Bilsthorpe is a village and civil parish in the

Newark and Sherwood Newark and Sherwood is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest district by area in the county. The council is based in Newark-on-Trent, the area's largest town. The district also incl ...

district of

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,076, increasing to 3,375 at the 2011 census, and dropping slightly to 3,365 at the 2021 census. It is located near the junction of the A614 and A617, around five miles south of

Ollerton Ollerton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ollerton and Boughton, in the Newark and Sherwood district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. The p ...

, nine miles east of

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

and six miles north-west of Southwell.

History

Etymology

There was originally a ‘d’ in Bilsthorpe’s name. The thorpe being a Scandinavian invader named Bildr who is believed to have founded the village before the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

and

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

. Bilsthorpe was mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

in 1086 as ‘Bildesthorp’.

Former colliery and memorials

The village's colliery closed in 1997 after 70 years in use. The colliery was the centre of national media and public attention on 18 August 1993 when a roof collapsed in the colliery, killing under-manager David Shelton and miners Bill McCulloch and Peter Alcock. David Shelton was posthumously awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

for bravery on 11 October 1995 for aiding the rescue of other miners; survivor Ray Thompson also received the George Medal. A memorial in the form of an miners lamp carved from

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

bearing the names of 77 deceased workers dating back to 1927 was established in 2011. A memorial to dead miners was also erected outside the colliery site.

Facilities

The village has two children's

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

as well as a small

duck pond A duck pond or duckpond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for waterfowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Often, as in public parks, such ponds are artificial and ornamental in desig ...

. It is the northern terminus of the Southwell Trail. It has also a members-only fishing lake created from the remains of the old colliery slag heap. The village is known locally as being two areas, the 'old' and 'new'. The village has two public houses, The ''Copper Beech'' which is located in the old village, and the ''Stanton Arms'' which is located in the new village. There is still a local miners' welfare club which is also in the new village. Bilsthorpe parish church is the Grade I listed St Margaret's Church. Bilsthorpe Moor is to the south of the village. It previously housed a supported-living home, LifeWays, for adults with learning disabilities and autism, which closed in 2019. Bilsthorpe Flying High Academy is the local education facility for children with access to nursery and primary learning. Part of The Flying High Trust, a multi-school organisation based in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, it opened for the autumn term 2015 and was previously known as Crompton View Primary School. There are three local comprehensive schools, the Joseph Whitaker School in

Rainworth Rainworth is a village in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It is split between the local government districts of Newark and Sherwood and Mansfield.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): To th ...

, Dukeries Academy in

and the Minster School, Southwell. The village is home to the Bilsthorpe heritage museum, which is located in the new village.

Sport

Bilsthorpe Welfare Youth Football Club won the Mansfield Youth Under 16s Division 2 football championship. BWYFC Bilsthorpe is also the home of non-league football club Nottingham United, one of the biggest semi-professional clubs in the county, currently playing at Step 7 of the National League System and based at Bilsthorpe Sports Ground on Eakring Road
NUFC
English footballer

Mark Monington Mark David Monington (born 21 October 1970) is an English former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football ...

was born in Bilsthorpe.

Transport

Stagecoach in Mansfield operates several bus routes in the area, including: * The ''Sherwood Arrow'' which links Bilsthorpe with

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, Ollerton,

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located south of Doncaster, south-east of Sheffield and north of Nottingham. Located close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbys ...

and

Retford Retford (), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal. Retford is located east of Sheffield, west of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Linco ...

* 27X and 28B to Mansfield and Newark. The nearest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

station is at

, for

East Midlands Railway East Midlands Railway (EMR; legally Transport UK East Midlands Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Transport UK Group, and is the current operator of the East Midlands franchise. Originally owned by Abellio (transport compan ...

services to . The Southwell Trail is a

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, Bridle path, bridleways and ra ...

, which reuses the former railway trackbed to Bilsthorpe Colliery to link the village with Southwell.

References

External links

Bilsthorpe News & Online CommunityBilsthorpe Village Bilsthorpe village viewed on google mapsYouTube video - parish visit journal
{{authority control Villages in Nottinghamshire Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire Newark and Sherwood