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Plumtree 2000: A Millennium Sign of a "Plum Tree" wrought in black iron was erected at the crossroads opposite the Griffin Inn to commemorate community life in this small village on the north-east part of the Nottinghamshire Wolds. It was unveiled by Jennie P'himister, who is Interviewee 10 in this oral history project. The ecclesiastic parish of Plumtree includes Normanton on the Wolds and Clipston on the Wolds. 1957 changes in the boundary of the electoral parish meant the large loss of the Plumtree Wolds to Normanton and the housing development at Plumtree -Park (following the opening of the railway station in 1880) to Keyworth, whilst gaining only a small area around the station. The 1991 census population was 180. The village has remained small for the last century.
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Millennium sign |
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Barn at The Griffin Inn |
At the beginning of the 20th century, the village was predominantly an agricultural community with most of the farms being in the main parr of the village. They were mixed farms with both crops and livestock. Besides the work of the farmers and agricultural labourers, much of the work of the miller, saddler, butcher, carner and other tradesmen was agriculture-related. They lived and worked within the village. Many of their homes and the farm buildings remain today. However, at the beginning of the 2lst century, hardly any agricultural work is carried on within the village. Farmland has been amalgamated. Both of the currently working farms, Chestnut Farm and the new Sycamore Farm, are situated on the edge of the village area. |
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Some of the old farm buildings have been replaoed by new homes, but many of the redundant buildings and farmhouses have been, and are still being, converted to luxurious modern homes for people who move into the village and commute to work outside.Thus, much of the old village's built agricultural environment is still there to be appreciated for the historical knowledge which it provides of the community's agricultural past
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. Barns at Manor Farm |
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Barns at Hall Farm |
However, it could be that the ambition of modern house buyers for a rural location will result in destroying that which it seeks to acquire. Commuter traffic between Nottingham and Keyworth passing through the village of Plumtree surely destroys any rural peace and tranquillity there. The villagers would like to divert this traffic. Motor vehicles have replaced the cows on the road through the village. |
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Because
of concerns in the 1920s about the volume of traffic on the road through
the village, in 1930 a bypass road was built through the fields east of
Plumtree. The old Turnpike Road between Notkingham and Melton Mowbray
Road passed through Plumtree, along Main Road and Church Hill. The Farmers
Arms Inn had stables for changing the horses of the Leeds-London Mail
Coach. It also had a farm attached. During the First World War, the inn
was used to house prisoners-of-war. Afterwards the public licence was
lost and the house was split into two. A farmer's son from Northcliffe
Farm at Wysall, Herbert Elding, moved in and took over the farm. His daughter,
Jennie Phimister, is Interviewee 10 in
this oral history project.
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The Farmers Arms |
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Japonica Cottage |
There
was a second public house in the village called the Griffin Inn. The present
building dates from 1843 and was one of the last buildings erected whilst
William Elliott Elliott was lord of the manor. These buildings which date
from around 1820 have a 'label' feature round the windows. The Griffin
Inn replace`s an earlier inn called the Plough ~ the site. Like the Farmers
Arms, it had a farm attached to the inn. The farm buildings were immediately
behind the inn, but there was a separate farmhouse at the bottom of Church
Hill, now called Japonica Cottage. In 2001 the threshing bam behind the
inn was on the market for a barn conversion.
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In
1933 Herbert Elding left the Farmers Arms and the Cockaynes moved in there.
Later the farm buildings were replaced by new houses and the old semidetached
houses were modernised. One of them is still called Farmers Arins Cottage.
Herbert Elding moved to Manor Farm and his family lived in the impressive
vernacular Georgian farmhouse on Church Lane. When he retired the Baileys
moved in. The Bailey family has lived at Manor Farm for the last forty
years and more recently has been running a farm shop there. In 2001, the
farm buildings are being converted to houses.
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Manor Farm |
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Plumtree House Farm |
The
farmhouse at Plumtree House Farm was rebuilt for William Elliott Burnside
in 1904. Like other such buildings in the village it has a small plaque
with W.E.B. and a date around 1900. The farmhouse and farm buildings have
been converred to private houses. The farmland was amalgamated in another
farm.
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In
1974 the Plumtree Fstate was put up for sale by auction. It included the
residue of the former Elliott Burnside Fstate: 3 acres (Chestnut Poplars
and Hall Farms), a smallholding (Cottage Farm), grazing land and 2 cottages
(at Town End Cottages). All of the property was tenanted. It failed to
make its reserve price. The Duchy of Cornwall bought the estate later
in 1988. Until 1996, the Cockayne family were farming at Poplars Farm
on Station Road. Their dairy herd had to cross the main road twice a day
for milking. The Duchy decided to build a new farm at the other end of
the village, convert the old farn~house and replace the old farm buildings
with new houses on a small road called The Poplars. The Cockaynes have
moved to a new dairy farm called Sycamore Farm on Main Road to the north
of Mill Lane, where the fields are adjacent to the farm.- The Duchy land
at Plumtree has been reallocated for convenience between the Chestnut
and Sycamore Farms.
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Populars Farm |
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Hall Farm |
Hall Farm on the Old Melton Road by the church has been farmed by the Bird family since the 1950s. In 2001, the farmhouse was being let and planning pertnission was being sought to convert the farm buildings to houses. Peter Bird still farms the land as pact of his farm at the neighbouring village of Tollerton.
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Cottage
Farm was a smallholding. Its land has been amalgamated and the house modernised.
The adjacent building with a frontage onto Main Road is readily identified
as the Forge by the brick horseshoe crafted round its doorway. It is now
the addre,ss of a local solicitor's office. The butcher's house and outbuildings
including his slaughterhouse have all been converted into the long White
House which occupies a plot on Main Road.
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The Forge & Cottage Farm |
The Butcher's House |
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Town End Cottages |
Mill Lane Cottages |
There
were three terraces of farmworkers' tied cottages in the village. The
eight Town End Cottages have been converted into four. The Mill Lane Cottages
have been converted into a single house. The Mill was burnt down by arson
in 1913.
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To select another village click here
Updated 05/19/2002
Published by Sandra Ford August 2001 Email: sandrafordwolds@yahoo.co.uk
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Full
transcripts and audio recordings of the interviews are available
through the Nottinghamshire County Libraries and the Nottingham City Libraries. |
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