King Johns Palace, Kings Clipstone

Mercian Archeology Open Day September 2014

By Pauline Marples

On Saturday 6th September many interested people attended the Mercian Archaeology Open Day at Kings Clipstone. It was a most interesting event with plenty to see and hear. Throughout the day there were tours up to the ruins of King Johns Palace and we learnt some of the history of the palace and how the area would have been many many years ago. It was fascinating to learn about the dig and what had already been discovered. Take a look at http://www.mercian-as.co.uk/ to discover more.

Photo:A view of part of the site

A view of part of the site

P Marples

Photo:Preperation

Preperation

P Marples

Photo:The first tour of the day

The first tour of the day

P Marples

Photo:At work

At work

P Marples

Photo:Working on a possible post hole

Working on a possible post hole

P Marples

Photo:Different layers

Different layers

P Marples

Photo:Riddling the soil and looking for discoveries

Riddling the soil and looking for discoveries

P Marples

Photo:A display of some of the discoveries

A display of some of the discoveries

P Marples

Photo:Discovering the discoveries

Discovering the discoveries

P Marples

Photo:Learning about the site

Learning about the site

P Marples

Photo:Learning more information

Learning more information

P Marples

Photo:Learning about the history of the ruins

Learning about the history of the ruins

P Marples

Photo:Being told some amazing facts

Being told some amazing facts

P Marples

This page was added by Pauline Marples on 10/09/2014.
Comments about this page

In the late 1950s my dad would sometimes take me for a day out to the Major Oak at Edwinstowe, we went by bus. On reaching the part of Clipstone we called the Rat Hole which took you to Old Clipstone (no Kings Clipstone then), if you were on the upper deck and looked to the right you could see the ruin now called King Johns Palace but I didn't know that's what it was at the time, there was much more of it then than there is today but in the mid 20th century perhaps there wasn't the interest in ancient ruins as there is today, if it had been stabilized then it would be a much more interesting relic now. I believe  in King Johns time it was a Royal hunting lodge which he used whilst hunting in the royal forest of Sherwood, and on at least two occasions it is said that he held parliament there so it is a very important part of our local history.

 

By Peter Bowler
On 13/09/2014
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