Farnsfield Local History Society
A Short History of Farnsfield
By Judith Milnes
Farnsfield Local History Society was founded in 2002 and has about 50 members. We meet in the Village Centre, New Hill on the second Wednesday of the month and over the years we have had speakers on a wonderful variety of topics. Two or three times a year we go out to places of historical interest. Visits have included tours of Bromley House libratry and Nottingham Council House, Newstead Abbey as well as outings to General Booth's birthplace, Tuxford Windmill, Ruddington, Eastwood and Papplewick Pumping Station.
We take part in village events and have regular quizzes about the village and the county.
In the last few years we have set up our own Farnsfield Local History website where you can see the programme of events for this year as well as many photographs of Farnsfield people and places and past events. We have received e-mails from the other side of the world enquiring about ancestors from the village.
We are always pleased to receive more information, relevant documents and photographs.
Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire. History of the village.
The first record of the village is in 956 AD. There are no records of any earlier occupation. Iron age implements, dating to 1000 BC have been found. There is also evidence on the edge of the village and at Hexgreave Park of Roman occupation in the area.
In the Domesday Book the village is referred to as Franesfeld. By the twelfth century the village's name had become established as Farnsfield. Up to 1600 and probably beyond the village was within the boundary of Sherwood Forest and was subject to Forest Laws. Gradually encroachments into the forests then the Enclosure Act Award of 1777 pushed the forest boundary back and Farnsfield came to lie outside the boundaries of the forest.
The present church is quite young, having been built in 1859/60 to replace the earlier church which was destroyed by fire in 1856. From the point of view of the local historian the fire was a disaster as it destroyed many of the earlier church records. The village did not have its own vicar until 1572. Before that its spiritual needs were attended to by the canons of Southwell Minster.
One aspect of religion for which the village has wider recognition is Quakerism, as at one time the village had many more Quaker residents for its size than many other larger villages and towns. There are numerous Quaker built houses within the village.
The village does not have any major industry but in former times many small businesses were located within the village, mainly related to agriculture and rural trades- blacksmiths, tanners, basketmakers. There was also a flourishing brickmaking works on Brickyard Lane which utilised the local clay and produced quite a distinctive red brick of a smaller size than modern brick. Clay was also used by the local pottery which made tiles, drinking vessels and other domestic items.
A building in the village of particular interest is the Old Maltings on New Hill (now refurbished and converted for use as a village centre which is now used by clubs, societies, individuals and outside organisations.)
There was for a brief period a cotton mill at "Cotton Mill Farm", utilising the water of the stream that ran through the farm. It is believed, but has never been proved that the mill was one of the small cotton mills designed by Sir Richard Arkwright.
Farnsfield, like the majority of similar villages, does not feature in any great national historical events. Some important members of the village were involved in a local secret society "the sealed knot" in an unsuccessful conspiracy against Oliver Cromwell.
The village's most famous son was Sir Augustus Gregory who went with his family to Australia in the early nineteenth century became a famous explorer and is credited with opening up "the Outback" and crossing the continent from West to East.
Between 1834 and 1866 Farnsfield was noted for having as its postman George Yates, who was blind. Every day he went from Farnsfield to Southwell with the outgoing post and then returned with letters for the villagers. It is recorded he was never absent or late.
Today the village still has no major industries and farming remains important. The village has grown quite considerably in size with a population of over 3,000. Unlike a lot of other villages it has a retained its shops, pubs, the church, chapel and other usual village organisations and clubs such as the W.I, Mothers Union, Playgroup, Scouts and Guides, tennis, football, cricket and bowls clubs.
Over all the village retains a very strong community spirit and remains a very pleasant place to live and relax in.