Newsletter 1

This edition
50p
Greasley and District Civic Society

Representing Kimberley, Eastwood, Moorgreen, Giltbrook, Brinsley, Hill Top, Newthorpe, Watnall & Nuthall
Albion
February 2004
Greasley and District Civic Society Newsletter February 2004
Page 2 of 25
Mark Leivers
WELCOME
Welcome to the first edition of our newsletter. I look forward to sharing the latest on our campaigns and to producing articles relevant to our area. The protection of our district is an important and serious activity, but we should have fun in the process. To this end, we also have some competitions to add some entertainment. If you want to contribute in some way to the society, feel free to join (application form enclosed) or send letters or articles to us for publication. The next meeting of Greasley and District Civic Society will take place on Tuesday 24th February at 7:30pm at the Womens Institute hall, Main Street, Watnall. This is open to members and the public, although only members can vote, should it be necessary.
The Greasley and District Civic Society are:

Mark Leivers Susan McEntee Nicola Page Darren Warner Chairman Vice Chairman Honorary Secretary Executive committee member
Page 3 of 25
Nicola Page
NATURAL HERITAGE
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSS) are the countrys very best wildlife and geological sites and in our immediate local area we are fortunate to have two such sites. At Watnall there is the Kimberley Railway Cutting site and at Moorgreen, just east of Church Road, is Sledder Wood Meadows. In addition, travelling just a little further afield, to the east of the M1 there are SSSIs at Bulwell Wood and Sellars Wood, to the south is Robbinettes and to the north, at Underwood, Friezeland Grassland. There are approximately 4,000 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in England, covering around 7% of the country's land area. Approximately 1400 of them have a notified geological interest. Identified and protected by English Nature, SSSIs are essential in preserving our remaining natural heritage for future generations. Wildlife and geological features are under pressure from development, pollution, climate change and unsustainable land management. SSSIs are important as they support plants and animals that find it more difficult to survive in the wider countryside. Designation as an SSSI gives legal protection to the site. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gives English Nature powers to ensure better protection and management of SSSIs and safeguard their existence into the future. If SSSIs are suffering as a result of poor management or neglect, and English Nature cannot reach a voluntary agreement with the site owner, they may pursue more formal legal methods, such as imposing management schemes and management notices. And, in the most extreme cases, powers of compulsory purchase may be used as a last resort. Page 4 of 25
The Sledder Wood Meadows site is designated an SSSI on account of its species-rich neutral grasslands with numerous varieties of grasses and herbs, while the adjacent ponds encourage well-developed marsh and open water plant communities. The site is regarded as being of regional importance. At Kimberley Railway Cutting on the other hand, it is the geology that led to the 12 acre site being notified as an SSSI of national importance. Within the exposed rocks are found fossil plants of the Permian era (290-248 million years ago). Dominated by the common conifer remains there are also rare examples of pteridosperm seed ferns and other fern-like plants. Although notification as an SSSI provides a degree of protection and preservation for selected wildlife and natural features, the sites are often small and isolated and have to be managed as an integral part of the surrounding landscape. Conservation action is required throughout England if wildlife and natural features are to flourish and enrich our lives and our natural heritage is to be safeguarded for present and future generations.
Page 5 of 25
Susan McEntee
A CIVIC SOCIETY
When in May 2003, I asked the MP why the heritage issue was not being considered at Gilthill, he said that it was because there was no heritage group in the Kimberley/Greasley area (as there is, say, in Beeston), presuming that the people of this area would accept without question County Councillors demolition/rebuild proposals made behind closed doors some 2-3 years before. In fact, the people of this area, the country of all our hearts, have a profound care for their heritage, understanding its importance to their and their childrens sense of identity and so to the overall health of the community. In these days, this care is not being appreciated by those in power. In campaigning to save Gilthill school I have heard local people assume, as they might in a sane world, Surely, beautiful, cherished, structurally sound Victorian buildings are automatically protected by the County Council, and, Those in power must have learned the lessons of the 1960s and 1970s destructive policies. Sadly, these assumptions can no longer be made. The socio-historic buildings that make your traditional familiar landscape are under great threat. Since 1957, groups of ordinary people, increasingly concerned with protecting their heritage and upholding their civic pride in their various cities, towns and villages have banded together to form Civic Societies and then affiliated to the Civic Trust, Britains leading charity devoted to enhancing the countrys environment. The little towns and villages on the Notts/Derbys borders were built with great civic pride. They have the same Page 6 of 25
gentle English architectural charm as other more famous, perhaps more affluent tourist places, but, as traditional working places, civic pride is not necessarily upheld by anyone beyond the local people themselves. A civic society is needed to represent the common peoples THE CUSTODIAN sensibilities. The setting up of civic societies up and down the country has usually been in response to a threat to something treasured in the local environment. Our new Greasley and District Civic Society, representing Kimberley, Eastwood, Moorgreen, Giltbrook, Brinsley, Hill Top, Newthorpe, Watnall and Nuthall, was formed in response to the threat to Gilthill School, an important piece of the areas local heritage and a prominent well-loved landmark, built for us today as much as it was for the children and community of 1893.
A lonely house stands in a wood Oh! How I would own you if I could Not for greed and power, you understand To protect and share, you are so grand You would shelter on occasion Poets, Artists, perhaps a liaison You are special and this is known The worst have worked, to make you their own I am near enough to care for you And keep a watchful eye Content to be a part of you Until the day I too must lie When I prepare for my long rest I have the knowledge had the best
By getting together, people Valerie H Warren 2004 have more heritage and community clout. Their concerns and aspirations are more likely to be listened to if they work together, pooling their experience and resources and speaking with one voice. Most importantly, the more people the better! Very often at Public Enquiries or such like, societies are asked to state the number of members they share as an indication of their standing. People in our area have a strong sense of community and heritage pride. Our civic society could and should be strong in numbers Page 7 of 25
and in feeling. If the 1,500 petitioners against the demolition of Gilthill School had been members of a civic society representing the area they would have been in a supremely stronger position of first learning about the Education Authoritys proposals in good time and then having their voice heard. The Greasley and District Civic Society will be distinct and independent from all the other civic societies, yet it will share with them the common aims of Caring passionately about its surroundings and promoting high standards of planning, architecture, conservation and sustainability and to this end assembling an information base including copies of the local plan Safeguarding the heritage and character of its place. Improving the fabric of the area for present and future generations Promoting an awareness of the natural and built environment and history of the area.
The Civic Trust is the umbrella organisation networking 900 local groups together to form a powerful civic society movement. Registration with the Civic Trust Establishes links with other groups at local and regional level Gives us support, information and professional advice to promote our causes. Gives us chance to influence national policy presents an opportunity to correct some of the sense of alienation which is so characteristic of modern society, and regain a sense of identity with our origins. Page 8 of 25
Keeping in touch with the past and the present for the best for future generations is not an optional extra, especially at a time in history when we have an unprecedented capacity to change and destroy what has gone before. The central idea of sustainability is that we should achieve an acceptable quality of life where necessary through growth without disinheriting our grandchildren or mortgaging their future English heritage.
Page 9 of 25
Mark Leivers
OUR DISTRICT
It is very easy to take your surroundings for-granted, we all do it. When you pass Brinsley pit hill every day, do you think of the miners who died in the course of their work? Do you think of the Gilt Brook as you go through Giltbrook? Do you see the beauty of our old buildings when you walk down the street? In each edition of this newsletter, we will show you photos of our district, but will not tell you where they are. The challenge is for you to search for them and notify the GDCS Honorary Secretary when you have the answer. The name of the first person to supply the correct answer will be printed in the next edition along with the correct answers.
Photo number 1. Where is this?
Page 10 of 25
Susan McEntee
GILTHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Assistant Director of Education has written to me: In keeping with the recent Cabinet decision, negotiations for the purchase of the land have been taking place with the landowner and David Wilson Homes, who have an option on the land. Agreement has been made, subject to planning approval, for the purchase of THE COUNCILS additional land which will COMMENT enable the Victorian building to remain on the lower part of the Notts County Council were site while the new building can invited to make comment for be built higher up the hill. The inclusion in this newsletter. plans for the new build are In keeping with the recent being re-visited at the moment Cabinet decision, Nottinghamshire th (12 Jan) as some re-design County Council are in negotiation needs to be agreed because of for the purchase of additional land the proposed location. Once this in order to relocate the proposed has taken place, the new scheme new school buildings higher up will be submitted for planning the site. This will enable the approval and there will be an Victorian building to be retained opportunity for further and potentially sold. The land consultation purchase will be subject to planning approval for the new Nottinghamshire County build being secured. It is hoped Councils conservation that a planning application will be department has very much submitted in the near future, when supported the retention of the there will be the opportunity for original Gilthill School. They further public consultation. claim an independent inspector believes that building on the additional land would be sanctioned by the keeping of the Page 11 of 25
Victorian building for alternative use, so planning approval should be given for the overall scheme. Presumably, when planning approval is given, the Victorian building will be put for sale. We would have hoped that possible buyers would have been sought before this time, in the same way that demolition teams were sought when the original rebuild scheme was merely a proposal. We are pleased that a provisional agreement on the purchase of additional land has been made, which is subject to planning approval. We have been told that the school isnt yet for sale, as it subject to obtaining planning approval, but potential purchasers can register their interest with Strategic Property, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, West Bridgford NG2 7QP.
IN THE PRESS THE TIMES

Gilthill Primary School was mentioned in The Times, dated 26th January 2004 in an article called "Throwaway schools? Stick with what will last". It describes the Governments dreadful 1950s approach to the renewal of schools. It also states The issues and passions evoked are vividly illustrated by the 24.5 million schoolbuilding programme now under way in Nottinghamshire. The county council announced plans to rebuild Gilthill School, a characteristic gabled 1893 Board School of the kind admired by Sherlock Holmes in London as beacons of learning. Fierce local opposition led to the withdrawal of the proposals and a revised scheme that leaves the old school available for unspecified alternative use.
Page 12 of 25
Nicola Page
WHAT NEXT?
Although our Civic Society has been borne out of the communitys desire to keep the Gilthill Primary Schools fine Victorian building as part of our local heritage, we are not a single-issue group. Other historic buildings in the district face an uncertain future and the Civic Society will hopefully play its part in preserving and protecting the character of the area. At the inaugural meeting of the Civic Society, local historian Mr Roy Plumb highlighted many buildings in the Kimberley area alone that had been lost over the years and that are frequently lamented by residents who remember them. The Firs, Hanson House, Hardy House, Oak Lodge, The British School and the Hansons Brewery brewing tower and coach building have all fallen by the wayside and a little further afield the Forty Bridges Viaduct at Giltbrook has gone. Now Truman Street Methodist Church is no longer in use the Victorian chapel will probably be put up for sale in the near future, another landmark building at risk. As is the old Midland Railway Station building at the bottom of Hardy Street in Kimberley. But the Civic Society is not just concerned about the built environment. Features of the natural environment are also worthy of protection and improvement. We hope to encourage the preservation of our local open spaces and hedgerows and will support other campaigning environmental groups such as the Shilo North Forum in their fight to protect the Eastwood Meadows. Page 13 of 25
All members of the Civic Society have a role to play in helping the society meeting its aims. The sooner we find out about plans the greater our chance of having an effective input into them. As was shown at Gilthill, the intention to demolish the board school building would probably have remained unknown until the planning application went in, giving the local community very little opportunity to voice their opposition. Fortunately the plans for the new building were shown to the children, which led to the proposed demolition becoming public knowledge. In contrast, in the north of the county, the community of Edwinstowe had little warning that the LEA intended to demolish the 1920s building at King Edwin Primary. With only a few short weeks in which to work, the preservation campaign was unsuccessful, the plans were forced through and sadly its destruction appears likely. So, please, as a member of the Civic Society keep your eyes and ears open and let us know about any proposal or issue you think is of concern. Local knowledge is invaluable. We need your help to make the Society a success.
Page 14 of 25
Jeff Burrows
RURAL MATTERS
The area which the Greasley and District Civic Society covers is, in the main, a semi-rural to rural area and the feedback we get from the public at large is that they would like to keep it that way, for the most part, with small sympathetic developments to incorporate the rural feel to the area. We are, without doubt, fortunate to live in some of the most beautiful countryside to be found anywhere, and I mean in the world. Palm trees have never been a match to a beautiful broad oak in my opinion. The rolling patchwork of fields and hedges, the dense woods etc, all coupled with the mystique of DH Lawrence, who lived, worked and wrote about the area we are covering, makes it even more special. For better or worse we live in a world where things move fast. There is ever increasing demand on land and with it all the challenges that presents requires creative thinking to protect, preserve and improve what we have left. This is part of what the Greasley and District Civic Society is about. Where possible, we would like to join with and support groups like English Nature, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England and other like-minded groups to become a more effective force, if that is possible. As I write this, we have just learnt that the volunteer tree warden for the Greasley area is retiring from his post. Bob Edwards has planted around 2,500 trees in the area, many grown from scratch by himself. A dedicated man, he will be almost impossible to replace. I personally met Bob on a very windy, inclement day, up on the hills of the old Rolleston estate in Watnall. He had already planted some Page 15 of 25
trees and was now constructing a fence with barbed wire to protect them from cattle. His face red from the elements, the beads of sweat from his labour and his hands bleeding from the barbed wire, he was trying to manage the job on his own! We got talking about the environment when I mentioned the state of his hands. He was blissfully unaware of their state, having been too engrossed and determined with his job, making a better place for us all to enjoy and live in. So I would like to say a big Thank You to Bob, from the Greasley and District Civic Society. Again, impossible to replace such a man but nevertheless, Greasley Parish Council have asked the public to come forward with a replacement tree OUR DISTRICT warden. I would like to see the focus of the wardens work to include hedges as well as trees, Photo number 2. Where is this? with the restoration of hedgerows, as well as planting new hedges where possible. It is without doubt a neglected area in conservation with little or no input for decades. Many business premises as well as open countryside and highways could incorporate hedges. Private homes etc could benefit from hedges too, instead of fashionable makeover, TV-inspired concrete posts and blue fences! It is a myth that hedges take more looking after, a trim twice a year and thats it! It is also a fraction of the cost and they dont blow away in high winds. And, of course, birds cant nest in fence panels, nor wildlife in general prosper. In the future the Civic Society will be active in encouraging hedge planting and promoting the benefits. We need the support of local government and local people to make a better and sustainable environment for all. In the meantime get planting! Page 16 of 25
Clare Owen
THE BOARD SCHOOLS

Carved in stone and displayed prominently on the front elevation of Gilthill Primary School at Kimberley, "Greasley Board Schools 1893" is a familiar sight to residents of the area. Indeed, the words Board School are frequently seen on many Victorian school buildings.
The Victorians responsible for the establishment of these schools were clearly proud of their accomplishment and rightly so, yet today few people know the significance of the School Boards and what they achieved. Consequently, it is time to acknowledge the forward thinking, democratic and pioneering School Boards and the buildings they left us that stand testament to their role in the development of education in this country. The School Board system was established through the Education Act of 1870, which recognised, for the first time, that the State had a duty to provide education for all. Prior to 1870 only a few lucky children in the poorer sections of society had access to elementary education. Voluntary Page 17 of 25
organisations, usually religious, were given public money to educate just a proportion of the children in an area. The education they received was basic, the 3Rs, plus some practical subjects such as needlework or woodwork, which were deemed suitable for entering employment later. Secondary education was only available at fee-paying grammar schools, way beyond the means of the poor.
Gilt Hill School The 1870 Act allowed School Boards to be established in areas where there was a proven shortfall of places. The members of the Board (five to fifteen people) were democratically elected by ratepayers in a secret ballot every three years. Innovatively, women were allowed to vote and to stand for office, some 50 years before womens suffrage. When Elizabeth Garrett stood for election to the Marylebone School Board in 1870, she received 47,000 votes, a then record for the number of votes cast for any candidate in any election.
Page 18 of 25
School Boards soon sprang up across the country, establishing a network of elementary schools, initially for five to ten year olds but later introducing community based higher elementary schools that catered for children up to 15. Evening classes, at first offering just elementary education, increasingly covered secondary subjects too, some even at university level.
110 YEARS AGO

During February 1894 the Greasley School Board were preparing to open Gilthill Primary School. The project was behind schedule because of the miners strike, but was on track for the opening on 2nd April 1894.
As well as the above, the Board Schools introduced many other improvements in education that today we take for granted. They saw the widening of the elementary curriculum to include subjects such as science and maths; teacher training provision was improved; free school meals for children from poorer families were introduced; they pioneered the use of separate classes for each age group and a central hall for whole school activities and the early stages of the education welfare system began with visits to families to encourage them to let their children attend school. Unfortunately though, the School Boards were to become victims of their own success, having made enemies on two fronts. Firstly, the grammar schools felt severely threatened by the higher elementary schools considering them to be poaching their business and an even worse crime, educating the working classes to a dangerous degree! Influenced by the grammar schools' Headmasters' Association and support from middle-class parents, the Education Department Annual Report of 1898-9 said, "letting Page 19 of 25
down an educational ladder to bring up competitors against our children would be to pay to get our own throats cut". Secondly, strong opposition to the School Boards came from the religious groups who were the existing providers of elementary education. Although religion was taught in the board schools it was not along any particular denominational doctrine and some Board Schools were virtually secular. In fact, there was a growing national movement to make all schools secular. Under this threat, religious groups began pressurising government to change the Board School system.
Both groups found sympathy in the Government of the day, and, in 1902 a further Education Act was passed which dismantled the School Board system and placed control of schools with the County Council. The democratic control of local schools by local people was lost, children were to be educated to a degree that would best fit their future roll in life and the clear path to secondary education for children from ordinary families was blocked.
The Buildings
The philosophy behind the Board School buildings was that the magnificent yet elegant buildings would inspire the children educationally and benefit the whole community. Neither before 1870 nor after 1902 were state schools built with such splendour. It was a unique period of liberalisation in both architecture and education. The board schools were built to stand for hundreds of years. No state schools since have been built with such skill and imagination. Matthew Arnold said the board schools are sweetness and light translated into bricks and mortar and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described them as beacons of the future. Page 20 of 25
So next time you see the legend Board School on a fine old school building spare a thought for the communityminded innovators who improved the lot of ordinary children. References
Beacons of Light Breathing New Life Into Old Schools, - Save Britains Heritage The 1902 Education Act - Kevin Manton, History Today, Dec 2002
Page 21 of 25
Ken Marsland
BOGEND CHARITY SCHOOL

Lancelot Rolleston gave 300 on 28th October 1748 to teach 12 poor children of this area to Read, Write and Account. The money was invested in land so that the rents could be used to support a schoolmaster and to buy books and equipment. Mrs Rosamunde Rolleston widow of Lancelot, built the schoolhouse in 1752 and obliged the schoolmaster to teach 12 poor children. Miss Francis Rolleston, Lancalots sister, gave 100 to teach a further five children of the area. The school Bogend School stands on the left of the old Church Road just after the cattery which is on the right. The cattery is a former tannery, water being taken from the Willow Brook, which now runs beneath the two roads. As the brook approaches Giltbrook it then changes its name to the Gilt Brook. (gold brook due to the ironstone deposits to be seen on the bed of the brook). Whites directory of 1832 states that the master now teaches 22 free scholars and has a house and garden and three acres of land in Litchfield and receives 6 yearly from the owners of the Derby canals. A later directory states in 1865 that the master now teaches 22 scholars free of charge for which he has a house and garden and five acres of land in St Alkmund, Derby. In 1828 total rents were 45 per annum and no fee paying pupils were accepted. In 1867, there were 40 boys and 7 girls.
Page 22 of 25
In 1842, the district commissioner of mines visited the area and the schoolmaster reported that the collier children (these worked down the mines) were more tired and dull than the other, but equally anxious to learn. At this time, the local children who worked at the mines sometimes in excess of 14 hours per day, some were employed in working the steam engines operating the pitcage, others were employed pushing and pulling the loaded tubs (underground wagons) from the coalface to the pit bottom and back again when empty. (It is Plaque embedded in the school wall more than likely the pit in question was Woodpit LANCELOT ROLLESTON of WATNALL Esq ; Left Colliery in Watnall three Hundred pounds in the Year 1751 for Teaching Fifteen Poor Children of Wood). The this Parish to Read Write & Acc . M ; ROSAMUND ROLLESTON, Widow of the said commissioners said the LANCELOT ROLLESTON Esq ; Built this School work produced muscle at House 1742 & Obliged the Master to Teach two poor Children of the Said Parish to Read Write & Acc the expense of the other M ; FRANCES ROLLESTON Gave one Hundred Pounds 1787 to the Said School to teach Five organs, this resulted in Poor Children of the Said Parish to Read stunted growth of the Write & Acc , body. There are several accounts of remarks of the children i.e. Robert Blount aged 10 years of Eastwood said I am glad to get to bed every night my back and legs ache so much I would rather drive a plough or go to school than work in a pit. Ellene Wagstaffe of Watnall has five children variously employed, the youngest was not yet 7 years old when he first went to the pits. She said most of my children have worked since they were 7 years old, and they have worked from 6am-8pm and from 6-2pm on half days with no mealtime on half -days. She also said they were so tired one could not hear them speak and they often fell to sleep before they had finished their suppers. Some of
r t rs r t rs t
Page 23 of 25
these child miners worked down the mines in the morning and attended school in the afternoon, or vice-versa. The schoolmaster said, sometimes the children fall to sleep over their lessons. Bogend school closed in 1887 when the other four Board schools were built, i.e. Beauvale, Factory Lane (Greens Lane), Gilthill and Brinsley. Bogend school is now a private dwelling house and is little altered and I understand the locker seats in one of the upper rooms has been retained around walls as it was when used as a school. On the front of the house there is a slate plaque relating to the Rolleston familys bequests. They lived at a very fine building known as Watnall Hall now sadly demolished to make way for a housing estate. When Bogend school finally closed, the money was put into trust, and every year a certificate and the interest from the cash in the bank is divided and presented to children of the four schools who have attended for a whole year without any absences. Reverend John Mansell (Vicar of Greasley between 1776 and 1798) donated money for the benefit of the poor of the parish. His charity administrators combined with Rollestons to form the Rolleston and Mansell charity.
Page 24 of 25
Mark Leivers
THE NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of Greasley and District Civic Society will take place on Tuesday 24th February at 7:30pm at the Womens Institute hall, Main Street, Watnall. We be entertained by Ken Marslands presentation on local historic buildings and will discuss local issues such as Gilthill Primary School. I look forward to seeing you there. Feel free to bring family and friends this is open to the public.
Page 25 of 25

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This edition

Greasley and District Civic Society

The Greasley and District Civic Society are:

Photo number 1. Where is this?

GILTHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

IN THE PRESS THE TIMES

THE BOARD SCHOOLS

110 YEARS AGO

BOGEND CHARITY SCHOOL

THE NEXT MEETING

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