Colston Road is a 15-minute walk from the centre of the village and at the top of a hill. Its name obviously comes from being the road that leads to Colston Bassett and it wasn’t so long ago that its full name was Colston Bassett Road.

Villagers commonly refer to it as ‘Top Road’ and to those who have walked up there, it feels an appropriate name.

Until 1840 there were no houses on this stretch of road. It was in that year that Richard Smith of Cropwell Bishop had the Lime Kiln Inn built on a corner of the crossroads.

Since that time, more houses have been built and new developments continue to this day.

The Western End of Colston Road

Let’s start by looking at the top end of the road.

If you turn right at the Lime Kiln Crossroads, you will be going steadily uphill and heading towards Cotgrave.

On the brow of the hill, you will be 48m higher than The Turn in the centre of the village.

This region is the highest in the parish but to reach the top spot you will have to walk up the public footpath that rises from Groundwells Farm to Cropwell Wolds where you will be 55m higher than the village centre.

Looking eastwards from there, the next highest point is Belvoir Castle, 15 km (9 miles) away.

If you walk to the northern edge of Cropwell Wolds, you can see Nottingham city centre in the distance, beyond the roofs of Cotgrave homes. This is a glorious spot: no wonder Nottingham Astronomical Society has an observatory up here.

Along this high stretch of Colston Road, behind a hedge on the southern side of the road, there is a sloping grassy field with bushes – you can see it through the gated entrance. This field belongs to our Parish Council and its history began in 1804 with the passing of the Enclosure Act in Cropwell Bishop.

In that Act, land was re-allocated to existing local landowners. It also laid down rules for establishing roads, bridlepaths, hedges, etc. It also recognised the need for space where building materials could be stored.

One such area is shown on the 1804 Enclosure Map, the 3-acre field numbered 78, which is allocated to the "Surveyor or Highways for the maintenance of roads". This is the field that Cropwell Bishop Parish Council inherited and it has long been referred to as, Van Diemen’s Land.

This name, Van Diemen’s Land, was once used to describe the large island that lies off South Australia, now called Tasmania. But how did a small parcel of land in Cropwell Bishop come to share the same name, I wonder.

The best answer that I can come up with comes from Tasmania’s history.

The first sighting of the island by a European was by a Dutch explorer in 1642. He named it Van Diemen’s Land after the Governor of the Dutch East Indies (actually, this is an anglicised version of the Dutch name he used).

The first settlement by Europeans was a small British party that arrived in 1803. In 1804 another British party landed in Storm Bay and their settlement has since grown to become Hobart, the capital of Tasmania.

Note the year, 1804. This is the same year that the Cropwell Bishop Enclosure Act was passed. Does this explain (in some way that I can’t fathom) how our little field got its name. I simply don’t know, but I can’t provide a better answer: maybe someone reading this will be able to.

There are only three homes at this western end of Colston Road, the two on the private, rather unwelcoming, Skylark Hill Road and the older Groundwells Farmhouse. The farm is named after the ‘Ground Well Spring’ that is marked on 1835 maps.

The footpath to Cropwell Wolds begins just west of the farmhouse.

If you are daunted by the prospect of reaching this place on foot, given that there is no path alongside the road from Cropwell Bishop to this point, fear not. There is an excellent path, but it is hidden behind the hedge.

The path starts opposite the Canalside Industrial Park on Kinoulton Road. From there you can walk all the way to Groundwells Farm with a thick hedge between you and the road. There is an alternative route across the fields which can be very pleasant in dry sunny weather.

Views

Lime Kiln Inn

Where the Cropwell Bishop to Kinoulton Road crosses Colston Road, is called the Lime Kiln crossroad. At least, it has been called for 180 years, but its name may eventually change to Small People crossroad; we will have to wait and see.

When the Lime Kiln Inn was built in 1840 – the builder used fancy brickwork on the west wall to commemorate the year.

When you look at the 1835 map of this area, you may think it odd to have built a large inn in, what would seem to have been, a remote place.

However, bear in mind that at that time, the Grantham Canal was operating and thriving – this being the time before railways would take trade away from canals.

Also, the mining and refining of gypsum in Cropwell Bishop was a growing business. Just 100m away on Swab’s Lane was a working Lime Kiln, and 100m in the other direction was the canal.

Heavy, manual work needed men, and men needed food and drink. The Lime Kiln Inn would have been a popular drinking hole for them, being much closer than the other village pubs.

Also, the inn would have had its fair share of travellers to-and-from Nottingham, who would have boosted trade.

So, in retrospect, Richard Smith’s decision to build the Lime Kiln Inn in that spot was a shrewd one. The inn traded successfully for over 170 years.

It was only about five years ago that it finally closed its doors, despite still being popular with local people for its home cooked food and for being nearby for having family gatherings.

Over the years, its location and large car park enabled it to support local activities as well as stage big gatherings.

For example, there was a large range of easily accessible recycling bins in the car park that many villagers made use of.

Also, once a week during the summer months, racing cyclists would park their cars in the car park during the early evening whilst they took part in time trials that started across the road. These and other small conveniences came to be taken for granted, but are now missed.

Over many decades, it also served as a meeting place and starting point of the South Notts Hunt.

Up until 1975, it was also the focus of a point-to-point horse race.

These races can be thought of as steeple chasing for amateurs, organised at a local level. They date back to 1836 when men used to race their horses from church steeple to church steeple – hence the name “point-to-point”.

When they took place, you could stand on the verge of Colston Road (west of the Lime Kiln) and look southwards over the fields to see horses and riders, race over a route that was a giant square with a perimeter about a mile long.

They would jump existing hedges and fences along the way. This was made possible because the land was owned by the pub's brewery. The event was held each Easter Bank Holiday Monday.

Since those days, the event has been held at Thorpe Lodge, just south of Newark.

Some of the world’s greatest racing cyclists have travelled down Colston road, before turning down Kinoulton Road into Cropwell Bishop. That was in 2017 when the Tour of Britain Cycle Race came through the village.

In 2012, amateur cyclists raced in front of the houses as they lapped a circuit, that can best be described as; ride away from the Lime Kiln along Swab’s Lane and take the first left. Keep taking the next left until you arrive back at the Lime Kiln. The finish was on Colston Road, near the Lime Kiln.

In recent years, the route of the annual Stilton Stumble Run has included a left turn at the Lime Kiln and then down Colston Road to Colston Bassett.

A great deal of effort has gone into making the old Lime Kiln Inn into a new, and very different business, one that can prosper in the 21st century.

It is wonderful to see a building with a long history being preserved, yet transformed, when the alternative elsewhere is so often demolition followed by an eyeosore.

The facilities we need in 2020 are a world away from what was wanted in 1840 or even 1980. It is to be hoped that "Small People" prospers.

In offering an outdoor nursery where young children spend 80% of their day outside, it is giving children a wonderful holistic approach during their pre-school years. If I was 3 years old, I would be begging my Mum to take me there!

In time, we might be referring to the Small People crossroad, or maybe I should say, Robin House crossroads because that is the name of the building now.

However, it often takes a long time for people to change their thinking. I still refer to a traffic island in Nottingham as "Raleigh Island" and it is many decades since the Raleigh building disappeared.

Houses

The houses that line Colston Road, or Top Road, to use its popular, easier-to-say name, were built around 1934.

A long-term resident of one of the houses, who has only recently moved away, told me that his father bought number 37 and, because he was one of the first residents, he had the keys to the other houses so that he could show them to interested buyers.

Almost all the houses have been modified since they were built. Number 5 is the only one that, from the road, has, essentially, the appearance of the original house design.

Once you know that, then it is not difficult to spot the shape of the original house in many of the other homes, in spite of major modifications. However, that is no longer possible for a growing number: they have been demolished and completely rebuilt.

This part of the village is known by older villagers as ‘China Town’. How it got this name is uncertain.

Some say it is because the original buildings are reminiscent of Chinese houses (like those on Willow pattern plates?) whilst others say the name had more to do with the high speed at which they were built. I look forward to hearing other possible explanations.

One thing that cannot be argued with is that house numbering is a nightmare. Delivery people and emergency services must dread making visits.

The house numbers on many houses are tiny, distant, or non-existent. The usual technique of counting-back from a house number that you can read, will not work: the sequence of numbers is mostly illogical.

In the space of just 16 homes there are four missing numbers (7, 11, 23 & 35) and a pair of numbers (27 & 27a). High gates add to difficulty of identifying a house.

The haphazard numbering may well be the result of the way the first houses were sold. Apparently, plots of land of varying size were sold and then the houses were built upon them. Prospective owners may have changed their mind about how many houses they would have on their plot, or may have subsequently sold parts of their plot, or even bought neighbouring plots. Current owners are living with the consequences.

A clearly visible number at the drive entrance would alleviate all concerns – and satisfy Rushcliffe Borough Council, which points out that a clearly displayed house number is an enforceable requirement under the Towns Improvements Clauses Act of 1847.

The southerly view from these houses has changed little since the demolition of the old lime kiln (not the pub) in the 1980s, but it is likely to change in the next year or two.

A planning application for a change in use of fields from agricultural to equestrian will result in cows being replaced by horses – which at least will provide new sounds for residents.

The plan is to construct a new riding centre for the disabled. New buildings are restricted to the area beside the canal where buildings have stood for decades.

Over the last 80 years, there have probably been fewer changes to the appearance of this side of the village than anywhere else. A 90-year-old who left Cropwell Bishop the village when they were 10-years-old, would probably be least shocked by changes if they approached from the Colston Road direction.

Is this a good or bad thing, I wonder. Well, if you consider how much the world has changed since 1940 in terms of industry, energy, communications and education, then you might say it is amazing that things can look the same.

Of course, outside appearance is only skin deep (can we say that about a building?) and on the inside everything has changed, both inside buildings and in our heads.

Colston Road itself, will be here for ever – or until its name is changed again.

Thanks to Anne Terzza, Pam Barlow, Leon Terzza and Joan Terzza for their help with this article.

Tony Jarrow

The Eastern End of Colston Road

In 2020

Shelton Gardens was built about 8 years ago and is the only “garden” street in the village.

The Garden ending is unusual, but of no significance, merely an attractive alternative to Close or Avenue. The Shelton part of the name is more interesting.

Over the last 300 years, there have been many people living in Cropwell Bishop with a last name of Shelton. Through marriage, the name has persisted through several generations.

Before going on, let's pause and reflect on this last statement. If you had to explain to a visiting alien the logic of our custom in the UK of giving our offspring the last name of the father, rather than the mother, could you do it: I couldn’t.

As you read this story, imagine how different the family trees would look if it was the mother’s name that was passed on. Just saying.

Back to the Shelton name. Unlike Barlows Close, the street across the road, Shelton Gardens appears to refer to a particular Shelton character, not the family. That is fine, most of our street names do the same. The problem we have with Shelton Gardens is that whilst there have been several interesting members of the Shelton family over the years, none stand out as clearly being worthy of having a street named after them.

So, in effect, we have to look at the history of the street name in the same way as if it had been Sheltons Gardens — a street with a family name.

This is not as easy as it sounds. The Sheltons were, to be blunt, prolific breeders. Many Victorian families were big through necessity: the parents wanted to ensure that there were children around to look after them in their old age.

Since a large percentage of children died during childhood, through disease, malnutrition and accidents on the farm, in a factory or down the coal mine, there was clearly an incentive to produce a large number to start off with.

Nevertheless, the Sheltons generally managed to have large families with few losses. As an example, the family of Robert and Hannah Shelton in the mid 1900s was so big that, by the end, the children could have played a 6-a-side football match (the girls against the boys).

I have decided to describe a handful of members of the Shelton family. Sheltons have been living in Cropwell Bishop for 250 years but I can only write about ones I can find information on, and they tend to be those who lived in the 1900s . These people I have highlighted in red on the family tree.

Robert Shelton

A Shelton first appeared on the Cropwell Bishop scene in the late 1700s when Robert Shelton married Cropwell Bishop girl, Sarah Waite, in 1782.

Robert was from Gedling but, after they married, they spent the rest of their lives in Cropwell Bishop. He was a farmer but does not appear to have been a land-owner.

He and Sarah firmly established their family in the village by having 11 children. At that time there were around 300 people living in the village so that is a sizeable contribution to the population – the equivalent to 80 children in today’s village.

Sadly, two of the children died at birth but, nevertheless, for a woman to survive 11 home births and then bring up 9 children, suggests a time of hardy mothers.

Then again, you could argue that these stories only include tough mothers because the weak ones didn't survive to pass on their genes: survival of the fittest, as followers of Charles Darwin would say 60 years later.

We do know something about Robert and Sarah’s eldest child, William.

William Shelton

William’s history is known because he became a successful farmer and eventually the owner of Shelton Farm. The farm was located in the centre of the village, near The Turn.

In 1804, when William was 14 years old, the Enclosure Act was applied to Cropwell Bishop and a map showing who was allocated land still survives – and none was owned by a Shelton.

If a Shelton had owned land, they would have been rewarded with a street named after them back in the 1970s, just like most of the other 1804 land-owners.

We know that in 1818, when William was 28 years old, he was following in the footsteps of his, then late, father and working in farming. He was married and already had 3 sons with his wife, Elizabeth.

It was in 1840, when he was 50, that he took on the tenancy of Fillingham Farm. The farm was opposite the church, on Church Street, where Ebenezer House now stands.

William appears to have been a sound businessman. As well as farming, he also operated as a timber carrier and probably had other business interests too.

Just 10 years after becoming the tenant of Fillingham Farm, he was able to pay £5420 to buy it, and the farm became known as Shelton Farm.

However, not everything went well for William. Eight years later his wife, Elizabeth, died: she was just 56 years old and the inscription on her grave suggests that she had suffered a long time.

William had 8 children but only 24-year-old John and 18-year-old Isaac, were still living at home, the rest having married. Maybe William was feeling lonely: within 8 months he married 42-year-old Rebecca Thurman from Tollerton.

Unsurprisingly, Rebecca outlived William and it was she who ensured that the Shelton Farm continued to operate when William died in 1856, just 8 years after his first wife, Elizabeth.

George Shelton

It was William’s eldest son, George, who inherited the farm and continued its development but it seems as though William’s widow, Rebecca was a great support.

It 1871 they were farming 206 acres and employed 6 labourers. George was not only a farmer, but also a Plaster Merchant and this necessitated employing more local people. The work must have been demanding. His wife had died in 1864 at the age of 49 and then he himself died in 1883 at the age of 70.

As was the custom in those days, George’s eldest son should have inherited the farm – or at least he would have done in normal circumstances.

George and his wife Mary had 6 children – but they were all girls. In the event, it was the fourth eldest daughter, Elizabeth, who took over the Shelton Farm or, I should say, it was her husband Samuel Smith who took it over.

In 1901, Rebecca died at the age of 95. The following year Shelton Farm was sold to village newcomer, Samuel Heaseldean. He demolished the farmhouse and had Ebenezer House built in 1904.

Ann Shelton

Ann was born in the tiny village of Antrobus in Cheshire in 1804 and in about 1828, she married Isaac Shelton, the youngest brother of William Shelton who had bought Shelton Farm. How she and Isaac discovered each other is a mystery.

They had a son, Thomas, in 1830 but, other than that, little is known of their married life. Ann was widowed in 1860 when Isaac died at the age of 55.

It was probably then that she moved to a small cottage that was attached to the front of the Shelton farmhouse. It was beside Little Lane that connected Mill Lane with Church Street and faced onto Church Street.

Ann Shelton ran a grocery shop from the cottage. Later, Cropwell Bishop got its first post office and it was included in her grocery shop. Ann, therefore, became the first post-mistress of Cropwell Bishop.

The building was demolished at the same time as the farmhouse in 1902 and the post office service moved to a shop at number 1 Nottingham Road at The Turn.

Elizabeth Shelton and Samuel Smith to the present day

In the street story of Church Street, I covered the history of Groves Cottage.

I described how it was one of the children of Elizabeth and Samuel Smith (George Shelton Smith) who moved into it with his wife and in-laws.

Their youngest child, Harold Smith, still lives in Cropwell Bishop and so is a living link with Robert Shelton who lived here 240 years ago.

Of course, in reality, there must very many living links but to cover them would take many stories.

Robert Shelton

We have already seen how George Shelton continued the running of Shelton Farm on the death of his father, William. Now we will look at his younger brother, Robert Shelton.

Robert was born in 1816 and, when 24, he married a girl from Hoveringham, 20-year-old Hannah Kitchin. Robert was an agricultural labourer and the couple settled in Cropwell Bishop.

I wonder why they chose to live in Cropwell Bishop rather than Hoveringham. It seems to have been more common for couples to settle near the wife’s mother. This would have made sense to a woman who wanted her mother close at hand at the time of child births.

But, they didn’t and there does not appear to be any reason for Hannah to regret the decision.

She gave birth to her first child when she was 21 and went on to have a total of 13 children, the last one when she was 49 years old.

Their 11th child, a boy they name Lancelot, went on to marry a girl named Elizabeth Richards who was from Keyworth.

A return trip to Keyworth would have been quite a challenge in those days, but the coming together of Lancelot and Elizabeth is not a mystery.

In the street story of Barlows Close, the arrival in the village of butcher, Thomas Barnet Barlow of Keyworth, was described. He had married Sarah Richards in Keyworth and the 1891 Census shows that one of the people living with them was Sarah’s 17-year-old sister, Elizabeth.

Thomas moved his business and family to Cropwell Bishop soon after this and I think we can safely assume that young Elizabeth came with them. In 1894 she and Lancelot married and lived in Cropwell Bishop.

They had three children, Harold, Frank, and Florence-Lilian. And, most importantly, we have an excellent family photograph of them during the First World War.

John Thomas Shelton (updated 9-1-21)

We must not forget one other Shelton who lived in Cropwell Bishop; John Thomas Shelton, often referred to as J.T. Shelton.

It will come as no surprise when I tell you that he is related to the other Sheltons we have been looking at, and that his branch of the family carried on the tradition of having lots of children.

His grandfather was Thomas Shelton, the second son of William Shelton — the one who established Shelton Farm.

If you look at the family tree above, you will see that Thomas married Ann Button and they had 13 children. Their second one was Francis Shelton and he went on to have 9 children with his wife Mary Ann Slater, the 7th of which was John Thomas Shelton. What a family!

Time to leave the past behind (is that possible?) and concentrate on John Thomas Shelton himself.

In the early 1900s he started a bakery business in Cropwell Bishop. It was not the only bakery in the village but his claim to fame was that his bread was made by machine. He used a small oil engine to power the drum that mixed his dough.

His bakehouse was near the church. Opposite the church gates is a small lane and the bakery was up there, on the left-hand side.

He would deliver bread within the village and also to nearby villages using a horse drawn two-wheeled bread-cart. On the sides he advertised his, ‘Machine Bakery’. John was assisted by his wife, Annie.

Annie Revill was from Southwell where, as a 7-year-old, she lived with her widowed mother, Mary, who was the inn-keeper of The George and Dragon Inn (now called The Bramley Apple Inn).

By the time she was 17, her mother had married George Bayley, who was a printer, and Annie worked as a dressmaker.

In 1901, when Annie was 27, she married 28 -year-old John Shelton and they moved into The Old Vicarage on Stockwell Lane. They lived there for the next 40 years. In 1911, Annie’s widowed mother was also living with them.

During those first years, John became the Churchwarden of the parish. This is a voluntary, unpaid post involving a wide range of responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of the church. He would have been considered the leading lay member of the congregation.

John fought in the First World War. Following the War, there is no record of his bakery business, the only bakery in the village being the one run by Herbert Simpson on Church Street.

What employment John had during those years, we don’t know, but he and Annie were very active in Cropwell Bishop.

During John’s absence during the War, Annie took over his Churchwarden tasks. She was later elected by parishioners to represent them as the “Peoples Warden” – and she continued doing so for the next 24 years.

Meanwhile, John became the organist at the church and continued without absence for 15 years.

In 1939, when he was 66, John listed his employment as ‘mental nurse’. We don’t know how long he had been a nurse.

We do know that the mental hospital at Saxondale – which is walking distance away, had been opened in 1902 and towards the end of the War, it was being used as a military hospital to treat soldiers with shell shock. Later, it reverted back to being a mental hospital. It was closed in 1988.

Could there be a link between John fighting in the War and working as a mental nurse. Did his experiences inspire him to help mentally ill people: we just don’t know.

John died in 1944.

I am fairly certain that Annie had died during the preceding 4 years because, in his will, he left all his money to a Charles John Kirk, Headmaster.

Charles Kirk was, in fact, the Head of Cropwell Bishop School at that time and lived at The School House in Cropwell Bishop – just across the road from where John lived.

I assume he had left his money to the School. John and Annie did not have any children.

A variety of characters have been traced in this street story.

What is fascinating is how different they were. Some were fortunate to have wealth and property passed on to them whilst some others had to battle to achieve what they felt was worthwhile.

In our own everyday life, we probably all complain about something or other that hasn't gone to plan, or about someone getting a bigger share than us. But, in terms of material comforts, convenience, freedoms and opportunities, we are far, far better off than the people in this story.

I am sure that every one of them would have envied our lives. But, are we any happier than they were; do we appreciate what we have?

I can't answer that; maybe you can have a go.

Tony Jarrow

Note: Thanks to Anne Terzza and Pam Barlow for their help with this article.

Shelton Gardens in 2020

"When will I get my Covid vaccine jab?" is a question everybody is asking.

The good news is that people living in Cropwell Bishop have already started having one. Villager, Joyce, who is over 80 years old, had her jab yesterday.

She had been invited to apply, but soon found that arranging an appointment over the phone was going to involve a very long wait.

She eventually made her booking online, which was more convenient.

Joyce arrived for her appointment at Gamston (near the entrance to Morrisons) yesterday afternoon and, after a short wait, was given her jab.

It was the first day of vaccinations at Gamston and they are using the Pfizer vaccine.

She has been given an appointment for a second jab but warned that this may change. We know that the Government has plans to delay the second jab by up to 12 weeks.

It took about 40 minutes from start to finish and was just like having a flu jab.

It is good to hear that the vaccine is now being given to our neighbours. We now just have to be patient as we wait for our turn — and stay at home, except when impossible.

Tony Jarrow

A Cropwell Bishop car driver has suffered tyre damage whilst driving along Stragglethorpe Road.

They said:

See the supplied photos.

Tony Jarrow

Here is my third, and final, collection of photos of Christmas-lights in Cropwell Bishop.

What a great display – and there are at least twice as many houses again whose lights are not pictured on the website. Wherever you live in the village, I made every effort to visit your street (forgive me Swab's Lane).

A bright and colourful showing at the end of a very difficult year for every one of us. Try to get out one evening and enjoy some near you.

Tony Jarrow

Here are some more picture of Christmas lights around the village: look out for more in a few days time.

Tony Jarrow

Last night I enjoyed viewing some of the many light displays around the village: there seem to be more than in previous years.

I didn't manage to get to every street but I will visit the rest in the coming days.

Here are a few from last night: look out for more in a few days time.

Tony Jarrow

On behalf of the Partners and staff of the Belvoir Health Group, Doctor Peter Mahony, has written to Pam Wakefield to say, "thank you for the extremely kind donation that you made to the practice”.

This follows the presentation of a cheque for £1,126 to Cropwell Bishop Surgery last month.

During the worrying months of COVID-19 lockdown this year, Pam made up numerous, imaginative, ‘Billie the Bear’ scenarios which she displayed in her front garden on Brownhill Close.

She collected contributions from children, parents and villagers, and it was all their money that was given to the Surgery.

As Dr Mahony said in his letter, this “reflects incredibly well upon the generosity and public-spirited nature of the people of Cropwell Bishop”.

He also reflected the views of the many who visited the fun displays when he said that, “you were able to bring a bit of light and happiness into the lives of so many people in your community through your actions”.

Dr Mahony considered Pam's kind actions, an inspiration to us all in these troubled times and help to remind us what can be achieved with a positive attitude.

Tony Jarrow

NB:
Billie and Brownie will be in Pam's window for the 'Elf Hunt' from tomorrow, so look out for them.
Also, on Saturday 19th December, Billie is decorating biscuits for the children so please call and see him.
Pam