Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in the
AshfieldAshfield is a local government district in western Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 UK census, it has a population of 111,387. The district is mostly urban, with a tradition of coal mining. There are three towns in the district; the largest being Sutton-in-Ashfield...
district of
NottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, with a population of around 43,000. It is situated four miles west of
MansfieldMansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....
, close to the
DerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
border.
Geography
For demographic purposes it is part of
Mansfield Urban AreaThe Mansfield Urban Area is an area of west Nottinghamshire that comprises the towns of Mansfield, Sutton in Ashfield, Kirkby in Ashfield and Mansfield Woodhouse. The 2001 census gives the total population of the area as 158,114, making it the 37th most populated urban area in England.-External...
, although in the separate council district of Ashfield, (based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield). To the north is
SkegbySkegby is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, located two miles west of Mansfield and one mile north of Sutton-in-Ashfield, close to Stanton Hill lying on the B6014 road. Skegby sits on both sides of a deep valley near the source of the River Meden...
and
Stanton HillStanton Hill is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, located three miles west of Mansfield and one mile north-west of Sutton-in-Ashfield.-History:...
.
The main road to Mansfield used to go through the town, but this is now the B6023 road. The A617 Mansfield
Bypass meets the A38 at Kings Mill and passes through much of the town's parish, to the east. It opened in 2005.
Landmarks
The main tourist attraction in Sutton-in-Ashfield, is the largest
sundialA sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
in Europe. It is located in the middle of Portland Square, adjacent to the Idlewells Shopping Centre and
Sutton Centre Community CollegeSutton Centre Community College is a coeducational, 11-18 secondary school located in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The school has been awarded dual Specialist Business and Enterprise College and Arts College status....
.
Another tourist attraction in Sutton-in-Ashfield is
The Ashfield Show, held in August on Sutton Lawn, and includes everything from fairground rides, local businesses and services showing their presence, live music, classic cars and steam engines and much more.
A further local attraction stands on the former site of Silverhill Colliery close to the scenic village of
TeversalTeversal is a small village in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, located 3 miles west of Mansfield, close to the Derbyshire border. Former names include Tevershalt, Teversholt, Tyversholtee, Teversale, Tevershall and Teversall. Teversal was the home of the fictional Lady Chatterley...
on the north-west edge of Ashfield. The area has been transformed from the colliery to a woodland, which features several walks for all abilities and also features the highest point in Nottinghamshire . At the highest point
stands a monument to all the miners who have worked in the area's coalfields.
King's Mill HospitalKing's Mill Hospital is a hospital situated in Sutton-in-Ashfield, UK. The Hospital serves the towns in the Mansfield Urban Area....
is the main
landmark, situated between the town and Mansfield, next to the A38. The town has a large
AsdaAsda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
to the north of the town centre and a
MorrisonsWm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
towards Mansfield, off the A38. In April 1999, the Asda supermarket had the UK's first
blessing and reception in a supermarket. It had been unable to get a ceremony licence for the supermarket.
Out on the B6139 to the south is the
Sherwood ObservatorySherwood Observatory is an amateur astronomical observatory in Nottinghamshire, England, owned and operated by Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society. The main dome is 6.5m in diameter and houses a 0.61 m Newtonian Reflecting telescope. There is a club meeting room that hosts society meetings...
, which is inside the parish, not Mansfield, being run by the
Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical SocietyMansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society is an amateur astronomical society in the East Midlands of England. It was formed in 1969. It is based at Sherwood Observatory, a 61cm mirror telescope which it owns and operates...
.
Saxons
The area was first settled in Saxon times and the Saxon suffix "ton" means "an enclosure or fenced in clearing". The town appears in the
Domesday BookDomesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as "Sutone". There are also documents from 1189 showing that Gerard, son of Walter de Sutton, gave two bovates of land and the church at Sutton to Thurgarton Priory.
Churches
The
Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Sutton-in-AshfieldThe Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Sutton-in-Ashfield is a parish church in the Church of England in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade II* listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as it is a particularly significant building of more than local interest.-History:The...
dates from the twelfth century .
Coal mining
Sutton CollierySutton Colliery was a colliery situated in the village of Stanton Hill about 2 km north west of Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.It was first sunk in 1874 and was closed in 1989....
was actually outside of the town in Stanton Hill. It closed in 1989.
Hosiery
The
Pretty PollyPretty Polly is a British brand of women's tights based in Daybrook, Nottinghamshire.-History:The company began in 1919 when Harry Hibbert and Oswald Buckland built a factory in Sutton-in-Ashfield, near Mansfield in Nottinghamshire...
brand of hosiery originated in the town in around 1927, and was manufactured there on
Unwin Road until April 2005. Samuel Eden Socks
closed in July 2005.
Road
Sutton-in-Ashfield is served by regular bus services from Nottingham, Mansfield and Derby. Sutton Parkway railway station (
Robin Hood LineThe Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell are in Derbyshire.The towns and villages served by the route are listed below:*Nottingham*Bulwell*Hucknall...
) is two miles south of the town centre. The town is close to Junction 28 of the
M1 motorwayThe M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
along the
A38The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
. The town's bypass is a wide single-carriageway.
Rail
The town, since 1995, is now on the
Robin Hood LineThe Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire. The stations between Shirebrook and Whitwell are in Derbyshire.The towns and villages served by the route are listed below:*Nottingham*Bulwell*Hucknall...
with
Sutton Parkway railway stationSutton Parkway railway station serves the town of Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, England. The station is north of Nottingham on the Robin Hood Line.-Services:...
which is a good two miles from the town centre - although near the A38 bypass, towards
Kirkby-in-AshfieldKirkby-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 25,265 . It is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area. The Head Offices of Ashfield District Council are located there....
on the B6021 road. The railway was formerly mostly used by the area's pits, which closed in the early 1990s.
Sport
Sutton used to have a large and ageing
swimming pool, with a (rare)
high diving boardDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, at the Sutton Pools Complex on Brooke street which was closed as a result of new plans, which lead it to be replaced directly by the new £16m
Lammas Leisure Centre. The centre was opened on 1 November 2008 by Dame Kelly Holmes. There is a local
athletics club and
swimming club associated with both local schools and The Lammas Centre itself. There is also the multi-faceted
Coxmoor Golf Club on
Coxmoor Road (B6139), next to the A611. As a result of local council grant applications for sport development, Sebastian Coe
opened a new athletics track for the town at the nearby Ashfield School in February 2007.
Kings Mill Reservoir
Contrary to popular and widespread belief among townsfolk, the reservoir lies within Sutton In Ashfield itself, and not in the neighbouring parish of Mansfield. Alongside the water reservoir is the Mill Adventure Base with
sailing activities. This is one of three Nottinghamshire adventure bases, with the other two at
Holme PierrepontHolme Pierrepont is a hamlet located south of the city of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is in the Gamston ward of the Rushcliffe local authority in the East Midlands region....
(Lakeside) and
WorksopWorksop is the largest town in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England on the River Ryton at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest. It is about east-south-east of the City of Sheffield and its population is estimated to be 39,800...
(Sandhill), all of which are available for people aged 11-19. The
sailing club has used the reservoir since 1959. Kings Mill received its name from a mill on the north-east of the reservoir, once owned by John Cockle and his wife, who gave
Henry II of EnglandHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
a night's lodgings and breakfast during his reign.
Nature
To the west is the 250 acres (101.2 ha) Brierley Forest Park, built on the site of Sutton Colliery, also known as Brierley Colliery, which was
named due to many of the miners coming from
Brierley HillBrierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
. It is a nature reserve and opened in 1999, it hold the
Green Flag AwardThe Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom. The scheme was set up in 1996 to recognise and reward green spaces in England and Wales that met the laid down high standards...
. Kings Mill Reservoir is also a nature reserve.
Schools
- Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School - Ages 3 to 11
- Lammas School - Ages 5 to 16
- Quarrydale School
Quarrydale School is a comprehensive secondary school located in the ex-mining and textile community of Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England. In 2010 the school achieved its best results yet, with 56% or more A*-C grades in total...
- Ages 11 to 18
- Forest Glade Primary School - Ages 4 to 11
- St. Mary Magdalene C of E Primary School - Ages 4 to 11
- Carsic Infants School
- Carsic Juniors School
- Croft Primary School
- Leamington Primary and Nursery School - Ages 3 to 11
- Dalestorth Primary School
- Sutton Centre Community College
Sutton Centre Community College is a coeducational, 11-18 secondary school located in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The school has been awarded dual Specialist Business and Enterprise College and Arts College status....
- Ages 11 to 18, with courses for adults
- Hillocks Primary & Nursery School
- Priestsic Primary School
- St Andrews C of E Primary & Nursery School - Ages 4 to 11
The
Ashfield Comprehensive SchoolAshfield Comprehensive School is a school located in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England, which educates children ages 11–19.Ashfield currently has approximately 3,500 students, split into 6 houses names Trent, Chesterfield, Thoroton, Byron, Hargreaves and Coates...
is also very near the town, on the other side of the A38 (
Kings Mill Road East East).-
Notable people from the town
- Pascal Broadley
Vaughan John Pascal Broadley is a former English cricketer. Broadley was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium-fast. He was born at Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire....
, cricketer
- Kris Commons
Kris Commons is an English-born Scottish footballer who currently plays as a left winger for Scottish Premier League club Celtic and the Scotland national team...
, footballer for Stoke City, Nottingham Forest, and Derby County.
- Chris Gascoyne, Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
actor
- Andrew Lewis
Andrew Lewis is a British composer known mainly for his acousmatic music, that is, electroacoustic music heard only over loudspeakers, though he also composes some chamber and orchestral music....
, composer
- Jeremiah Brandreth
Jeremiah Brandreth was an out-of-work stocking maker who lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, who was hanged for treason. He was known as "The Nottingham Captain"...
, last person to be publicly beheaded with an axe in the UK in 1817.
- Trevor Ashmore
Trevor Ashmore is a coin counterfeiter infamous for producing modern copies of ancient English coins in the 1960s.Ashmore was a part-time coin dealer in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As he was a precision engineer he also made experimental coin dies...
, famous for his museum quality forgeries of Anglo-Saxon and early English coinage.
- Jimmy Walker, football goalkeeper previously of Walsall and West Ham.
- Alex Baptiste
Alexander Aaron John "Alex" Baptiste is an English footballer who plays for Blackpool. He usually plays in central defence, but has also played at both full back positions and as a defensive midfielder.-Mansfield Town:...
, football defender for Blackpool F.C.Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
- Michael Willetts
Michael Willetts, GC was one of the first British soldiers to be killed during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the recipient of a posthumous George Cross for his heroism in saving lives during the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombing which claimed his own...
, one of the first British soldiers to be killed during The Troubles in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
- Arthur Betts (b.1917)
Arthur Betts was a professional Association Footballer who played for Nottingham Forest F.C.-Professional career:Betts was a winger whose Football League career lasted from 1936 - 1939. His promising playing career was cut short due to injury in a match versus Coventry City...
, Nottingham Forest footballer
- Horace Burrows
Horace Burrows was a professional footballer who played for Mansfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday. Burrows was a left half whose league career lasted from 1932 to 1939, his career was curtailed by the outbreak of World War II...
, footballer for Sheffield Wednesday and England
- Steve Ogrizovic
Steven "Oggy" Ogrizovic is a former English goalkeeper who achieved fame during 16 years at Coventry City...
, football goalkeeper for Chesterfield, Shrewsbury, Liverpool and Coventry City
External links