IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Orchard Crescent, NEWARK, NG22 0LU

Late 20th century housing development on the south side of the town.

One of the last two lock-ups in Nottinghamshire. Standing proudly on the village green, this lock-up was built in the reign of King George IV, before the days of the county police force. Controlled by the town constable, it held people while they waiting to appear at the county court in Retford. The constable was elected by the parishioners for a fixed term. A prosperous market town like Tuxford, would have its fair share of people considered to be undesirable, from paupers to highwaymen. If the constable needed assistance, he had the power to recruit men from the town. For the potentially violent, such as rioters or highwaymen, he would call out the local militia by magistrate’s order. With Sherwood Forest nearby and The Great North Road running through the town, Tuxford was notorious for highwaymen. Around 1850 workers known as navvies started to build the local railway. These men worked hard and played hard and were known for their drunkenness on pay day. This led to a temporary increase in the use of the lock-up, however its last prisoner was held around 1900.

Not, I believe, in regular use!

Dates from 1841 though it only came into Methodist use in half a century or so later.

For more details about the school that this replaced, please see Image

Opposite the village lock-up.

Handsome house on Newcastle Street, known to be the doctor's surgery c1900

Built to house local miscreants awaiting court appearance. The building is divided into two cells, with a small room for the gaoler immediately inside the main front door. The only light and ventilation for the cell came from the small round opening in the top of the arched panel together with a similar one at the rear. The cells have a vaulted brick ceiling to prevent any chance of breaking out through the roof. Listed Grade II.

The two-cell lock-up was used to contain troublemakers until local magistrates decided their fate. Tuxford was a main coaching stop on the old Great North Road, a source of all sorts of villains. It was also close to the Sherwood Forest and its highwaymen. Around 1850 the building of the railways brought in navvies and their drunken pay-days, which led to an increase in trade. But by the late 19th century usage had tailed off and the last prisoner was held here around 1900.