   21 July   The foundation stone of the Mansfield Town Hall was laid by Mr. John Coke.

1836   The Town Hall was opened for the first time.

1839   The Methodist New Connexion opened a chapel on St. John Street.

1840   The Improvement Commissioners commenced to clear the area of the Market Place.

1847   The Mansfield-Erewash Valley Railway was constructed.

1848   The Mansfield to Pinxton Railway was acquired by the Midland Railway and the track relaid for steam locomotion. Construction of King’s Mill viaduct was begun.

1849   The Bentinck Memorial was erected in the Market Place in memory of Lord George Bentinck (1802-1848).

1849   9 October   First steam train from Nottingham to Mansfield.

1852   Meadow Foundry, Littleworth (later, 1960, Sheepbridge Lane), founded.

1853   Public swimming baths were erected in Bath Street.

1854   The Mansfield Brewery Company is formed in a partnership between William Baily, Samuel Hage and John Watson.

1856   March  The last mail stagecoach ran to Chesterfield.

1856   29 July  St. John’s Church was opened and consecrated by the Bishop of Lincoln, the Rt. Revnd. John Jackson (1811-1885).

1858   January  The first issue of a local weekly newspaper, the “Mansfield Reporter & Sutton Times”, appeared.

1862   St. John’s School opened.

          Union Foundry, Union Street, founded.

1864    9 June  The Mansfield Co-operative Society is formed.

1865    7 February   Stanhope House completely demolished, rebuilt and reopened as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel.

1869   Construction of the railway viaduct across Mansfield was begun.

1870   A private company obtained an Act for supplying Mansfield with water.

1871   3 April  Mansfield to Southwell railway line opened.

1871   15 April  The first issue of a local weekly newspaper, the “Mansfield & North Nottinghamshire Advertiser”, appeared.

1871    December  The last mail stagecoach ran to Worksop.

1872    June  Waterworks were opened on Nottingham Road and the first water mains were laid.

1872    2 March  The Midland Railway Station opened.

1873    December  The Police Station and Police Court (as the Magistrates Court was known) on Station Street was used for the first time.

1874    July   The last horse race meeting was held at the Racecourse.

1875    June   The Mansfield to Worksop railway opened.

1876   The Improvement Commissioners purchased the market tolls from the Lord of the Manor, the Duke of Portland.

1877   St Philip Neri’s Catholic School opened on Ratcliffe Gate.

1877   June   Congregational (later United Reform) Chapel opened on Westgate.

1878   April   Queen Elizabeth’s Boys Grammar School moves to and opens on Chesterfield Road.

1878   3 January   The Cattle Market on Nottingham Road was opened.

1883    April   The Improvement Commissioners purchased the Town Hall from the Town Hall Company.

1885   The Queen Elizabeth’s Girls Grammar School opened in converted houses on Woodhouse Road.

1887   A smallpox hospital was built on Brick Kiln Lane.

Primitive Methodists vacate chapel on Queen Street for larger premises on Woodhouse Road.

1889   1 October   The Improvement Commissioners purchased the waterworks on Nottingham Road from the Mansfield Water Company.

1890   27 October   The Mansfield and District General Hospital was officially opened by His Grace the (6th) Duke of Portland.

1891   Thompson’s School on Toothill Lane closed.

1891   3 June   The Charter of Incorporation was granted, and Mansfield became a Borough.

1891   October  The Queen Elizabeth’s Girls Grammar School was moved into purpose built premises on Woodhouse Road.

1891   28 October   The Mansfield Free Public Reading Room and Library, in the Corn Exchange, Mansfield Town Hall, was officially opened by Mr. John Potter Briscoe, Librarian of the Nottingham Free Libraries.

1892    9 February   The Borough coat of arms was granted.

1893   The smallpox hospital on Brick Kiln Lane was closed and was replaced by the new fever hospital which opened on Southwell Road.

1894    29 September   The Brunts Technical School was officially opened by Lord Belper, Chairman of the Nottinghamshire County Council Education Committee.

1895    11 October    The first issue of a local weekly newspaper, the “Mansfield Chronicle”, appeared.

1896    26 May   The foundation stone of St. Mark`s Church, on the junction of Portland Street and Nottingham Road, was laid.

1896    7 October   The Primitive Methodist chapel on Nottingham Road opened.

1896   19 December   The Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary) visited Mansfield.

1897   26 October   The Rainworth Waterworks were officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. Robert Barringer (1819-1905).

1898   The first Mansfield School Board was elected.

1898    30 June  The Pioneer Steam Omnibus arrived in Mansfield.

1898    15 September  The Victoria Hospital was officially opened.

1900    25 April     The Rosemary Schools, Mansfield’s first elementary school, was officially opened by Lord Belper, Chairman of the Nottinghamshire County Council Education Committee.

1901    6 March   Wood Street Wesleyan Methodist Chapel opened.

1901    8 April    Victoria Hall (later Palais de Danse), Leeming Street, opened.

1902   Pleasley Hill school opened.

Sherwood Colliery was sunk.

1903   April   King Edward Schools opened.

1903   17 June   The municipal Electricity Works and Refuse Destructor were officially opened.

1903   October   The School Board was replaced by the Borough Education Committee.

1904   Broomhill School opened.

1904    February   Mansfield (Crown Farm) Colliery was sunk.

1904   16 April   The Public baths were officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. John Edward Alcock (1861-1935).

1904   6 July   The Baily Museum was officially opened.

1904   23 August   Mansfield was granted a Borough Bench and a Commission of the Peace.

1905   Newgate Lane School opened.

1905   24 May   The Mansfield Free Library, Leeming Street, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. George Hudson Hibbert (1842-1905).

1905   26 May   Coal was reached at Mansfield (Crown Farm) Colliery.

1905   11 July   Mansfield’s tram service was officially inaugurated by the Mayor, Mr. George Hudson Hibbert.

1905   26 December   Opening of the Hippodrome, Midworth Street.

1906   17 September  The Grand Theatre opened on junction of Bath Lane and Leeming Street.

1908   1 January   Mansfield Corporation took control of the Markets.

1909   St.Lawrence`s Church, at the junction of Peck`s Hill and Skerry Hill, was opened.

1909   21 July   The Clipstone Waterworks were officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. Timothy Taylor (1845-1919).

1909   August   Visit to the town by General Booth, founder of the Salvation Army.

1909   September    Bishop of Southwell consecrated new church dedicated to St. Lawrence on corner of Skerry Hill and Pecks Hill.

1910   4 September   The Labour Exchange, Queen Street, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. John Henry Collins (1871-1941).

1910   13 December    The Palace Electric Theatre, Leeming Street, opened by the Mayor, Alderman Timothy Taylor.

1912   Carter Lane School opened.

1912    9 May   The Sewage Works, Bath Lane, were officially opened by His Grace the (6th ) Duke of Portland (1857-1943).

1912    November    New Baptist Chapel opened on Rosemary Street, old building on Stockwell Gate used as schoolroom.

1913    July   Post Office in Church Street was opened.

1914   Moor Lane School opened.

1914    March   Titchfield Park was presented to the Corporation by His Grace the (6th) Duke of Portland.

1914    5 June   The Freedom of the Borough was conferred upon His Grace the Duke of Portland, who thus became Mansfield’s first Freeman.

1914    25 June   King George V and Queen Mary visited Mansfield.

1914    5 August    The Empire Theatre, on corner of Stockwell Gate and Rosemary Street, opened.

1914    26 October   The Rock Picture House on Skerry Hill opened.

1916    4 September    Mansfield Railway opened for freight traffic.

1917    2 April    Mansfield Railway opened for passenger traffic.

1918    October   The Mansfield & Sutton Co-operative store, Stockwell Gate, was destroyed in a fire.

1919   The Corporation approved plans for the building of council houses.

1919    May   Memorial tank placed in Titchfield Park.

1920    1 April    The Picturedrome, Belvedere Street, opened. The building later became the Queen’s Hall.

1922    The new and enlarged Mansfield & Sutton Co-operative store, Stockwell Gate, opens on the site of that destroyed by fire in 1918.

1923    The Corporation purchased Field Mill for £3,760.

1923    May   Foundation stone laying for St. Philip Neri Catholic Church on Chesterfield Road South.

1923    1 August   The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor) visited Mansfield.

1924    3 May   Berry Hill Hall was officially opened as a miners’ convalescent home by Mr. John Bingley.

1924   16 July   Clerkson’s Alley Improvement Scheme, which led to the construction of Regent Street, was authorised.

1924   20 October    Mr. John Harrop White (1856-1951) had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon him.

1925   Field Mill was demolished.

1925   25 March   Opening of St. Philip Neri’s Catholic Church, closing of earlier church on Ratcliffe Gate.

1927   10 January    High Oakham School opened.

1928   Regent Street was opened.

1928   11 July   King George V and Queen Mary visited Mansfield.

1928   24 October   The Mansfield Technical College, Chesterfield Road South, was officially opened by Lord Chelmsford (1868-1933).

1929   4 August   The Duchess of York (the wife of the future King George VI) visited Mansfield and officially opened Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Hospital.

1930   13 January    The Labour Exchange, Victoria Street, was opened.

1930   27 March   The last meeting of the Mansfield Board of Guardians took place.

1930    5 August   The Plaza (later Granada) cinema opened on Westgate.

1930   19 November   The Nottinghamshire County School of Art, at the rear of the Technical College, was officially opened by Mr. T. L. K. Edge, Chairman of the County Education Committee.

1931   30 March    The Racecourse Playing Field was officially opened by Mr. John Edward Alcock (1861-1935), Chairman of the Pleasure Grounds and Allotments Committee.

1931   13 May   The Berry Hill Open Air School was officially opened by Mrs. Ethel Wainwright (1878-1959), Chairman of Mansfield Education Committee.

1931   1 June    Mansfield Town Football Club was elected to the Southern Section of the Football League’s Third Division.

1932   17 September   A memorial to Charles Thompson, sited at his grave at Berry Hill, was dedicated by the Bishop of Southwell, Dr. Henry Mosely (1868-1948), and unveiled by Mr. Joseph Albert Beck (1878-1946), Chairman of Brunts Charity.

1932   18 September   The bus service was officially inaugurated by the Mayor, Mr. Joseph Pollard (1882-1966). Mr. Daniel Henry Maltby (1854-1938) had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon him.

1932   10 October   The last tram ran in Mansfield.

1933   25 January    Winifred, Duchess of Portland (d. 30 July 1954), invested the Mayoress, Mrs. J. G. Pratt, with an official chain to be worn by the Mayoresses of Mansfield. It was a gift from the Duke of Portland.

1934    Mansfield Standard Sand Co. Ltd. formed.

1934    21 December  An order was granted authorising the Corporation to take a bulk supply of gas from Grassmoor Colliery.

1935    4 December   The new supply of gas from Grassmoor Colliery was officially turned on by Mr. Joseph Pollard, Chairman of the Gas Committee.

1936   Mansfield Colliery pithead baths were opened.

The Masonic Hall on Nottingham Road was opened.

1936    26 May    Bull Farm Recreation Ground was officially opened by Mr. Charles Davey (1899-1950), Chairman of the Parks and Cemeteries Committee.

1936    24 September   Ritz cinema, Chesterfield Road South, opened.

1936    28 July   Mr. Joseph Albert Beck (1878-1946) had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon him.

1936    1 October    The Trustee Savings Bank, Regent Street, was officially opened by Lord Mottistone (1868-1947).

1938    10 September   The Co-operative Store, Queen Street, was officially opened by Mr. G. Baxter, President of the Mansfield & Sutton Co-operative Society.

1939    24 May   The Fire Station, Rosemary Street, was officially opened by Sir Vivian Leonard Henderson (1884-1965), Chairman of the Fire Service Commission.

1939    20 June   The Electricity Showroom, Regent Street, was officially opened by Mr. Cyril William Hurcomb, Chairman of the Electricity Commission.

1939    25 July   It was announced that the firm of Barringer, Wallis & Manners was to be absorbed by the Metal Box Co. Ltd.

1939    23 August   Derby Road was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. Joseph Herbert Williamson (1884-1946).

1939    30 September   A Citizens’ Advice Bureau was set up.

1940    23 January    The Mayor of Mansfield’s War Fund was set up by the Mayor, Mr. Percy William Stafford.

1940    18 May   The Mansfield Group of the Local Defence Volunteers was formed.

1940    11 November    The foundation stone of a new block at the Mansfield & District General Hospital was laid by His Grace the (6th) Duke of Portland (1857-1943).

1941    8 March   The Pleasley Hill Branch Library was closed. It was converted into a British Restaurant.

1941    16 March   The inaugural parade of the Air Training Corps took place.

1941    14 May   The Belvedere Restaurant under the Queen’s Hall, Belvedere Street, was officially opened as a British Restaurant by the Mayor, Mr. Charles Herbert Langham.

1942    7 January   An Art Gallery in the British Restaurant, the Queen’s Hall, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. Charles Herbert Langham.

1943    11 April   A new block at the Mansfield & District General Hospital was officially opened by Sir Frederick Sykes (1877-1954), Chairman of the Miners’ Welfare Committee.

1944    27 April   The Princess Royal visited Mansfield General Hospital.

1944    August   The Army handed the Town Hall back to the Corporation. It had been requisitioned at the outbreak of war, and Council meetings had been held in the Electricity Showrooms, Regent Street.

1945   20 March   The Mansfield Borough Education Committee held its last meeting. It had controlled Mansfield’s educational affairs since 1903.

1945   A Secondary Technical School opened in the Nissen huts left by the U.S. Army Hospital on Sutton Road.

1945   1 April   The West Notts. Division of Nottinghamshire County Council assumed control of the educational affairs in Mansfield under the terms of the 1944 Education Act.

1945   8 May   V. E. (Victory in Europe) Day. Gramophone records were relayed into the Market Place where there was dancing until midnight. The Town Hall was floodlit.

1947   29 January    “The Woodlands”, Woodhouse Road, an elderly ladies hostel, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mrs. Ethel Wainwright (1878-1959).

1947   28 May   A one-way traffic system was introduced in the town centre.

1948   18 February    Debdale Hall was officially opened as a hospital by Sir George Edward Godber, a medical officer at the Ministry of Health.

1948    22 June    The Mansfield Secondary Technical School, Sutton Road, was officially opened by Sir Hubert Stanley Houldsworth (1889-1956), Chairman of the East Midlands Division of the National Coal Board.

1948    5 July   The hospitals were nationalised with the introduction of the National Health Service.

1948    20 July   Mrs. Ethel Wainwright (1878-1959), had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon her.

1948    20 November   “Sunnycroft”, The Park, was officially opened as a hostel for elderly men by Mr. Lewis John Edwards (1904-1959), Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Health.

1949   1 May   Mansfield’s Gas undertaking was nationalised under the terms of the Gas Act 1948.

1949   29 June   H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Mansfield. The Princess laid the foundation stone of the Portland Training College for the Disabled.

1949   13 July    Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery of Alamein visited Queen Elizabeth’s Boy’s Grammar School.

1949    August   The first television signals, from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, were received in Mansfield.

1949    6 September   Details of an inner ring road scheme for Mansfield were revealed for the first time.

1949    17 December   The first official television programme from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter was received in Mansfield.

1950    31 March   The British Restaurant in the Queen’s Hall, Belvedere Street, was closed down.

1950    25 April    The Air Training Corps` Headquarters, Sutton Road, was officially opened by the (7th) Duke of Portland.

1950    24 July   Queen Elizabeth, consort of H. M. King George VI, visited Mansfield and officially opened the Portland Training College for the Disabled.

1951    16 June   The Co-operative Dairy, Southwell Road, was officially opened by Mr. Fred Oakley, President of the Mansfield & Sutton Co-operative Society.

1951    17 September    The King`s Mill Hospital was officially opened by Mr. Hilary Adair Marquand, the Minister of Health.

1951    25 September    Mr. German Abbott had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon him.

1952    26 March    The Telephone Exchange, Pelham Street, became operational.

1952    27 March    The last issues of the “Mansfield Advertiser” and the “Mansfield Chronicle” were published.

1952    3 April    The first issue of the “Mansfield and North Nottinghamshire Chronicle Advertiser”, formed from the merger of the “Mansfield Advertiser” and the “Mansfield Chronicle”, was published.

1952    7 April    The Telephone Exchange, Pelham Street, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. German Abbott.

1953    2 March    Mansfield’s first Assize was conducted by Sir Geoffrey Hugh Benbow Streatfield.

1953    16 April   The Windmill Ridge Infants School opened.

1953     6 June   The Sherwood Foresters had the Freedom of Entry conferred upon them.

1953    27 August   The Ethel Wainwright Junior School was opened.

1953    19 September   A pump house at the Clipstone Waterworks was officially opened by Mr. John George Pratt, Chairman of the Water Committee.

1954    2 October   The Ethel Wainwright Junior School was officially opened by Mr. (later Lord) James Chuter Ede (1882-1965).

1955    26 April    Mansfield Town Council resolved to purchase the Palace Theatre, Leeming Street, to use as a civic theatre.

1955    30 April    The Festival Gardens of Rest were officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. James Black Jenkins (1903-1984).

1955    10 October    The first test signals from the Independent Television transmitter at Lichfield were received in Mansfield.

1955    31 December   The L.N.E.R. Railway Station, Great Central Road, was closed to passenger travel.

1956    5 January    The last issue of the “Mansfield Reporter” appeared. It was absorbed by the “Mansfield and North                 Nottinghamshire Chronicle Advertiser”.

1956    September    The Rock Picture House, Skerry Hill, closed.

1957    The Secondary Technical School moved from U.S. Army Hospital Nissen huts on Sutton Road to Sherwood Hall.

1957    13 July   The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Ladybrook, was consecrated.

1957    7 September   The Thieves Wood Residential Special School was opened.

1958   The Mines Rescue Station on Woodhouse Road was opened.

1958    4 May   The Ritz cinema closed.

1958    17 September    The Sherwood Hall Girls Secondary School was officially opened.

1959    3 January   The new headquarters of the Nottinghamshire Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, Berry Hill, was             officially opened by Mr. Ernest Jones, President of the N.U.M.

1959    15 June   The Mansfield-Southwell-Newark passenger rail service was discontinued.

1959    3 July   A pumping station at the Rainworth Waterworks was officially opened by Mr. Leonard Lees, Chairman of the Water Committee.

1960    The Primitive Methodist chapel on Woodhouse Road closed.

1960     25 April    The Dallas Street Centre for the Physically       Handicapped was officially opened by Lord Piercy (1886-1966).

1960     18 May   Mansfield Crematorium was opened by Ald. C.Harrison J.P. and dedicated by the Assnt. Bishop of Southwell, the Rt. Rev. A. Morris Gelsthorpe.

1960     23 October    St. Bede’s Roman Catholic Secondary School was officially opened by His Eminence Cardinal William Godfrey (1894-1973), Archbishop of Westminster.

1960     15 November    West Nottinghamshire Technical College, Derby Road, officially opened by Mr. (later Lord) Alfred Robens (1910-1999), Chairman Designate of the National Coal Board.

1961     15 January   The Empire Cinema closed.

1961     19 July   Mr. Athelstan Cumming Shepherd (1896-1979), Town Clerk from 1931-1961, had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon him.

1961     30 November   Ladybrook Branch Library was officially opened by the Mayor, Mrs. Doris Frith (1902-1975).

1963     23 February    The Beatles performed on stage at the Granada Cinema, Westgate, as a supporting act to Helen Shapiro, in the first of their two visits to Mansfield.

1963     1 August   King’s Mill was destroyed by fire, damage was   estimated at £100,000.

1963     1 October    The Central Nottinghamshire Water Board was formed; it absorbed Mansfield’s Water Undertaking.

1964     29 January   The Intake Trust Medical Library at the Mansfield & District General Hospital was officially opened by Dr. John Gibb McCrie, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Sheffield University.

1964     24 March   The National Coal Board Computer Centre, Lichfield Lane, was officially opened by Sir Humphrey Browne,         Deputy Chairman of the National Coal Board.

1964     20 April   The Public Mortuary, Station Street, was officially opened by Mr. John Albert Rhodes, Chairman of the         Health Committee.

1964     10 October   Passenger rail services in Mansfield were discontinued when the last train ran from the Midland Station.

1965     25 February    The Food Market, Queen Street, opened for business.

1965     March  Sherwood Hall was demolished.

1966     22 March   The Fishpool Hoard, gold coins and jewellery of the fourteenth/ fifteenth centuries, was found on a building       site at Fishpool. At an inquest held in Mansfield on 14-15 December it was declared Treasure Trove.

1966     19 May   It was announced that Mr. Harry Bernard Taylor (1895-1991), M.P. for the Mansfield Division 1941-1966, was to become a Life Peer. He took the title Lord Taylor of Mansfield.

1966     12 October   Lord Taylor of Mansfield and Mr. George Green Goodhand (1900-1972) had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon them.

1966     1 December   Sherwood Colliery Baths were purchased by the Corporation.

1966     4 December   The Polish Catholic Association Centre, Windmill Lane, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. George       Carter.

1967     30 August    The first review of the West Nottinghamshire Town Map 1963-1981 was published; it contained proposals for the redevelopment of the town centre.

1967     11 October     The subscriber trunk dialling system and the automatic telephone exchange, Pelham Street, was officially     inaugurated by the Mayor, Mr. James Black Jenkins.

1968    Berry Hill Open Air School closed. Site used for Berry Hill Primary School.

1968     28 June   The Health Centre, St. John Street, and the Bancroft House Psychiatric Hostel, Stockwell Gate, were officially opened by the Minister of Health, Mr. Kenneth Robinson.

1968     27 November    A new Children’s Library in former shop premises, 56-58 Leeming Street, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mr. Charles Harrison (1894-1977).

1969     23 April   The Central Nottinghamshire Water Board’s new premises, Great Central Road, were officially opened by the Board’s Chairman, Mr. Leonard Lees.

1969     19 May   Mansfield’s first external cash dispenser was       inaugurated at the Trustee Savings Bank, Regent Street.

1969     6 June    The Sewage Works at Rainworth, a joint scheme by Mansfield Corporation and the Rural District Councils of Southwell and Basford, were officially opened by Mr. J. W. Barker.

1970     18 March   Mr. Charles Harrison had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon him.

1970     April    The old Fire Station, Toothill Lane, was demolished.

1970     6 April   The Co-operative Societies of Mansfield & Sutton, Pleasley, Pleasley Hill, and Clowne, were merged.

1970     June   The site of the Festival Gardens of Rest was cleared to make way for the first stage of the Inner Ring Road.

1970    19 June   The Quarry Lane viaduct, built in 1871, was       demolished.

1970     6 July   The Union Street car park, Mansfield’s first purpose-built car park, was officially opened by the Mayor, Mrs.     Winifred May Townroe (1909-1982).

1970     12 September    The Ladybrook Boys’ Club, Townroe Drive, was officially opened by the boxer, Joe Bugner.

1970     13 September    A new Mormon Chapel, Berry Park Lea, was dedicated by Elder Marion G. Romney.

1970     7 October    The Sauna Baths, Bath Street, were officially opened by the Mayor, Mrs. Winifred May Townroe.

1970     28 November    C. P. Evinson Ltd., Chesterfield Road South, opened Mansfield’s first self-service petrol filling station.

1971      January   Bath House and the row of houses behind it at the junction of Leeming Street and Bath Lane were demolished to make way for the first stage of the Inner Ring Road.

1971     29 January   Two Canberra jet bombers collide and crash south of Mansfield.

1972     22 March   Mr. Alfred Arthur Armstrong, Mr. James Black Jenkins and Mrs. Agnes Milford had the Freedom of the Borough conferred upon them.

1972    26 April   Draft proposals were published for the establishment of District Councils to come into existence on 1 April 1974. Mansfield Borough Council, Mansfield Woodhouse Urban District Council, and Warsop Rural District Council were to combine to form Mansfield District Council.

1972    10 June    The Borough Labour Party Club, Commercial Gate, was officially opened by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. James Harold Wilson, MP.

1972     1 October    St. Peter’s Way, the first stage of the inner ring road, was open to traffic for the first time.

1972     23 October    St. Peter’s Way was officially opened by Lord Mowbray and Stourton, the House of Lords spokesman for the Department of the Environment.

1972     13 November    Hill House, Commercial Gate, the new headquarters of the Department of Social Security in Mansfield , was open to the public for the first time.

1972     21 November   The proposal to unite the councils of Mansfield, Mansfield Woodhouse and Warsop into a new District     Council on 1 April 1974 was approved by the Local Government Boundary Commission.

1973     January   The Empire Cinema, at the junction of Stockwell Gate and Rosemary Street, was demolished.

1973     7 May    The Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway railway station, Alfreton,  was officially opened by the Chairman of British Rail, Mr. Richard Marsh.

1973     16 May    Mr. Leonard Lees (1914–1987) was installed as the last Mayor of the Borough of Mansfield.

1973     23 May   The Incinerator, Hermitage Lane, a joint project of Mansfield Borough and Mansfield Woodhouse U.D.C., was officially opened by Mrs. Winifred May Townroe, Chairman of Mansfield Health Committee.

1973     30 May    The Granada cinema, Westgate, closed.

1973     28 June   The inaugural meeting of the shadow authority, Mansfield District Council, took place in Mansfield Town Hall.

1973     28 July   The new Friends’ Meeting House, Rosemary Street, the first building to be erected as a result of the central     redevelopment, was opened by the Mayor, Mr. Leonard Lees.

1973     30 July   Work began on clearing the site of the proposed shopping precinct between Westgate and Stockwell Gate.

1973      5 August    Fluoride was added to Mansfield’s water supply for the first time.

1973      6 December    A Park and Ride Bus scheme was inaugurated.

1973     12 December    The Freedom of the Borough was conferred upon Mr. Philip Bryan Armstrong, Mrs. Lily Hill, Mr. William Kaye, Mr. Leonard Lees and Mrs. Winifred May Townroe.

1974      1 April   The new Mansfield District Council was inaugurated.

The new Baptist Church, Rosemary Street, was opened.

1974     July   The old Baptist Church, Rosemary Street, was         demolished.

1974     26 September   Bruntsfield Old Peoples Home, Eakring Road, was opened by Mr. German Abbott, Chairman of Brunts   Charity.

1975     The last gasholder was demolished.

Princess Margaret opened Dawn House School, Rainworth.

1975     1 April    Redcliffe House Community Centre, Radcliffe Gate, was officially opened.

1975     11 December     The “Black Panther”, Donald Neilson, was captured.

1976     9 March   The Four Seasons Shopping Centre was opened.

1977     23 March    The old public library, Leeming Street, was closed.

1977     31 March   The new public library, Westgate, was opened.

1977     28 July   Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Mansfield as part of the Silver Jubilee, and officially opened the new public library, Westgate.

1977     9 October     A new section of the inner ring road was opened – a continuation of St. Peter’s Way between Albert Street and Portland Street.

1977     20 November    The new bus station, Rosemary Street, was opened.

1978     23 March    The ABC Cinema, Leeming Street, re-opened after conversion to a triple screen.

1978     November    The Triple Action Theatre Group lease the old library building, Leeming Street.

1978     3 December  The Polish Roman Catholic Church, Windmill Lane, was opened by the Primate of Poland, The Reverend             Wladyslaw Rubin.

1979     19 May    The Sandy Lane Health Centre was officially opened by the Member of Parliament for Mansfield, Mr. Don           Concannon.

1979     10 July    Handley Arcade, linking Leeming Street and Toothill Lane, was badly damaged by fire and temporarily closed.

1979      October   The Nag’s Head, Westgate, was bought by British Home Stores for £560,000.

1980      26 June    Mansfield Leisure Centre, Chesterfield Road South, was opened for a public preview prior to opening for business on 1 July.

1980      1 August   Linney’s sell their Westgate shop to Martins the Newsagent.

1980      5 August    The Tesco superstore, Oak Tree Lane, was opened.

1980      1 September    The Oak Tree Lane Leisure Centre was opened.

1980      21 September   The Mansfield Leisure Centre, Chesterfield Road South, was officially opened by the singer, Frankie Vaughan.

1980      November    Handley Arcade was re-opened, following closure due to a fire in July.

1980     7 November    Meadow Foundry, Sheepbridge Lane, closed.

1980     27 November    A new public house, the Cuckoo Birch, was opened in the Oak Tree Lane estate.

1981     January    A new ambulance station was opened next to King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton Road.

1981     March    Belle Vue public house (built 1913), on the corner of Stockwell Gate and Belvedere Street, was demolished to make way for the inner ring road.

1981     17 March    King`s Mill Ambulance Station, Sutton Road, was officially opened by Mr. E. Paper, Chairman of Nottinghamshire Area Health Authority.

1981      April    The Triple Action Theatre Group vacate the old library building, Leeming Street, upon the expiry of their lease.

1981     1 October     The last service was held at the United Reform Church, Westgate.

1982     9 August    A new section of the inner ring road, a dual carriageway along Belvedere Street, was opened by the Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council, Mr. B. Whitelaw.

1982     13 September    Community House, Wood Street, was opened as the offices of the Mansfield Council for Voluntary Services.

1982      October    The old library building, Leeming Street, was re-opened as the Community Arts Centre.

1982      November     The United Reform Church, Westgate, was demolished.

1982     13 November    The Oak Tree Lane estate health centre was officially opened by the Chairman of the Central Nottinghamshire Health Authority, Mrs. Joan Foster.

1983     January    The Co-op Dairy, Southwell Road West, was     demolished.

1983     25 March    The Centre for the Deaf, Wood Street, was opened by the 11th. Duke of Devonshire.

1983     14 April    A Citizens Advice Bureau was opened in Market Street.

1983     June   Portland Wharf, Station Street, was dismantled and removed to Butterley Railway Museum.

1983     September   The Layton Burrows housing development was officially opened by the Chairman of the District Council, Mrs. Ethel May Dolman.

A 60 home development was begun on Baums Lane.

A DIAL office opened Community House, Wood Street.

1983      December    The Greater Nottingham and the Mansfield Worksop Co-operative Societies agreed to merge.

1984      January    The Old Eclipse public house, Westgate, was sold.

1984      March    Start of year long coal-miners strike.

1984      26 October    Argos was the first store to open in the new Rosemary Centre (formerly Lawn Mills).

1984      7 November    A Co-op Superstore was opened on the site of the old Portland Wharf, Station Street.

1984      22 November    The Old Town Mill, Bridge Street, re-opened as a public house.

1984      19 December    Old Age Pensioners bungalows were opened in Sherwood Hall Gardens.

1985      7 February    Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited Mansfield to open a £1 million extension to Portland Training College, and also visited Fountaindale School.

1985      March   The Berry Hill water tower was demolished.

End of the year long coal-miners strike.

1985      30 March    The Territorial Army Centre, Bath Street, was officially opened by Mr. Denis Thatcher (husband of the Prime         Minister).

1985      May   Goldie, Wade and Goldie Ltd., Bath Mill, was closed. Bath Mill was the last of five, originally water powered,     mills built in the late eighteenth century to be used for its original purpose.

1985      June    Nottingham Manufacturing Co. merged with Vantona Viyella.

1986      February    The Nag’s Head public house, Westgate, was demolished.

1986      22 February    British Home Stores, Westgate, was closed. It was to be demolished and rebuilt incorporating the adjacent Nag’s Head site.

1986      17 April   The old Midland railway station on Station Road was re-opened as Brunels café bar and restaurant.

1986      July    The Mansfield to Rainworth mineral railway           reclamation scheme was begun. Railway bridges along the route, with the exception of the Drury Lane viaduct, were either demolished or filled in.

1986      September    Mansfield District Council held its last meeting in the Town Hall before moving to the new Civic Centre.

1986      10 October    Princess Margaret visited Dawn House School.

1987       February     The Rock Valley development was begun.

1987       May    A footpath, the “Mansfield Way”, was opened along the disused Mansfield to Rainworth mineral railway line.

1987       June   Demolition of the New Town Mill, Ratcliffe Gate, was begun.

1987      25 June    The Civic Centre, Chesterfield Road South, was officially opened by Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.

1987       3 July    William Hollins mills at Pleasley Vale closed after a working life of 200 years.

1987       21 July   Bentinck Chambers, Market Street, was badly damaged by fire.

1987       August   Ransom Hospital patients were evacuated due to mining  subsidence.

1987       October     “Heatherdene”, Crow Hill Drive, was opened by the  Central Nottinghamshire Heath Authority to give support to the mentally ill.

1987       October    Berry Hill Rehabilitation Centre was closed.

1987       December    Mandora, a subsidiary of Mansfield Brewery, was sold to A.G. Barr for £21½ million.

Miss World contestants visited Mansfield.

1988       March     Mansfield Colliery was closed.

1988       April       The former Sisters of Mercy Convent, Norfolk Drive, was re-opened as Woodleigh Christian Nursing Home.

1988      4 May    The Millbrook Unit and Scanner Suite at King’s Mill Hospital was officially opened by the Duchess of Gloucester.

1988      6 May    Curry’s Superstore, Nottingham Road, was opened.

1988      26 June    Berry Hill Athletic Stadium was opened.

1988      27-29 August   The first Mansfield Show was held in Berry Hill Park.

1988      29 September    Princess Margaret opened an extension at Dawn House School, Rainworth.

1988      28 November    A new “Centre” Tree was planted in Westgate, 48 years after the original was felled.

1988      22 December  The Nottingham Road cattle market (opened 1877) was closed. The site was to be used for a Wet Leisure complex.

1989       January    Construction work was begun on a retail and food park on Nottingham Road.

1989      27 January     A B&Q store was opened on Baums Lane.

1989      3 February     Coats Viyella’s Mansfield Knitwear factory, Botany Avenue, closed with the loss of 800 jobs.

1989      17 February     Work began on the Portland Street section of the inner ring road.

1989      2 March    The Duchess of York opened an extension to Mansfield Museum and visited Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Hospital.

1989       May    A replica pump in the old market place, Westgate, was dedicated to mark the introduction of Methodism to Mansfield 201 years ago.

1989      2 May   The Duchess of York visited Mansfield and opened the Mansfield Museum extension, visited Harlow Wood hospital, and opened the new technical training centre at Portland Training College.

1989      1 July    Halfords superstore, Baums Lane, was opened.

The Nottinghamshire Royal Society for the Blind office, Chaucer House, Layton Avenue, was opened.

1989      1 August     The internationally acclaimed concert pianist John Ogdon died.

1989       October    The Portland Street section of the inner ring road was opened.

1989      14 October     The foundation stone for King’s Mill Hospice (to be known as John Eastwood House) was laid by Mrs. D. Cottingham of the Eastwood Foundation.

1989      31 December    Carr Bank Manor, hotel and restaurant, was opened.

1990     1 March    The Community Charge (a.k.a. Poll Tax) was     introduced at a level of £378.

1990     20 March     The Safeway superstore on Nottingham Road was opened.

1990      8 June   Queen Elizabeth II visited Portland Training College.

1990      July    Patchills sheltered accommodation, Eakring Road, was opened.

1990      30 July    Lord William Cavendish-Bentinck, 9th. Duke of Portland died. (This marked the end of the dukedom, which then passed as an earldom to Henry Noel Bentinck).

1990      16 September    The Central Baths, Bath Street, were closed.

1990       October    The Central Baths were demolished.

1990      8 December     Blizzards caused prolonged loss of power, water and even telephones.

1990      15 December     The Water Meadows wet leisure complex was opened on the site of the old Cattle Market and Central Baths.

The Victoria Hospital was renamed the Mansfield Community Hospital.

1991       February     The Japanese textile firm, Toray, agreed terms to build a factory in Mansfield.

1991       11 April    Lord Taylor of Mansfield died, aged 95.

1991       6 May    There was a massive blaze at B. & J. Plastics, Grove Street, Mansfield Woodhouse.

1991       July     The Robin Hood rail line was given the go-ahead by Nottinghamshire County Council.

1991       4 August     Introduction of night time traffic ban on Leeming Street, Regent Street and Market Place.

1991       29 November    The Water Meadows swimming complex was officially opened by the Princess Royal.

1991       20 December   The Granada bingo hall, Midworth Street, (formerly the Hippodrome) was destroyed by fire.

1992       January   Carr Bank Manor was bought by a leisure company, Worldwide Snooker, and renamed Manor Hotel.

1992       31 January     Sherwood Colliery was closed.

1992       February   Ravensdale School “opted out” to grant-maintained status.

1992       3 March    Morrison’s superstore opened on Sutton Road.

1992       13 September     Mansfield General Hospital was closed.

1992       14 October    King’s Mill Hospice was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent.

1992       21 November    Ravensdale School was officially opened on a grant-maintained basis by an ex-headmaster, Mr. Hans           Tuchler, and a governor, Mr. D. Sheffield.

1993       January   Crowther House, a 12 flat housing development for schizophrenics was opened on the Oak Tree Lane estate.

1993       February    A British Gas customer service centre opened in Lime Tree Place.

1993      16 February    The Princess Royal visited King’s Mill Hospital.

1993       March   The old NatWest Bank, Market Street, re-opened as the Bootlickers public house.

1993      1 April    West Nottinghamshire College was transferred from local authority control to that of the Further Education         Funding Council.

1993      21 April    Crowther House was officially opened by the Chairman of the District Council, Mr. Alan Weaver.

1993      17 May    The Robin Hood railway line opened between     Nottingham and Newstead.

1993      14 June     Mansfield Town Football Club was bought from Abacus Holdings by Mr. Keith Haslam.

1993       8 July    The Toray textile factory was officially opened by the President of Toray Industries, Mr. K. Maeda.

1993       August    Work begun on sewage treatment improvements on Bath Lane.

1993      28 August     A new public house, Widecombe Fair, was opened on the junction of Oak Tree Lane and Southwell Road West.

1993       September    Queen Elizabeth Boys School and Queen Elizabeth Girls School merged.

1993      11 November     Canon Warburton conducted a service of dedication for a new war memorial at the Civic Centre.

1993      26 November     Rufford Colliery, Rainworth, was closed.

1994      January     The Stagand Pheasant public house was acquired by the Pubmaster chain as its 31st Tap & Spile traditional ale house.

1994      24 January    Clipstone Colliery was re-opened under private ownership. The first colliery to be sold by British Coal, an eight year lease had been purchased by RJB Mining.

1994      22 February    Work on the Oak Tree Lane Business Park was launched by the Chairman of the District Council, Mrs. Fay Spate.

1994      1 April    King’s Mill Hospital acquired Trust status.

1994      22 April    The Duchess of Gloucester opened the Rowen Place wing of Portland College.

1994       5 May    Prince Charles visited Mansfield and Garibaldi School, Forest Town.

1994       8 May    Death of Lady Victoria Wemyss, only daughter of the 6th Duke of Portland, at the age of 104 years.

1994       9 June     Cardinal Basil Hume visited Mansfield to lead special thanksgiving service to celebrate the re-opening of the     church of St. Philip Neri, following 9 months renovation.

1994       17 June     The final phase of the inner ring road was officially opened by the Chairman of Nottinghamshire County         Council, Mr. Peter Burgess.

1994       1 August    A tourist information office opened in the Town Hall.

1994       3 September     Rufford Colliery headstocks demolished.

1994       9 September     The foundation stone of a new Magistrates Courts, Rosemary Street, was laid by the Chairman of   Nottinghamshire County Council, Mr. Peter Burgess, and the Chairman of Nottinghamshire Magistrates Court Committee, Mr. George Fish.

1995       7 March    Death of Charles Fletcher, aged 103 years, creator of the design for the Quality Street tins while employed by Barringer, Wallis and Manners, Ltd., Rock Valley.

1995       31 March    Harlow Wood Orthopaedic Hospital was closed.

1995       7 June    The Johnson Controls factory in Oakham Business Park was officially opened by the Chairman of                 Nottinghamshire County Council, Mrs. Sandra Taylor.

1995       26 July    The Civic Theatre, Leeming Street, was renamed the Palace Theatre.

1995       August     A new sports pavilion was opened in Queensway Park, Forest Town.

1995       5 August     Sir John Eastwood died, aged 86 years.

1995       21 September    Mansfield’s Enterprise Zone, based at Crown Farm Industrial Park, was officially opened by the               Environment Minister, Sir Paul Beresford.

1995       20 October     The National Westminster Bank’s North     Nottinghamshire Corporate Business Centre was opened on Southwell Road West.

1995       23 October     A new £35m. distribution centre for Mansfield Brewery opened in Oakham Business Park.

1995        November     Demolition begun of the old Fire Station on Rosemary Street.

W. & J. Linney Ltd. sell their newspaper interests, including the CHAD, to Johnston Press plc, for £20m..

Death of Charles Warrell, aged 106 years, former head of Pleasley Hill Schools and creator of the 1950s “I-Spy” books.

1995       3 November    The Japanese firm, Eftan Europa, opened in Oakham Business Park.

1995       13 November    A community radio station, Radio Mansfield, was granted a one-month licence.

1995       20 November    The official opening of the Robin Hood railway line to Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse was performed by the Secretary of State for Transport, Sir George Young.

1996       18 March    The new Magistrates Courts, Rosemary Street, opened.

1996       1 April     The New Perspectives Theatre Group take over the  running of the Mansfield Community Arts Centre and rename it “The Old Library”.

1996       8 July    The Princess Royal officially opened the new       Magistrates Courts, Rosemary Street.

1996       24 August    Blake & Beeley Ltd. close their shop on Church Street.

1996       6 September     Part of the old Mansfield General Hospital building was re-opened as West Bridgford High School.

1996       24 September    Tom Cobleigh plc was sold to the Rank Organisation for £95m.

1996        September        Dr. Alan Griffin, mining historian, died.

1996       3 October     The Four Seasons Shopping Centre was sold by Legal & General to a Canadian company, PillarCaisse, for   more than £23m.

1996       6 October    Death of Mr. George Jelley, aged 91 years, former Chairman of the District Council (1977/8).

1996       December      The first 6 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were installed in the town centre.

1997       February     Richard Bacon, the son of a local solicitor, was chosen to be a Blue Peter presenter on BBC television.

1997       21 March     Queen Elizabeth II visited Queen Elizabeth School.

1997        May    The Palace Theatre was closed for refurbishment.

1997        June   The Duchess of Gloucester opened the Retraining and Community Education Centre (RETRACE)  at Sutton Road First School.

1997       28 July     The Duchess of Gloucester officially opened the new Mansfield Fire Station, Rosemary Street.

1997       September    West Bridgford High School, occupying part of the old General Hospital buildings on West Hill Drive, closed.

1997       22 October     Sir Colin Campbell, Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham University, opened the University Centre at West         Nottinghamshire College.

1997        November    Mansfield Family Trust and Mansfield Family Housing Association go into liquidation.

1997        20 November     Walkers Bingo Hall, Nottingham Road, was opened.

1997        27 November  The ABC cinema, Leeming Street, closed.

1997        5 December    The ABC multiplex cinema, Nottingham Road, opened.

1997        15 December    The Duke of Kent visited the Johnson Controls factory in Oakham Business Park.

The Palace Theatre, Leeming Street, re-opened following refurbishment.

1998        January     Work began on the Clumber Street redevelopment with the demolishing of empty shops.

1998        16 March      The President of the Board of Trade, Mrs. Margaret Beckett, opened W. & J. Linney Group’s £11m.               headquarters on Adamsway.

1998        23 April     A replacement plaque, to the soldiers of the Sherwood Forester Regiment who died in the Second World War,   was unveiled in Carr Bank Park.

1998        7 May     Radio Mansfield won an independent broadcasting licence, to commence on the 1st February 1999.

1998        25 May    The Robin Hood railway line extension to Worksop opened.

1998        20 June    The headmaster of Garibaldi School, Mr. Bob   Salisbury, received a knighthood.

1998        29 June    The Chairman of the Police Authority and the Chief Constable took part in a topping out and commemoration stone laying ceremony for the new Police Station on Great Central Road.

1998        17 July    Making It! Discovery Centre opened in the old brewhouse building of Mansfield Brewery.

1998        30 September    The head offices of Tom Cobleigh, on Oak Tree Lane, closed.

1998        October   The Four Seasons Shopping Centre was sold by PillarCaisse to a Dutch firm, Hazelmere.

1998        24 October     The Cantamus Girls Choir celebrated its 30th. anniversary at Mansfield Leisure Centre.

1998        26 October     An Asda superstore opened on Old Mill Lane.

1999        February     Mansfield Shoe Group called in administrators. 117 workers were made redundant.

1999       1 February    A local radio station, Mansfield 103.2, formerly Radio Mansfield, began broadcasting.

1999       31 March      The new Police Station on Great Central Road opened and the old one on Station Street closed.

1999        April    Mansfield Shoe Group was saved from closure by a management buy-out.

1999        July    Work began on the Rainworth by-pass.

1999        24 July    The trustees of the charitable trust which was the majority shareholder of Mansfield Brewery PLC put the charity’s shares on the market.

1999        21 September  The first one day a month “Buttercross Fayre” farmers market opened in the old market place, Westgate.

1999        23 September  The new Mansfield Police Station, Great Central Road, was officially opened by the Duke of Kent.

1999        7 October     The CentrePoint loyalty card shopping scheme was launched.

1999        November      The old ABC cinema, Leeming Street, was bought by Allied Leisure PLC, for conversion into a snooker hall.

1999        23 December  The £253m. takeover of Mansfield Brewery by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries was completed.

Comments about this page

  • Brilliant, know a lot more about my hometown, still liked it better in 60’s

    By FRED NEWTON (01/03/2024)
  • Very interesting, I was a pupil at High Oakham School, then West Notts Tech college, later working at Burton Alton & Johnsons warehouse, from there at Carr Bank Town Clerks offices, before leaving for Leicestershire to help run my parents’ business.
    I found looking at all the info and photos brought back such great memories. I am retired now, living in Spain, I was born in Bilsthorpe, you can take the girl out of Notts but not Notts out of the girl!! Thanks for the memories X

    By Hilary Elaine Grainger (29/07/2021)
  • Just discovered one of my ancestors, a George Guy, born 1883, who previously was a coal miner, hewer, in South Normanton, moved to Sutton-in Ashfield. He married Mary Hepworth and in 1939 was the Billiard Hall Manager!
    I have seen the remains of it on Google Earth but can’t find any original photos. Were there any? Interesting change of occupation! Anyway all the other information on here was great to read.

    By Jane Guy (21/02/2021)
  • 1975 11 December The “Black Panther”, Donald Neilson, was captured……….

    Read the above with some interest and believe he was caught in Rainworth. Don’t know if any locals have any related stories on the matter, Rainworth is not, (was not), a very large community back then.

    I was not resident in Mansfield at the time, apologies if I have missed any past references to this topic.

    By Steeve Cee (19/11/2018)
  • Very interesting information, how the town as changed over many many years nostagia at its very best.

    By G.Burton (01/11/2016)
  • My daughter was born on Aug 22 1963, yet it says here that Kings Mill Hospital was burned how can that be?? [An understandable mistake, but it actually says King Mill and is possibly referring to the old mill not the hospital - Editors]

     

    By joan verhees (18/02/2016)
  • Regards Secondary Tech on Sutton Road, I left 25/07/1958 at 15.35 (yippee), some girls were still there then.

    By Fred Newton (17/02/2016)
  • To Gary Noble, no idea about length of the ring road, but you have not been able to drive through, or around the town centre since the mid seventies possibly. Buses used to be able to drop off on the market place-no struggling for the elderly and infirm then with such easy access. Latterly,bus users had to alight the bus at the ABC/Grand cinema and go through the old and long gone subway from the opposite side of the road.The miner statue stands on top of this, and where you used to get off the bus. The next stop was the bus station as the bus went down past the Metal box. It’s been a long time since traffic actually was allowed through the centre of the town.

    By John (25/09/2015)
  • I have 2 questions if any one can answer, How long is the the ring road through the centre of Mansfield   start to finish.  And when did the traffic stop driving through the centre.

    By Gary Noble (23/09/2015)
  • The Rock picture house Skerry Hill closed in 1956. It must have been one of my first memories as I cried and my Dad had to carry me out.  I would have been 3 years old.  I worked at MDC during the time when Princess Anne came to open it and also there during the time that the Miss World contestants visited here. I believe it was actually one of the “rounds” of the Miss World competition. Have enjoyed reading this page. Well done and thank you for the creators of it ??

    By Aileen Sochon (01/09/2015)
  • Many thanks for such an informative list.

    By Val Fowler (16/06/2015)
  • Sherwood Hall Girls opened in September 1957, I had just passed my 11 plus and attended for 2 years until the Manor school was built and ready for pupils.

    By Susan scott (23/04/2015)
  • Brilliant site,I am a Mansfield lad born on Princes St 1943, learned a lot I didn’t know though I remember some events. I left Mansfield in 1969 but still visit often as I live in Kirkby, always will be a Mansfield lad

     

    By Fred Newton (10/02/2015)
  • Does anyone have info about Gwendoline Grove house in Clipstone? Used to be a mother and baby home but since closed.

    By Rosaya (22/04/2014)
  • Re Sec Tech moving to Sherwood Hall in 1957. The Girls School opened in 1958 (as stated) but the Boys part did not move until September 1961, resulting in closure of the old “Mansfield Tech” that was located in the old USA Army Hospital on Sutton Road. I started my second senior school year in Sept 61 at Sherwood Hall School for Boys, which later became Sherwood Hall Technical Grammar School for Boys, under the headmastership of “Joe” Radford, from Swanick.

    By Bob Walters (01/03/2014)
  • I can only reiterate what the above comments have written.. Nearly 1000 years of the towns history recorded for the next 1000 years…Well done to all concerned.. Reference the comment above regarding Great Central Road Station. I cannot recall there being anything but Railway sidings there. When I was a youngster, there used to be railway trucks parked there with all the substandard Toys, Tins and leather Punches , and any other products that Barringer’s made. What a great time we had.

    By alan curtis (01/03/2014)
  • Excellent reading, but may I make a correction.The Mansfield-Southwell-Newark passenger rail services were not discontinued on 15 June 1959, regular services ceased on 12 August 1929. The only passenger services after that were through excursions and race specials for Southwell. With regard to Mansfield Central station, said to have closed to passenger services on 31 December 1955 (“Forgotten Railways”, East Midlands states 2 January 1956 but what’s a couple of days). Can someone solve what is now a mystery to me. In Autumn/Winter 1956/7, during lunch breaks from the nearby school, I would occasionally go to the railway bridge over the Central line adjacent to Kings Mill reservoir and see a passenger service come through in the Mansfield direction. It was not a holiday special in view of the time of year and the fact that it was only three coaches long, so what was it please? Tony K., if you are reading this, the “train” station on Great Central Road would never have burnt down as it didn’t exist. It was a Railway station and, fortunately in this case, disappeared before suffering the ignominy of being referred to by that awful modern slang term that, sadly, is creeping into use.

    By Martin Gorner (07/09/2013)
  • Having lived in Mansfield for over 70 years, I find all this information extremely interesting, and it proves how we think that “time” flies by. Congratulations on the enormous amount of research this has entailed. Shirley B

    By Shirley Blythe (02/01/2013)
  • I’m doing some family research (I’ve lived in Canada for over 45 years) on the Pleasley Hill and Radmanthwaite areas, particularily the now closed/demolished Pleasley Hill and Farmilo Schools. Thanks to this site, I’ve found that the Pleasley Hill school opened in 1902. But what about the Farmilo infants’ primary school on the same site? Any leads on where I can find further info?

    By Maria C (01/01/2013)
  • Very interesting reading, fascinating stuff. The main reason I visited the site was to find out if the train station on Great Central Road was burnt down in a fire.

    By tony k (12/09/2012)
  • George Fox, actually started and developed his religious beliefs, living in a cottage on Chesterfield Road working as a shoemaker, his early adherents known as Children Of The Light, now known throughout the world as Quakers, today a worldwide organisation.

    By ralph Holt (17/08/2012)
  • We are also delighted with this page – how useful for anyone interested in the history of the area. Unfortunately it is not possible to add to the timeline but we would welcome new dates added, either as comments or perhaps as a separate page.

    By Editors (23/01/2012)
  • Re Jack’s comment, I’m no longer working on this and will not be for the foreseeable future, but if anyone wishes to contribute any additions or amendments they are very welcome. Not sure how to go about editing something once it has been published though, or even if it is possible to do so.

    By David Crute (22/01/2012)
  • Well done to all who are (?) working on this page. Most interesting.

    By Jack Thompson (21/01/2012)
  • Crikey, what a list, well done David and team.

    By Berisford Jones (17/01/2012)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.