Mansfield
In the 18th Century the local inhabitants called them 'fairy pavements' - fragments of mosaics turned up by the plough in the close vicinity of Mansfield. A local landowner of the 1780's, Major Rooke of Woodhouse Place, intrigued by these discoveries, started excavating and found the remains of a substantial Roman Villa together with many treasures. Major Rooke wrote down his findings, but as archaeology was in a primitive state in those days nothing was done very scientifically and after Rooke's death no-one showed any interest. Now nothing remains and a major relic of Roman Britain was lost. All this adds up to the fact that the Romans were at Mansfield giving it a very early start in history. Half a millennium later in 1042 Edward the Confessor had the manor which paid Danegeld and in 1377 Richard II. granted the right to hold a fair in the town.
In 1516 an Act of Parliament settled the manor on Thomas Duke of Norfolk, the hero of Flodden, as a reward for his military prowess. From Norfolk the manor passed via the Shrewburys and Newcastles to the Portlands.
Robin Hood has many associations with Mansfield and at Fountain Dale are the possible remains of a friar's cell with connections with Newstead Priory. It was here that the Curtal Friar, Friar Tuck, is said to have met Robin. W. Horner Groves, the 19th century historian of Mansfield, tells of the discovery of the body of a man with bow, quiver and 'other relics of forest habit about him' in the wall of an old inn during alteration over a century ago.
Mansfield has produced a number of distinguished sons, perhaps the most celebrated being the 4th Earl of Chesterfield,
born at Stanhope House, Bridge Street, a building replaced in 1866 by a Wesleyan Chapel. The Marques of Dorchester was born
in Mansfield in 1606 and others include Richard Sterne, Archbishop of York, grandfather of Laurence Sterne, James Murray,
inventor of the circular saw and Dr. William Chappell, Bishop of Cork and author of 'The Whole Duty of Man'.
Mansfield became a coal mining centre in the 19th century and it grew considerably, though not always for the better. In the 1970s it was described as, '... ringed with concrete it has a huge multi-storey car park, tall buildings, and a new shopping centre which could be anywhere from Chicago to Newcastle-upon- Tyne. Happily the Market Place still retained its distinguished character. The centrepiece - the large gothic memorial to Lord George Bentinck which was never finished as the intention was to have a statue of the statesman under the canopy. Also of note - the neo-classical Town Hall'.
In 2008 the Mansfield Heritage Trail was launched which covers buildings, monuments and pieces of public art in Mansfield town centre and includes a series of plaques positioned at 25 areas of historical interest in the town.
The Dukeries and Sherwood Forest
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