August 29, 1956

The coronation of the Junior Advertiser Club’s new queen, Janet Dent (9) of Newnham Road, Newark, took place at the Corn Exchange.

A big audience watched the ceremony which began with a procession headed by the retiring king and queen wearing their robes.

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The future of Newark as an inland port is likely to be the big bone of contention when town council meetings resume after the summer recess. Long-term development of the riverside frontage at Millgate will probably lead to a clash between the town and county councils.

The county council-approved Town Plan For Newark, yet to be fully debated by Newark Town Council, has come down heavily on the side of a proposal to sweep away all the buildings between Millgate and the river and provide Newark with a waterside promenade.

This would mean the removal of almost all the Newark commercial buildings which depend on wharves and river transport. Although the need to widen Millgate is likely to be agreed, the town council may well fight a wholesale clearance which could effectively stop Newark’s river trade.

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With the return to school of Newark children, only the help of supply teachers has enabled the district education committee to win the latest round in the Battle of the Bulge.

The bulge — the result of the high birth-rate of a few years after the war — is now affecting senior schools.

When Newark schools broke up for the summer holiday, it looked as though the teacher shortage in the autumn term would be critical. There are still many vacancies for permanent teachers but the employment of supply teachers has plugged the worst gaps.
 

August 22, 1956

The youngest of the 72 children from the South Notts and Rufford Hunt Pony Clubs to spend last week in camp at Southwell Racecourse was four-year-old Antony Thomas of Weston. He is pictured in the above Advertiser newsphoto with Susan Beeby of Carshalton and his pony, Bogey.

On Saturday parents and friends visited the course to see what the children had learned.

Why should anyone deliberately bury a pistol? That was the problem set Mr J. Elkington when he discovered an old pistol buried underneath a fireplace.
Mr Elkington, a cycle dealer of Queen Street, Southwell, recently bought some old property adjacent to his shop.

He was demolishing a living kitchen at the back of the house when he found the weapon.

The pistol was in some sand underneath the fireplace which, thinks Mr Elkington, was 60 to 80 years-old.

It had obviously been buried there on purpose and was in a very rusty condition with all the working parts rusted together. It is thought to be a .32.

Whatever the weather now there are likely to be big losses on this year’s harvest. From farm to farm the position varies from very late and aggravating to something near disaster —according to the amount of corn laid.

From the beginning of St Swithin’s to Monday Newark had 5.64 inches of rain. The first 20 days of August produced 3.36 inches. It is easily the wettest August since before the war.
 

August 15, 1956

With land gradually being swallowed up for housing, Newark and District Horticultural and Allotment Holders’ Society has an important future in helping gardeners obtain the best possible results from smaller allotments and gardens said Mr W. Hatton, chairman, at the opening of the society’s summer show at Newark Town Hall on Saturday.

Mr Hatton said: ‘’I think that in the future such societies as ours are going to play a vital part in this country.

‘’Housing estates have pushed back allotments, but gardeners can be taught how to get the same quality and quantity of produce from smaller plots by attending society meetings.”

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Short time has come to Newark. About 250 employees of Ransome and Marles — the largest employer in town — will be on a four-day week from tomorrow night.

Neither management nor representatives of the workers have any idea, at the moment, how the short time will develop or how many men will be involved.
The shorter week decision was reached at a meeting between the management and union representatives.

Mr George Davis, the district secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering Union, described the meetings as friendly and frank and, after the discussions, notices informing the workers of the decision were posted in the factory.

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Much of the holiday traffic that gridlocked in Newark at the end of the last month returned through the town on Saturday, two weeks later.

The worst jams were in the late afternoon and early evening on Saturday, near Beastmarket Hill and Beaumond Cross, Newark, where traffic lights had to be switched off and traffic was controlled by police officers.

August 8, 1956

Staying with the Tanvers at The Bromley Arms in the Trentside village of Fiskerton during the summer holidays is 15-years-old Gunhild Kleinszig, of Austria.
She is pictured on the right in the above Advertiser newsphoto with Mr Tanver’s 14-years-old daughter, Jacqueline, and her horse, Taffy.
Jacqueline, who returns with Gunhild for a holiday next Wednesday, is a pupil at Nottingham High School and recently had one of her paintings exhibited in the Scottish Schools’ Academy. Her subject? — The Bromley Arms.

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Newark Borough escaped the worst of the rain that drenched most of the surrounding district on August Bank Holiday. The Corporation rain gauges registered very small amounts of rain on Sunday and Monday.
But on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday they registered nearly 13/4 inches of rain. Total for the whole of July was more than 3ins, the highest July rainfall in Newark for some years.

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Temperatures over the holiday period have been disappointingly low. Highest was on Friday, when it reached 65ºF. Minimum temperature on Monday was 46ºF, only six above the January minimum.

A good congregation attended the rededication of the Laxton parish church bells on Sunday last week. The bells have been restored at the cost of £653.