Sutton-in-Ashfield
Sutton-in-Ashfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire, England, with a population of 36,404 in 2021. It is the largest town in the district of Ashfield, four miles west of Mansfield, from the Derbyshire border and north of Nottingham.
Geography
For demographic purposes Sutton-in-Ashfield is included in the Mansfield Urban Area, although it administratively forms part of the separate council district of Ashfield, which is based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. To the north is Teversal, Skegby and Stanton Hill.History
The area was first settled in the Saxon times and the Saxon suffix "ton" means "an enclosure or fenced in clearing". The town appears in the Domesday Book in 1086 as "Sutone".Sutton-in-Ashfield, like Mansfield, was part the land of Edward the Confessor and later the land of William the Conqueror upon the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror were also the lord of the manor house of Sutton in Ashfield. In the 16th century the former manor house was passed unto James Hardwick, the brother of Countess of Shrewsbury Bess of Hardwick. On the death of her brother Bess passed the manor house unto her daughter Mary Talbot.
There are also documents from 1189 showing that Gerard, son of Walter de Sutton, gave two bovates of land and the church at Sutton to Thurgarton Priory.
Economy
Regeneration
The Kirkby in Ashfield, Sutton in AshfieldTown investment plan 2021-2030 sets out the investment and regeneration for Sutton in Ashfield and nearby Kirkby in Ashfield. Projects include the Portland Square renovation, the creation of the Cornerstone Theatre, and new car park, pop up market.
The former Wilkos store in Portland Square is set to become a campus for students at Vision West Nottinghamshire College. This work is currently underway.
A major new employer arrived in the area when Amazon created in 2020 a new warehouse and distribution facility, known as a "fulfilment centre", with the promise of 1,000 new vacancies. It is situated at Summit Park, just off the MARR road, on the outskirts of Sutton in Ashfield, close to the boundary with Mansfield. Mansfield's MP Ben Bradley stated it was fortunate that the development would help to mitigate slightly the harmful financial effects of COVID-19 restrictions on the community.
The Sherwood Observatory area was developed by creating a planetarium and science discovery centre in 2023. The facility was financed by £5.3 million in grants, National Lottery funding, the government's Towns Fund via Ashfield District Council and private donations.
Industrial Revolution
Coal mining
was outside of the town in Stanton Hill. It closed in 1989.Hosiery
hosiery originated in the town around 1927 and was manufactured on Unwin Road until April 2005. Samuel Eden Socks closed in July 2005.Landmarks
Sutton-in-Ashfield was home to what was the largest sundial in Europe. It was located in the middle of Portland Square, adjacent to the Idlewells Shopping Centre and Sutton Community Academy. The sundial was unveiled on 29 April 1995 and was removed in late 2024Sutton-in-Ashfield Town Hall was opened in 1889, and later served as a cinema, before becoming the Regency Dance Centre.
The former site of Silverhill Colliery, close to the village of Teversal on the north-west edge of Ashfield, has been transformed from the colliery to a woodland. At the highest point is the "Testing for Gas" monument, by Antony Dufort, erected in 2004.
King's Mill Hospital is between Sutton-in-Ashfield and Mansfield, next to the A38.
The town has a supermarket that, in April 1999, held the first blessing ceremony and reception to take place in a UK supermarket. It had been unable to get a wedding ceremony licence.
The Sherwood Observatory is located on the B6139 and is run by the Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society.
Churches
The Sutton-in-Ashfield area was first settled in Saxon times and the first records of a place of worship in the area date from Norman times. As the population of the settlement grew so the variety of religious denominations represented increased. This was particularly true during the industrial expansion of the nineteenth century. The following is a list of the churches that still have a presence in Sutton, together with brief historical details.[Church of [St Mary Magdalene, Sutton-in-Ashfield|Church of St Mary Magdalene]]
This Anglican church, situated off Lammas Road and built in local stone, contains a few parts that date back to 1170. The tower and spire date from 1395. However, much of the rest of the church was subject to re-building in the second half of the nineteenth century. The church is a Grade II* listed building.By American searches, on 5 July 1607, Edward Fitzrandolph was baptised at St. Mary's Church Sutton, marrying Elizabeth Blossom in Scituate, Massachusetts - they are Barack Obama's 10x great-grandparents.
[St Michael and [All Angels' Church, Sutton-in-Ashfield|Church of St Michael and All Angels]]
This was another Anglican church in Sutton, situated at the junction of Outram Street with St Michael's Street. The church was built in two stages. The first stage was designed by James_Fowler_ of Louth and opened in 1887. The second stage was designed by Louis Ambler and completed in 1909. The church building is still standing but is no longer in use for worship.Church of St Joseph the Worker
In the early part of the twentieth century, Catholics worshipped in one another's homes or in a room above a garage off of Outram Street. In 1961, a full-size church was opened in Forest Street. This was designed in a Romanesque style with a 70 feet tall bell tower.Church of St John
In 2015, Methodism in Sutton-in-Ashfield is represented by St John's Methodist Church in Titchfield Avenue. This church was built in the twentieth century. Over the years, there have been Methodist churches in several locations around the town:- There were Primitive Methodist churches on Mansfield Road and at New Cross.
- There was a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on the south side of Outram Street. This was erected in 1882. An adjoining Sunday School in Welbeck Street was opened in 1904 and was demolished around 2011.
United Reformed Church
New Cross Community Church
This was built in 1895 as a Primitive Methodist Church. It is now run by the New Cross Community Church Anglican/Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership.Zion Baptist Church
This was built in 1866 as a Primitive Methodist Chapel. It is now a Zion Baptist Church and is closely associated with the adjoining Eastside Community Centre.Transport
Road
The town is located about two miles from Junction 28 of the M1 motorway and accessed via the A38. The A38 Bypass, which opened in 2005, is a wide single-carriageway that passes through much of the eastern part of the town, meeting the A619 Mansfield Bypass at Kings Mill. The former main road through the town centre is now identified as the B6023 and includes Alfreton Road, Lammas Road, Priestsic Road and Mansfield Road. Other main roads include Kirkby Road, Station Road, Huthwaite Road and Outram Street.Buses
Sutton-in-Ashfield is served by Trentbarton which provides regular bus services from Nottingham, Mansfield and Derby and Stagecoach East Midlands with its Mansfield Miller 1 route between Mansfield and Alfreton, with service to the East Midlands Designer Outlet. The bus station is located next to the Idlewells Shopping Centre.Rail
The town was served by five stations. Only one is now open:- Sutton Junction on the Robin Hood Line which closed in the 1960s.
- Sutton Parkway which now serves the town on the Robin Hood Line which has since the 1990s provided the town with regular rail service between Nottingham and Worksop. The station is two miles south of the town centre at the junction of Low Moor Road towards Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Penny Emma Way. The railway was formerly mostly used by the area's pits, which closed in the early 1990s.
- Sutton-in-Ashfield Central was on the now-defunct Mansfield Railway and the station was located south of the town centre. The site is now occupied by a steel merchant.
- Sutton General which was on a very short branch from Sutton Junction. The station was closed to passengers in the 1920s and the site is now occupied by a retail store.
- Sutton-in-Ashfield Town which was on the branch line from Nottingham Victoria to Shirebrook North. The station closed in 1931 and the line in 1968. The site has been razed but the old abandoned station master's house can be seen, in a state of decay. The line is now part of the Skegby Trail.
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