The site has a rich and varied history stretching back over several centuries. This includes being a deer park for the Byrons and Musters, the scene of Nottingham’s most infamous murder, a romantic hideaway for D.H Lawrence, and the home of a P.O.W. camp from which an Italian community emerged.
Known for much of the early twentieth century, to those in Sneinton and St. Anns, as the ‘playground of the slums’ it is also a place full of local stories and memories, whether that be toboganning down Mile Run, gathering conkers from Conker Alley, or taking part in school cross-country events. Here is a timeline (it’s a work in progress) of what has happened at the woods from 1086 onwards.
Over the years the Friends group has been gathering people’s stories and these have now finally been gathered together by Excavate to create the first comprehensive story of the social and ecological history of the woods in a free to use storytelling audio walk which is available here.
