Harwell is a hamlet in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Everton, in Bassetlaw district, northern

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, England. It is located off the

A631 road The A631 is a road running from Sheffield, South Yorkshire to Louth, Lincolnshire in England. It passes through the counties of South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. The road has many towns on its route including Rotherham, Malt ...

, less than a mile to the northwest of Everton and three miles northeast of Bawtry. Although only a small settlement, historically Harwell had a separate manor. The hamlet had a population of 112 people in the mid 19th century and the Corporation of Newark were lords of the manor at that time. Today, the main feature of Harwell is the Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Pear Tree House and the Barrow Hills woodland, immediately to the northwest.

History

The etymology of the settlement is uncertain. It possibly means "the well or spring of the Danish army (''here'')" or "the fiercely boiling spring". "Hare spring" is also suggested as its meaning. The place was mentioned in

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

as ''Herewelle''. Selected extracts from the Domesbook mentioning Harwell are as follows:Throsby, p.320-3 Harwell and Everton were part of the Hundred of Bassetlaw (now Bassetlaw district) in the North Clay division. The parish of Everton, in which Harwell is located, was inclosed in 1760, when the Rectorial tithes were commuted for an allotment of 225 acres, of which William Walton, Esq., of Stockwith, was impropriator at the time.Curtis, p.96 Charles Brewerton, a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

, was born here in 1831. Although only a hamlet, historically Harwell had a separate manor. In 1855 it was reported that the hamlet had a population of 112 people and that Corporation of Newark were lords of the manor. The manor was previously owned by Thomas Magnus who bought it and gave it to Anthony Gylby who was Lieutenant Colonel to Sr John Digby in Newark.

Geography

Harwell is located in the broad, low-lying

River Idle The River Idle is a river in Nottinghamshire, England whose source is the confluence of the River Maun and River Meden near Markham Moor. The Idle flows north from its source through Retford and Bawtry before entering the River Trent at West ...

valley of central Nottinghamshire. It is located approximately 3 miles southeast of Bawtry, 9 miles northwest of

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Gainsborough is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town population was 20,842 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 23,243 in 2019. It lies on the east bank of the River Trent ...

, 37 miles northeast of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, and 152 miles from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The main access road to the hamlet is along Harwell Lane which approaches the hamlet from the

(to Bawtry in the west) and from Everton which lies less than a mile to the southeast. The River Idle skirts the southern part of the area, and the Chesterfield Canal maizes an acute turn to the east, running along the southern verge of the River Carr to its junction with the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

at Stockwith. Immediately to the northwest of the hamlet are the Barrow Hills, a heavily forested woodland.

Landmarks

The main feature of the hamlet is the Pear Tree House and farm. The farmhouse is dated to the 18th century and has 20th-century windows and portico with two Tuscan columns and an eight-panelled door. It is built from brick in three storeys and became a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

on 23 November 1984.

References

:''This article incorporates public domain text from John Curtis's A Topographical History of Nottinghamshire (1844)''

Bibliography

* * {{Commons category, Harwell, Nottinghamshire, Harwell Hamlets in Nottinghamshire Bassetlaw District