Leisurely pace of village life before 1914

This week’s Archive Corner picture shows the Queen’s Hotel at East Markham.
The Queen's Hotel High Street East MarkhamThe Queen's Hotel High Street East Markham
The Queen's Hotel High Street East Markham

The photo was taken sometime before 1914.

It was in the days before cars ruled the road and shows a more leisurely pace of life, with a horse and cart and a cyclist.

The pub has a painted advert on its wall for Worksop Ales and Stout.

East Markham is situated in the south east of Bassetlaw on high land between the Rivers Trent and Idle.

It was a very early settlement and remains from both the Iron Age and Roman times have been found in the vicinity.

The village is fairly extensive and has an interesting pattern of lanes and roads.

It has been predominantly an agricultural settlement, but once had a market.

In the 19th Century the village developed as a fruit growing centre.

Maps from 1920 show extensive areas of orchard.

An extract from an East Markham farmer’s accounts for 1898 is an interesting piece of social history.

He sold 15 cows at £16 each, three horses at £30 each, and 20 sheep at 60 shillings each.

He also sold 20 quarters of wheat at 30 shillings a qrtr, seven tons of manure at £5 a ton, and a cow was bulled for three shillings.

The picture appears in a book called Bygone Bassetlaw, published by Bassetlaw District Council in 1983.

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