Bulwell
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2009) |
Bulwell | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | Nottingham | |
Postcode district | NG6 | |
Dialling code | 0115 | |
Police | Nottinghamshire | |
Fire | Nottinghamshire | |
Ambulance | East Midlands | |
UK Parliament | ||
Bulwell is a
History
Early settlers
The earliest documented settlements in Bulwell appeared around 800 AD, and were most likely built around the same time as the first local bridge across the
The bridge created a rare direct road to Nottingham from the north-west, so introducing regular traffic from across the country to the area for the first time. A gatehouse was built for the toll-collectors; it also gave protection for travellers, and led to the founding of the new settlement. The travellers were an almost captive market, and the abundance of sandstone made it easy to build dwellings. As the volume of traffic using the road increased, so did the size and population of Bulwell.
Bulwell is recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as "Buleuuelle" and classified as a village. Bulwell was by this time established as a small trading post for all kinds of goods and services, for those living and working in the surrounding area and for those travelling further afield, and this encouraged many others to settle in the wider area.
Local people, particularly the poorer new settlers, often offered space in their homes to travellers requiring overnight stops. For them it was a safer and perhaps more sociable arrangement than continuing to Nottingham. Using the river water, beer was produced locally; this may have led some guests to stay overnight unintentionally.
By around 1200 Bulwell had grown to provide all the facilities to accommodate animals and their drovers, offering full service on what was fast becoming a relatively major road. Trade thrived, and a steady stream of newcomers took advantage of the living that Bulwell could offer them.
However, although the trade was good for the local economy, the many new salesmen and tradesmen split the town in two: the established business owners, who had paid heavily to build and maintain their premises, complained of a growing number of roaming competitors undercutting their prices and taking their trade. Since they were also paying rates[clarification needed] to the local landowner, they considered they had a right to a monopoly. In response to the complaints, a local law was enacted (around 1320) forbidding anyone without "fixed... and at least part-covered premises" to sell goods or services close to the original businesses.[3][full citation needed]
The statute was ill-worded: salesmen simply fixed posts in the ground, creating market stalls similar to their modern counterparts. These were covered while in use and uncovered in situ when not, so abiding by the law and forming a permanent sales venue. Customers of these fought also against the richer businessmen and defended the right of marketeers to operate. The location of the Market Place remains almost unchanged. It still bustles on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.[4]
1100–1600
The population grew steadily throughout the period, but the town itself did not grow much in area: opportunities for betterment and the desire of many to live further from the presumed unhealthy town centres ensured a relatively even flow of traffic in and out of Bulwell.
At some point the
An early example can be found in sections of the wall surrounding Wollaton Hall, which was built using Bulwell stone in the late 16th century. The sheer quantities used there and elsewhere in the city suggest some kind of professional mining operation must already have been in operation by this time. Bulwell stone was later also used to repair the damage caused to the palaces of Westminster during the Second World War.
Coal is also found in abundance close to Bulwell. Running as part of much larger seams criss-crossing the region, the coal lies underneath the layers of sandstone and is in places only a few feet beneath the surface. Coalmines in the area around Bulwell were therefore among the first in the county to operate on a commercial basis, with large-scale mining from around 1500 onward.[5]
Men like of Sir
The church on the hill overlooking Bulwell, built in 1849–1850, stands on the site of an original Bulwell church dating back to the 13th century or earlier. Towering over most of North-East Nottingham,
1600–1900
In 1667, George Strelley "built a school for the educating and teaching [of] young children of the Inhabitants of the said
1843 brought bad weather that did irreparable damage to the earlier St Mary's Church. The architect of the present one was
Bulwell Hall
Bulwell Hall (See picture [7]) was a mansion built in 1770 by the landowner John Newton, set in grounds to the north of Bulwell town centre and known initially as Pye Wipe Hall, a name that stuck locally until the building was demolished in 1958. Passing to Newton's descendants, Bulwell Hall was sold at auction in 1864 to Samuel Thomas Cooper along with over 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of land.[8] It served variously as a sanatorium, an approved school for boys, and an Italian prisoner of war camp before its demolition.
S. T. Cooper and the National School
The purchase of Bulwell Hall made Samuel Thomas Cooper a lord of the manor in and around Bulwell. Cooper was a
After Cooper's death, his widow, Annie Cooper, donated £600 to Bulwell St Mary's for a better organ. Still in use, though now electrified, the organ houses a plaque marking her donation in memory of her husband. Some sources claim this was the same S. T. Cooper who later enclosed Bulwell Bogs as his own private ground. It is known that Cooper died in 1871, aged 39, and that the protest over the Bogs took place in 1872, but this does not preclude a protest taking place after his death for actions made whilst still alive. There is no other S. T. Cooper recorded as lord of the manor of Bulwell.
Boundary changes
The Deanery of Bulwell was founded in 1888, four years after the creation of the Diocese of Southwell. Bulwell remained a town in its own right until a boundary change in the 1890s placed it in the City of Nottingham. The ground floor of the 19th-century Old Town Hall is now a retail outlet for fireplaces. The long disused dance floor on the first floor has performed a variety of uses.[10]
1900 to the present
Over the past century, Bulwell has been much augmented by housing estates such as Crabtree Farm, Snape Wood, Highbury Vale and Hempshill Vale.
Snape Wood and Sellers Wood were parts of a swathe of woodland that bordered the
A token remnant of Snape Wood in the middle of the new estate amounts to little more than a fenced copse with three pathways leading through it. Owned by the local authority, Nottingham City Council, the site was designated a local nature reserve, but years of neglect have left it rubbish-strewn and in need of a structured management plan. Despite the
More of Sellers Wood remains, also with a local nature reserve, but actively managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust for the local authority. Sellers Wood was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest by English Nature in 1981 as "a fine example of broad-leaved semi-natural woodland... of regional importance".[12]
Bulwell no longer has a working quarry,
The larger developments for industry built in Sellers Wood in the 1980s (off Blenheim Lane, Camberley Road and Dabell Avenue) were augmented in the 1990s. Many other such buildings have sprung up in the surrounding area since and the area looks set to grow outwards once more in the near future. It includes warehousing and distribution for national food retailers, printing factories, office blocks of all sizes, and small to medium-sized units for various goods and services. A large
Next to the supermarket is a precipitous slope, formed by the edges of a long-abandoned limestone quarry.
Geography
Bordering
Although the Bestwood estates were also originally suffixed Bulwell, ward and local-area boundaries have been changed to link the whole Greater Bestwood area with Basford and Sherwood. The seven fields between Bulwell and Bestwood have been largely developed, but the historic links between the areas remains. The newer estates covering the fields have just added to the satellite list.
Bulwell Bogs
The centre of Bulwell lies in a valley along the River Leen. The Bog area beside the Leen, known for over 900 years as "Bulwell Bogs", has been set aside as a place for children to play, paddle and fish.
After an 1872 attempt by the lord of the manor to enclose the land around the Bogs, the people of Bulwell staged a peaceful protest, massing in hundreds to protect their common land. Described in the official records as "impeccably well behaved and peaceable to a man; indeed rather joyous of spirit!" the people of Bulwell marched a short distance before enjoying lunch by the river. Thereafter the crowd is said to have "dispersed quietly and as directed with no further disturbance," later winning the fight to designate the land for the "pleasure and leisure of the people of Bulwell".[13]
The whole Bogs area was set to be demolished in 2002 to make way for a road bridge and transport interchange for buses, trams, taxis and trains. Fierce local opposition produced a campaign to prevent the plans, which the City Council eventually scrapped.[13] With help from local community groups and residents, the facilities at Bulwell Bogs were instead upgraded in 2003 to produce a bigger play-park, a safer paddling pool and a cleaner feel, and won a Green Flag Award in 2004 for work done to regenerate the area.[14]
There is a further area about a mile upstream, near present-day Moorbridge, which used to attract children from miles around to play. This led to the nickname "Bulwell-on-Sea". The building of an outdoor Lido pool further encouraged families to travel across the city to spend a day by the water in Bulwell. Despite strong local opposition, the Lido was demolished in 2006 and the land sold off for private housing development.[15]
Transport
Bulwell is a transport hub for north Nottingham. There are three stops for Bulwell on the
Bus services
CT4N
- L14: Nottingham, Alfreton Road, Hyson Green, Perry Road, City Hospital, Basford, Bulwell
Nottingham City Transport
- 17: Nottingham, Hucknall Road, City Hospital, Bulwell.
- 35: Nottingham, QMC, Wollaton Vale, Bilborough, Strelley, Broxtowe, Cinderhill, Bulwell.
- 68/69: Nottingham, Sherwood Rise, Basford, Bulwell, Hempshill Vale, Snape Wood.
- 70/71: Nottingham, Sherwood Rise, Basford, Bagnall Road (70), Cinderhill (71), Bulwell, Norwich Gardens (70), Morrisons.
- 79/79A: Nottingham, Nuthall Road, Aspley, Cinderhill, Bulwell, Rise Park, Top Valley, Bestwood Park, Arnold.
Nottinghamshire County Council
- 528: Bestwood, Bulwell, Phoenix Park, Moorgreen, Selston.
Education
Marcia Puckey, head of Hempshill Hall Primary before she retired in the summer of 2005, was the longest-serving school head in Britain. She received an OBE for her services to education in the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2006.[24][25]
Bulwell's flagship new school, The Bulwell Academy, was officially opened in September 2009, with all pupils from the former Henry Mellish School and the former Alderman Derbyshire School (later River Leen School) moving into the new building by August 2010.
Life in Bulwell
Despite officially being a part of a large city, there is still a distinct feel to Bulwell that belies its size and proximity to Nottingham. Bulwell has many community-based initiatives to improve the area, with local volunteers playing a big role. The Bulwell
There is a site for
Bulwell has several pubs, one of which (The Scots' Grey, now closed) featured in a television programme on The Ten Hardest Pubs in Britain.[26] Housing a successful boxing club, it provided champion boxers such as Dominic Wilmot in 2008 and Aaron Brenton in 2009, and trained hundreds of amateur boxers for generations. However, its reputation for toughness comes as much from fights outside the ring as in it, and stretches back many years. Fights were regularly held in the nearby Market Place after closing time on Saturday night, with scores being settled and money made or lost on the outcomes. Spectators formed a ring around the bare-knuckle fighters, who would fight until a knock-out. Betting, challenging (i. e. money offered to any man able to knock down the "hero"), and "purses" offered by crowds were regular sidelines to the fights, which continued into the 1990s. Ironically the pub was closed recently because it was seen as too "rough" to control, and now houses a Barnardo's charity shop.
Despite the closure, the pub's football team (The Scots' Grey F.C.) continue to play, enjoying success in the local Sunday League. It won all three senior trophies in Nottinghamshire for two years running, as the first team to accomplish the feat, coached by Steve "Ozzy" Osborne. It now hopes to become the first team ever to do the "treble treble", winning all three trophies three years running.
Bulwell is the setting for the online comedy series Charity Shop Sue (2019), created and directed by Stuart Edwards,[27] Timothy Chesney[27] and Matthew Chesney.[27] The series is produced by Vicky McClure[27] and Shane Meadows.[28] The series, a mockumentary, follows Sue Tuke (played by Selina Mosinski[27]) as the manager of a fictional charity shop on Bulwell Main Street.
Crime
Crime levels are high in the area, compared to Nottingham and national averages.
The fatal shooting of local man Marvin Bradshaw outside a Bulwell pub in 2003, led to gangland-style reprisal attacks that attracted international interest.[33] A passenger in the car Bradshaw had been driving on the night of his murder, whilst unhurt in the attack, himself died within months of the event, leading friends and family members to seek revenge on his behalf.[34] The mother and stepfather of Michael O'Brien, the man convicted of Bradshaw's murder, were targeted – despite moving into a "safe house" on the Lincolnshire coast, they were both murdered soon after.
O'Brien had been sentenced to 24 years in prison for Bradshaw's murder. Three of the eight men arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder John and Joan Stirland, O'Brien's mother and stepfather, were found guilty, in a case still being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.[35] "Extremely serious matters" are said to have been found in the way the police handled it.[36] It has been shown that corrupt police officers passed information to gang boss Colin Gunn about the time of the murders. Gunn received a sentence of 35 years for conspiracy to murder the Stirlands and a further nine years for bribery and corruption of police officers. He was implicated and arrested, but never charged with the murder of Marian Bates, a jeweller.[37][38][39]
On 1 July 2006, the day after the three were sentenced for the Stirlands' murders, a riot broke out on the Bestwood estate, the former home of Gunn and his gang. Lasting several hours and causing an estimated £10,000 worth of damage, the riots were said to have been triggered by the outcome of the murder trial. Nine people were convicted over the disturbances.[40]
On 7 August 2006, an 18-year-old local died after an attack outside the Moon & Stars pub: Aaron Smith suffered severe head injuries in the attack, which occurred on 3 August. A local 24-year-old man, Jordan Carter, pleaded guilty to Smith's manslaughter.[41] Another local man was shot in the neck and back outside the Lord Nelson in November 2006, then abducted, tied up, driven to a country road and left for dead. Three people were arrested and bailed in connection with the crime, which left the 27-year-old victim from Aspley with serious injuries.[42]
Retail
There are shops to cater for most needs, but the town centre has suffered a recent decline. Many chains have ceased trading, (Woolworths, Food Giant), merged (Lloyds' Bank/TSB Bank), moved out (Co-op, HSBC) or proved non-viable (Godfreys' TV and radio repairs, butchers', photo developers, pubs), although some larger businesses have moved in their place (Costa Coffee, Wetherspoons, CeX). Bulwell has a library,[43] a swimming pool,[44] many churches, and fast food restaurants. There are also two golf courses, a youth club, a police station and a Tudor-style arcade hidden down an alleyway off the Market Place.
Bulwell is well served by most supermarket chains, including Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, and Morrisons. The town also features the small Springfield Retail Park, next to the Bulwell Forest tram stop.
Origin of the name
To outsiders the name may sound monosyllabic. It is supposed to derive from the
One legend has it that the town was named after a bull struck a sandstone rock causing it to seep water – a now sealed well-housing in the nature reserve off Bestwood Road, is said to be the original. Both Bulwell St Mary's School and the Seventh-day Adventist church next door have illustrations of the tale relief carved into sandstone blocks. Generations of Bulwell's children have grown up with the legend and the city council recently erecting a statue of a bull goring a well in the market place.
Civil parish
In 1891 the parish had a population of 11,481.[46] On 1 April 1899 the parish was abolished and merged with Nottingham.[47]
Notable people
- before dying in battle aged 20
- John Bird (1936-2022), satirist, actor and comedian, was educated at High Pavement Grammar School.
- Brothers Jason Booth (born 1977) and Nicky Booth (born 1980), boxers holding concurrent British and Commonwealth titles at Flyweight and Bantamweight respectively, attended Henry Mellish School.
- Stephen Brown (born 1948), composer, conductor and teacher
- Emily Campbell (born 1994), olympic weightlifter.[48]
- Steve Chettle (born 1968), former football player for Nottingham Forest, educated at Alderman Derbyshire School (which was on the site of what is now Bulwell Academy)
- Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA (born 1939), Director of the National Museum of Science and Industry and current Chairman of English Heritage, educated at Henry Mellish School
- Les Leston (also known as Alfred Lazarus Fingleston, 1920–2012), Grand Prix-winning F1 driver
- Bertie Mee (1918–2001), association football player and manager of Arsenal for their first ever Double win
- Georgie Mee (1900–1978), footballer, older brother of Bertie Mee
- Booker prize-winning novelist and grammar-school teacher
- Wilfrid Reid (1884–1973), professional golfer and golf-course designer
- Malcolm Starkey (born 1936), English footballer
- John White (1855–date of death unknown), cricketer
- Charity Shop Sue, Manager of Sec*hand Chances, Local Celebrity, Stylist
See also
References
- ^ "City of Nottingham Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ "City of Nottingham Bulwell Forest ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ Parish records.
- ^ "Bulwell Market". Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
- ^ R. S. Smith, 1989, Early Coal Mining Around Nottingham 1500–1650, University of Nottingham.
- ^ "Nottinghamshire: History and archaeology | Miscellaneous articles: Notes on Domestic Architecture of Old Notttingham (2)". www.nottshistory.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006.
- ^ "Broxtowehundred.co.uk".
- ^ a b "Bulwell Hall". Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2006.
- ^ "Bulwell St Mary's - Home". Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
- ^ "Bid to convert Old Town Hall into apartments". Hucknall Dispatch. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "Ashton Park & Snape Wood Nature Reserve". Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
- ^ Nature networkernottinghamcity.gov.uk Archived 6 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "ClareLittleford.net". www.clarelittleford.net. Archived from the original on 17 December 2002. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Green Flag Award - the National Standard for Parks and Green Spaces". Archived from the original on 15 July 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2006.
- ^ "BBC - Nottingham Features - Swimming pool debate".
- ^ Bulwell mapthetram Archived 12 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Revamp plans for bus station 'is lift Bulwell needs'". Dispatch. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Thurlow, Jack (16 January 2023). "Major bus station closes for 3 months as revamp work begins". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Bulwell Bus Station Improvements". Transport Nottingham. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Blake, Keimae (15 May 2023). "Newly refurbished bus station looks 'lovely' as it re-opens". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ https://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/servicereports/369.pdf [permanent dead link]
- Nottingham Evening Post, 8 September 2006)
- ^ "How different areas performed". 5 December 2006.
- ^ "Seeing in new year with a gong", Nottingham Evening Post, 31 December 2005.
- ^ "New Year honours in education", The Guardian, 31 December 2005.
- ^ "New lease of life for battle-hardened Scots Grey". Hucknall Dispatch. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Charity Shop Sue (TV Series 2019– ) - IMDb, retrieved 26 March 2022
- ^ "Charity Shop Sue". YouTube. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ Find a property [dead link]
- ^ a b "BBC NEWS | England | Nottinghamshire | Memorial dedicated to killed PC". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007.
- ^ "BBC NEWS | England | Nottinghamshire | Police officer's memorial defaced". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007.
- ^ Nottinghamshire BBC [permanent dead link]
- ^ "GU04_17_08 Gang Wars in UK". Archived from the original on 8 December 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
- TheGuardian.com. 15 March 2006.
- ^ "Joan and John Stirland (Notts and Lincs Police)". www.ipcc.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
- ^ "Double murder police investigated". 24 December 2004.
- ^ How police set up band of "untouchables" to snare crime gang that held city in fear. The Times, 2 August 2007.
- ^ Couple killed in revenge attack after police failed to give proper protection. The Times, 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Gangland boss Colin Gunn jailed for life".
- ^ Nottinghamshire BBC [permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.hucknalltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=743&ArticleID=1897653 [permanent dead link]
- ^ "BBC NEWS | UK | England | Nottinghamshire | Three arrested after man abducted". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Bulwell Library". Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
- ^ "Ken Martin Swimming Centre". Archived from the original on 29 November 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2006.
- ^ "Nottinghamshire: History and archaeology | Old Nottingham suburbs: Then and now > Bulwell (1)". www.nottshistory.org.uk. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007.
- A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ "Relationships and changes Bulwell CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ Reid, Ben (2 August 2021). "Tokyo 2020: Nottingham's Emily Campbell becomes first British female weightlifter to win Olympic medal". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 2 August 2021.