History of Woodthorpe House
Incorporating the oldest building in Sherwood from Farm Cottage to Mansion
Now Sherwood Community Centre
Sherwood Community Centre is based in Woodthorpe House, a Grade II listed building which has been built in several stages over more than 250 years. During this time it has been the home of many important families, before being requisitioned by the War Office in 1940, and later acquired by Nottingham City Council for use as a Community Centre. Woodthorpe House has always had close associations with Lace and Hosiery, and those who lived in the house were trustees and donors to various charities. Sherwood Community Centre continues these traditions as the base for various charities and support groups, as well as a wide range of Arts, Crafts and other activities.
Before 1750
Before 1750, there was only one building in Sherwood, a small cottage, standing well back from the lonely and dangerous “King’s Road” through Sherwood Forest which was known to exist at the time of the Domesday Book (1086). The cottage is still here.
1774 - 1800
1774 – The cottage can be seen on Chapman’s map, on the edge of common land and rough land.
1792 – The Inclosure map clearly shows the shape of the building as it was after a three-storey extension was built in the 1750s. In the image above, we can see the three-storey extension in the middle (garret windows not visible). The floors/windows on the left were originally the same level as those on the right, but floor levels were adjusted in the 1800s.
1800s
1800s – There were several extensions in the early 1800s, so that by the 1820s it had become an elegant mansion with beautiful bay windows, a conservatory and loggia (image above).
1850s – By this time, the land belonging to the owner of Woodthorpe House extended down Mansfield Road from Edwards Lane (and included what is now known as Sausage Island) as far as the Day Brook (by the parks next to Valley Road), up to what is now the wall of Nottingham Prison and from there, along Perry Road and Edwards Lane/Magnus Road. The triangle between Subway/Tesco Express and Woodthorpe Drive and the area now occupied by Elmswood Gardens (formerly Hooley Street), The Rise and Trevose Gardens.