What Is Heritage Crime?

Heritage crime can be any act that causes harm to an asset or its surroundings.

For example, damaging or undertaking unauthorised alterations, such as building upon or digging up, heritage assets are considered a heritage crime. Even things that might seem innocent like metal detecting without authorisation, making ruts in the soil of an asset using a bike, or putting in fencing without permission can be considered a heritage crime.

Other crimes that are not necessarily specified as a heritage crime can also affect sites and historic landscapes. This could be graffiti, fly-tipping, theft, criminal damage, or arson.

Scheduled assets are legally protected against crimes, which means anyone who causes damage to any assets could have enforcement taken against them and ultimately be prosecuted. In such cases The Local Authority, Historic England and the Police work together to establish the facts and take any required action.

Protected heritage assets that we have in Nottinghamshire include:

Other protected heritage assets, that aren’t present in Nottinghamshire, are World Heritage Sites, protected marine wrecks, and protected military remains of aircraft and vessels of historic interest.

You can check whether an asset is scheduled or listed by searching the Historic England database. Historic England maintains and updates all records of designated assets. Search the National Heritage List here.

You can also check the protected heritage assets specifically in Nottinghamshire via the ‘designations’ section of our search page.

Photograph of graffiti at King's Mill Viaduct

Above: Graffiti at King's Mill Viaduct, Mansfield

Why Does It Matter?

Heritage crimes not only threaten our valuable local assets, but they threaten to destroy both local and national understanding (current and future) as well as public enjoyment.

Alongside large areas like conservation areas and designated parks and gardens, there are a range of smaller assets can be listed or scheduled, such as bridges, war memorials, phone boxes, even garden urns. Heritage assets are all around us and some people may not realise how special the things around them are.

 A large number of our heritage assets in Nottinghamshire are in remote areas or lack the protection of physical security features, so we rely on everyone keeping an eye out and reporting any issues or signs of damage/alterations.

A study conducted by Newcastle University, Loughborough University and the Council for British Archaeology in 2011 suggested that over 70,000 listed buildings (18.7% of all listed buildings at the time) had been affected by crime in a single year. Within that, nearly half of those buildings (30,000) had been majorly affected by the crime committed.

The study also suggested that antisocial behaviour is one of the most common threats to our historical sites. In a year, 12.3% of all heritage assets were affected by antisocial behaviour.

You can read the full 2011 study here: Heritage Crime: the size of the problem

To learn more about heritage crime, how large scale the issue is, and why it matters, visit the Historic England website here.

Photograph of General Baptist Chapel, Kirkby Woodhouse, with no roof due to fire

Above: General Baptist Chapel, Kirkby Woodhouse, with no roof due to a fire/vandalism.

What To Do If You Spot A Heritage Crime?

If a crime is in progress, a suspect is nearby, violence has been threatened or is occurring, or there is danger to life – treat this an emergency and call the police through 999.

If you witness a heritage crime that is not an emergency and not currently occurring, or suspect one has been committed, report it to the police through 101 or anonymously through Crimestoppers through 0800 555 111.

There is currently a team of six police officers equipped with specialist skills to deal with heritage crime courtesy of training by Historic England. ‘Those interested in getting in touch with an officer can contact the heritage crime team via email at heritagecrime@notts.police.uk’. You can read more about the new heritage crime police team here.

If it is not an emergency and you are unsure or would like some guidance on reporting a heritage crime, you can contact our NCC heritage team who will be able to help you via our email at heritage@nottscc.gov.uk

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?

Side by side photographs of historic records and historic building

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

Photograph quoting 'HERs help us understand and enjoy where we live'

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

The Battle of Bosworth in Leicestershire in 1485 altered the course of English history and ushered in the reign of the Tudor dynasty. It was regarded as a significant win for the House of Lancaster during the War of the Roses, a war that had seen the House of York and the House of Lancaster fighting for the English throne since 1455. In this battle, Henry Tudor’s (subsequently known as Henry VII) army managed to kill the current king Richard III on the battlefield, allowing Henry and the House of Lancaster to take the throne.

Today, this battle is largely considered to have ended to the War of the Roses as the Tudor dynasty managed to consolidate and maintain power until Elizabeth I’s death in 1603. But at the time, the Yorkists weren’t ready to give up and were making moves to secure the English throne once again.

The Yorkist side found hope in Lambert Simnel, a 10-year-old boy pretending to be the Earl of Warwick, supposedly the son of Edward IV’s brother. The leaders of the Yorkist side used Simnel to re-group support after the devasting Battle of Bosworth.

To gather an army, the Yorkist leaders travelled to Dublin in May 1487 and managed to recruit over 4000 men. Simnel was even crowned ‘King Edward VI’ in Dublin by the Yorkist leaders and Irish nobility.

Illustration of Lambert Simnel in Ireland

Above: 19th century illustration depicting Irish supporters carrying Simnel (By Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed. Vol XXV. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910. 124. - Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed. Vol XXV. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1910. 124., Public Domain)

Returning to England at the start of June 1487, the army numbers increased to around 8,000 soldiers and the men began travelling south from Lancaster. Along the way, the rebel Yorkist army encountered Lancastrian cavalry which started three days of skirmishes at Sherwood Forest. The Lancastrian cavalry was forced back to Nottingham by the rebel Yorkists, and there the cavalry waited for Henry’s main army to come and assist.

King Henry’s army of some 15,000 men arrived in Nottingham on 14th June, including reinforcements from Wales. The poorly-equipped Yorkist army were dangerously outnumbered.

Both sides clashed in battle on 16th June 1487 in East Stoke, a battle to be known as the Battle of Stoke Field. It remains Nottinghamshire’s only registered battlefield.

Only parts of Henry’s army had formed up properly when the battle started but even so, the Yorkist army, with their fewer numbers, poorly-equipped soldiers and weaker leadership, suffered a devasting loss with heavy casualties. By the end, almost all of the Yorkist leaders had been killed and many of the soldiers tried to ‘flee towards the River Trent but were captured or killed. The River Trent is said to have “run red with blood”’.

The number of men killed in the battle is estimated to be between 4000-7000 men and unfortunately the hope of putting a Yorkist on the throne died with them.

Burial pits containing some of the fallen have been recorded near East Stoke (M1680 and M17856). A small number of 8-11 individuals recovered from this pit were analysed as recently as the mid 2010’s. The results suggested all the remains belonged to robust males aged between 17 and 46. Sharp force trauma was encountered on many bones including skulls and tibia. Some of the skulls recovered from one of the burial pits, illustrating battlefield trauma, are on display currently at the National Civil War Centre in Newark.

Dr Samantha Tipper at Anglia Ruskin University is also currently undertaking osteoarchaeological analysis on a set of skeletons recovered from the battlefield and it is hoped that from this project we can find out more about a bit about who these soldiers were, what they experienced during their lives, and where they spent most of their lives.

The Battle of Stoke Field is not only important for Nottinghamshire’s heritage but also in English history as the true end of the War of the Roses.

For fantastic videos, including some wonderful interviews with some of the main characters of the battle, and a self-guided trail on public footpaths to visit the site, visit the Nottinghamshire County Council’s web page here.

As a registered battlefield, Historic England manages the record and research of this site, you can view their list entry here.

Photograph of Stoke Field

Above: Battle of Stoke Field at ground level (By Andrew Tatlow, CC BY-SA 2.0)

One invention that is thought to have originated out of Nottinghamshire is the Stocking Frame. The stocking frame, invented in 1589, was a revolutionary knitting machine used within the textile industry. The use of this machine helped bring about the Industrial Revolution and the principles of machine knitting laid out by this machine are still used in the textile industry today.

Its invention is attributed to an Englishman named William Lee. Sadly, nothing much concrete is known about William. Most reports theorise he was a clergyman from Calverton, Nottinghamshire. There has been some argument that he lived in Sussex instead, but scholars predominantly believe he was a Nottinghamshire man. We are inclined to agree!

The stocking frame worked by imitating hand-knitting movements. It was unlike anything available at the time. Lee sought out a patent for the machine from Queen Elizabeth I. Upon demonstration of the machine, Elizabeth declined his patent request on the fear that his machine would be highly detrimental to those working in the hand-knitting industry. Elizabeth promised William that if he could improve his machine to be able to make silk stockings then his patent would be approved (Rowlett 1886).

His machine wasn’t a perfect invention from conception. The frame originally could only produce coarse fabrics as it contained eight needles in an inch. So, William worked on improving the machine, by increasing the needles per inch, until, in 1598, it was capable of knitting silk stockings.

Photograph of the stocking frame

Above: Stocking Frame at Framework Knitters Museum, Ruddington, Nottinghamshire. By John Beniston (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0).

Unfortunately for William, despite his improvements, his patent was declined again by Elizabeth’s successor James I. Upon this rejection, he decided to take the stocking frame and his workers to France under the protection of King Henry IV.

In 1610, however, Henry IV was assassinated. At a time where religion was a very divisive aspect of society, the death of the Protestant King Henry and the succession of the Catholic Louis XIII had consequences for the Protestants in France. As one of those Protestants, William’s stocking frame business badly suffered. William died in Paris a few years later (many report that he died in 1614) with his business that he had worked at for decades in disrepair.

Some of his stocking frames made their way back to England with his workers. Many workers sold their frames in London while his brother James is reported to have helped to establish the use of the stocking frame into the textile industry in England.

In the seventeenth and eighteen centuries, the stocking frame ‘was probably the most sophisticated textile machine in common use in western civilisation’ (Lewis, 1986). The frame could hold around 38 needles per inch by 1750 (Lewis, 1986), a stark difference from the number of needles on the initial conceptions of the machine. By the mid-seventeenth century , attempts were made by framework knitters to ‘regulate the exportation of machinery and skilled labour…as a reflection of the workers’ new-found estimation of his machinery and skills’ (Lewis, 1986).

Further adaptions of Lee’s machine continued even up to the 19th century as the stocking frame was adapted for different textiles and knitting styles. By the start of the 19th century, the machine had notably been adapted as a lace making machine, which also has special connections to Nottingham in the form of the lace market.

Lee most likely had no idea how much of an importance his machine would have on the textile industry centuries down the line. His influence ‘laid the foundation for an industry that now gives employment to millions. There can be but few people in the world who do not make daily use of its products’ (Pasold, 1975).

If it weren’t for the dedication and determination of Lee and his loyal workers to continually improve the stocking frame, the history of textile production would look wildly different.

If you would like to learn more about the stocking frame or about the textile industry, we suggest you visit the Framework Knitters’ Museum in Ruddington.

Bibliography:

Lewis, P. 1986. ‘William Lee’s Stocking Frame: Technical Evolution and Economic Viability 1589-1750’, Textile History, Volume 17. Pp. 129-147

Pasold, E.W. 1975. ‘In Search of William Lee’, Textile History, Volume 6. Pp.7-17

Rowlett, W.T. 1887. ‘Framework Knitting’, Journal of the Society of Arts, Volume 36. Page 445

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  • HER

We are delighted to reflect on another successful year in the Nottinghamshire HER! We've spent the year dedicated to improving our current heritage records, liaising with the public, volunteers and private clients, creating fascinating blog content, creating new heritage records and much much more!

This year the team has added over 170 new sources and reports onto the HER this year, which has added over 180 new event records and over 320 new monument records.

Check out some of our new monument records:

On top of this, over 1,100 previous monument records have been improved and over 220 event records have also been improved.

Check out some of the updated records here:

Early in 2025, we received an amazing result from our routine audit which analyses how effectively our team is maintaining and improving the our HER. Across all four areas, we consistently received top marks, with very minimal suggestions for improvement. It signifies that the Nottinghamshire HER is currently amongst the highest rated in the country! This is a great achievement for us and one we are all very proud of. If you would like to read more about our results, click here.

This year the HER team has also embarked on Project K, a project hosted by Forestry England to help improve the quality of our current SHINE records. SHINE (Selected Heritage Inventory for Natural England) records are a national dataset of heritage assets, managed by local HERs, which have influence on agricultural and environmental schemes and funding. These records also help to protect the heritage assets against the damage that could potentially occur as a result of agricultural practices.

The HER team also worked alongside a small number of volunteers from Nottingham Trent University to record some significant sites in Nottinghamshire, including Laxton Castle and Old Ox, using LiDAR and photogrammetry. The results are currently in the process of being accessioned onto the HER, but you can view raw results through the 3D model of Laxton castle here and the image of Old Ox below.

Image of Old Ox Iron Age hillfort

Above: Iron Age multivallate hillfort at Old Ox, Oxton, taken by NTU volunteers.

The wider heritage team at NCC has been very busy as well! The Archaeological Planning team have been occupied with a large quantity of development applications and subsequent site visits. There has been a lot of amazing archaeology uncovered in Nottinghamshire this year which we are excited to soon accession onto the HER. Watch this space!

The team have amazingly still had time to conduct a few public talks along the way as well. Our planning archaeologist Emily has presented talks focusing on the archaeological works at Rufford Abbey and another on the recent archaeological discoveries in Nottinghamshire. Did you manage to catch one?

Our Historic Buildings team have also had a jam-packed year!

Following the publishing of her two books last year, 'Country House Stables of Nottinghamshire' and 'Colliery Stables and the Nottinghamshire Pit Pony'  (in association with the project Major2Miner), our historic environment officer Janine has continued presenting her talk on ‘Colliery Stables and the Nottinghamshire Pit Pony’ across the county.

The Historic Buildings team has also had a lot of interaction with volunteers, work experience students, and interns, all of which did a great job! Some of these wonderful volunteers have joined in on one of the many training schemes run by our Senior Practitioner for Historic Buildings, Jason, around Nottinghamshire.

Here are some of the training schemes the Historic Buildings team has helped conduct:

  • Gedling Station received National Lottery Heritage Funding for their restoration project phase 1. The team helped to deliver some of the ‘hands-on-training’ as part of this. The funding will go towards a new Welsh slate roof, Notts ogee cast iron gutters, and timber sash window restoration.
  • Tuxford Walks of Life Museum are undertaking the restoration of 33 Lincoln Road (a timber frame and later brick farmhouse), where the Historic Buildings team are helping to host task and training days. Hemp lime render and plaster ‘retrofit’ has been a focus for this year, along with some Bassetlaw DC funded Yorkshire sash window restoration which was also carried out. A traditional craft skills boot-camp is planned to help restore the rear elevation in the new year.
  • The team also helped to undertake this season’s work with Kirkby and District Archaeology Group at Kirkby Hardwick Medieval manor site which focused on higher level masonry repairs and repointing, and some further ivy removal and capping of the east gate range (which was the focus in 2024).
  • At Saint Mary & All Saints Church in Bingham, the team was involved in running ‘task and training’ events focussed on historic C18th brick wall repairs. They worked with the Town Council to repair and reinstated the saddle-back copings along the western wall and repairing the footpath wall around the London Plain Tree root damage.
  • At Saint Giles Church in Balderton, working with the parish council, the team oversaw groups of church volunteers and work experience students to clear ivy and prepare a section of collapsed wall for repairs.
  • Working with IHBC East Midlands, the team delivered two lime training events for homeowners as part of the Mansfield Townscape Heritage Initiative at the St Peter’s Centre and a CPD ‘hot lime’ event for estate managers and architects at Leicester City.
  • At Bramcote's Old Church Tower our council ecologist, nature conservation intern, and historic building conservation officers worked with the charity’s volunteers to successfully renew the bird mesh on the bell tower louvres, being extremely careful not to disturb the Brow long-eared bats!

We’re all proud of the work the NCC heritage team has undertaken this year to protect and restore our local heritage, and to improve the knowledge and understanding of our local environment. We will continue to do the same in 2026 and can't wait to see what we will get up to in the new year!

If you have any questions for us or would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at heritage@nottscc.gov.uk.