Perlethorpe

Above & below: 2 Radleys Lane, Perlethorpe, looking towards the A614, c. 1953. Note the garden walls are not yet completed.

The redbrick buildings constructed around the Village Green c.1950 are those most associated with the name of Perlethorpe today. They were built for the exclusive occupancy of those employed on Thoresby Estate's three main industries: Home Farm, the Forestry Commission, and the Woodard. Pre-1950s maps indicate the Green was established at the same time as the houses were built, and was not a feature before then. Electricity had been supplied to Perlethorpe just prior to their building, and wireless sets (radios) depended upon rechargeable accumulators.

There were never any shops in Perlethorpe apart from the local Post Office by the Kennells. During the 1930's a Co-op van with a huge shoe on its roof would visit the village in the hope of collecting boots for repair, but most households did their own. In the 1940's Mr Fillingham from Wolesly would arrive on a horse and cart, selling basic household goods such as candles. In the 1950's I personally remember a large Library Van the size of a removal truck would park in the village, and then proceed to Three Gables, the Woodyard, so the residents could step into the back of it and choose their reading matter from the well stocked shelves.

Above: 2 The Village Green, Perlethorpe, c.1958. I well remember, during during the early1950s, how a small Bush television set in the front room of 2 Radleys Lane played black and white host to the Lone Ranger, and later how independent television introduced "Murray mints, too good to hurry mints" and "Hoover beats as it sweeps as it cleans".

 Above: The annual Thoresby Hayride leaves Perlethorpe Village via Radley's Lane. (Video).

There is also video of Perlethorpe, 2014, on THIS LINK, and more historic information about the village on THIS LINK.

For more pictures and information about Perlethorpe Village see: Perlethorpe School, Perlethorpe Village Hall & Social Club, Perlethorpe Village floods.

Sherwood Forest Visitors Centre, Edwinstowe

These Robin Hood statues stand in the shade of the trees surrounding the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre, Edwinstowe. The famous contest between Robin Hood and Little John when first meeting on a bridge over the River Leen in Sherwood Forest is well represented. On that day, neither man would give way, and after Little John won the contest Robin promptly asked him to join his Merry Men. Edwinstowe Village also boasts the church where Robin Hood and Maid Marian were married.

Robin Hood's Tree, the Major Oak, had already been a popular attraction for many decades before 1969 when Thoresby Estate leased the land to Nottingham County Council for the purpose of a more organised approach to the lucrative tourist trade. Working on a limited budget, the Sherwood Forest Visitor's Centre, Edwinstowe, contains several delights for Robin Hood fans. But it is also of great interest to those with an interest in British Wildlife. The walk down to the Major Oak tree is a delightful way to enjoy the mystical, enchantment of this most ancient forest.

For information about the NEW Sherwood Forest Visitors Centre see THIS LINK.

For more information about Robin Hood's Tree, the Major Oak, see THIS LINK. For video of the tree see THIS LINK.