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Edwinstowe
Sherwood Forest Art & Craft Centre(off the B6034 Swinecote Road, Edwinstowe towards Budby)
Edwinstowe Location within Nottinghamshire
Population	5,188 (2011)
Civil parish	Edwinstowe [1]
District	Newark and Sherwood
Shire county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MANSFIELD
Postcode district	NG21
Dialling code	01623
Police	Nottinghamshire
Fire	Nottinghamshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Sherwood
List of places UK England Nottinghamshire 53°10′N 1°04′W / 53.16°N 1.07°W / 53.16; -1.07Coordinates: 53°10′N 1°04′W / 53.16°N 1.07°W / 53.16; -1.07

Edwinstowe is a large English village in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, associated with the Robin Hood and Maid Marian legends. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 5,188.^[2]

Heritage

The etymology of the village name, "Edwin's resting place", recalls that the body of Edwin of Northumbria, King and Saint, was hidden in the church after he was killed in the Battle of Hatfield Chase, near Doncaster, probably in AD 633. The battle against King Penda of Mercia occurred near the present-day hamlet of Cuckney, some five miles north-west of modern Edwinstowe.^[3]

Edwinstowe is referred to twice in the Domesday Book as having five households, in addition to a priest and his four bordars, living in the hamlet in 1086.^[4]

Legend has it that Robin Hood married Maid Marian in St Mary's Church. Edwinstowe's present-day popularity is due mainly to the presence near the village of the Major Oak, a feature in the folk tales of Robin Hood.

Economy

Thoresby Colliery served as Edwinstowe's main source of employment until July 2015, when the mine was permanently closed.^[5] The loss of one of the last remaining deep coalmines in the country has left tourism as the main factor in the local economy.

Nottinghamshire County Council's nearby Sherwood Forest Visitors' Centre is scheduled for redevelopment and improvement. A contract awarded to RSPB intended for completion by late 2017 had a projected cost of £5.3 million.^[6][7]

Centre Parcs' Sherwood Forest holiday village is a local employer established in 1987, close to the edge of the village.^[8][9]

There was a post windmill south of the Mansfield Road with a small box-style roundhouse. It was driven by two common sails and two double-patent sails.

Amenities

Edwinstowe Cricket Ground

St. Mary's Church, Edwinstowe, England. (Alleged site of the wedding of Robin Hood and Maid Marian)

The two schools in the village are St Mary's Primary School and King Edwin Primary School.

The village also has a business services provider, a St John's Ambulance amenity, an antiques centre, workshops, a fun park, a youth hostel, two arts and crafts centres, a village hall, and a community pest-control centre. Leisure facilities include Thoresby Colliery Band and Youth Band, a high-wire forest adventure course, a mountain biking, cyclo cross and forest walks centre, a skate park, a forest fun park, and an outdoor adventure park.

Edwinstowe still has six pubs: the Black Swan, the Dukeries Lodge, Forest Lodge, Hammer and Wedge, the Manvers and the Royal Oak. Other caterers include the Edwinstowe Bistro Restaurant, the Cottage Tea Rooms, and Launay's Restaurant.

Environmental concerns are addressed under the Maun Valley Project Conservation Area.

Transport

Edwinstowe railway station functioned between 1897 and 1955. A goods line remains. The nearest railway station today is at Mansfield (6 miles, 10 km).^[10]

The village is served by half-hourly daytime Monday–Saturday bus services to Mansfield and Ollerton, six buses Monday–Saturday to Worksop, and one bus Monday–Friday to Nottingham. Services run twice a week to Newark and once a week to Lincoln.^[11]

Famous people

In order of birth:

• King Edwin of Northumbria gave his name to the village.


• The legendary Robin Hood is said to have married Maid Marian here.


• 
  John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (1662–1711), politician and landowner, was born here.


• 
  E. Cobham Brewer (1810–1897), lexicographer, died at the vicarage, where his son-in-law was the vicar.


• 
  Henry Morley (1852–1924), first-class cricketer, was born and died here.


• 
  Fanny Jean Turing (1864–1934), politician and activist, was probably born in the village, where her father was vicar.


• 
  Fred Kitchen (1890–1969), self-educated writer and autobiographer, was born here.


• 
  Francis Woodhead (1912–1991), first-class cricketer, was born here.


• 
  Philip Brett (1937–2002), musicologist and conductor, was born here.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edwinstowe.

• Edwinstowe Parish Council, residents' and visitors' site


• Edwinstowe Historical Society


• GeoHack Edwinstowe grid reference SK613663