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There are so many historical events happening in Nottinghamshire this May, it's hard to keep count! There's something for everyone from prehistoric talks to medieval festivals to finds days. Here's just a few of them below:

Saturday 2nd May: Head to the National Civil War Centre, Newark, for ‘Country Beats and Dancing Feet’. ‘Country Beats and Dancing Feet offers an engaging look at how people danced, socialised and celebrated in Stuart England. Focusing on the popular country dances enjoyed in market squares and village greens, this event explores the role of music and movement in everyday life during the 17th century. The session is inspired by John Playford’s 1651 publication The English Dancing Master, the first known country dance manual, which recorded dances complete with music and instructions and remained popular for more than 100 years’. ‘Led by Lynne and Mike Spicer, the event combines historical insight with live participation’. Tickets cost up to £5 per person and booking is required. This session is for adults, however there is a family event during the day with live music and dancing. Book the adult session here and for more information on the family day, click here.

Sunday 3rd May: ‘A team from the Framework Knitters Museum will be based in Lambley Village Hall celebrating the lost springtime tradition of Cowslip Sunday’. This event includes machine demonstrations, live music, historical displays, and much more. Booking is not required and this event is free. For more information, visit the event page here.

Monday 4th May: Head to ‘the Framework Knitters Museum on Bank Holiday Monday 4th May for a host of free events to celebrate May Day’. This event includes puppetry, craft demos, storytelling, musical performances, and much more. Booking is not required and this event is free. For more information, visit the event page here.

Thursday 7th May: ‘Local historian, educationalist and author Adrian Gray will be visiting the Bassetlaw Museum to talk about the Dangerous Women of Nottinghamshire. His lively presentation will look at some of the women of Nottinghamshire who have has a significant impact in challenging the man’s world that they were forced to live in. The selection includes a mix of social and spiritual revolutionaries who had an impact way beyond the county boundary’. Tickets cost up to £3 per person. Book your place here.

Saturday 9th May: ‘Have you discovered a mysterious object while metal detecting, gardening, dog walking, or exploring the outdoors? Curious about its story? Bring your find to Mansfield Museum and get it identified by an expert. Join Meghan, Finds Liaison Officer for Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire, who will be on hand to examine objects and help uncover their historical significance’. This event is free, but booking is required. Book your place here.

Monday 11th May: Creswell Crags have organised the online talk ‘The Arid Ape: how arid environments made us human’. In this talk, Professor Amelia Villaseñor (University of Arkansas) will examine how our ancestors, called hominins, carved a new piece of the African landscape for themselves. Unlike our close-ape relatives, early hominins learned to survive in regions that are drier, but not necessarily hotter than current chimpanzee habitats. These arid regions may be a key to understanding our origins’. This event is free but booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 12th May: Head to Mansfield Museum to explore the buildings designed by architect Watson Fothergill. ‘Flamboyant Victorian Architect Watson Fothergill was born in 1841 in Mansfield and some of his earliest buildings were in the town, including houses, shops and the Cattle Market. Join Lucy Brouwer (the creator of the popular Nottingham guided tour: Watson Fothergill Walk) in this illustrated talk. The talk will look at the surviving buildings in Mansfield, and those that have been demolished’. Tickets cost up to £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Above: Watson Fothergill's Woodborough Road Baptist Church (By Darren Turner - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Saturday 16th May: ‘Hands On Heritage Day returns to Mansfield Central Library this May, bringing a variety of fun and free activities for all the family! Come along and explore pop-up museums and local history displays, find out about family history, browse the books for sale, and get hands-on with fun crafts and activities’. This event is free and booking is not required. For more information, visit the event page here.

Saturday 16th - Sunday 17th May: Head to Thoresby Park ‘for the weekend to celebrate, remember and reminisce the 1940s’ with their weekend event: ‘1940s Spirit of Wartime Sherwood’. There will be dance lessons and ration book cooking demonstrations and the battle for stone bridge. The weekend event will also include live music, ‘vintage traders village, food & drink, war-time vehicles, living history camps, military museum, courtyard shops’. This event is free and booking is not required. However there is a car park fee of £5 (cash only) and there is a camping option available at £50+booking fee. You can also come along for certain live music and dancing events which require booking (click here). For more information, visit the event page here.

Wednesday 20th May: Head to Beeston Library for the ‘Heritage Talk: Marriage Disasters of the Sherwood Nobility’. ‘Focusing mainly on the period after 1800, local historian Adrian Gray will look at some of the disastrous marriages made by lords, dukes and earls who formed the elite of Dukeries society’. Tickets cost up to £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Saturday 23rd – Monday 25th May: ‘The Gathering of the North’ returns to Sherwood Forest for 2026. ‘Step back into the medieval world by joining the Gathering of the North and experiencing medieval Britain in the home of Robin Hood’. There will be medieval traders, fighting displays, performers, interactive workshops, lots of activities like axe throwing and archery and much more! Booking is not required but there is a parking fee of up to £15 per car. For more information, visit the event page here.

Sunday 24th – Monday 25th May: The Artisan Fair & Steam event is now in its 4th year at Papplewick Pumping Station. The event includes live music, interactive crafts, traders, machine demonstrations and much more. Tickets cost up to £14.50 (on the door is more expensive than booking online) and booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 26th May: At the Workhouse and Infirmary, Southwell, ‘come and meet some of the team from the Framework Knitters Museum in Ruddington’ during their Framework Knitters Takeover. ‘Have a go on a Victorian circular knitting machine and find out about the history and story of framework knitting and its connections to the workhouse’. This event is free (admission to the site still applies) and booking is not required. For more information, visit the event page here.

Friday 29th – Sunday 31st May:  Come along to Newstead Abbey to enjoy their ‘Medieval Merriment’ event. The event includes a medieval outdoor trail, dress-up rail, crafts and activities, and the Knights of Skirbeck Medieval Village. This event is free (site entry and parking charges still apply) and booking is not required. For more information, visit the event page here.

Have you ever wondered what Historic Environment Records (HERs) are or what they are used for? Alongside Historic England, HER offices across England have collaborated together to produce two wonderful introductory short films showcasing how HERs work and why they are such a valuable resource.

There are over 80 HER offices across England, each bringing together all sorts of information about archaeology, historic buildings and landscapes within its designated area. Together, they provide national coverage - helping people access trusted local knowledge and supporting the understanding, management and conservation of historic places.

Every single HER record brings together written information and geographic data about the historic environment in a particular area. They help planners, researchers, communities and visitors understand what exists, what matters, and how places have evolved over time.

This first short introductory film explains what exactly the Historic Environment Records are in more detail: What are Historic Environment Records?

Why are Historic Environment Records important?

Most of us walk across layers of history every day without realising it. Not just famous landmarks, but ordinary places. Fields. Streets. Buildings. Coastlines. Places we pass without a second thought. What stories do these places hold? Who or what was here before us? The answer is out there, sometimes all it takes is knowing where to look.

This second short collaboration film aims to show why HERs matter: Why Historic Environment Records Matter

Behind every historic record is a person making sense of it.

HER teams work with information, maps and evidence as well as with judgement, context and care. Their role is to help translate layers of the past into something useful for the present. It’s quiet work, but it shapes real decisions about places and landscapes.

Across England, these teams are dedicated to the ongoing effort of keeping track of change, recording what matters, and helping places evolve without losing what makes them special.

Have you ever really looked at where you live? Everything around you has a story that ties the people who use it today to the people who used it in the past, be it a large site like manor house or a small site like a phone box. Explore where you live on our Nottinghamshire County Council HER website, with map and search functions, or get in touch with us at heritage@nottscc.gov.uk.

For more information on Historic Environment Records across England, visit the Historic England website here

April is bursting to the seams with exciting heritage events. There's something for all ages and interests, check out just a few of them below:

Opening Wednesday 1st April: A new exhibition ‘We The People’ is to open at Lakeside Arts. ‘Drawing on a wide range of manuscripts and printed collections, this exhibition commemorates the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. It explores the issues at stake in the Wars of Independence and considers some of the complex problems which faced the United States as it fought to win, and realise, its new-found freedom’. This exhibition is free and booking is not required. If you don’t have time to visit this April, don’t worry as this exhibition is open until September. For more information, visit the event page here.

Thursday 2nd April: Join buildings archaeologist James Wright for the online talk ‘The Folklore of Ancient Buildings’. ‘This talk will attempt to decipher the complex relationships between archaeology, folklore, and architecture’. Tickets are acquired through donation and booking is required. Book your place here.

Sunday 5th and Monday 6th April: Papplewick Pumping Station’s ‘ever popular Easter steaming returns’ this April. The event features something for everyone including live music, trade stalls, live entertainment by The Grand Cavalcade, a multitude of historic displays and demonstrations, and lots of refreshments. Tickets cost up to £14.50 per person (under 12’s go free) and booking is not required – booking on the door is available but tickets are 50p more expensive. Book your place here.

Wednesday 15th April: Join Nottinghamshire County Council’s wonderful planning archaeology Emily Gillott at Worksop Library to explore recent archaeological discoveries form Nottinghamshire. She will ‘present stories of recent discoveries on subjects ranging from cremation and burials to Roman villas and pottery, ritual landscapes in Skegby, charcoal burning in Sherwood Forest, and more’! Tickets cost £3.50 each and booking is required. Emily’s last presentation sold out quickly so don’t hesitate to book your place here.

Friday 17th April: In association with the National Civil War Centre, ‘Dr Samantha Tipper, Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin will share her fascinating analysis of human skeletons from the Battle of Stoke Field and the stories hidden in their bones’ at the Palace Theatre, Newark. Tickets for ‘Evening Talk: Silent Witnesses: What human remains tell us about the Battle of Stoke Field’ cost up to £10 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Saturday 18th April: Head to Bassetlaw Museum for a presentation on the story of cinema in Worksop by projectionist Derek Taylor. Derek, the last projectionist at The Regal Cinema and Theatre before its closure in 2005, reflects on his years behind the projector and backstage. Derek not only made up and shown the films, but also worked with a whole variety of acts from school and amateur productions to world famous stars. In this engaging and nostalgic talk, he explores Worksop’s picture houses from their 19th-century beginnings through the Regal’s long history to the modern revival with the Savoy’. Tickets are free (suggested donation of £3) and booking is required. Limited tickets remain so book your place here.

Tuesday 21st April: At Mansfield Central Library, ‘Joy Wood will be talking about the history of Harlow Wood orthopaedic hospital near Mansfield, and her time there during her nurse training from 1977 – 1979’. Tickets to ‘Heritage Talk: From Bedpan to Pen!’ cost £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Above: May Day flagpole (By Bryan Ledgard - Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Monday 27th April: In association with Creswell Crags, ‘join folklore expert, Icy Sedgwick, online to discover the fascinating folklore of May Day’. ‘Both one of the pagan fire festivals and a beloved fixture in the folk calendar, May Day is a popular celebration of the start of summer. It offers a host of rituals, fertility practices, good luck charms, and love divination. This talk will explore some of the customs associated with May Day in the UK’. Tickets are free (suggested donation of £4) but booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 28th April: At West Bridgford Library, Sam Millard will be presenting the ‘Heritage Talk: Reason and Rhyme’. ‘The original reason for the rhymes has, by and large, been completely lost and forgotten.  'Reason and Rhyme’… looks at the original meaning of rhymes and how they have been recorded over time’. Tickets cost £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Thursday 30th April: At Retford Library, ‘historian Robert Mee examines the origin of almshouses in the Byzantine era, their development during the Medieval period and their continuation into modern times. He will look at the 30 or 40 almshouses closest to Retford, some of which are still in use today’. Tickets cost £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Thursday 30th April: ‘Located at Yew Tree Farm in Bonsall, Derbyshire, is a Grade II listed framework knitters’ workshop built in 1737 and left largely untouched since one of the last local knitters passed away in 1911. Behind the characteristic wide knitters’ windows, traces of the trade are still preserved including spare frame parts and written notes on the walls. This free lunchtime talk, delivered by the current owners, Adam Hill and Samantha Deakin Hill, outlines the history of the workshop as well as the current conservation project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Historic Houses Foundation’. This talk at the Framework Knitters Museum is free but booking is required. Book your place here.

With the warm weather and slightly longer days brings a new selection of heritage events happening across Nottinghamshire. Here are just a few for you:

Monday 2nd March: Head to Hucknall Library ‘for a free small group session to explore Inspire’s Heritage photograph collections. Discover more about the Inspire Picture Archive which holds over 40,000 images of Nottinghamshire life from the 19th century up to the present day’. You will also learn how to upload your own photographs to add to Inspire’s catalogue and how Inspire manage their physical photograph collection. Book your place for free here.

Monday 2nd March: ‘Join Professor Tom Higham online to discover the latest scientific methods and breakthroughs in Neanderthal extinction and human dispersals’. ‘In this lecture [he] will talk about the latest data, both from the field and the laboratory, and explore the disappearance of the Neanderthals and the dispersal of ‘modern humans’ into Eurasia. [He] will outline some of the new biomolecular tools we are now using to find fragmentary human bones, which can then be genetically sequenced and dated, and what these have told us about this period of human prehistory’. Book your free place here.

Saturday 14th March: Also at Hucknall library is a new event to celebrate the project: ‘Hucknall, Skegby, and Selston: Then and Now’. ‘Come along and discover how Hucknall, Skegby and Selston have changed over time’ and ‘and explore Hucknall Library’s heritage resources including the new Nottinghamshire Digital Archive platform’. The ‘project artist, Edwina Kung will also be running a fun, interactive artist workshop for families, during the celebration event’. This event is free and no booking is required, just drop in! For more information, visit the event page here.

Sunday 15th March: ‘Treat your mum to a Mothers Day experience like no other – a walk in Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood’. ‘This walk is around 90 minutes and will be packed with some of Robin’s favourite tales of the outlaws and motherly figures from history’. Tickets cost up to £11 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 17th March: At Mansfield Central Library, ‘join historian David Templeman for an in-depth talk on the interaction between the three most colourful and charismatic women in Elizabethan History’ (Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick). ‘David’s talk will offer a new perspective on these women and a unique insight into a predominantly man’s world entered into and conquered by these three powerful icons’. Tickets cost £3 and booking is required. Book your place here.

Above: Votes For Women Poster, 1909. (By Hilda Dallas - Private collection, Public Domain)

Wednesday 18th March: Head to Beeston Library for the ‘Heritage Talk: Deeds Not Words’. ‘The Suffragette movement revolutionised how women were viewed, and what they could achieve. The Nottingham area certainly had it’s share of these courageous women. Come and find out about who these remarkable women were, as local historian Sandra Berrington uncovers the efforts and sacrifices they made to give women equality’. Tickets cost £3 and booking is required. Book your place here.

Wednesday 18th March: ‘Step back in time and join Reverend John T. Becher, founder of The Workhouse, on a tour of Southwell. Follow Becher on an historical 2.5 mile walking tour of Southwell as he highlights his connections with the town as a churchman, magistrate and social reformer during a period of great change’. This event is free but booking is recommended. Book your place here.

Friday 27th March: In association with the National Civil War Centre, join archaeologist Richard Parker to find out more about the Norton Disney Dodecahedron. ‘This fine example of a Gallo Roman dodecahedron was found in the summer of 2023 when archaeologists excavated a Roman site at Norton Disney, close to a Roman villa and the Fosse Way Roman road. Its purpose remains a mystery’. This evening event, at the Palace Theatre, costs up to £10 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Friday 27th and Saturday 28th March: ‘As part of its new events programme, the Framework Knitters Museum is presenting the world premiere of ‘Riot Act’, a play originally commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse, by renowned Nottingham writer Andy Barrett. ‘Riot Act’ explores the lives of the Nottinghamshire framework knitters and the rise and fall of the Luddite movement at the start of the nineteenth century’. Tickets cost £5 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

There are some exciting heritage events happening in Nottinghamshire. Check out some of them below:

Monday 2nd Feb: ‘Join Professor Matthew Tocheri online to discover the fascinating story of 'the hobbits of human evolution': Homo floresiensis’. The talk, in association with Creswell Crags, will explore the past, present and future research and representations of this extinct group. This event is free (donations welcome) but booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 3rd Feb: At Hucknall Library, ‘join local historian Denis Hill, for an insight into the fascinating history and heritage of the townships of Ashfield district. For this – the first of two talks – he will focus on Hucknall, Annesley and Selston, each of which has much to shout about and celebrate, but which may be generally unknown’. This event is free but booking is required. Book your place here.

Wednesday 4th Feb: As part of the celebration of LGBT+ month, ‘bestselling author Gareth Russell [is presenting] a special talk centred on his new book 'Queen James’. ‘This event explores LGBTQ+ narratives woven through royal history’ in association with the National Civil War Centre. Tickets for this event at the Palace Theatre, Newark, cost up to £10 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 10th Feb: ‘In the second part of Denis Hill’s celebration of Ashfield’s heritage he will focus on Kirkby, Skegby, Sutton and Teversall. Throughout the district Denis identifies numerous historical ‘firsts’ or ‘oldest’ inventions connected to our industrial heritage of which local residents may be justly proud.’ This talk at Hucknall Library is also free but booking is required. Book your place here.

Wednesday 11th Feb: At Lakeside Arts, join Alan Micklethwaite, ‘a sculptor, stone carver and conservator, who has worked on the conservation of historic buildings for more than 30 years’ for talk on his insights into traditional and modern ‘techniques and processes involved’ in restoring and repairing ‘sculpture[s] on historic monuments and buildings’. Tickets for his talk ‘Restoration Stone Carving’ cost up to £3.50 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Friday 13th Feb: ‘In 1642, when Charles I raised his standard in Nottingham, he ruled not just England, Ireland, and Scotland, but also “the dominions thereunto belonging”. These distant settlement, most small and new, were drawn into events at home, and the English Atlantic was shaped by the civil wars, regicide, and experiments in new forms of government over the next two decades. Join distinguished Professor and Joyce Appleby Endowed Chair of the America in the World, Carla Pestana, for this insightful talk’: ‘The British Civil War and the Wider World’ at the Palace Theatre, Newark in association with the National Civil War Centre. Tickets cost up to £10 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Tuesday 17th Feb: Head to Mansfield Central Library ‘for a talk by Roger West, author of Red Blood for Black Gold to hear the story of how this local mining history was written’. Tickets cost £3 per person and booking is required. Book your place here.

Friday 20th Feb: ‘Get acquainted with the world famous ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest with our tree expert, Rob Pedley. Sherwood has one of the highest densities of ancient oaks in the world. These impressive trees provide vital habitat for an abundance of species and play a crucial role in supporting the health of the forest. The walk leader will introduce you to a handful of these giants, giving you an insight into the life of a veteran oak’. Tickets cost up to £13 per adult. Book your place here.

Above: Sherwood Forest