Skegby is a village and former
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 authority ...
, now in the
unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...
of
Sutton in Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 48,527 in 2019. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield,
four miles west of Mansfield, two miles from the Derbyshir ...
, in the
Ashfield district of
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 traditi ...
, England, located two miles west of
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
and one mile north of Sutton-in-Ashfield, close to
Stanton Hill
Stanton Hill is a village in the Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire.
Skegby Colliery, owned by the Dodsley family, was originally located on Wharf Road, which is now in the area known as Stanton Hill, but in the ...
lying on the
B6014 road. Skegby sits on both sides of a deep valley near the source of the River Meden. The parish covered about 1,433 acres and used to include the then hamlet of Stanton Hill. In 1931 the parish had a population of 6519.
History
The name of Skegby has a similar origin to the name of
Skegness
Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
– originating from a
Dane
Dane or Danes may refer to:
People Pertaining to Denmark
* Dane, somebody from Denmark
* Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark
* Danes (Germanic tribe)
Other people
* Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...
named ''Skeggi'' ("bearded one"). Skegby is mentioned in the Domesday Book as "a berewick of the King's manor at Mansfield". Skegby manor house (which is now in ruins) is located on Mansfield Road. In 1223 Godfrey Spigurnal became Lord of the Manor of Skegby. His descendants held the estate until 1334 when Elizabeth Spigurnal, who married Thomas Gobion, disposed of it to Richard Pensax. His descendant passed it to Percival Lindley in 1450 which was the beginning of the three hundred-year tenure of the Lindley family as Lords of the Manor. The estate passed to John Dodsley in 1820 and the Dodsley family remained in Skegby until the 1930s. The last Manorial Court was held in Skegby Hall on 25 April 1924. The current Lord of the Manor is Dominic Vernon Dodsley Williams, who currently resides in Carmarthenshire.
Francis White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," of 1853 tells us that Skegby had "an extensive coal mine, and several limestone quarries and kilns" and that in the 1800s "stocking-making was a common occupation." According to White, Skegby celebrated its Village Feast on the Sunday after 10 July.
The Anglican church was built in the Norman period, prior to 1571 and was formerly a chapelry to Mansfield. The church was restored and enlarged in 1870. In 1844 a Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built, with a "Free Church" being built in 1863. In 1865 a National School for both boys and girls was built in Skegby village and a Baptist chapel was built in 1877. On 1 April 1953 the parish was abolished and merged with Sutton in Ashfield.
Areas of interest
Several old buildings and features can be found in Skegby, including the Pinfold on Mansfield Road, which dates from the 18th century, the Troughs on Old Road, which are thought to be over 200 years old, the 17th century Quaker House on Mansfield Road, the 16th century Kruck Cottage and Skegby Hall, which was built in 1720 on the site of a much earlier dwelling.
![The Manor House ruin, Skegby](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/The_Manor_House_ruin%2C_Skegby.jpg)
The Skegby Heritage Trail, (not to be confused with the Skegby Trail), which takes in places of historical interest around the village of Skegby, including Skegby Hall Gardens (currently under restoration), and the Manor House, was launched in October 2009 by the Skegby Appreciation Society. The heritage trail included nine sites in Skegby, such as the 13th Century Skegby Manor House, 16th Century Kruck Cottage, 17th Century Quaker House linked to
Elizabeth Hooton, one of the founders of the Quaker movement in the United Kingdom.
The Skegby Trail is a former railway track used by cyclists as an off-road track and as a nature trail by walkers which can be accessed from Buttery Lane in Skegby and ends at Chesterfield Road in Pleasley. From this trail the Teversal Trails, which form part of the Pleasley Trails Network may be accessed via the Link Trail between Skegby and Teversal.
Skegby Hall
![Skegby Hall, Mansfield Rd, Skegby (6)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Skegby_Hall%2C_Mansfield_Rd%2C_Skegby_%286%29.jpg)
The hall became a
Grade II
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 ...
listed building from 1989. After private residential ownership, it was used from the late 1940s as an
approved school
An approved school was a type of residential institution in the United Kingdom to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control. They were modelle ...
for boys, later becoming a care home with education. It was converted into residential
flatlets in 1992. It gained notoriety in the 2000s after multiple allegations of
child abuse
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...
, with police investigations Daybreak, launched in 2010, followed by Xeres in 2014.
Accused man (87) in historic sex abuse trial at Skegby Hall faced allegations at the time
''Chad'', 29 September 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022
Modern Skegby
Skegby has a number of small shops, off-licences, take away food outlets, hair salons and a petrol station. Other amenities which can be found in Skegby include a small library which is shared with the nearby village of Stanton Hill and the Woodside Medical Surgery and Pharmacy.
There are five pubs in Skegby – the ''Forest Tavern'' on ''Forest Road'', the ''Fox & Crown'' on ''Dalestorth Road'', the ''Maypole'' on ''Dawgates Lane'' and the ''Rifle Volunteer'' on ''Forest Road'', as well as the ''Triple S Snooker and Social Club'' on ''Mansfield Road''.
Schools
Skegby also has two primary schools, Healdswood Infant and Nursery School on Barker Avenue and St. Andrew's C of E Primary School on Mansfield Road.
Churches
There are two churches in Skegby, St Andrews Church and Skegby Methodist Church on Mansfield Road Skegby.
See also
* Skegby Rural District
External links
* http://www.skegbyappreciationsociety.co.uk
* https://web.archive.org/web/20111003105322/http://www.lindleyancestry.co.uk/lindley_of_skegby_nottinghamshir.htm
* http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/environment/countryside/nature_conservation/greenspaces/ourlnrs.htm
Pleasley and Teversal trails at Notts County Council
References
* White's "Directory of Nottinghamshire," 1853
* The story of Skegby and Stanton Hill, by W Clay-Dove, 1984
{{authority control
Villages in Nottinghamshire
Former civil parishes in Nottinghamshire
Ashfield District