- Grove, Nottinghamshire
Grove is a small village, lying about 2 miles south-west of
Retford ,Nottinghamshire . In fact, theparkland s ofGrove Hall separate it from Retford town, and a set of gates for Grove Hall can be found near the London Road, theA638 .The village itself, is very pleasant, with a
village green , stretching either side of the main road. The village boasts agarden centre , housed in the formerkitchen garden s, of the Hall, and there is also a very fine parish church.History
The barony of Grove, with the manor of West Retford, was part of the large property granted by
William the Conqueror , to Roger de Busli and is thus noted in Domesday survey, as "Grave".From Roger de Busli it came to Gerbert (or Gilbert) de Arches, Baro de Grove, (in the early part of the reign of Henry II,) whose great grand-daughter, Theophania, being a co-heiress, carried it to Malvesinus de Hercy, in the reign of Henry III. It continued in the Hercy family till Sir John de Hercy bequeathed it to Barbara, one of his sisters, and co-heiress, who had married George Nevile, Esq. of Ragnall, in whose family it continued till the latter end of the seventeenth century, when Sir Edward Nevile sold it to Sir Creswell Levinz, one of the Judges of the Common Pleas. Sir Creswell Levinz was succeeded by his son, William Levinz. who resided at Grove, and was sometime one of the members for
East Retford , and afterwards for the county. This William Levinz left a son, William, who alienated the greatest part of his inheritance, and sold themanor andestate of Grove, with its appurtenances, in the year 1762, to Anthony Eyre, Esq. of Rampton, and of Adwick, the father of Anthony Hardolph Eyre, Esq. the present possessor. A large brick house, in theold English style , with gable ends, andmullion window s, had been erected at Grove, at a period which is not known, and had undergone considerable alterations. During the wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster, the Hercy family, with their neighbours the Stanhopes, of Rampton, were active supporters of theHouse of Lancaster , and during the arduous struggle for superiority, were frequently surrounded by dangers of no common kind; till at length Victory"To Tudor's brow transfer'd the gem,The long disputed diadem."
Parish church
See
St. Helen's Church, Grove Castle Hill Wood
"All hail! ye mighty, venerable work. Of our forefathers, great in deeds of arms! To late posterity memorial stand Of their immortal fame."
The situation of Grove, being bold and commanding, and strongly fortified by nature, we can hardly suppose that it would escape the attention of warriors, who, in ancient days no doubt saw this, as being a place admirably suited for military purposes, and capable of being used as an exploratory situation: to the greatest possible advantage. There have been strinking traces, of what is believed to be such a site.
Within the precincts of the
parish , is a wood, generally designated "Castle Hill Wood", where, as its name suggests, has formerly stood a castle on a mount (orMote ), which appears to have been surrounded by a double trench of considerable magnitude, having the entrance to the south-east. To the south-east of this mount is a piece of ground, now almost level, where the traces of foundations are discernible; this is surrounded by a moat, both wide and deep, having formerly circumscribed a mansion or castle, but of which no definite remains are now in existence. This place, as well as the one just alluded to, together with the greatest part of an extensive wood, are still circumvallated, and a trench orfoss , in some instances double, may be distinctly traced for upwards of a mile.It is generally acknowledged that this part of the country formed a portion of the settlements of the
Coritani , but that in common with the rest of Great Britain, it became a prey to the Roman armies, who, in making the conquest, were necessitated to undergo considerable hardships and privations, and on obtaining possession, to cast up those fortresses andbulwarks , which, in almost every part of the United Kingdom, remain to the present time, as mementos of their bravery and determined perseverance.It is believed it "may be properly attributed the formation of these extensive works, although others have supposed them to have been originally British".cn|date=May 2008 But opinion with respects to this site, are "other circumstances concurring with the above, tending to confirm the supposition of their being of Roman origin".cn|date=May 2008 About a mile beyond
Gringley are the traces of an encampment to the right of the road leading toLeverton ; "which road has every appearance of having been Roman, and was continued toNorth Leverton onward to the Roman station at Littleborough, without fetching the compass towardsSouth Leverton , which it now does; and the old road may still be traced, being, with the intervention of a wood, nearly entire".cn|date=May 2008The situation is particularly noted in some of the oldest maps of Nottinghamshire, under the appellation of ‘Little Gringley Castle."
"This place has occupied the attention of antiquarians for a long period, in attempting to fix upon it as the
Segelocum , mentioned in the Itenerary ofAntoninus Camden , in his first edition of theBrittanica in 1504, had fixed this station atEaton , but afterwards, it is said, he changed his opinion in favour of Littleborough. Mr. Horsley, also decidedly says "Segelocum or Agelocum, as called in two iters, is certainly Littleborough. Dr. Gale was of the same opinion; and Pegge, in his "British Topography ", seems to coincide therewith. To such an host of observations and conjectures, I cannot presume to add any thing, save that of recording an humble opinion in favour of that given by Mr. Horsley.In 1684, when the inclosures between the bridge and town were first ploughed up, many coins ofNerva ,Trajan ,Hadrian ,Constantine , &c. were found, together withintaglio s of agate, and cornelian, the finest coloured urns, and paterae, some wrought in basso relievo, with the workman's name generally impressed on the inside of the bottom; also a discus, or quoit, with an emperor's head embossed upon it. Again, in 1718, two very handsomely moulded altars were dug up, and in 1759, the drawing of another was communicated to the Society of Antiquaries. A curioustassera , or tally, was also found near this place; these tallies were supposed to have been used in the Roman armies, to distinguish each other from the enemy, and for setting the nightly watch."fact|date=May 2008On this road, between Leverton and Littleborough, formerly existed a stone bridge, about the repairs of which, several disputes arose. In 1253, the court of
Oswardbeck was held atSturton , when an inquisition was taken, as to whether the inhabitants of Sturton andFenton , or theabbot ofWelbeck should repair it; the jurors gave it in favour of the abbot. Another inquisition was likewise held at Retford, in 1290, when the jury.References
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