Category Archives: What’s new?

Scarecrow Weekend 2022 – update following the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

We have just heard that the Scarecrow Weekend is going ahead but it will, of course, be slightly different following the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The village scarecrow committee have taken advice from Rushcliffe Borough Council and received feedback locally which has encouraged them to keep going with an event which is an opportunity for our community to come together and which raises large sums of money for charity. These are both things which were very dear to the heart of our late-Queen.

The weekend will be conducted with the utmost respect; flags are being flown at half-mast and there will be no bunting on display.

(10.30am Friday 9th September 2022)

The Scarecrow Festival has a dedicated Facebook page; for news and updates, click here.

The sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II (8th September 2022)

Grantham Canal pages written up:

It’s been a huge job but our Grantham Canal pages are ready for you to view:

~ What were the waymarkers really for?

~ Who did a handstand on the parapet of the old canal bridge?

~ Who was Crutchy?

~ Have you seen the Whale that turns in the Basin at the dead of night?

~ & all you might ever want to know about Nottingham’s night soil …

Whether you fancy a quick dip or a long read, we have created a timeline and history of the canal and galleries of old and new images plus the canal ‘in the news’ – we hope that you enjoy them.

We’re always looking for new material, information and photographs; please contact us if you have anything that you would like us to include.

Belvoir Angels: pages updated & expanded

The Belvoir Angel headstones are amongst our most distinctive and intriguing village artefacts; in recent weeks we have been working on updating the Belvoir Angel webpages and there is lots of new material to explore:

  • Belvoir Angels: general page including their style and history plus links to research, photos and a complete database of Angels across the Vale.
  • The Hickling Belvoir Angel Headstones: All about the Hickling headstones plus the story of the re-discovery of a 34th headstone which we thought had been lost – it is tiny and rather sad but also very beautiful.
  • The Cobblestones Angel: The story of a headstone found buried in a local garden and the hunt for the original stonemasons.
  • Angels but no Angels: The headstones which have all the right characteristics but which have no angel carvings.

We hope you enjoy exploring!

Streets & Lanes/Houses & Buildings

Where would you find Faulks Lane or Mawkin Lane or Willoughby Road or The Washpit or the Horse Causey in Hickling? Have you seen images of Hickling’s thatched cottages or cruck cottages? Do you know why Pudding Lane is called Pudding Lane?

We have just finished uploading images from the Wadkin collection to our ‘Streets and Lanes of Hickling‘ page and our ‘Houses & Buildings‘ page – why not explore?

There is still a great deal to be done; we need to add extracts from Hazel’s books and information and photos from our other collections; please contact us if you would like any further information or anything that you would like to add.

The Speed family

Can you help with information about Jean and Margaret Speed who attended Hickling Village School in the 1950s? We have been contacted by their family who would like to know where they lived in the village and anything else anyone would like to pass on – please contact us if you are able to help.

We have uploaded the information that we have so far for the family; there seem to be three separate time periods beginning in the 1700s, present in the village again in the mid- to late-1800s (including a spell at The Plough Inn) and lastly in the mid-1900s.