IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Ratcliffe Gate, MANSFIELD, NG18 2JA

A pleasant space to enjoy a drink and relax - especially on a sunny day. The pub is located on Ratcliffe Gate.

The Brown Cow is an Everards pub offering a range of cask ales from Everards and other breweries. There is a pleasant beer garden at the rear. Ratcliffe Gate is part of the A6191.

A substantial area of yellow hatching marks the junction between Ratcliffe Gate (A6191), Great Central Road (leading off to the right in the foreground), and Newgate Lane (opposite). The 'Great Central Road' name is a reminder of Mansfield's largely forgotten 'other' railway that passed over Ratcliffe Gate here; it was closed completely in 1966 and little trace now remains.

The Kings Arms public house is seen dominating this corner site at its junction with Newgate Street. The town centre lies ahead. After a spell in Newgate Lane, in 1914 Mansfield Town Football Club moved to a large grassed area south of Ratcliffe Gate, that gloried in the name of "The Prairie" due to this being a wide open space.

A view of the Grade II-listed Town Mill, Bridge Street, i.e. on the opposite side of St Peter's Way. This watermill, built in the 1740s, used the River Maun (behind it) as its source of power. Originally a corn and malt mill, it was converted into a cotton mill in 1795 following the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Following a fire, the two uppermost storeys were demolished and at some point it served as a warehouse until it was restored in the late C20th. It reopened as “The Town Mill” public house & function venue in 2002. It is currently empty, i.e January 2017. A former water mill of c.1775, it was powered by the River Maun. It was restored and converted in the late C20th and has seen service as a public house and a discotheque. It is currently disused and boarded up.

The fact that Pelham Street is now a cul-de-sac is evident from the left-hand side of the picture. In the past - before the St Peter's Way (i.e. the A60/A6006) was constructed - perhaps it continued ahead? This footbridge carries users over this dual carriageway to Rock Valley, the area where the Metal Box Company's huge site could once be found.

A view along Pelham Street from the footbridge that carries users from Rock Valley, over the St Peter's Way dual carriageway (i.e. the A60/A6006). During the early part of the C19th Mansfield’s "lock-up" was at the Pelham Street end of Elm Tree Yard. Detainees were confined there until the magistrate’s next courthouse session elsewhere in the town. If convicted, prisoners were then marched to the local prison in Southwell some 5 miles away. On 7 April 1952 a new Telephone Exchange was officially opened in Pelham Street by the Mayor, Mr. German Abbott. At present the street seems to be host to both residential properties and commercial premises. The Recreation Street junction can be seen on the left and the Elm Tree Street one to the right.

Dated 1864, in Italianate style, Listed Grade II.