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Mansfield Woodhouse

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"Mansfield Woodhouse is a respectable village and parish, nearly one and a half miles north of Mansfield. It is partly inhabited by framework knitters, but contains some good houses which have long been the residence of respectable families. The parish contains 1,972 inhabitants and 4,770 acres of land. The tithes were commuted in 1814 for £680. The Duke of Portland is principal owner, lord of the manor, and impropriator, but Francis Hall Esq., Edmund Sykes Esq., John Clark Esq and Edward Thomas Coke Esq have also estates here. In the reign of Henry VI, Sir Robert Plumpton died possessed of one bovate in this manor called Wolf-hunt land, held by the service of winding a horn and frightening the wolves in Sherwood Forest. The dwelling upon this land was called Wolf House, which is now occupied by Mr Samuel Housley. br /> In an ancient record, written in 1520, it is said 'that the town of Mansfield Woodhouse was burned in the year of our Lord MCCCIIII and the Kirk stepull, with the bells of the same, for the stepull was afore of tymbre work.' Before this accident the church had three aisles, but it now has only two. It is 98 feet long and 32 broad. The spire is 108 feet high and contains four bells, and a small Saints' bell, which in Catholic times was rung when the priest came to that part of the Latin service which is translated, 'Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God of Sabaoth!' in order that those who stayed at home might join with the congregation in the most solemn part of worship."
[WHITE's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853]

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Archives & Libraries

The Mansfield Woodhouse Library is normally open 5 days per week, but you should always call ahead to check. The Library is wheelchair friendly and has a Local History Section and keeps some local newspapers and magazines. Parking is available at the Mansfield Woodhouse Railway Station.  Their physical location is:

There is also a good resource at the Mansfield Central Library.

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Cemeteries

St Edmund's has an overflow graveyard on Welbeck Road.

Ian S. has a photograph of a portion of the Overflow Cemetery on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2016.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Warsop sub-district of the Mansfield Registration District.
     
  • There are Census Extracts available on the Woodhus site.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1841H.O. 107 / 859
1851H.O. 107 / 2123
1861R.G. 9 / 2423
1871R.G. 10 / 3645
1891R.G. 12 / 2648
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Church History


  • The Anglican parish church was dedicated to Saint Edmund King and Martyr.
     
  • There was a wooden church here before the 1086 Domesday Book, but a part timber, part stone church was raised here in 1190.
     
  • The church burned to the ground in the Mansfield Woodhouse Fire of 1304. The church was rebuilt using stone.
     
  • The church nave and aisles were rebuilt between 1804 and 1810.
     
  • The church chancel was restored in 1878. Most of the rest of the church had been repaired in 1850.
     
  • Richard CROFT has a photograph of St. Edmund's Church on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2006.
     
  • James HILL also has a photograph of St. Edmund's Church on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2007.
     
  • St. Chad at Steffenwood (often spelled: Stiffenwood) was erected in Pleasley Vale  in 1881. It could seat 120 people.
     
  • St. Alban's Mission Church was erected in Forest Town  in 1911. It could seat 400 people.
     
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Church Records

  • The Anglican parish registers dates from 1653 and is in fair condition.
     
  • The church was in the rural deanery of Mansfield.
     
  • The Congregationalists built a chapel here in 1802.
     
  • The Baptists built a chapel here in 1874.
     
  • There were also chapels here for the Primitive Methodists and Wesleyan Methodists in 1881.
     
  • A new Baptist chapel was built here in 1905.
     
  • A number of the locals were buried in Pleasley, Derbyshire. Be sure to look for your family members there as well.
     
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Civil Registration

  • The parish was in the Warsop sub-district of the Mansfield Registration District.
     
  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
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Description & Travel

This large village and parish lies on the western border of the old Sherwood Forest, one and a half miles north of Mansfield and 135 miles north of London. The parish covers 4,820 acres.

  • Forest Town is a small colliery village in this parish, 1.5 miles south-east of Mansfield Woodhouse.
  • Pleasley Vale is a hamlet in this parish, hard up against the Derbyshire border.

If you are planning a visit:

  • By rail, the village is served by the Robin Hood Line between Nottingham and Worksop.
     
You can see pictures of Mansfield Woodhouse which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

"MANSFIELD-WOODHOUSE, a village and a parish in Mansfield district, Notts. The village stands ¾ of a mile W of the river Maun, and 1½ N of Mansfield r. station; was burnt in 1034; is a large place, with some old houses; and has a post office under Mansfield, and a fair on the third Wednesday of Oct. The parish includes part of Sherwood forest, and comprises 2,860 acres. Real property, £8,314; of which £48 are in quarries Pop. in 1851, 1,972; in 1861 ,2,263. Houses, 492. The property is divided among a few. The manor and much of the land belong to the Duke of Portland. The Priory is the seat of G. Robinson, Esq., and Debdale is the seat of E. T. Coke, Esq. A number of the inhabitants are employed in frame-work knitting. A small ditched-ditched Roman camp is at Winny-Hill; and many Roman coins, pavements, urns, and other Roman relics have been found. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lincoln. Value, £300. Patron, the Bishop of Lincoln. The church is early English, in good condition; and has an octagonal spire, 104 feet high. There are chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, national and infant schools, two endowed schools, a recently established village hospital, and some small charities."

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History

  • Roman remains have been discovered here at different periods. There is a site just over a mile north-east of the church that appears to have been a Roman Camp.
     
  • The Romans had a fortress and a civilian settlement in the area (remains of a Roman villa were found here by Hayman ROOKE in the 1780s).
     
  • On 12 September 1304, fire completely destroyed the village, including the church. The town was rebuilt and the church was rebuilt using stone.
     
  • The Village Feast was held on the Sunday following July 10th.
     
  • Locally-quarried stone was used to build the Houses of Parliament in London.
     
  • David BEVIS has a photograph of the Greyhound Pub on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2011.
     
  • See also Our Mansfield for additional history.
     
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Maps

  • See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK540632 (Lat/Lon: 53.163192, -1.193778), Mansfield Woodhouse which are provided by:

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Medical Records

  • The Mansfield and Mansfield Woodhouse District Hospital was started in this parish in 1867, but construction didn't take place until 1877.
     
  • This small hospital was replaced in 1889 and a new one opened the following year on West Hill Drive.
     
  • Miss Florence RANSFORD was the matron in 1904.
     
  • Mansfield General Hospital closed in 1992.
     
  • Hospitals were exempt from archiving laws relating to patient records.
     
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Military History

The First World War memorial is in the Yeoman Hill Park across the street from the church. It has five plaques on it.

On the front of the memorial is this inscription:

"IN HONOUR OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR - 1914-18"
  • Ian S. has a photograph of the War Memorial on Geo-graph, taken in October, 2016.
     
  • The Second World War memorial is a wooden plaque inside the church.
     
  • There is a memorial to Mark Royston STEPHENS lost in the Falklands Campaign just below the wooden plaque mentioned above.
     
  • All those memorials are described and photographs provided at the Southwell Churches History Project site.
     
  • One of the names listed is: Leonard BOCKIN (or BOCKING). 9th Sherwood Foresters.
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Military Records

Arthur SHEPPARD was born in Mansfield Woodhouse circa 1856. He had a son born here circa 1890, also named Arthur. This son, after moving to Southwell, would go on to win a Distinguished Service Medal and to die in combat in 1915.

The WWI War Memorial cross has 225 names associated with it, all lost in WWI. This list is provided by the Nottinghamshire County Council:

  1. Walter Adlington
  2. William Thomas Ainsworth
  3. George Edward Andrews
  4. Ernest Antcliffe
  5. Albert Anthoney
  6. James Andrew Ashley
  7. William Ashpool
  8. James Bacon
  9. Charles T. Ball
  10. Ernest Ball
  11. George Thomas Barnes
  12. Walter Bennett
  13. George Bennison
  14. James Bennison
  15. George William Beresford
  16. Harold Betts
  17. George Bilbie
  18. Harold Blackwell
  19. George Blythe
  20. Francis Harold Boam
  21. Leonard Bockin
  22. William Henry Bonser
  23. Albert Booth
  24. Harry Bottom
  25. John Edward Bownes
  26. Godfrey Bradshaw
  27. A. W. Bray
  28. Jesse Brierley
  29. Frank Ewart Brindley
  30. Herbert Brocklehurst Jnr.
  31. Herbert Brocklehurst Snr.
  32. William Broughton
  33. C. Brown
  34. Ernest Brown
  35. H. Brown
  36. George Henry Bullock
  37. Thomas Bullock
  38. John Edward Burbridge
  39. William Henry Burden
  40. George Burgin
  41. Cornelius Burton
  42. John Edward Burton
  43. Frederick H. Caldwell
  44. Thomas Carrington
  45. Frederick H. Carter
  46. Nathan Chadbourne
  47. Walter Chantry
  48. William Arthur Chapman
  49. James Clarey
  50. George Clarke
  51. Thomas Clarke
  52. Willis Clarke
  53. A. E. Coles
  54. Arthur Edwin Cooke
  55. George Cooper
  56. Walter Cooper
  57. Harry Cope
  58. Wilfred Copestake
  59. Gideon Corbett
  60. Harvey Coupe
  61. Claude Cowpe
  62. William Creary
  63. Frank Ewart Crooks
  64. Hugh Corbett Dainty
  65. John Ernest Davies
  66. Arthur Dawes
  67. George Dennis
  68. James Driver
  69. John Dunn
  70. Frederick Austin Wright Fensom
  71. Lionel Herbert Flint
  72. William Maddox Flint
  73. George William Frost
  74. William Garton
  75. Fred Ghilks
  76. John G. Gilman
  77. Henry Arthur Glasby
  78. John George Glidewell
  79. William Herbert Greaves
  80. Horace Green
  81. Arthur Grummitt
  82. Joseph Hague
  83. Samuel Harry Hampshire
  84. Leonard H. Hardy
  85. Samuel Harris
  86. Albert Ernest Hart
  87. Thomas Alfred Hawley
  88. Howard Hayward
  89. William Heald
  90. William Hett
  91. Charles Morley Houfton
  92. William E Housley
  93. W. Howell
  94. Robert William Hunt
  95. James Frederick Huskisson
  96. George Hutchinson
  97. Frederick Thomas Mott Hyde
  98. Joseph Kelk
  99. Lewis Herbert Kerry
  100. John William Key
  101. John King
  102. Bennett Coyler Knight
  103. Simeon Lancashire
  104. John Leatherland
  105. Albert Lee
  106. Thomas Lees
  107. Charles Leeson
  108. Joseph Lilliman
  109. Robert William Lilliman
  110. William Henry Lilliman
  111. John Lloyd
  112. James Major
  113. Robert William Mapletoft
  114. Alick (Alexander) Marchant
  115. George Marchant
  116. George Edwin Marples
  117. George William Marriott
  118. Harry Oscar Marsh
  119. A. Mayers
  120. Harry Mee
  121. Henry Mellors
  122. Alfred Merrin
  123. Ernest Millband
  124. Sidney Miller
  125. Joseph Moody
  126. George Edward Moore
  127. Frederick Thomas Mott Hyde
  128. Jonathon Mould
  129. Walter Moxon
  130. Fred Munks
  131. Frederick James Munnings
  132. David Murden
  133. John Thomas Murden
  134. Walter John Murrell
  135. William Naylor
  136. Harry Neale
  137. Louis Bernard Neale
  138. Arthur Newton
  139. Ernest Alfred Newton
  140. Frank Newton
  141. John William Newton
  142. Thomas Newton
  143. Charles Northwood
  144. Joseph Thomas Odam
  145. Thomas Ignatius Joseph O'Gorman
  146. Robert Osborne
  147. William Parkes
  148. Thomas Pearson
  149. Alfred Peat
  150. William Peat
  151. Arthur Peatman
  152. John Clarence Percival
  153. Albert Phillips-Taylor
  154. Henry Herbert Phillips
  155. Francis Sydney Pickering
  156. Alfred Pinnick
  157. John Plant
  158. F. Platt
  159. George Playfoot
  160. James William Powell
  161. Thomas Cyril Powner
  162. Joseph Pursglove
  163. George Henry Radford
  164. Alfred George Raven
  165. Ernest Richardson
  166. John Edward Roberts
  167. Samuel Robert Robertson
  168. Ernest Robinson
  169. H. Robinson
  170. George Taylor Roe
  171. Bernard Sanderson
  172. Edgar Sanderson
  173. A. Sansom
  174. Oswald Sansom
  175. Charles Sargison
  176. Frederick Savage
  177. John Savage
  178. George William Saxelby
  179. Joseph Shaw
  180. Frederick Carey Shawcroft
  181. William Sheldon
  182. Bruce Sherratt
  183. James Thomas Sirdifield
  184. Harold Archibald Sissons
  185. Herbert Slater
  186. Ernest Smith
  187. Frederick Smith
  188. Horace Bernard Smith
  189. James William Smith
  190. Walter Smith
  191. Joseph Henry Stacey
  192. Joseph Starbuck
  193. George Henry Strauther
  194. Frank Taylor
  195. Isaac Taylor
  196. William Hurst Taylor
  197. Frank Thompson
  198. John William Thorpe
  199. John Samuel Titley
  200. Arthur Townroe
  201. Frederick Herbert Tudge
  202. Kenneth Legh Turner
  203. Francis William Tyler
  204. John William Walker
  205. Albert Henry Wardle
  206. Charles Wharmby
  207. Herbert Wharton
  208. Frank Wheatman
  209. Albert John White
  210. Arthur Whitlam
  211. Herbert Whysall
  212. David Wightman
  213. Frederick Henry Wilkinson
  214. Seth Williams
  215. Arthur Charles Willies
  216. Harry Wilson
  217. Thomas Burrows Wilson
  218. John William Wint
  219. Alfred Winterbottom
  220. Arthur Wood
  221. John Arthur Wood
  222. Reginald Sydney Wood
  223. Arthur Graham Woodcock
  224. Clarence Woodhead
  225. Richard Bertie Yates
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Monumental Inscriptions

Sir John DIGBY lived in the 15th century building adjacent to the church, known as the Manor House. During the English Civil War he was a supporter of the Royalists and King Charles I. He became High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1641 and received a knighthood in 1642. On the north wall of the Lady Chapel is a memorial to John DIGBY. The translation from Latin is:

"Sacred to the Almighty and the most great God, and to the memory of John Digby, knight and Lucy his wife. This Of famed birth and of greater ...... allow none equal in dignity in any way, nevertheless by virtue more famed than any other knight; at the same time a man born into the example of goodness, notable by virtue as much in private life as in public in the instruction of sinners as much in prudence as in principal for his native country; of singular faith, advanced to the ordering of the most powerful and honourable office in the counties of York, Notts and Lincs and by his office thus discharged ..... by his memory..... of wishes, and at length sitting in the place granted by fate to his descendants .... from the most ancient and splendid family of Trygotts in the county of York came his wife, faithful in public life and in things domestic, mother of the family and most careful in the pious education of children able in all things. He died in the 82nd year of his life and was survived five months by his wife in the 92nd year of her life."

There is a discrepancy in the historical notes relating to their ages and length of time she survived him.

The inscription on the plaque on the south wall reads:

"That it may be known where the Remains of the worthy Persons deceased are deposited, IOHN DIGBY Esquire, Son and Heir of Sir IOHN DIGBY of Mansfield Woodhouse, Kn[ight] married Frances, sole Daughter of Leonard Pinkney of Westminster, Esquire; By whom he had Issue Kenelm, Iohn, George, Lucy, Elizabeth and Frances; who all, except Iohn, died young. The first named Iohn died in the 58th Year of his Age, leaving Frances his Widow, who afterwards married Charles Osborne Esquire, sole Brother to Thomas Duke of Leeds and died in the 80th year of her Age, 1725. IOHN the surviving Son and Heir of Iohn Digby, Iuly 2, 1696, married Anne, eldest Daughter and Coheiress of Sir Edward Ayscough of South Kelsey in the County of Lincoln, Knt, who died the 14th of October following (as appears by the adjoining Monument) He afterwards married Iane, the youngest Daughter to Sir Thomas Wharton of Edlington in the County of York, Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of King Charles I. which Sir Thomas was Grandson of Philip by Sir Thomas Wharton his Son and Heir, the sole Brother to another Philip, both Lords Whartons. By her he had Issue Frances, married to Sir Thomas Legard of Ganton in the County of York Baronet; Iane, married to Francis Fysher of the Grange, near Grantham in the County of Lincoln Esquire; Lucy, Anne, Elizabeth, who all died young; Iohn who died August 11, 1728, in the 23d year of his Age, Philadelphia, married to Sir George Cayley of Brompton in the County of York, Bart, Rosamond and Thomas, who both died young; Mary, married to George Cartwright, of Ossington in the County of Nottingham Esquire; Priscilla, Henrietta and Lucy. IOHN DIGBY the Father died August 16, 1722, To whose Memory, and of his Ancestors here named, and of his eldest Son, His widow IANE DIGBY, and his Daughter LEGARD, in Testimony of their Duty and Affection have erected this Monument. MDCCXLVII."

Two plaques on the south wall, next to the screen:

"TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF FRANCIS NEWMAN ELLIS KNIGHT OF GRACE OF THE ORDER OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM IN THE BRITISH REALM BORN AT LEICESTER 19TH NOVEMBER 1855 DIED AT DEBDALE HALL IN THIS PARISH 9TH OCTOBER 1934
In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths."
"IN THE FAMILY VAULT BELOW THIS PLACE LIE THE EARTHLY REMAINS OF MAJOR GENERAL JOHN HALL OF PARK HALL IN THE PARISH OF WOODHOUSE BORN APRIL 10TH 1770 DIED JULY 26TH 1823 AND OF LETITIA HIS WIFE ONLY CHILD OF JEFFRY BROCK ESQRE OF BASFORD IN THE COUNTY OF NOTTINGHAM BORN SEPT 10TH 1783 DIED MAY 19TH 1870. “BECAUSE THOU HAST BEEN MY HELPER THEREFORE UNDER THE SHADOW OF THY WINGS WILL I REJOICE.” PSALM 63 V.8. TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF HER PARENTS THIS TABLET IS PLACED BY THEIR ONLY DAUGHTER LETITITA MARY WELFITT."

In the South Aisle at the east end of the south wall is a marble tablet in memory of Captain Walter NEED (died 1901) and his wife, Emily (died 1910):

"TO THE REVERED MEMORY OF WALTER NEED, CAPTAIN R. N. (YOUNGEST SON OF COLONEL JOHN NEED, OF MANSFIELD-WOODHOUSE AND BLIDWORTH) BORN SEP: 19, 1809; DIED APRIL 5, 1901. AND EMILY MCMAHON NEED, HIS WIFE BORN MARCH 11, 1831; DIED MARCH 29, 1910. DEVOTED WORSHIPPERS IN THIS CHURCH. THIS TABLET IS PLACED HERE BY THEIR CHILDREN.
“IN THY PRESENCE IS THE FULLNESS OF JOY.”"
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Periodicals

The town also has a volunteer-run newsletter called The Woodhouse Warbler, produced quarterly since late 2000.

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient Chapelry in a parish in Nottingham county, and became a modern Civil Parish around 1800.
     
  • This parish was in the northern division of the Broxtowe Hundred or Wapentake in the northern division of the county.
     
  • Under the 1894 Local Government Act the parish formed an Urban District Council.
     
  • In 1974, Mansfield Woodhouse and Warsop Urban District Councils merged with the Municipal Borough of Mansfield to form a new local government area known as Mansfield District Council.
     
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Mansfield petty session hearings held every Thursday at the Police Court on Station Street,.
     
  • After the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, this parish became part of the Mansfield Poor Law Union.
     
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Population

 YearPopulation
18011,112
18211,598
18411,871
18511,972
18712,474
18812,618
18912,819
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Schools

  • A Public Elementary School (mixed) was built here in 1845. It was enlarged in 1865 and once again in 1883 to hold 380 children.
     
  • Another Public Elementary School (mixed) was built here in 1903 to hold 300 boys, 300 girls and 350 infants.
     
  • David BEVIS has a photograph of the National School in Welbeck Road on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2011.