NG15 July/August 2020

An Overveiw of Hucknall by Maureen Newton
In Saxon times a largish area of land belonged to
a Saxon man called Hucca. His land covered an
area including Ault Hucknall, close to Hardwick in
Derbyshire, Hucknall Huthwaite, a hamlet in the
parish of Sutton-in-Ashfield, and also our Hucknall
which was later called Hucknall Torkard after a
local landowning family. The name Hucknall then
means Hucca’s Healh or the nook of land belonging
to a Saxon called Hucca. Foundations of a Saxon
church were found by Canon Barber in the 1930s
but documentary evidence begins when the
settlement appears in the Domesday Book. By the
late 1100s it had developed into a village known as
Hucknall Torkard until in 1916 it reverted back to
Hucknall again.
Hucknall was just a middling sized village in
the 1700s with work being mostly confined to
agriculture and hosiery. Hosiery (stockings) were
made on framework knitting machines which had
been documented in Hucknall since the 1600s.
This was a cottage industry where frames were
located near windows enabling knitters to take
advantage of natural light to do fine work. In 1844
there were over 800 frames in Hucknall. Gradually
work in homes gave way to small hosiery factory
workshops some of which became world famous
for making fine Shetland shawls and falls.
The first railway station in Hucknall opened on the
Midland line between Nottingham and Mansfield
in 1846. Then in 1861 several men met on Watnall
Road and turned over a few grass turves to mark
the beginning of coal mining in the Leen Valley.
This was to change Hucknall completely and bring
it into the industrial age.
To encourage skilled colliers into the area houses
were built by the colliery company. Then individual
entrepreneurs bought parcels of land and new
estates such as Butlers Hill or Hazel Grove
came into being, followed by villa type houses
around 1900, all on greenfield sites. The village
grew rapidly into a town. By 1930 H.U.D.C. were
beginning to build council houses in the Central
Avenue area - enabling the clearance of some
of older unsuitable homes. A real spurt in house
building occurred in the 1930s when several more
new estates were built followed after WWll by
council housing on Ruffs Estate.
Dexter’s Cigar Factory
One of the few opportunities for female labour
before 1900 was work at Dexter’s Cigar Factory
which made the celebrated Key West Cigars.
Eventually the Duke of Portland sold off parcels
of land for industrial development and textile
manufacturers were quick to take advantage. The
Taylor brothers were first to build on King Edward
Street; followed by George Spencer on Farleys Lane.
Factories making global brands with names such as
Vedonis, Viyella, Jaeger and Montfort were located
in Hucknall employing hundreds of people - all on
new sites.
Rolls Royce came to the aerodrome in 1935
later extending into a testing establishment for
aero engines. The V.T.O.L. (vertical take off and
landing) engines were developed in the 1950s and
the prototype for the Harrier jump jet, ‘The Flying
Bedstead’, was born here.
One of the most used locations for leisure activities
was Titchfield Park which opened in 1922. Part of
the land was given to the townspeople by the Duke
of Portland but the major part was bought by the
Miners Welfare Committee. People enjoyed the
wonderful amenities such as boating lake, sand
pit, paddling pool, children’s amusements, flower
beds, band concerts, sports opportunities, etc.
These days it would be called a honeypot attraction.
Until recently it was said that anywhere you look in
Hucknall you can see the green fields. That really
isn’t the case now as most green sites are built
over. However, there are areas of Hucknall which
have changed almost beyond recognition. One area
morphed from a rubbish dump into the Leen Valley
Country Park, lakes site. Two areas which were tips
for colliery spoil have been gradually transformed
- one into a super golf course and the other into
an environmentally friendly recreational space for
walking and wildlife.
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