We are very grateful to Michael and Mary Gertrude (Dickman) Nichols and their family for sharing Michael’s wonderful archive relating to the Dickman family in Hickling – thank you.

Frederick Dickman – memoirs of his early years in Hickling

Fred Dickman recorded his early memories of Hickling on tape which were later transcribed by his son-in-law Mike Nichols; they represent a wonderful snapshot of the village in the early 1900s.

• Frederick (Fred) John Dickman was born in Hickling 9th June 1905. In the 1921 census he is recorded as assisting his father on his farm. Mike Nichol’s family tree explains that he was a poultry farmer and corn merchant. He died in Nottingham on the 15th August 1991.
• Doris Elizabeth Woolley was born in Hickling 30th December 1900. Her family farmed at Barland Fields on Bridegate Lane. She died in July 1974 at Highfield Farm, Long Clawson.
• They married on the 10th April 1928 in the Methodist Chapel in Hickling (consequently, there are no marriage entries in the Hickling Church registers and the online records simply show as being in the Bingham District).
  • Mary (Dickman) Nichols was Fred and Doris’ 2nd daughter.

Old photographs and postcards:

This group includes three lovely old photographs from July 1924 but we need help identifying the places and names. We believe they were taken either at The Ruins or Barland Field and we think the elderly bearded gentleman is Mr Edgson. They are also likely to include Fred Dickman and Doris (Woolley) Dickman. It is thought that the picnic photograph shows (from the right) Gert Woolley (in the white blouse), Doris Woolley and then possibly Fred Dickman. It is also thought to be Doris raking in the haymaking photograph.

Skating on the Canal

“I have some photos of the winter 1981 when the ice was really good and we skated from Hose to Hickling – and back again. it was about minus 10 all day. I fell in at a spring on the way back and all my clothes froze solid on me when I reached Hose.” (Mike Nichols 2023)

Old School Books

Mike Nichols also shared with us a handful of pages from old Hickling school books;

• from Herbert Woolley’s composition book dated
• and from John Corner’s mathematics book.

Mike wrote: “I am sorting a few things out . Wonder if this is of interest. It is out of an old school book from Hickling . The compositions are dated and cover various subjects . Same pen wrote the date so it was not added later. This one Dec 9th 1887. Several are signed by Herbert Woolley . He was born 1873 so was 14 at the time . Living at Barland’s farm . One of his compositions is a letter to his father saying what he wants to be on leaving school . Answer was “a Butcher” which he duly became with the village butcher, later at Upper Broughton and then farmed Barlands.”

“Not very plain but the book dates from 1841. this time a Hickling lad, John Corner b 1829 … so he was 12 at the time . His father Septimus was a Shoemaker , lived in Top End in a house which faces Broughton . That’s according to Fred Dickman . Fred inherited a grandfather clock from Septimus , 200yrs old then and when Septimus inherited it it was too tall for his house so he dug a hole in the kitchen for it . The base was rotten when I saw it at at Clawson. Can’t do justice to the elaborate letters in the maths book but you will get the idea . Bet you couldn’t short change them .”