The Street Stories pdf is now available to download.

Points to be aware of:

- It could take several minutes; it is a big file.
- It will appear in your browser, but you should then save the pdf file to your device.
- When you then double click that file, it will open in a ‘pdf reader’.
- Acrobat Reader is the most common one, but on Apple devices, you can use Apple's ‘Preview’ which is equally good.
- pdf readers allow you to search the pdf, click to particular streets, and print any page.

To download Street Stories click: Street Stories pdf.

I welcome all comments and suggestions.

Enjoy.

Tony Jarrow

It has taken over a year, working a dozen, or so, hours every week, but I have finally completed the task.

All of the Street Stories that exist on this website are in a special format for websites (html markup language and cs stylesheets, if you must ask) but that is not the right format for publishing a book, so, I have converted them all into pdf files, which is perfect.

At the same time, I have added new streets, new information, new photos, and corrected small errors.

The book has 330, A4 size, pages. You can view it on a computer screen, tablet or even a phone. The file is large, over 0.6GB, so it takes a few minutes to download. If you then save it to your device, you can access it any time you like - even offline.

The most important reason for releasing this version of Street Stories is to ensure its long-term survival as a record of Cropwell Bishop history.

Hundreds of people have, in some way, contributed to its content over the last 5 years and it would have been tragic if, one day, it had suddenly become inaccessible.

Tomorrow, I will make available here, for you to save.

Thank you.

Tony Jarrow

What do we know about our village, Cropwell Bishop?

Well, we know the church, in some form, has been here since 1215.

And before that, in 956, this area was referred to as Crophille, a name that appears again the Domesday Book of 1086. In that book it says that 24 men were working here; we can think of them as smallholders.

Assuming they lived here with their wife and, say, 2 children, that makes the population of Cropwell Bishop about 100.

So roughly speaking, a thousand years ago, about 100 people lived here Cropwell Bishop. But we know nothing about them, and never will.

But we do know a great deal about the history of our village over the last 300 years or so. There are old maps and family records we can examine and so piece together the history of the people who lived here. Just as importantly, we have our surroundings to look to.

The high hills of Cropwell Wolds, which you see on your left when you drive towards Cotgrave on the Colston Bassett Road, were there 1000 years ago. So was the hill we call Fern Hill going out of the village towards Langar.

What about the rocks and minerals under the ground?

Some of the stones in the walls of St Giles were there 800 years ago. And the oldest buildings in the village have stood there for centuries, and if you want a precise date for some old stones, take a look at the churchyard graves. They go back to 1720; that’s over 50 years before America declared its independence from Britain.

As many of you are aware, you can delve into the recent history of Cropwell Bishop by clicking on the website’s Heritage tab. Its history is told through 38 ‘Street Stories’.

However, we now have 42 streets, so the stories are not complete.
Also, having to go online to read the stories is not always convenient.
And you can't read it like a book.
Nor is it possible to search for items of interest, gypsum for example.
Nor can you easily print a page of it.
And, most worryingly, what will happen to the stories if, one day, the website goes offline: permanently!

However, I think there is a way of overcoming these problems and fears.

I'll let you know how, tomorrow.

Tony Jarrow

Not to be missed.... the first Gardening Club talk in 2026 is on Monday at the Old School 7.30pm.

Back by popular demand is Joe Whitehead the Head Gardener from Burghley House.

This time he will be presenting, 'My Favourite Blunders'.

Come along to the Old School and a warm welcome awaits you, visitors £4.50 includes tea/coffee. No need to book, pay at the door from 7pm onwards.

There is also be the opportunity to win some great prizes by joining in with the raffle (cash only).

And there will be a selection of gardening books to buy for a small donation.

Pam Wregg

(see poster on Events page)

We were advised before Christmas that sadly our evening and Sunday ‘90A’ service to Bingham and Nottingham is to be discontinued from February 1st 2026.

The 90 route between Nottingham and Newark (and Fernwood) is being taken over by Nottingham City Transport (NCT) and none of the ‘90’ buses will serve Cropwell Bishop.

This is disappointing as the service provided an attractive direct bus (25 minutes) into town as compared with a journey of about 55 minutes through the villages and estates on our daytime NCT ‘11’ service (see * below).

I and others in the village have already expressed our disappointment to the County and our local MP and Councillors and requested that consideration be given to a replacement evening and Sunday service.

The responsibility for our buses is being transferred from the County Council to The East Midlands Combined County Authority (from April 2026) and the Mayor of the East Midlands is currently consulting on public transport around the region in advance of the forthcoming Transport Strategy for the region.

It would be helpful to make your views known to help Cropwell Bishop get a satisfactory, useful bus service. You can find more information here:
The Mayor's Big Transport Conversation - East Midlands Combined County Authority.

In my response to the survey, in addition to a replacement evening and Sunday service, I requested more direct commuter and shopper services to Nottingham and Bingham.

*Incidentally there is a faster route to West Bridgford and Town (about 40 minutes) if you take the ‘747’ at 25 minutes past the hour from Church St to Radcliffe and change there to the Mainline service.
However, this means paying twice unless you are fortunate to have a bus pass.
(More details of our village bus services can be found by clicking on the "Travel" tab of this website.)

Reminder - the 90A is not available from February 1st.

John Greenwood

This Friday is "Bin-Day" and, for the first time, your new Purple bin will be emptied too.

Put it out alongside your grey bin.

As a reminder, I have copied the key rules regarding what can go into your purple bin.

Tony Jarrow

PS: The next Purple Bin collection after this one will be on 23rd January.

Remembering that Hilary will be at the Saturday Cafe at The Old School this Saturday, I decided to peep in the garage to see what she has in store for her book and jigsaw exchange.

Over half the books are fresh stock that she has collected and the rest have not been on the shelves for over 3 months, so a fresh experience. How many bookshops can say that?

As for jigsaws well, as ever, there will be a large selection including fresh ones that have been donated in recent weeks. As many as possible will be packed into the car.

Remember, this is that last Cafe of the year, so you might want to stock up for those long dark evenings in January.

There will be fresh cakes on sale too, so should be a fun morning; see the poster on the Events page.

Tony Jarrow