Bathley Boy
Where to find Bathley and its 'hidden' treasures
By Trevor Frecknall
The hidden treasures in Adam Faith’s haven
It took 15 years to write the history of the small Nottinghamshire village that houses the oldest recorded dwelling in the county; instigated one of the most important educational charities in the area; and provided a wartime haven for the baby who grew up to be Adam Faith, the pop singer and actor. And it took 15 days for its first print to sell-out.
But fear not! More copies of Bathley Boy are now available in time to become Christmas presents around the world.
The 212-page lavishly illustrated book spans the history of ‘BathleyTownship’ from the time it was mentioned in the margin of a page in the Domesday Book to the present era. It was begun in the mid-1990s by Frank Barnes, a University of Nottingham lecturer who founded the Bathley History Society. Following his death, the research lay untouched until after the death last year of his widow, Mrs. Jeanne Barnes, who bequeathed it to the University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections.
Retired journalist Trevor Frecknall, who was born in Bathley, gained access to the archive last August and has since inter-woven Mr. Barnes’s research into the owners of various parts of the village with his own discoveries about the occupants over the centuries. The result is by-lined “History of the village that made us by Trevor Frecknall and Frank Barnes’ Bathley History Society”.
Property histories include confirmation of The Hollies as the oldest recorded dwelling in Nottinghamshire; The Grange’s past as home to monks, farmers and the families who launched Newark’s major educational charity; details of Scotthings, the grand home of a horse breeder who was so successful nationally that he built a new villa nextdoor; and the importance of smaller places such as Hams Pallett and Homestead, which have both survived through the centuries.
Personal histories include a family who lived on nettle soup through the Crimean War, a Military Medal winner of the First World War, a wounded hero of the Second World War, the Mouse Cottage family who transformed farming in the village by introducing steam engines – and a blind farm labourer who was killed when one of the new machines blew up.
And the story of how the village became a Wartime haven for Adam Faith, the pop singer, actor and financial whizz kid, is told in full for the first time.
Bathley Boy was printed by Willsons Group Services of Cross Street, Newark, and launched at The Crown Inn, Bathley, on Saturday 10 September 2011. It proved so popular that all 100 copies were swiftly snapped-up.
So now the Bathley History Society has organised a reprint to satisfy the continuing demand. To secure your copy (or copies) pre-Christmas, please place your order(s) with the BHS treasurer, Mr. Jim Hawkins, Greystones, Main Street, Bathley, Newark, Notts NG23 6DJ (and make cheques payable to the Bathley History Society). The recommended retail price of the book is £14.95; post and packing is an extra £2.50 per copy.