Epperstone
| Epperstone | |
| Nottinghamshire | |
|---|---|
 Main Street, Epperstone | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK652485 |
| Location: | 53°1’48"N, 1°1’45"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Newark and Sherwood |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Newark |
Epperstone is a village in the midst of Nottinghamshire, near Lowdham and Calverton.
The village sits in the valley of the Dover Beck, seven miles south-west of Southwell and nine miles north-east of Nottingham. The Dover Beck is joined her by the Order Beck.
The name 'Epperstone' seems to contain the Old English personal name, Eorphere, so 'Eophere's village / farmstead.[1][2]
The parish had a population (including Gonalston) of 589 at the time of the 2011 Census. Many inhabitants commute to work or school in Nottingham.
History
In the 1086 Domesday Book, Epperstone is recorded as having had a church and a priest. Evidence has been found of a church even in the Anglo-Saxon period. However the only relics left of any date earlier than that of the existing church are pieces of the font, a finial in the churchyard, and the lower part of the wall of the nave.
The common was enclosed in 1768, in which settlement 254 acres were allotted in lieu of tithes.[3]
A licence to teach in Epperstone was granted in 1625 to a Mr Moore. The schoolhouse in Toad Lane was built about 1756 with a house for the master next door. The free school was purchased in 1838 with money raised by subscription, and a grant from the National Society. About 100 children were soon attending the school. It moved to a larger building in the Oxton road, dating from 1855, when the earlier schoolhouse was sold. This Church of England primary school continued until 1985, when about a dozen remaining pupils were transferred to Lowdham School.[3]
According to surveys, the population of Epperstone fluctuated after 1801, when the first accessible records were made. In that year it was 422. In 1851, this rose to 511, but in 1901, fell to 262.. In 1853, Thomas Holdsworth was the principal landowner and Lord of the manor. Thomas Moore, John Towle, John Litchfield, John Thomas, William Barnard, and Henry Sherbrooke also held estates.[4]
Litchfield library, founded in 1839 by John Litchfield Esq., contained 2,250 volumes on philosophical and miscellaneous subjects, available to all subscribers of sixpence per quarter, paid in advance. The books were kept in the schoolroom until 1843, when the donor erected a building and vested it, together with the library, in trustees for the use of the Epperstone's parishioners.[4]
It is thought that the undulating field behind Church Cottages, off Church Lane, inspired the Barrow-Downs in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring.[5]
Churches
- Church of England: Holy Cross Church. It is a Grade I listed building.[6]
The present joint parish with Gonalston, Woodborough and Oxton is part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.
The Wesleyan Methodist chapel built about 1800 closed for worship in 1973. The Primitive Methodist Chapel functioned from 1851 to about 1904. Both are now private houses.[3]
About the village
The village pub is the Cross Keys.
These days there is no longer a shop in the village: the nearest are in Lowdham.[7] The Bumbles tearoom and garden serves foods to eat in or take away.[8]
Adjacent is Bourne Wood, which began as a grove planted by children for the Millennium.[9] The village has a Women's Institute and a Crafts Club, and Wednesday coffee mornings are held at the church.
Epperstone Festival, a biennial event, was held again on 14 June 2015.[10] Sixteen private gardens could be visited. The proceeds of about £8500 were divided among Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance, St Ann's Food Bank and Epperstone Church.[11]
Conservation
Epperstone was designated a conservation area in 1972. A Conservation Area Appraisal was completed in February 2006. Apart from the Grade I listed church, the village has 16 Grade II listed buildings. Most are now residential, but they include barns and three dovecotes.
The report notes Epperstone's "very distinctive character... a combination of topography, buildings, trees and walls.... The constantly changing views make it an attractive space to move through." It also notes, "The approach to the village from the west is along a tunnel formed by overhanging trees, including ash, holly, maple, horse chestnut and yew. This creates a strong sense of arrival as you enter the village." The report criticises additions made to the former police training centre in Main Street.[12]
Sport and society
- Cricket: Epperstone Cricket Club, which has a full-sized cricket pitch
- Tennis: Epperstone Tennis Club[13] which has two artificial-surface doubles tennis courts.
The village hall has a children's play area.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Epperstone) |
References
- ↑ Gover, J. E. B.; Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M.: 'Place-Names of Nottinghamshire , Part' (English Place-Names Society, 1940), page 162
- ↑ Mills, Anthony David: 'A Dictionary of British Place-Names' (Oxford University Press, 2003) ISBN 978-0-19-852758-9
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Gunn, James: A History of Epperstone.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, 1853.
- ↑ Andrew H. Morton, Tolkien's Gedling 1914 ISBN 185858423X.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1045543: Church of the Holy Cross (Grade I listing)
- ↑ Nottingham Post, 28 July 2015.
- ↑ Details. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ↑ Epperstone site Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ↑ Epperstone site Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ↑ The Bramley Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ↑ Newark and Sherwood Local Development Framework Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ↑ Epperstone Tennis Club
- James Gunn: A History of Epperstone (Epperstone, 2003) includes detailed references and a bibliography of local history.