There is plenty of history around Mansfield. We want to share with you 5 historical outings in the local area in and around Mansfield.
If you are passionate about history and want to get out and about in the Mansfield area, or just want to find out more, we want to help and share our favourite places. Getting out and about in your local area is a great way to stay involved, active and happy. Take a trip to the past and discover some of the fun to be had in the local area.
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The Major Oak
The Major Oak is a large English oak tree, located in the heart of Sherwood Forest, near the village of Edwinstowe, around fifteen minutes northeast of Mansfield centre. Folklore says that this tree was Robin Hood’s shelter where he and his merry men slept. The tree is an ancient giant that is a must see! It’s canopy spreads to 28 metres, it has a trunk circumference of 11 metres and weighs 23 tonnes. Unfortunately, you are unable to get up and personal with our big tree as it is protected by fences all around it
The exact age of the tree is unknown but it is estimated that it stood through the Vikings, the Battle of Hastings, Agincourt, Waterloo, the births and deaths of Shakespeare, Henry VII, Dickens, Darwin, Newton, Chaucer, Cromwell, the two world wars and over 50 monarchs. Imagine all the things this tree has seen over the years!!
“Fantastic day out for all the family and people of all ages” Kelly Grey – Home Instead Mansfield
Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre is accessible for everyone, with accessible parking next to it, disabled toilets and a large Changing Places Facility with a hoist, shower, toilet and changing facilities for the comfort of disabled users and their carers. There are some surfaced trails but some of the pathways do have inclines and may not be suitable for wheelchair users. You can hire mobility scooters at £3 per hour which you need to book in advance.
https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/things-to-do/the-major-oak-p586841
The National Holocaust Centre and Museum
The Holocaust Centre is based in Laxton, a village close to Ollerton. It was formed in 1995 by Stephen and James Smith. They visited the Yad Vashem (Israel’s national holocaust museum) with their mother in 1995 and realised that their Holocaust knowledge was limited so wanted to share what they had learned with everyone here in the UK, especially to students.
The centre is a charity, and it took many years of fund raising and hard work to create the Centre and museum. This amazing place holds two permanent exhibitions, a memorial and reflective space, education and training space, beautiful landscaped gardens and viewing galleries to learn about the Holocaust.
The centre has accessible toilets and there is disabled parking opposite the main entrance to the museum. The building is a Victorian Farmhouse so there are limits in physical access. They have audio description available in the Journey and some films are subtitled and they have an inhouse T-loop hearing system in place. There is a lift available.
https://www.holocaust.org.uk/
Newstead Abbey
Newstead Abbey is located 12 miles north of Nottingham in a village called Ravenshead. It was founded as monastic house in the twelfth century and is steeped in over 800 years of history. It was the home of Lord Byron the romantic poet from 1808 to 1814. You can still see the private apartments of Lord Byron which still holds personal items, such as furniture, letters, manuscripts, and portraits, as well as his gilt wood bed, pistol and the desk which he wrote his poems from. Byron sold the abbey in 1818 to Thomas Wildman who held it until 1861 when William Frederick Webb purchased it who was an African explorer. You can also see the Victorian Kitchen and room displays, paintings, letters, deeds and diaries, photo albums of the Abbey, plus cloisters from the monastic period and magnificent gardens.
There is accessible toilets and they offer free admission to carers who are visiting with the person they care for. Assistance dogs are welcome in the house, café, shop, park and gardens.
https://newsteadabbey.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/newstead-abbey-site-map.pdf
Papplewick Pumping Station
A beautiful pumping station situated on rigg Lane in Ravenshead was designed in the early 1880s to pump millions of gallons of clean fresh water everyday to the increasing population of industrial Nottingham. Today the pumping station trust is a registered charity and have preserved the stunning pumping station so you can visit. You can even have a wedding here and they hold steam events throughout the year. Visit https://www.papplewickpumpingstation.org.uk/visit-us.html.
The station is accessible to all but the engine house is a historical building and there is a flight of steps leading to the porch and main door, there are also internal stairs for reaching the upper floors.
Papplewick Hall
Situated in Papplewick, Nottinghamshire within a beautiful woodland garden sits the stunning Papplewick Hall. It was built by Frederick Montague between 1781 and 1786. The house is a grade 1 listed house. With its stunning gardens and some fine contemporary decoration and an elegant staircase, it is open to the public on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesday of every month from 2pm-5pm. http://www.papplewickhall.co.uk/
We really do have some amazing historical places to visit in the Mansfield area. We don’t have to travel to far from home to visit some local sites in Ravenshead, Ollerton, Edwinstowe and Papplewick. So what you waiting for, there are lots to learn close to home, so get out on a journey of discovery!
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Find out more about supported living in this area and see if home care in Mansfield could be right for your loved ones.
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