Bilsthorpe
Encyclopedia
Bilsthorpe is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in the Newark and Sherwood
Newark and Sherwood
Newark and Sherwood is a local government district of eastern Nottinghamshire, England. The district is predominantly rural, with some large forestry plantations, and the towns of Newark-on-Trent, Southwell and Ollerton....

 district of Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire 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...

, England
England
England 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...

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,076. It is about five miles south of Ollerton
Ollerton
Ollerton is a town in Nottinghamshire, England, on the edge of Sherwood Forest in the area known as the Dukeries. It forms part of the civil parish of Ollerton and Boughton....

, and near the junction of the A614
A614 road
The A614 is a main road in England running through the counties of Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.Beginning at Redhill, near Calverton in Nottinghamshire at a roundabout with the A60, the road meets the A6097 at a junction which looks like a roundabout but...

 and A617.

The village has 2 children's play
Play (activity)
Play is a term employed in ethology and psychology to describe to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment...

-parks as well as a small sized duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

-pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...

. It has also a members only fishing lake created from the remains of the old mines slag heap.

There is some unemployment as can be expected to be found in out-lying villages in this area since the closure of the coal mines. However, most people are determined to find work or train to be skilled. There are known families who have remained dependent on benefits and villagers know who they are. Petty or moderate crimes do occur in the village despite that the villagers know one another and try and sort village problems amongst themselves if any. Albeit, recently, a ramraid by suspected organised criminals that took the village post office's cash machine shocked many villagers proving the need of good local police presence.

The village's colliery closed in 1997 after 70 years in use. The colliery was the centre of national media and public attention on 18 August 1993 when a roof collapsed in the colliery, killing 31-year-old under-manager David Shelton and minners Bill McCulloch (aged 26) and Peter Alcock (aged 50). David Shelton was posthumously awarded the George Medal
George Medal
The George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...

 for bravery on 11 October 1995 for aiding the rescue of other miners; survivor Ray Thompson also received the George Medal. A memorial to the dead miners was also erected outside the colliery.

The village is known locally as being two areas, the 'old' and 'new'. With the 'old' being mainly private houses whereas the 'new' being mainly council housing. The village has two pubs ( The Stanton Arms and The Copper Beech) and a Miners Welfare Club. The village used to have a Village Hall with squash and sauna facilities with some gym equipments. However, the district council of Newark decided to close these due mainly to the low usage of both the squash and sauna facilities. The Village Hall's main part is still in use for coffee mornings, and other community gatherings including a bowls event for local people.

The village has had newly built properties as its fair share of the property boom that was enjoyed by the entire UK between years 2000 and 2008. The properties with superb designs but affordable pricing will have attracted working families with jobs around the North Nottinghamshire areas particularly as business parks had been sprouting near the A1 near Newark and junction 28 of the M1.

Local services in the village include the local surgery, and most notably the highly regarded pharmacy and post office on Church street. The pharmacy is modernly refurbished retail and NHS service provider which also houses a sensual holistic treatment centre (http://www.calma-pharma.co.uk/). Treatments provided include Indian Head Massage, Swedish Massage, and back massage amongst others. The pharmacy is also a training centre for pre-registration pharmacist and has very good ties with the School of Pharmacy of the University of Nottingham. It has had trainees who are graduates from UK universities but originally coming from Africa, Southeast Asia, and the European countries.

On the Kirklington side of the village is a nursing home for disabled patients called Wycar Leys.

There are three main convenience stores in the village (2 in the new village area, and 1 in the old village), a Chinese take-away (old village), two hairdressers (each for the old and new side), and two fish and chip shops selling kebabs and pizza (both in the new village).

Bilsthorpe has a thriving community, with a number of community groups, organisations and societies for the young and old alike. In recent years the village has been subject to a number of planning applications including proposals to extract clay, and to build a number of wind turbines.

Over the years Bilsthorpe has prided itself in its thriving community, with jazz bands, a gardening club, the scouts, St John Ambulance, cadets etc. Recently one of their youth football teams by the name of Bilsthorpe Welfare Youth Football Club won the Mansfield Youth Under 16's Division 2 football championship. BWYFC

External links

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