Step back in time on trail

History enthusiasts can find out more about Newark’s medieval timber-framed buildings thanks to a new heritage trail.

A leaflet details the route and 12 town-centre buildings on the trail, which starts and ends at the castle.

The vice-chairman of Newark Civic Trust, Mr Bill Davidson, said: “The town has a particularly rich heritage of these buildings from the medieval period.

“There are more per square metre than any other town in Nottinghamshire.”

A leaflet has been produced by Newark Town Partnership, which is made up of organisations, including the civic trust, that work together to help improve the success of the town. A total of 10,000 leaflets has been produced at a cost of £1,000.

Mr Davidson and the trust’s chairman, Mr George Wilkinson, created the leaflet — the third produced by the partnership, which is hoping to produce a trail leaflet every Easter and August bank holiday.

Trails based on Newark’s involvement in the English Civil War and the town’s brewing and maltings industry have already been made.

Mr Davidson said when they began devising the trails they agreed they would all start at the castle.

The first building on the latest trail is the Royal Oak, on Castlegate, built in about 1650.

The pub’s timbers have been hidden by painted white bricks, but it survived the redevelopment of Castlegate in the 18th Century.

Stray’s Books, on Boar Lane, which has also been painted white, was originally three cottages dating from 1588.

The ground floors were converted into shops in the early 19th Century.

Traditional black and white timber-framed buildings can be seen in a number of places in the town, with three almost opposite each other on Kirkgate — the Country Scene shop and the pair that make up the Charles I Coffee House.

The building used by Country Scene dates from 1337 and is a rare example of an upper-hall house where the living quarters are at first-floor level.

At the Charles I Coffee House two types of timber framing can be seen.

The earlier building on the right used close-studding while the building on the left used box-framing as timber became more scarce and expensive.

One of the most impressive timber-framed buildings in town is the Baker’s Oven on Stodman Street.

The three-storey building was known for many years as The Governor’s House.

Its front range was built in 1475 by a wealthy merchant who wanted to impress and so used a great deal of timber in the close-studded style.

Another well-known building is The Nottingham Building Society, formerly the Old White Hart Inn, in the Market Place.

Its rear range dates from 1313 and the building was saved from collapse by restoration work in the 1970s.

Mr Davidson said the trails were a project the trust would have liked to have done on its own, but it did not have the finances.

“Newark Town Partnership has made this possible. If it wasn’t for the partnership we would not be here and putting these leaflets in the public’s hands,” he said.

“Hopefully they will enjoy them and it will bring people into the town.”

The Mayor of Newark, Mr Harry Molyneux, who helped launch the trail, said: “It will let people know what is in Newark. It is a wonderful town steeped in history.”

The leaflets are free from tourist information centres and libraries in Newark and Sherwood, and Newark’s Millgate Museum.