Mansfield Woodhouse guidebook

Like so many other towns and villages in the area, Mansfield Woodhouse has a story of ups and downs to tell.

Big expansion following the opening of the colliery - in this case, Sherwood Colliery in 1930 - then decline when the pit closed, followed by the first steps towards regeneration.

Unlike many of those other places, however, Mansfield Woodhouse had a history going back way before the colliery ever arrived. 

You can still just about sense it in High Street and Station Street at the heart of the old medieval village, and at the remains of the old market cross at the top of Church Street.

But does the fact that it has a history – that it was destroyed by fire in 1304, that local stone was used to build the Houses of Parliament – mean that the town is hardier and more adaptable in the difficult times?

Quite possibly: the resilience is evident, for example, in the way that new resource centres come forward to play a role in the community that might previously have been held by a miners’ welfare group or working men’s club.

The Pleasley Landmark Centre is a prime example: located in a street which has seen better days, it's a bright, modern building with a coffee shop and cafe, a nursery and meeting rooms, and it offers a range of sports courses.

There are similar centres elsewhere, such as the one in Park Road, which is used by a crèche, Women’s Institute and other community groups. 

Building A New Future

Of course, new housing is playing a key role in the regeneration, too.  Travel through Mansfield Woodhouse and you’ll see plenty of ‘under development’ signs erected by some of the East Midlands' major home-builders - and that’s on top of what's already been finished in the past half a dozen years.

It’s relatively piecemeal, rather than huge swathes of new estates, but this can often help to maintain the existing character of the town. 

Forest Town, by contrast, is a place where a whole new identity has been created - and created well - with massive developments around the Holly Road area.
 
Meanwhile in Pleasley, one of the places where the decline was most evident, improvements are starting to take shape.

The spoil heaps from Pleasley Colliery, which closed in 1983, have been turned into a nature reserve, and there has been a large amount of house-building and development in recent years,

Unfortunately the houses most people see - driving through the village on Chesterfield Road North - are those in most urgent need of attention, with some of them boarded up.

Look deeper into the village, however, and you'll find that new developments are bringing about a real change.

Property in Mansfield Woodhouse

In the eastern half of Mansfield Woodhouse, 44 per cent of homes are detached, 48 per cent are semi-detached, six per cent are terraced, and two per cent are flats.

In the western half of Mansfield Woodhouse, 15 per cent of homes are detached, 50 per cent are semi-detached, 26 per cent are terraced, and none per cent are flats.

In Forest Town, 45 per cent of homes are detached, 44 per cent are semi-detached, ten per cent are terraced, and flats make up the remaining one per cent.

In Pleasley (and nearby New Houghton) 35 per cent of homes are detached, 31 per cent are semi-detached, 30 per cent are terraced, and four per cent are flats.

Here's a brief look at what's on offer in each area:

1. Mansfield Woodhouse

Where is it? A town with around 25,000 residents, located directly north of Mansfield.

What’s there? Generally the bigger, newer homes have been constructed on the eastern half of the town, but this is beginning to change as the western side is being redeveloped.

The Thoresby Road area, for example, has been targeted; 122 old homes are being knocked down and replaced with a mixture of one-to four-bedroom houses and bungalows, including the new Manvers Gardens development.

Other recent housing projects have included Windermere Close/Buttermere Court off New Mill Lane (2005/6); Dunsil Road/High Hazel Drive off Birding Street; and Woodhouse Gardens off Leeming Lane North (2008).

In 2004, there was development in the Thistle Bank/Bryony Way area south of Peafield Land although Peafield Lane itself has more traditional detached and semi-detached homes.

Elsewhere, there are lots of mid-range three-bed homes throughout; terraces along some of the main roads such as Old Mill Lane and Leeming Lane South; and cheaper properties in general in the Brown Avenue area.

And there are still plenty of character properties in Mansfield Woodhouse, especially in Station Street and High Street, and in the Nettleworth Manor site, off Leeming Road North, which has a number of desirable barn conversions.

Buyers: Families and professionals working in Mansfield.

Pros: There is a good range of shops and facilities.

Cons: Not quite big enough to attract the giant superstores.

2. Forest Town

Where is it? An area to the north-east of Mansfield town centre which runs from Newlands Road in the south to New Mill Lane in the north.

What’s there? Plenty of development in recent years either side of Old Mill Lane, in the area between Forest Town and Mansfield Woodhouse, so this is a good place to look for newer homes.

Many of the roads here – for example Halstead Close, Cotterdale Close, Heatherly Drive– have big four-bed detached homes which are less than ten years old, although their gardens are on the smaller side.

Kennedy Grove is a new development of 24 two-, three- and four-bed homes off Clipstone Road West; this road itself has traditional detached homes. Along Newlands Road there are some prestigious homes including barn conversions and large stone cottages.

Poplar Grove and Lime Grove are good for bungalows, while the whole Holly Road area has modern properties with further development still taking place, for example in Siena Gardens.

For homes at the cheapest end of the market here, try the group of parallel roads in between First Avenue and Ninth Avenue which all lead off Main Avenue.

Buyers: First-time buyers and families.

Pros: Forest Town has a wide range of properties.

Cons: There's a lack of parking in the whole First Avenue to Ninth Avenue area.

3. Pleasley

Where is it? Pleasley is a village which lies three miles north-west of Mansfield; it's half in Nottinghamshire and half in Derbyshire.

The village itself is also split into distinct areas – Pleasley Village, Pleasley Hill (off the road to Mansfield), and Pleasley Vale (to the east of the village, near the park).

What’s there? The biggest changes are taking place in the New Terrace area, near the old spoil heap, which has been sold to Bellway Homes to create the Phoenix Rise development of 75 new homes.

In the heart of the village, the Chesterfield Road area is a mixture of 19th century housing and more modern detached properties. There are a handful of pleasant new homes in Bagshaw Street, mixed in with traditional two-bed terraces.

However the rows of terraces along Chesterfield Road North are in serious need of work as of early 2008.

Buyers: Good location and ideal prices for first-time buyers.

Pros: Pleasley has very quick links to the M1.

Cons: The village regeneration still has some way to go - but the improvements so far have been very worthwhile.

Living here

Transport:

Train: Mansfield Woodhouse station is on the Robin Hood Line which goes north to Worksop and south to Mansfield and Nottingham. From Nottingham it’s less than two hours to London St Pancras.

Road: The town is only 15 minutes to junction 29 of the M1, while the A1 is about half an hour to the east.

Bus: The ‘Mansfield Miller’ service operated by Stagecoach runs regularly from Mansfield Woodhouse to Mansfield, Sutton and Huthwaite, while the Veolia number 4 service runs four times a day to Mansfield bus station.

Forest Town is served by the Veolia and Stagecoach 17 and 18 services, while the TM Travel number 22 goes from Mansfield to Pleasley.

Air: Good access to both Robin Hood Airport near Doncaster and East Midlands Airport near Castle Donington; the former is probably about five or ten minutes closer.

Shopping:

Mansfield Woodhouse: There is a Co-op and Farmfoods in the High Street, plus the usual range of town centre shops centred on Station Street, High Street and Portland Street.

The post office in Warsop Road was earmarked for closure in 2008, but there are other post offices in Station Street and Brown Avenue. In Brown Avenue there is a small precinct which also has a food store and off-licence.

Forest Town: A chemist, hairdresser, deli, Co-op, newsagent, and bookmakers. The post office in Clipstone Road East was earmarked for closure in 2008.

Pleasley: There’s a corner shop, newsagent and chemist in Chesterfield Road North, and a post office in Meden Square.

Eating & drinking:

Restaurants: Mansfield Woodhouse has Margherita’s Italian in Portland Street, Double Dragon Chinese in Station Street, the Loxley pub and steakhouse in Leeming Lane, and Naaz Indian in Priory Square. Takeaways include the usual suspects.

In Forest Town there are no restaurants, only takeaways including the Forest Town Chippy and the Oriental Cuisine.

Pleasley has China Fong Cantonese restaurant and also Golden Hill Chinese takeaway, both in Chesterfield Road North.

Cafes: The Daisy Chain in Albert Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, does hot and cold takeaway food.

In Forest Town there’s Selah coffee house, while the Pleasley Landmark Centre café does jacket potatoes, pizza and daily specials from around £2 upwards.

Pubs: There are quite a few pubs to choose from in Mansfield Woodhouse.  You have the Anvil in Portland Street, the Sherwood Inn and the Coopers in Leeming Lane North and the Star in Warsop Road.

Then there's the Greyhound in High Street, the New Inn in Station Street, the Black Bull in Woodhouse Road and the Sunnydale in Brown Avenue.

Forest Town has the Prince Charles in Clipstone Road West and the Whitegates Hotel in Clipstone Road East.

In Pleasley, there’s the White Swan and Nag’s Head in Chesterfield Road, and Ye Olde Plough in Chesterfield Road North.

Sport:

Football: Mansfield Town FC was in Football League Division Two for the 2007/08 season, although at the time of writing was looking almost certain to lose its league status at the end of the season.

Forest Town FC are based in Clipstone Road West play in the Central Midlands League Supreme Division (as of 2007/08).

Golf: Mansfield Woodhouse Golf Club, in Leeming Lane North, is a public nine-hole, 2,446-yard course.

Swimming: Nearby in Mansfield is the Water Meadows complex, which has a competition pool, leisure pool, rapids, and flumes.

Leisure centre: The Manor Sport and Recreation Centre in Mansfield Woodhouse is based at the Manor School in Kingsley Avenue.

It has two sports halls, fitness suite, netball and tennis courts, but the school takes priority over the facilities during the day.

Entertainment:

Cinema: In Mansfield there’s an eight-screen Odeon at Mansfield Leisure Park in Park Lane.

Theatre: Mansfield also has the Palace Theatre in Leeming Street.

Parks and open spaces:

At Yeoman Hill Park in Mansfield Woodhouse there is a skate park, football pitch, bowls and tennis. There is a park and playground off Welbeck Road.

Pleasley Park, just north-east of Pleasley, is a 74-hectare site with a pond, bridleways and walkways. The Maun Valley Trail is a good walk to follow from the area.