Hucknall

Hucknall
Car 212 is seen at Hucknall in the first week of operation of modern Trams (March 2004)
Hucknall  Hucknall shown within Nottinghamshire
Population	29,188
OS grid reference	SK535488
District	Ashfield
Shire county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Nottingham
Postcode district	NG15
Dialling code	0115
Police	Nottinghamshire
Fire	Nottinghamshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Sherwood
List of places: UK • England • Nottinghamshire

Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in Nottingham. The town is notable as the site where Rolls-Royce made the first demonstration of vertical take-off (for a plane). It is also the final resting place of Lord Byron and his estranged daughter, the mathematician Ada Lovelace.

Statistics

Population 29,704 (14,572 (49%) male, 15,132 (51% female). Total households 12,427 (Census 2001, Nottinghamshire County Council). White (94%) Asian (3%) Afro-Caribbean (1%)

Geography

Hucknall is situated seven miles (11 kilometres) north-west of Nottingham on the west bank of the Leen Valley, on land which rises from the Trent Valley in the south to the hills of the county north of Kirkby-in-Ashfield. The Whyburn or 'Town Brook' flows through the town centre, and Farleys Brook marks its southern boundary. The town's highest point is Long Hill which is 460 feet (140 metres) above sea-level.

Apart from the southern link to Nottingham, the town is surrounded by farmland. To the north-west lie Misk Hills and Annesley. To the north-east town are the villages of Linby and Papplewick. Beyond them is Newstead Abbey, once the residence of Lord Byron. To the west lies Eastwood, birthplace of D. H. Lawrence, and the inspiration for many of his novels. To the east of the town is Bestwood Country Park. The areas of Butler's Hill and Westville often appear as distinct entities on maps, but are generally considered as part of Hucknall.

History

Hucknall was once a thriving market town. Its focal point is the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, next to the town's market square. The church was built by the Anglo-Saxons and completed after the Norman Conquest, though much of it has been restored during the Victorian era. The medieval church consisted only of a chancel, nave, north aisle and tower but it was considerably enlarged in the Victorian period. In 1872 the south aisle was added and in 1887 the unusually long transepts while the rest of the building apart from the tower was thoroughly restored. The top stage of the tower is 14th century as is the south porch. There are 25 fine stained glass windows by Charles Eamer Kempe which were added mostly in the 1880s. There is a modest memorial to Lord Byron.

From 1295 until 1915, the town was known as Hucknall Torkard, taken from Torcard, the name of a dominant landowning family. Signs of the old name can still be seen on some of the older buildings.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, coal was discovered and mined heavily throughout the Leen Valley, which includes Hucknall. This brought increased wealth to the town along with the construction of three railway lines.

The first was the Midland Railway (later part of the LMS) line from Nottingham to Mansfield and Worksop, closed to passengers on 12 October 1964 though partly retained as a freight route serving collieries at Hucknall, Linby and Annesley. The Hucknall station on this line was known as "Hucknall Byron" in its latter years. In the 1990s this line was reopened to passengers in stages as the Robin Hood Line, the section through Hucknall in 1993 with a new station on the site of the old Byron, though simply called "Hucknall".

The second line was the Great Northern Railway (later part of the LNER) route up the Leen Valley and on up to Shirebrook, serving many of the same places as the Midland south of Annesley. It closed to passengers on 14 September 1931 but remained in use for freight until 25 March 1968. The Hucknall station on this line was known as "Hucknall Town".

The third line was the Great Central Railway (also later part of the LNER), the last main line ever built from the north of England to London, opened on 15 March 1899. The stretch through Hucknall closed completely on 5 September 1966, but the Hucknall station here (known as Hucknall Central), had closed earlier, on 4 March 1963.

From 1894 until 1974 Hucknall was the seat of the Hucknall Urban District council. Upon the abolition of the UDC, the town was transferred to Ashfield.

In 1956 the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Hucknall was built to serve the area of west Hucknall.

Etymology

Hucknall was recorded as Hokeuhale (n.d.) and Hokenale (n.d.), suggesting "nook of land of Hōcanere (a tribe", from Old English halh (haugh). This same tribe's name occurs in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire. It has been suggested that the name Hucknall once referred to a larger area on the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border. Two other settlements in the locality are called Hucknall; Hucknall-under-Huthwaite, in Nottinghamshire, (known today as Huthwaite) and Ault Hucknall in Derbyshire. It is likely that Hucknall Torcard marked the Southern Boundary of this larger Hucknall Area.

In the Domesday Book (A.D. 1086) the name appears as Hochenale (volume 1, pages 288-290).

Transport

The town is the northern terminus for the Nottingham Express Transit tram system as well as sharing a station on the Robin Hood Line. There is also a stop at Butler's Hill/Broomhill. The town used to be on the A611 but now this has bypassed the town to the west with a single-carriageway road with roundabouts, with access to junction 27 of the M1. The trams were built from 2002–2004 and goes from Hucknall to Station Street next to Nottingham train station.

==Bus services==

Trent Barton

• Rainbow 3: Nottingham - Hucknall - Annesley - Kirkby - Mansfield.
• Rainbow 3A: Nottingham - Hucknall - Newstead - Annesley Woodhouse - Kirkby - Sutton - Mansfield.
• Rainbow 3B: Nottingham - Hucknall - Annesley - Kirkby - Sutton.
• Rainbow 3C: Nottingham - Hucknall - Annesley - Kirkby - Coxmoor Estate - Mansfield.
• N3: Nottingham - Hucknall - Kirkby.
• 141: Nottingham - Hucknall - Blidworth - Mansfield - Sutton.
• Amberline: Derby - Heanor - Eastwood - Hucknall.
• Connect: Hucknall Estates - Hucknall - Hucknall Station.

Premiere Buses

• S43: Bulwell - Hucknall.
• S44: Hucknall - Morrisons - Bulwell.
• Red 8: Hucknall Estates - City Hospital - Nottingham.
• 2: Hucknall - Sherwood Business Park - Brinsley - Eastwood

Dunn Motor Traction t/a yourbus

• 228: Hucknall - Bestwood Village - Bulwell - Phoenix Park - Assarts Farm - Strelley - QMC - Beeston.

Education

The National School which was founded in 1788 by Frederick Ward and located at the southern end of Annesley Road. It relocated in the 1970s to a new build still on Annesley Road but at the north end of the town, near the roundabout of the B6011 road. The National School has a large science block with 10 labs and an astro turf, both opened in 2004 by Princess Anne. A New Eco Building Is Now Open In the School. Holgate Comprehensive School a Specialist in the Arts was given a specialist status of 'School of arts' and is on Hillcrest Drive in Beauvale, to the west of the bypass. It has an athletics track.

Shopping

Hucknall's Tesco superstore opened in 2003, which created a number of jobs for the town. In 2008, the store was extended to make it a Tesco Extra store. A Tesco Express store was opened in early January 2009 on Annesley Road.

Other popular shops in Hucknall are Jonathan James, Card Warehouse, Wilkinsons, Bon Marché, Argos and many charity/second hand shops.

It is in close distance to (a bus or a tram ride) Morrisons in Bulwell, Tesco Top Valley and Tesco Extra in Bulwell.

Industry

Bronze statue commemorating the 'lost' mining industry seen on the way from Hucknall tram and railway station into the town. The main figure is on top of a Davy lamp, whilst another collier is depicted hewing coal 'inside' the lamp 'glass'.

Mining

Hucknall was a colliery town from 1861 to 1986. The sinking of the coal mines caused the settlement to grow rapidly from a village to a market town in under a hundred years. The Hucknall Colliery Company, formed in 1861 sank two shafts, Hucknall No. 1 colliery (known as "Top Pit") in 1861 (off Watnall Road) and Hucknall No. 2 colliery (known as "Bottom Pit") in 1866 (off Portland Road). No. 1 closed by 1943, and No. 2 closed in 1986.

Rolls-Royce

Hucknall Airfield was built in 1916, which became RAF Hucknall. From 1927, Rolls-Royce began using the airfield for flight tests. During World War II, the aerodrome at Hucknall was the location of the first flight of a P-51 Mustang fitted with a Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine. The fitting of the Merlin, replacing the existing Allison V-1710 engine allowed the Mustang airframe to reach its full potential and achieve spectacular high altitude performance, something the Allison engine could not provide. In the early 1950s, the Rolls-Royce site at Hucknall developed the world's first vertical-takeoff jet 'aircraft' - actually, a test rig, officially called the Thrust Measuring Rig, but soon nicknamed the "Flying Bedstead" because of its shape. The first untethered flight, piloted by Capt. Ron Shepherd, took place on 3 August 1954 before a distinguished audience. The rig rose slowly into the air and hovered steadily. It then moved forward, made a circuit of the area, then demonstrated sideways and backwards movements before making a successful landing. The flight was a tremendous success and during the next four months a number of free flights were made, up to a height of 50 ft. There are pubs in Hucknall called The Flying Bedstead and The Harrier. Rolls-Royce's flight test centre closed in 1971, but engines were still tested there until late 2008. There are still components manufactured at the site.

During World War 2, a German prisoner-of-war, Franz von Werra, attempted to escape by posing as a Dutch pilot and flying off in a Hurricane fighter. He was the only German to succeed in returning to the Reich. His exploits can be seen in the film The One That Got Away.

Textiles

Framework knitting was once the predominant industry in Hucknall.

Garden products

One of the most important local firms in Hucknall is Doff Portland. The company has grown to become the UK's largest independent manufacturer of insecticides, weedkillers, other pesticides, fertilisers and garden products sold nationally through garden centres, independent DIY retailers and large retail multiples. Doff is one of Europe's largest producer of premium slug killer pellets. In addition, Doff provides extensive contract formulating and packing opportunities for third parties.

People

St. Mary Magdalene church is the final resting place of Lord Byron and his daughter, Ada Lovelace.

• Steve Blatherwick is a former professional footballer who played for clubs including Nottingham Forest and Chesterfield.
• Lord Byron (poet, philosopher and revolutionary) was buried in the parish church (on 16 July 1824).
• Robin Bailey (1919–1999), actor.
• Ben Caunt (1815–1861), a bare-knuckle fighter, known as "The Torkard Giant", who became 'Champion of England'. It is after Ben Caunt that the bell Big Ben is named.
• Eric Coates (1886–1957), whose compositions include the theme music for The Dam Busters movie, and the "Sleepy Lagoon" introduction for Desert Island Discs.
• Philanthropist Zachariah Green (1817–1897). Buried in the local Parish church. Has a monument to his memory in Titchfield Park.
• Jack Hall (1883–1938) professional footballer who played as an inside-forward or centre-forward for Stoke, Middlesbrough, Leicester Fosse, and Birmingham.
• Thomas Cecil Howitt, (1889–1968) an eminent British provincial architect of the 20th Century. The architect of Nottingham Council House.
• Countess Ada Lovelace (1815–1852), daughter of the Poet Lord Byron, is buried in the church. She is credited as being the first programmer, having assisted in realising the potential of Babbage's analytical engine.
• Enoch 'Knocker' West (1886–1965), a footballer who played for Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. In 1915 he was banned from playing football for 30 years for allegedly fixing a match. He protested his innocence until his death.
• Sam Weller Widdowson, a footballer who played for Nottingham Forest and England. He also played cricket for Nottinghamshire and is credited with inventing football shin pads in 1874.

Sport

The town's football team is Hucknall Town F.C.. Founded in 1945, originally as a colliery team (Hucknall Colliery Welfare FC), changing its name to Hucknall Town in 1987 after closure of the pit. Over the seasons they have risen steadily through the non-league pyramid and have won many honours. They currently (2009) play in the Northern Premier League, and in 2005 reached the final of the FA Trophy. After a reprieve from relegation in the 2007-2008 season, due to other teams' demotions through financial difficulties, Hucknall were relegated for the first time in their history in the 2008-2009 season. The town's top Sunday side are Plough Barflies FC who play their home games at Hucknall Town FC's Watnall Road ground. They have risen from the depths of the Notts Combination League to the top of the Notts Sunday Morning League in consecutive seasons. Rolls Royce Leisure F.C. were based near the fire station at the Rolls Royce Leisure Sports Ground on Watnall Road until folding in 2009.

Hucknall Cricket Club, founded 1890. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd XIs currently play in various leagues of the South Notts. Cricket League.

External links

• Hucknall Torkard dot com
• HucknallDispatch.co.uk local newspaper
• Nottinghamshire County Council
• Ashfield District Council
• Hucknall Huthwaite Online
• History of Rolls-Royce at Hucknall
• BBC Guide to Hucknall
• Hucknall Rolls-Royce Amateur Radio Club
• Hucknall Business Voice