Yesterday I dropped my wife off for an hour in Newark-upon-Trent to do whatever wives do when they “go into town”, and with camera in my pocket I drove five or six miles down the A46 in search of a memorial. What I came away with was quite a surprise.

Having lived in this area for only seven years, and for the early years I was away travelling on business for much of the time, I can’t claim to be an expert on its local history. I was aware of a battle having been fought to the south of Newark during the fifteenth century Wars of the Roses but knew little about it.

At first attempt I missed the church of St. Oswald, down a narrow lane toward the Trent in East Stoke, but eventually found it on my way back toward the main road. The church building here is very ancient in its origins, although substantially rebuilt in the 1700s.

What I originally came to find was a memorial plaque bearing an inscription “Blessed are the peacemakers” (words of Jesus from the Gospel of St. Matthew). I found it, and the photograph above of the church shows at its far left the top of the statue rising out of the bushes. More on that in a later article. The thing that caught me by surprise, however, was a large stone plaque against the wall of the church itself.

As I’ve said, the fact of a battle was not new to me. What struck me was the sheer scale of the event. As I now know from further reading, in the space of just over three hours on June 16th 1487, in what today is a peaceful backwater overlooking the valley of the meandering River Trent, a total of 48,000 men fought so intensely that they left 7,000 dead behind them.

The Earl of Lincoln was in command of the Yorkist troops, a mixture of English rebels and Irish recruits backed by a mercenary force of Germans led by Colonel Martin Schwartz and funded by the dowager Duchess of Burgundy. The Yorkist rebellion had seemingly been defeated at the much better known Battle of Bosworth Field two years earlier. This was a ‘last-ditch’ attempt to gain the crown, and if successful the Earl of Lincoln was expected to be in a position of considerable power. It was not to be.

Although King Henry VII was present, and nominally at the head of his army, the effective military leader on the Lancastrian side was the Earl of Oxford. At first it appeared that the smaller number of Yorkist troops were about to prevail, but Oxford maneuvered skillfully and the King kept his throne.

In a field close by there is said to be another memorial stone with the inscription: “Here stood the Burrand Bush planted on the spot where Henry VII placed his standard after the Battle of Stoke (June 16 1487)” I haven’t seen that yet, and can feel another bout of exploration coming on. Map. More on the Battle. English Heritage Battlefield Register.

Newark and  Sherwood covers a widespread area of small towns and villages, as well as extensive stretches of agricultural land.  Once this area on the eastern side of Nottinghamshire, close to the border with Lincolnshire, could also boast flourishing industries such as mining and brewing.

These old industries are now almost entirely gone, being replaced by a wide variety of modern business and commerce attracted by excellent communications, with road and rail contributing today what the River Trent did in past centuries. The sugar industry does still survive, however, and in the season the A1, A46 and A616 carry steady flows of large trucks filled from the East of England’s sugar beet harvest.

The two sizeable towns in the district are Southwell, home of the Bramley apple, proud of its Minster with unusual twin pepper-pot towers, and Newark with its ancient market place and its castle by the Trent.  In terms of administrative influence Newark is in the lead, the District local government headquarters being in the splendid old Kelham Hall just outside the town, and the town name is known well to rail travelers from its station on the main East Coast line to London.  Newark is by far the larger but in terms of sophistication and calm dignity there is no doubt that Southwell sees itself as having a significant edge.

The district can lay claim to a considerable history.  Major events of the Civil War of the 1640s took place around here. The imposing parish church of Newark, dating back to the early 13th century, still bears the scars from cannon balls fired almost four hundred years ago. In earlier centuries the area was associated with one of the worst of kings and the best of outlaws.  King John was allegedly poisoned and on a gruelling journey died while staying overnight at Newark Castle.  Robin Hood and his merry men roamed among the great oaks of Sherwood Forest.

A wonderful new book came out very recently.  I bought a copy last week and found it to be both highly readable and beatifully illustrated. Not only does it describe and illustrate many facets of life past and present in Newark and Southwell , but it includes other smaller towns and villages such as Ollerton with its old water-driven mill and Tuxford with its windmill.

Both the author, George Wilkinson, and the artist, Penny Veys, are local people who have done a remarkable job of bringing many aspects and places of the district to life in an accessible style with thirty full-page beautifully executed paintings among its total of 90+ pages.

Click here to buy your (hardcover) copy of Newark & Sherwood or click on the book cover illustration above. (ISBN: 978 1 900935 77 7. Published 2009, Cottage Publications, Donaghadee.)

If you are visiting the area and need hotel accommodation click here for a selection of local and nearby hotels.

Afternote: I just came across an interesting photographically illustrated blog post from May 2009 by the historical novelist Elizabeth Chadwick who lives near Newark.  When we first moved into this area in 2003, before moving out to Caunton, my wife and I lived for eighteen months right on the bank of the river (so close that I could have fallen into the water if I’d slipped while doing the garden).  During that period I often wandered nearby with my camera and may one day put some of the more interesting shots on this blog.