White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853

Edwinstowe

This very extensive parish is situated in the heart of Sherwood Forest, and contains some fine old woodland scenery, many modern plantations, and several open tracts of forest land, which afford good pasturage for sheep. A large portion of it was not enclosed till 1818, and 1,823 acres forms the beautiful park and pleasure grounds of Thoresby Hall, exclusive of 1,752 acres in Pearlthorpe, from which it stretches northward to Carburton, near Clumber and Welbeck, southward to the market town of Ollerton, and westward to Clipstone Park, extending to within three miles of Mansfield. The rivers Medin and Maun traverse it from east to west, as also does the Duke of Portland's Flood Dike, by which such fertility is produced that three crops of hay are annually got, with abundance of grass, on this once barren district. Besides the church at Edwinstowe, the parish has two chapels of ease and a parochial chapelry. It contains 2,635 inhabitants and 18,644 acres, divided into six townships.

Edwinstowe is a large village, pleasantly situated on a gentle declivity 2 miles west of Ollerton. It containsd 1,006 inhabitants and 5,815 acres of land. It is extremely rural and the church, dedicated to St Mary, is a venerable structure with nave, chancel, side aisles, tower, and lofty spire, which was repaired in 1816, and may be seen at a considerable distance. It is highly ornamented with "turret-looking Gothic niches", and has annexed to it the chapels of Ollerton and Carburton. The living is a vicarage, valued in the King's books at £14, now £632. The Dean and Chapter of Lincoln are patrons and appropriators, and the Rev. Jonathan Blenman Cobham M.A. is incumbent., and resides at the vicarage. The great tithe was commuted in 1844 for £460, and the vicarial for £160. Earl Manvers is lessee under the Dean and Chapter, lord of the manor, and principal owner. Mr Walker and Mr Joseph Peatfield have estates here, with several other smaller owners. It was originally a berne of the King's great manor of Mansfield, and the inhabitants had the right of pasturage in the King's hays of Bilhag and Birkland. Henry IV granted them a fair for two days, which is now held only one day, viz. on the 24th of October, for cattle, sheep and swine. The parish feast is held on the Sunday following. In the 3rd year of Edward III, the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln pleaded that they were rectors of Edenestow and Orston, and that they had possessed from time immemorial, in the former place, view of frank-pledge, assize of bread and ale, and had several tenants there. Thoroton says, "the royalties and wastes of Edwinstow and Carburton are the inheritance of the Duke of Newcastle, by agreement; but these manors both belonged to the Duke of Portland, till about 30 years ago, when His Grace gave that of Edwinstowe to Earl Manvers, in exchange for the manor of Holbeck except the hay of Birkland, which he still holds." Lady Harriet Ellerton has a seat in the village, and the Hon. Mrs S.H. Lumley resides at Cockglode, a beautiful mansion embowered in wood, one mile west by north of Ollerton, which was built in 1778 by the late George Aldridge M.D. Mr Miles Webster, in August 1844, enlivened the village by constructing Gas Works, by which, besides his own premises and a large lamp in the street, he supplies the Jug and Gladd public house, his next door neighbour, and is about to enlarge the works.

Edwinstowe Free School, which is open to all the poor boys in the parish, on the national system, was founded in 1719 by John Bellamy, who endowed it with 5a 2r 39p of land which, in 1828, was exchanged by Earl Manvers for Parkinson Close (5a 2r 18p) and the Manor House garden (21 perches). The school was rebuilt in 1824 by Earl Manvers, who subscribes with the vicar and inhabitants towards the master's salary, which is about £40 a year. The founder also left two houses adjoining the school for poor widows, but they were pulled down about 40 years ago, and four cottages built on the site for as many pauper widows. The whole parish participates in the charity called the Lincoln Dole, of which the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln are trustees. A small infant school was erected by Earl Manvers in 1845, and is supported by Lady Manvers.

Poor's Land etc. In 1627, Ann and William Monday granted their homestead and 16a 3r 22p of land in Edwinstowe, to the churchwardens, for the use of the poor of Edwinstowe, Clipstone and Budby. At the enclosure, in 1818, the charity received an allotment of 132 acres, of which the trustees sold 40 acres for £375, which they expended in closing and fencing the remainder, except £97 14s 6d, which is placed in the Retford Savings Bank. The whole property produces £60 per annum, half of which is given to the poor of Edwinstowe, two thirds of the remainder to those of Clipstone, and the rest to those of Budby.

Birkland and Bilhagh are two ancient woods of Sherwood Forest, and though they have long been cleared of underwood, they still contain many large and venerable oaks, in every stage of perfection and decay. They form a wild, open, and venerable forest, 3½ miles in length, extending westward from Thoresby Park to the liberties of Warsop and Clipstone. Birkland, which contains 947a 2r is the property of the Duke of Portland, and Bilhagh, which extends eastward from Birkland, now belongs to Earl Manvers, and comprises 540a 2r 37p. At the east end of Bilhagh is an extensive fox cover, called Ollerton Corner.

King's Stand, a new hamlet in the newly-enclosed district called the South Forest, which lies betwixt Ruffird and the River Maun, two miles west-south-west of Ollerton, is the property of Mr Walker. Villa Real, a large farm, half a mile west of Edwinstowe, is so named from the family who, about 60 years ago, held a large portion of the copyhold lands in this manor. Car Brecks is another large farm 1 mile north-east of Ollerton.

Budby township, on the Worksop road, three miles north-west of Ollerton, has a handsome rural village of Gothic properties, at the south-west corner of Thoresby Park, under a thickly-wooded acclivity, and on the south side of the Medin, which is here crossed by a neat bridge. It contains 147 inhabitants and 2,000 acres of land. In the Domesday survey is is called Buteby, and was soc of the King's great manor of Mansfield, of which it is now held in fee by Earl Manvers, the sole owner, whose countess pays for clothing and educating eighteen poor girls, in the school erected in 1807 by the late Earl Manvers. Budby North and South Forests, which contain about 1,200 acres, are now unenclosed, but form excellent sheepwalks.

Carburton or Carberton, is a small village on the west side of Clumber, upon the small River Wollen, on the Ollerton road, 4 miles south by east of Worksop. Its township and chapelry include Carburton Forge, a small hamlet, one mile west of the village, where there was formerly an iron forge. It contains 200 inhabitants and 1,516 acres of land. The Duke of Portland is lord of the manor and owner, with the exception of about 40 acres, which belong to the Duke of Newcastle, and are enclosed in Clumber Park. In the reign of Edward II, the Abbot of Welbeck enclosed Carburton Storth, though the inhabitants pleaded that it was part of their ancient demesne. The chapel, a small structure, with a small burial ground, is annexed to Edwinstowe. The turnpike from thence to Worksop and Newark was formed under acts passed in the 10th and 31st years of the reign of George III.

Clipstone, once the seat of royalty, has long been one of the poorest and most decayed villages in Bassetlaw, though seated in the most picturesque part of the vale of the Mann, five miles east-north-east of Mansfield, and nearly two miles south-west of Edwinstowe. It contains 265 inhabitants and 4,017 acres of land. Of this extensive township a part forms one of the wildest wastes of the forest. A large portion of the remainder has been brought into a high state of cultivation by the present owner and lord of the manor, the Duke of Portland, who formed at an immense expense the flood-dykes and sluices. Clipstone Park Farm, sontaining 1,648 acres, is in His Grace's own occupancy, and is now, perhaps, the most productive of all the numerous farms retained in his own hands, though it was lately only a wild tract of cleared woodland, once famous for its large oaks, most of which were cut down during the civil wars, and the Commonwealth. This park was nearly eight miles in circumference, and at its south-east corner stood Clipstone Palace, of which some venerable ruins remain, consisting of several fragments of massive walls, formed of small rough stones embedded in mortar, which is as hard as the stones themselves. It is said to have been built and occupied by one of the kings of Northumberland. Throsby says it was a palace for the kings of England as early as the reign of Henry II. It was such a favourite residence with King John, both before and after his accession to the throne, that it obtained the name of King John's Palace, and several of his grants to Nottingham and other places are dated at it. A parliament was held here by Edward I in 1290, but it is uncertain whether they met in the palace, or under an oak on the edge of the park, to which tradition has given the name of Parliament Oak. Ancient tradition, however, says that this aged oak (of which the hollow trunk still remains) obtained the name as early as 1212 when King john, whilst hunting with his baons in the park, received intelligence of a second revolt of the Welsh, and hastily assembled his followers under the branches of this oak where, after a brief consultation, it was determined that the twenty-eight Welsh hostages then at Nottingham Castle should be hanged. The only part of the palace now remaining stands in a large field close to the village, and seems to have been near the hall. The foundations have formerly been very extensive, with several large vaults. in 1810, a great part of these were dug up, to be employed in draining, which the Duke of Portland then commenced upon his estate here, and it appears much spoilation was made on the venerable walls, though it is said His Grace had given strict orders to the contrary.

The manor of Clipstone was given by Henry VIII to the Duke of Norfolk. It afterwards passed to the Earl of Warwick and Henry Sidney, who forfeited it to the Crown, where it remained till James I granted it to the Earl of Shrewbury's feoffees, from whom it passed to the Newcastle family, and from them to that of Portland. Nine cottage houses, one acre of freehold, and four acres of copyhold land belong to other proprietors. In 1844 the tithes were commuted - the great tithes for £380, for which the Duke of Portland is lessee, under Earl Manvers, and £168 for the vicarial tithe. The drawing room at the Park Farm was fitted up as a place of worship in 1841, and His Grace pays the vicar of Edwinstowe £50 per annum for doing duty there once every Sunday.

Clipstone Archway Lodge, 1½ miles south-west of Edwinstowe, is a large and elegant stone building, in the latest gothic style, consisting of a noble archway in the centre, with a dwelling on each side, and over the archway a school-room, free to all the poor girls in Clipstone. The first stones of this lodge were laid in June 1842, and it was completed in 1844. On the south side, the arch is ornamented with fine figures of Robin Hood, Little john and Clorinda; on the north with King Richard, an old friar, and Allan Dale; with four hares cut in the stone on each side; the other figures were prepared in London. There is every reason to suppose that Clipstone will soon emerge - under the fostering care of His Grace - from being the most decayed village in the County, and become the neatest. Clipstone feast is on the first Sunday in November.

Ollerton is a small market town, pleasantly situated near the confluence of the Mann and the Rainworth water, on the Worksop and Newark road, 9 miles south-south-east of the former, 13 miles north-west of the latter, and 8 miles west-south-west of Tuxford. It has a weekly marlet on Friday, and two fairs annually, viz. May 1st for cattle, sheep and pedlery, and the last Friday in September for cattle, sheep and hops. Most of the hop grounds in this township have been subjected to the plough.

At the Conquest, Ollerton or Allerton formed two manors, one of the fee of Roger de Busli, and the other of Gilbert de Gand. In the 4th year of Edward III, the Earl of Kent "held the manor of Ollerton, of the honour of Donnington, which belonged to the King as Earl of Chester." It afterwards passed to the Suttons and Markhams, and the land now principally belongs to Earl Manvers and the Earl of Scarborough, the latter of whom is lord of the manor, and holds a court yearly on the 24th of October. The township contains 1,692 acres of land and 937 inhabitants, and has been much improved by the erection of many new houses during the last 15 years, on the Boughton, Nottingham and Walesby roads. The church is a neat structure, with a tower and one bell, and is a chapel of ease to the vicarage of Edwinstowe. It was rebuilt about 75 years ago, when money was raised for the purpose by mortgaging the "town lands", which comprise 81a 3r 10p, let for £60 per annum, and have belonged to the chapelry from time immemorial, vested in the vicar and churchwardens for the time being. The rents are received by the constable, and out of them he pays the county rate for the reparation of the church &c., and the remainder to the relief of the poor of Ollerton.

In the church-yard of Ollerton is the tomb of Francis Thompson, on which is the following epitaph:-

Beneath the droppings of this spout
There lies the body once so stout
Of Francis Thompson;
A soul this carcase once possess'd
Which for its virtue was caress'd
By all who knew the owner best.
The Rufford records can declare
His actions, who for seventy years
Both drew and drank its potent beer.
Fame mentions not in all that time,
In this great Butler, the least crime
To stain his reputation.
To envy's self we now appeal
If aught of fault she can reveal
To make her declaration.
Here rest good shade, nor hell nor vermin fear,
Thy virtues guard thy soul, thy body good strong beer,
He died July 6th 1739.

The Methodists have a neat chapel, and the Earl of Scarborough supports a free school for 30 boys. In 1842, a National School was erected on the Wellow road, bu subscription, aided by a grant from the National School Society. It consists of two rooms, to accommodate 150 each - the school is at present quite full. There was formerly a paper mill here, but it is now employed for grinding bark. The Ancient Druids have a lodge at the White Hart, and a Friendly Society is held at the Hop Pole Inn. Hurdle races were established May 2nd 1838, and a course two miles round has been formed on Boughton Breck, which was opened May 2nd 1844. These races are popular and very well attended.

In 1840 the large tithe was commuted for £350, and the small for £134. Of the 1,698 acres of land in the township, 1,283½ are arable, 353 pasture, 24 woods and plantations and 33½ hop ground. John Doncaster, John Lesiter and William Johnson Gregory Esqs. have estates here, with many other small freeholders. In 1739, Francis Thompson left £24, and in 1743 Thomas Markham left £5 to the poor. The interest on these sums is paid out of the poor rates, and distributed in bread. The bridge here, like many others, was washed down in the flood of 1795. Colonel Thomas Markham of Ollerton was a distinguished soldier in the Royal cause, during the civil wars, and was drowned in the Trent in 1643, after engaging the Parliamentary forces near Gainsborough.

Pearlthorpe or Perlethorpe is a small village on the east side of Thoresby Park, within which most of its parochial chapelry is enclosed. It is 3 miles north of Ollerton, and is the property of Earl Manvers. At the Conquest it was granted to Roger de Busli, but has passed through many families since. The chapelry contains 80 inhabitants and 2,604 aces, nearly the whole of which is in the occupancy of its noble owner, and consequently the inhabitants are in his employ. The church, situated in the Park, is an elegant stone fabric, having some beautiful stained glass in the windows. In niches at the west end are figures of Hope and Meekness, and at the east end is a monument in memory of Charles Alphonso Pierrepont, who lost his life, after evincing much bravery, at the storming of an outwark near Bruges, on September 19th 1812. In 1836, Earl Manvers obtained an Act of Parliament to make this a Parochial Chapelry, with Thoresby included, and he has (in 1837) endowed the living with £100 per annum, secured on the Whitemoor Farm, and has the patronage of the living vested in himself and heirs. The Rev. A.C. Musters is the incumbent. The tithe was commuted in 1844.

Whitemoor is a large farm, near the confluence of the Mann and the Meden, on the Ollerton and Blyth road, 3 miles north of Ollerton.

Thoresby Hall, the seat of Earl Manvers, is a large and elegant mansion, in an open but rather low situation, at the east end of a spacious lake formed by the River Meden, and is enclosed within a beautiful park, which is well stocked with deer, and no less than ten miles in circuit, extending northward to that of Clumber, and westward to the picturesque hamlet of Budby. The hall is distant three miles north by west of Ollerton, and was built on the site of the old house, which was burnt down on the 4th of March 1745, when nothing was saved but the family writings, and a small portion of the best furniture. It consists of a rustic stone basement, with two storeys of brickwork, and the principal front is ornamented with a tetrastyle portico, of the Ionic order, of a beautiful stone. The window frames are richly gilt, and the principal entrance is in the basement, opening into the hall, in which are some good paintings and engravings, and a chiaro oscuro of the Trojan horse &c. There are also many fine paintings &c. in the Earl's dressing room and the drawing and dining rooms. The ascent to the principal storey is a doube staircase, which opens into the dome, a circular apartment of factitious marble, supported by fourteen pillars, alternately round and square, on which rests a gallery, balustraded, and opening into the upper chambers. The light is admitted by a handsome circular skylight, and the walls have a correct resemblence of yellow variegated marble, beautifully contrasting with the white pillars and pilasters, and others resembling the verd antique. The floor is laid with the same substance, tessellated. All the principal rooms are superbly finished, and the dining room has a recess at one end formed of curious twisted pillars. A well-mounted bust, in the octagonal drawing room, represents Pascal Paoli, who after fighting gallantly, first against the Genoese and then against the French, was obliged to fly from a long and unequal contest and leave Louis XV in the possession of his once free and independent country, from which he retired, and at length found an hospitable asylum at Thoresby. The present mansion was built by the last Duke of Kingston, and the gardens, which are very fine, were part of them constructed by his duchess in the German style, with arbours, and trelligated. In the shrubbery a fine cascade falls into the River Meden, which a little below the house is crossed by a light and elegant bridge, and for more than a mile above forms a broad and spacious lake, on which are several handsome vessells, one of which is a full-rigged ship, built near Gainsborough, and brought here upon a carriage made for the purpose, and supposed by the ignorant believers of Mother Shipton to be the identical vessel which she prophesied would "sail over Nottingham Forest".

The Pierrepont Family, of whom Earl Manvers is now the head, descended from Robert de Perpoint, who was of French extraction, and came first to England with the Norman Conqueror. His progeny soon acquired both fame and property, and in the reign of Edward IV Henry Perpoint was distinguished for his services against the Lancastrians. His son George purchased large estates after the dissolution of the religious houses, and was knighted in the first year of Edward VI. Henry, his son and heir, married the daughter of Sir William Cavendish, and left issue Robert, who 1727 was created Baron Pierrepont of Holm-Pierrepont, and Viscount Newark, and in the following year was raised to the dignity of Earl of Kingston. In the civil wars of Charles I, he was a Lieutenant General, and raised 1,200 men for the king's service. He was suceeded by his son Henry, who also distinguished himself in the cause of royalty, and was created Marquis of Dorchester in 1644. He died in 1680, without issue, when the marquisate became extinct, but the earldom devolved on his grand-nephew, Robert Pierrepont, who in 1682 was succeeded by his brother William, who died in 1690, leaving his honours and estates to his brother Evelyn, who was created Marquis of Dorchester in 1706, and Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull in 1715. He was succeed by his grandson Evelyn, the last Duke of Kingston, who died without issue in 1773, when his titles became extinct. Three years after his death, his duchess was tried for bigamy, she having married him during the life of her first husband, Augustus John Hervey Esq. All the peers found her guilty except the Duke of Newcastle, who said, "Erroneously but not intentionally guilty upon my honour" - upon which she was discharged, "on paying her fees of office". The Duke's estates devolved upon his sister's son, Charles Meadows, who assumed the name of Pierrepont, and was created Baron Pierrepont, and Viscount Newark, in 1796, and Earl Manvers in 1806. He died in 1816, and was succeeded by his son, the Right Honourable Charles Herbert Pierrepont, the present Earl Manvers, Viscount Newark, and Baron Pierrepont, who has large estates around Thoresby Hall, and in other parts of the county. The family name in old writings is variously spelt Pyrpount, Peerpont, Poripont, Perpoynt, perpont, Pourpont, Perinpont, and Pierrepont - the present orthography.

The walk from Thoresby to Clumber, across the parks, presents such a beautiful succession of sylvan scenery, that the tourist may almost conceive himself rambling amidst transatlantic forests.

Majestic woods of every vigorous green,
Stage above stage, high waving o'er the hills;
Or to the far horizon wide diffused,
A boundless deep immensity of shade.

Post Office at Wm. Cottam's; letters arrive at 9 a.m. & are dispatched at 4:20 p.m.

[Transcribed by Clive Henly]