Bunny
| Bunny | |
| Nottinghamshire | |
|---|---|
 The approach to Bunny Hall, Bunny | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK582295 |
| Location: | 52°51’39"N, 1°8’9"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 689 (2011) |
| Post town: | Nottingham |
| Postcode: | NG11 |
| Dialling code: | 0115 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Rushcliffe |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Rushcliffe |
Bunny is a village in southern Nottinghamshire; a place with a parish population of 689 at the 2011 Census. The village is on the A60 road, seven miles south of Nottingham, sitting a little to the south of Bradmore and north of Costock.
History
There has been a settlement on the site since pre-Norman times. The parish church, St Mary, is of the 14th century.
The village's most significant building is Bunny Hall, probably built in the 1570s and occupied by the Parkyns family for three hundred years. Sir Thomas Parkyns (1662–1741), known as the Wrestling Baronet, built what is now the north wing to his own design circa 1723–25. He also built the school and almshouses.[1] Thomas Parkyns was a devotee of wrestling and organised an annual wrestling match in Bunny Park (prize a gold-laced hat). These matches continued until 1810. His book on the subject The Inn-Play: or, the Cornish Hugg-Wrestler was published in 1713 and reprinted many times.[2]
In 1813, Bunny was described as follows:
Bunny, a straggling village on the high road, containing about sixty houses, and which seems to have been indebted principally for its origin to the ancient seat of Bunny Park Hall, once the property of the family of Parkyns, and now of their descendant Lord Rancliffe. This family have indeed been great benefactors factors to the village, as it contains a good school house and hospital, the former being close to the church yard gate and erected in 1700 for the poor children of Bunny and Bradmore; and the latter having four rooms for four poor widows, and endowed by Dame Anne Parkyns.[3]
20th and 21st century
The Hall was sold circa 1990, but remained unoccupied and had become semi-derelict by 2005. It was occupied and under restoration in 2006. A small section of the grounds now houses a new group of luxury homes.
Pictures
Almshouse 
St Mary's 
Rancliffe Arms
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Bunny) |
References
- ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Nottinghamshire, 1951; 1979 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09636-1
- ↑ Hole, Christina: 'English Sports and Pastimes' (Batsford, 1949) p. 31
- ↑ Hodgson, John; Laide, Charles Francis: 'The Beauties of England and Wales, or, Delineations, topographical, historical, and descriptive, of each county Volume 12, part 1 (Thomas Maiden, 1813) pages 198–202
