Click here.

“One member made the comment that all a child needs as well as love is something to cuddle, something to read and to be able to feel emotionally comfortable. Another member then suggested we could make reading cushions or perhaps comfort quilts to be given to the children refugees –and so a project began!!”

“The WI initially envisaged making 10 items to give away as Christmas gifts to the locally housed Ukrainian children. It was thought that a reading cushion with a book and a soft toy in the pocket would be something which the children would treasure and also could be taken back with them when they eventually are able to return home.”

By the time of Ukrainian Christmas Day on January 7th, members of Hickling WI had made 80 reading cushions and quilts. Presentations have taken place in Hickling, Sutton Bonington, Keyworth and West Bridgford – the reaction of grateful families has been heartfelt (not to mention tearful).

“To see a 10yr old boy sit and hug his reading cushion was a memory which will stay with us all. To see the joy in a father’s eyes as he accepted an embroidered quilt for his newly born child following a traumatic escape from Odessa made all our efforts worthwhile and we all felt very humble.”

A genuinely inspirational project which helps in a way that makes a real difference.

(article published as part of our Tomorrow’s History project)

Is there a connection between the Belvoir Angel headstones and similar headstones in the New England States of America?

There are more questions than answers …

We are looking for help to try and answer some of these questions but, in the meantime, here are some photos and a new webpage as a bit of a starting point – click here.

New images uploaded: Historic England – RAF aerial photographs of Hickling in 1947. Zoom in on your bit of the village to see how it looked 90 years ago!

We are also looking for information about aerial photos taken after WWII (1945-7) – we believe there are photos of Upper Broughton but haven’t found any for Hickling; can you help?

Do you have more recent aerial photos that you would like to share?

We have a couple of lovely school photographs which include wartime evacuees living in Hickling in 1940; sadly, we don’t have many names for these children – can you help?

Official evacuees came to Hickling from Great Yarmouth in mid-1940 and we are also aware of evacuees from London, too. Interestingly, the 1939 Register shows 19 out of 41 children in the village are living in households with a different surname – we think that many of these could have been unofficial evacuees from Nottingham and elsewhere. Children were often moved out of cities to live with extended family or friends in the countryside – can you help us by adding to any of these stories?

We would like to build this page with memories and information; we look forward to hearing from you!

Aerial photographs – new page added

Richard and Mary (Rippon) Brooks – Using DNA to solve family history ‘brickwalls’ and the path to George Warren.

Can you help us fill in some of the gaps?

The family of George Warren have undertaken a fascinating process, using DNA, which has traced their family back to Richard Brooks in Hickling – follow how they did this on this link.

In the 1881 Census we have a record for the family of Richard and Mary Brooks; by the time of the 1891 Census, they have four daughters but they have gone their separate ways and Mary and her daughters are living alone.

We are trying to find out what happened to both Richard and Mary.

Mary was born in Hickling – she was a member of the Rippin (Rippen/Rippon) family and several related households of this name can be found in Hickling and Kinoulton from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. The 1881 census seems to place Richard & Mary Brooks close to her parents and close to the canal.

Richard Brooks was born in Enfield and was recorded as a boatman – working on the canals may explain how he came to be in Hickling. After leaving Hickling, he started a new family under the name of George Warren, living close to the canals in Runcorn in Cheshire.

Can you help?

The family of Richard Brooks are keen to know what happened to Mary and their daughters; particularly Mary. She seems to have moved to Upper Broughton, living in the household of William Allen but we haven’t been able to find a burial record for her. Any information about any of these three families would be much appreciated!

Click here for the Scarecrows 2022 page: photographs, the stories, the competition winners.

Click here

We are keen to record your memories of the Queen and any stories or anecdotes about the Queen or King Charles that you would like to share; please contact us or message us, below.

For example, we know that Prince Charles (as he was then) visited Hickling when he rode out locally – do you have any memories of these visits? Or, perhaps, your thoughts and experiences over the last few days.

We have just heard that the Scarecrow Weekend is going ahead but it will, of course, be slightly different following the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The village scarecrow committee have taken advice from Rushcliffe Borough Council and received feedback locally which has encouraged them to keep going with an event which is an opportunity for our community to come together and which raises large sums of money for charity. These are both things which were very dear to the heart of our late-Queen.

The weekend will be conducted with the utmost respect; flags are being flown at half-mast and there will be no bunting on display.

(10.30am Friday 9th September 2022)

The Scarecrow Festival has a dedicated Facebook page; for news and updates, click here.

It’s been a huge job but our Grantham Canal pages are ready for you to view:

~ What were the waymarkers really for?

~ Who did a handstand on the parapet of the old canal bridge?

~ Who was Crutchy?

~ Have you seen the Whale that turns in the Basin at the dead of night?

~ & all you might ever want to know about Nottingham’s night soil …

Whether you fancy a quick dip or a long read, we have created a timeline and history of the canal and galleries of old and new images plus the canal ‘in the news’ – we hope that you enjoy them.

We’re always looking for new material, information and photographs; please contact us if you have anything that you would like us to include.