A1-The Great North Road
Windmills at Tuxford
Drawing by E.M. Holman, published in Routes to Scotland, c1935.
One of the three windmills, Longbottoms, a 19th century brick tower mill, remains and has been restored, working on a few days a year.
According to Doris Sanderson in her 1947 account of Tuxford, the Bridal Procession of Margaret Tudor, en-route for the North, to marry James IV, King of Scotland is described thus:
Early in the morning of the 11th of July, 1503, the youthful Queen left Newark and proceeded en route for Tuxford. The royal cortege proceeded through the villages of South and North Muskham, Carlton and Sutton, at all of which places the villages and those in adjacent rural districts had assembled in considerable numbers. Arriving at the summit of the hill on which Weston mill now stands, the spires of Weston and Tuxford churches first appeared in view, and the minstrels of music struck up a lively air. Halting for a few minutes, the Queen proceeded on her journey arriving at the foot of the hill, near where the Rebel Stone is still standing. The procession was met there by the vicar and churchmen of Tuxford in their best dresses. The Bishop of Murray gave the Queen the Crosse to kiss, and she lodged at the Crown Inn at Tuxford. During the remainder of the day and until midnight, the bells continued to ring. Large bonfires were kept blazing in the Market Place.
Here we saw Tuxford in the Clays, that is to say, Tuxford in the Dirt, and a little dirty market town it is, suitable to its name. Daniel Defoe
And a hundred years on, Patterson reported: Tuxford is, according to Gough, 'branded to a proverb for its miry situation.' and is also rendered famous by Drunken Barnaby, in his northern route, for the badness of its wine; but of this, whatever may be the quality, more is now sold than in his time, as the place is almost made up of inns for the accommodation of travellers. Though the town is small, yet it is of more modern erection than many others in the county, which may be attributed to a dreadful fire that nearly destroyed it in the year 1702.
According to Brown, Throsby, during his peregrinations through the county on horseback, speaks of the clayey grounds in this vicinity, over which his steed could not travel more than two miles an hour. About Tuxford is the most absolutely ill road in the world, writes William Uvedale, Treasurer at War, to Matthew Bradley, Deputy Treasurer, in a letter dated 1640, and quoted in the State Papers.
Harper wrote rather depressingly: unchanged since coaching days, except that the traffic which then enlivened it has gone. It is a gaunt, lifeless place, in spite of its three railway stations. What? Three railway stations? There are none now. Madness. You have to go south to Newark or north to Retford to catch a train and you may as well forget about travelling east or west by train.
The Great North Road used not to run straight through Tuxford but took a slightly more easterly approach from the south, along what is now the B1164, just east of the course of the present A1 bypass. On reaching Lincoln Road one had to turn left to enter the Market Place from the east before turning right to proceed northwards. The route was altered in about 1794 to avoid this dogleg.
On the old road just south of Tuxford stands the Rebel Stone. Legend has it the stone was erected on the site of where a convicted prisoner tried to escape and was either killed or executed, the stone supposedly marking the burial place. It was moved to facilitate the widening of the road while the A1 was routed through Tuxford, before the dual carriageway was built. The rebel stone now stands near a bench, and was used for many years as the finish marker for the Retford and District Wheelers' 10 mile and then 5 mile time trial course. The scouts cleaned the area up and made a pathway to it, bringing it out of obscurity.
More information and pictures here, here and here.
| The Market Place is a modest affair, more a road junction, but there's room for a couple of benches on a paved area lit by a rather special lamp post, an ornate iron affair, dated 1897, that doubles up as a sign post. Just north of the Market Place the Great North Road is named Eldon Street. On its west side stands the mid 18th century Mail House, once a coaching inn, presumably handling the mail. For a picture see Images of England and search on IOE number 420199. |
The Newcastle Arms |
Here's quite an informative leaflet describing a heritage trail around the town.
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A culvert of 18th Century brickwork takes a small tributary of the Trent under the Great North Road at the bottom of the hill that forms Tuxford's main street. Across the road from where this photo was taken is a new housing development, built on land left open for it used to be a marshy hollow liable to flooding. It probably still is. The A1 overlooks the area from a high embankment a little to the east. |
©Biff Vernon 2001, 2006
