| Static Image Name: | Edwinstowe - Sherwood Forest Art & Craft Centre.jpg | ||||||
| Static Image Caption: | Sherwood Forest Art & Craft Centre, Forest Corner (off the B6034 Swinecote Road, Edwinstowe towards Budby road). They were originally stables for Edwinstowe Hall, then used as laboratories for the coal mining industry. | ||||||
| Official Name: | Edwinstowe | ||||||
| Os Grid Reference: | SK 6266 | ||||||
| Population: | 5,320 | ||||||
| Population Ref: | (2021) | ||||||
| Country: | England | ||||||
| Region: | East Midlands | ||||||
| Shire County: | Nottinghamshire | ||||||
| Shire District: | Newark and Sherwood | ||||||
| Coordinates: | 53.16°N -1.07°W | ||||||
| Map Type: | Nottinghamshire | ||||||
| Post Town: | MANSFIELD | ||||||
| Postcode District: | NG21 | ||||||
| Postcode Area: | NG | ||||||
| Dial Code: | 01623 | ||||||
| Constituency Westminster: | Sherwood | ||||||
| Type: | Village and civil parish | ||||||
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 6.8 | ||||||
| Static Image 2 Name: |
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| Static Image 2 Caption: | Parish map | ||||||
| London Distance Mi: | 120 | ||||||
| London Direction: | SSE |
Edwinstowe is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest and the Dukeries. It is associated with the legends of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, and to a lesser extent Edwin of Northumbria, from where the village gets its name. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 5,188.[1] A 2019 estimate put it at 5,261,[2] [3] and was 5,320 at the 2021 census.
The etymology of the village name, "Edwin's resting place", recalls that the body of Edwin of Northumbria, King and Saint, was hidden in the church after he was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase. The battle against King Penda of Mercia is thought to have occurred near the present-day hamlet of Cuckney, some five miles north-west of modern Edwinstowe, though this location is disputed. [4] [5]
Like Thoresby, Budby and Mansfield, Edwinstowe belonged to King Edward the Confessor and afterwards became the property of King William the Conqueror.[6]
Edwinstowe is referred to twice in Domesday Book as having five households, in addition to a priest and his four bordars, in 1086.[7]
Legend has it that Robin Hood married Maid Marian in St Mary's Church. Edwinstowe is known for the presence near the village of the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, a feature in the folk tales of Robin Hood, and Robin Hood's Larder.
By the turn of the 20th century Edwinstowe consisted of a cluster of houses along Town Street, East Lane, Church Street and High Street. A hamlet called Hazel Grove was bordered by Mill Lane and the railway line and a cluster of houses at the top of Rufford Road was another hamlet called Lidgett.[8] [9] Lidgett was the site of a fireworks factory owned by F. Tudsbury and Co. before George Pinder, a local wine, spirit and porter merchant who resided at Lidgett House, took over ownership by 1886.[10] [11] These settlements eventually merged as the result of infills from World War I, much of it housing for colliers and named after the largest area.
Nottinghamshire County Council's Sherwood Forest Visitors' Centre is located near the village and was redeveloped and improved in 2017 at a cost of £5.3 million. This centre is operated in partnership by the Council and the RSPB.[12] [13]
Center Parcs' Sherwood Forest holiday village is a local employer established in 1987, close to the edge of the village.[14] [15]
thumb|Sherwood Pines Forest ParkSherwood Pines Forest Park is set within Sherwood Forest near to Old Clipstone and has activity walking/cycling trails, play areas and bike hire for the general public. Sherwood Pines is managed by the Forestry Commission. A Go Ape adventure area is on-site too.[16] [17]
There was a post windmill south of the Mansfield Road with a small box-style roundhouse. It was driven by two common and two double-patent windmill sails.[18]
Thoresby Colliery served as Edwinstowe's main source of employment until July 2015, when the mine was permanently closed. The loss of one of the last remaining deep coal mines in the country has left tourism as the main factor in the local economy. The colliery has now become a large housing development for 800 homes, to make use of the now brownfield site.[19]
The two schools in the village are St Mary's Primary School and King Edwin Primary School. The former Rufford School on the north side of the village closed in 2003 and has become residential housing by Barratt Developments, known as Friars Park.[20] [21] A skate park on the development proved controversial with concerns over noise and anti-social behaviour.[22] [23] [24]
The village has a business services provider, a St John's Ambulance amenity, an antiques centre, workshops, a fun park, a youth hostel, two arts and crafts centres, a village hall, and a community pest-control centre. Leisure facilities include Thoresby Colliery Band and Youth Band, a high-wire forest adventure course, a mountain biking, cyclo cross and forest walks centre, a forest fun park, and an outdoor adventure park.
Environmental concerns are addressed under the Maun Valley Project Conservation Area.
Edwinstowe railway station functioned between 1897 and 1955. A goods line remains. The nearest passenger railway stations are at Mansfield Woodhouse and Mansfield, both about 6miles from Edwinstowe.[25]
The village is served by half-hourly daytime Monday–Saturday bus services to Mansfield and Ollerton, six buses a day Monday–Saturday to Worksop, and one bus a day Monday–Friday to Nottingham. Services run twice a week to Newark and once a week to Lincoln.[26]
In order of birth: