Newark Guide, Newark-on-Trent, Newark (2026)

05/06/2026

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - Newark Market Place – What’s Happening? (And Why You’ll See Work Starting Soon)

Im aware this is a divisive subject at the moment and will invite conversation and a difference of opinion, but please keep comments and discussion civil and respectful.

I’ve kept this as neutral and fact-based as possible, so people can have a look themselves, have a look at the report and form their own view. It’s certainly interesting to see how this develops and its important people are aware.

You may soon notice some activity in Newark Market Place happening soon, this is going to be preliminary investigation work.
This is likely to involve checking the condition of what’s underneath the surface to understand what’s possible going forward for the future works. In simple terms, it’s about testing feasibility before any major works start (and no, its doubtful they will find tunnels )

So, what’s this preliminary work leading towards?

The Market Place works form ‘part’ of a much bigger picture, the Newark Town Centre Masterplan (you would have heard me post about that in the past (8th Sep 2025), including the consultation and ive detailed it a bit in this post). This is a long-term plan to improve the town centre, make spaces work better, and support local businesses and events, while still protecting Newark’s character.

That overall masterplan wasn’t pulled together behind closed doors either. It’s been shaped through public consultation, including hundreds of comments and over a thousand survey responses from local people about what they want to see in the town centre (this happened Autumn 2023).

When it comes to the Market Place specifically (which is just one aspect of the overall masterplan). Based on the current proposals, the aim appears to be to reshape it into a more flexible, multi-use space, not just somewhere for market stalls, but somewhere that can support markets, events, festivals, and everyday life throughout the day and into the evening.

Ive linked the overall masterplan report from April 2026 in the comments, its worth a look and if you want to look at specifics around the marketplace, check page 156 - 163. But the whole masterplan is interesting to have a look at.

That includes changes to how the space is laid out, with a more structured approach to stalls to improve flow and create a more structured central shopping layout. There are also plans for new lighting, helping improve safety and making the space more welcoming after dark.

You’ll also likely see a shift towards making it a place people actually stay in, not just pass through, with seating, planting, and café-style outdoor areas encouraging that more relaxed, social feel. Accessibility, surface and general movement across the space are also being looked at, alongside improvements to the surface itself (although exact materials haven’t been confirmed yet)

The key thing to understand is this: it’s not just about how it looks, it’s about how it works. The aim is to create a safer, livelier, and more usable town square that supports the wider town centre economy and community.

It’s also worth keeping expectations grounded. The Final design, exact costs, and timelines for the Market Place itself haven’t been fully published yet (just the conceptual design if the prelim work identifies no issues), it’s still evolving as part of the wider plan (one of the reasons this preliminary work is happening).

That said, it looks like the pictures are the proposed design if the prelim work uncovers no blockers.

A quick note on the cobbles. In medieval times, the square was more likely earth, gravel, and loose stone, constantly worn down by markets and daily use. Paving began slowly in the early 1600s, starting with a simple walkway so officials could cross the square without getting covered in mud.

The cobbles we see today are much later, having been relaid and repaired several times, including a major relaying in 1965 and further resurfacing in the late 1990s. (ive put a link also in the comments to a previous article ive done specifically around the history of the Market Place)

In terms of cost and funding, it sits within a wider programme of town centre regeneration, linked to funding streams such as government-backed town investment schemes, which support multiple projects over time rather than one-off builds

The wider Newark Town Centre Masterplan is a long-term strategy designed to guide how the town evolves over the coming years, covering everything from public spaces and shopping areas to housing, transport, and the riverside. It’s been developed by the council alongside Historic England and urban design specialists, and is now formally adopted as planning guidance to shape future investment and decisions.

I’s also worth saying, the overall Masterplan isn’t set in stone. It’s more of a long-term vision with ideas and potential projects for how the town could develop over time. Having that direction in place helps strengthen future funding bids and gives a clearer steer on where things could go next. Its there to guide future investment, regeneration, and design direction.

Think of the Masterplan as the big vision or blueprint for the whole town, the “this is where we want to go” document. The Market Place plans are just one part of that bigger picture, like redesigning a key room in the house.

I haven’t gone into the full detail of the funding in this post, as that information is publicly available and can be accessed easily through the Towns Fund and Masterplan documents linked in the comments.

Again, I’ve tried to keep this neutral and balanced, the links in the comments are worth a look. The Masterplan report is interesting to make yourself aware of the overall plans.

I’m torn in opinion personally. I fully understand the need for change, especially with how shopping habits have shifted and the gradual loss of traditional markets, and it’s great to see shops opening up again around Newark which can only be a positive. I just hope that if the Market Place is changed, it’s used and enjoyed in the way it’s intended.

But at the same time, I do worry about heritage and how much change is right in a setting like this. I personally love nothing more than sitting in a tree-filled European square (Uzès is one of my favourites), but I’m holding judgement on the end result for now.

That said, that last part is just my personal view, it’s important people look at the documents, the report, and the information available, and come to their own conclusions.

05/06/2026

Of Arrows, Archers & The Trent: Newark’s Long-Range History

Being a town so close to sherwood forest, it seems strange that we don’t mention archery much locally, and yet, for thousands of years, Newark-on-Trent and the surrounding landscape have been associated with it, a long time before the town had a castle, a market square, or even a name that sounds like a medieval spelling test gone wrong.

Lets turn our sights waaaaay back, long while before macha-mocha-soy-hipster-neckbeard-lattes or an uncomfortable number of v**e shops, this area was prime territory for early hunters. Newark’s position by the River Trent made it something of a prehistoric motorway, wildlife passed through, and humans followed, armed with increasingly clever and fancy bits of flint.

Archaeological work across Newark and the wider Trent Valley has uncovered evidence stretching back thousands of years, including flint tools and arrowheads.

At places like Farndon Fields, tiny flint points known as microliths have been found. These stone pieces were inserted into grooves in wood or bone shafts and secured with resins like birch tar, creating highly effective barbed arrowheads

And across the Trent Valley, arrowheads still turn up when the land is disturbed, after ploughing, heavy rain, or modern development.

As time moved on and settlements took hold, arrows got a bit of a promotion.

By the medieval period, archery had gone from “useful for catching dinner” to “critical for not losing the country.” In fact, England took things so seriously that it passed laws requiring men to practise with the longbow. Regularly.

Just Imagine a Newark council notice today:

“Bins out on Thursday. Recycling correctly. Mandatory longbow practice on Sunday.”

From the 13th century onwards, able-bodied men were expected to own bows and train with them. Newark’s residents, like those across England, would have been part of that system. The butcher, the baker, and (no doubt) the bloke arguing in the market would all have been expected to loose a decent arrow when required.

The townsfolk weren’t flexing about with fancy armour and elaborate quivers, The backbone of English archery was the yeoman archer, ordinary working men with bow skills.

Given Newark’s position between key routes and within reach of Sherwood, it’s entirely plausible that local men played their part in that wider archery culture, whether for hunting, defence, or a bit of competitive pride.

We can’t talk Nottinghamshire and archery without mentioning Robin Hood.

Whether myth, folklore, or medieval storytelling at its finest, it reinforces something important: this area has long been associated with archery, not just as a weapon, but as a symbol of skill, independence, and occasionally bending the rules when it suits.

Here’s a question that often crops up: if archery was mandatory, where did everyone practise?

Across England, towns had designated training areas known as “the butts” (ha… butts 😊) large earth mounds used as targets and backstops. Many towns still have streets named after them.

Newark, curiously, doesn’t.

The reason likely lies in the town’s rather lively history. Originally, Newark’s butts would have been just outside the town, perhaps beyond the medieval walls, placed far enough from houses to avoid the obvious issue of stray arrows through thatched roofs.

But then came the Civil War.

Between 1642 and 1646, Newark was besieged three times and heavily fortified. Fields were cleared, land reshaped, and massive defensive earthworks, like the Queen’s Sconce, were constructed. In the process, those earlier archery grounds were either absorbed into the war defences or wiped out entirely.

What’s remarkable is that this story isn’t just confined to books or museum cases, it’s still being uncovered.

Modern excavations around Newark continue to reveal arrowheads among pottery, burials, and settlement remains.

And here’s the lovely twist, archery never really went away.

Today, the tradition is alive and well through local groups like Newark Castle Archers , founded in 2014, who continue a practice that stretches back millennia, albeit with less danger of getting shot through with arrows and with a lot more style.

The club (and, as a results archery in Newark) simply wouldn’t exist without its founder, the late Michael Dutton. It was Michael's sheer determination, love for the sport, and huge amounts of enthusiasm that got the club off the ground when Newark didn't have one. Thank you, Michael.

They're a wonderful bunch of folk who train regularly, and they have 'have a go' sessions and beginners courses throughout the year, check them out on Facebook. Could be that new hobby you've been looking for.... 😉

So, what was once survival, then law, is now sport, community, and fun.

There’s something rather fitting about that. In a town where prehistoric arrowheads still surface and medieval stories whisper through the streets, people are still drawing a bow, steadying their aim, and sending an arrow downrange, right into the middle.

Different reasons, perhaps.......Same timeless motion.

Now, all I need is Christian Slater dressed as Will Scarlett to softly blow into my ear as im drawing my bow next time and a long standing yet confusing dream will be accomplished 😊

04/06/2026

Uncovering Newark’s Jurassic Past (and how to go fossil hunting with the kids)

If you follow this page, you know that Louis and I spend a massive amount of time out and about, exploring pretty much every inch of the beautiful countryside surrounding Newark-on-Trent.

One of the best things about these long walks is just how much you notice when you stop and look at the ground beneath your feet. Mainly because I'm a bit of a nerd, and love local archaeology and geology.

But what I do find a LOT of around here......are……...Devil’s Toenails!

According to old English folklore, these thick, curved, and ridged objects are the literal clipped toenails of the Devil himself.

In reality, they are Gryphaea, an extinct species of oyster from the Jurassic period, dating back roughly 200 million years. Back then, Britain wasn’t anything like it is now, it was a warm, shallow sea. And being a sea, sh*t lived in it. These 5-7cm oysters lived in mahooosive colonies, sitting half-buried in the ancient sea-floor mud, kicking about doing what Jurassic oysters do…….…..oysters business, I suppose.

You might wonder how a 200-million-year-old sea creature ends up in Nottinghamshire fields. It basically comes down to the River Trent and the local gravel pits. Over millennia, the river and glacial shifts eroded the ancient Jurassic bedrock further north and washed these incredibly hardy, thick-shelled fossils down into our local river valleys, leaving them scattered all around the Newark area.

It’s not just Devil’s Toenails hiding out there either. The Jurassic rock beneath Nottinghamshire is packed with other marine fossils, ammonites (those neat spiral shells you’ll have seen in museums), belemnites (basically fossilised squid bits that look like stone bullets), and all sorts of ancient shellfish.

Im afraid to say, no velociraptor was swaggering across what is now the marketplace, tippy tapping its talon where the cobbles now lay.

Clever Girl.

ALTHOUGH…. A partial plesiosaur skeleton was discovered at Cropwell bishop in 1884 (a plesiosaur is a big old marine reptile with a looooooong neck).. so that’s nice.

Alas, If you’re looking for a brilliant, free way to get the kids outside exploring, this is a perfect mini-treasure hunt (for devils toenails. Not partial skeletons)

I highly recommend heading out towards Barnby in the Willows and Beckingham. It is an absolutely lovely area to walk, and these fossils are surprisingly common if you keep your eyes peeled along gravel paths, riverbanks, and turned fields.

ive come across some in the area directly south of Newark too (Cotham, Shelton etc)

ive link an interesting geology research paper from 1965 looking at fossils found in your this of the world, specifically Nottinghamshire / Vale of Belvoir. And a cool interactive map showing the geology of the area (in case you’re interested)

Have you or the kids ever found one of these around Newark? Let me know in the comments!

03/06/2026

Hornworks and Heroics: The Surprisingly Dramatic History of The Fountain gardens, Newark

You know the little park at the end of Baldertongate where it meets London Road? Yeah, that one!!. That’s Fountain Gardens and I bet a good portion of you don’t know its history, and boy, does it have a history

I spend many days as a child in this park (I lived on Hatton Gardens in the 80’s/90’s) and have fond memories, still wandering the gardens now so to learn about the history is wonderful.

Maps from the civil war times show it was practically a fortress, the heavily defended route for getting arms, guns and the like, from up north. It's played a "key role" in Newark's glorious development ever since, largely by continuing to exist as a road.

The end of this historic thoroughfare is now rudely interrupted by Fountain Gardens. It was once bordered by places with wonderfully evocative names like Bedlam Lane, and, more importantly, the Great North Road out of town. The area, particularly the Garden itself, is apparently an archaeological goldmine. Specifically, it holds the "great though little known significance" of being the site of the Balderton Gate hornwork.

Now, the town started putting up defences in late 1642, expanding on them in 1643. But by the final siege in 1645-46, they decided what they really needed was a projecting hornwork right here. This was one of three such structures, designed to guard the main entrances. Think of them as the 17th-century equivalent of an aggressive traffic island. (see map pic)

This hornwork, possibly a substantial structure, was allegedly a masterpiece of engineering: a rampart of earth and turf (classy), a ditch, and a double row of pitfalls. (if a single pitfall doesn't get you, two certainly will). It was possibly star-shaped to allow for "interlocking fields of fire."

The Royal Commission surveyed these defences in 1964 and concluded that the structure was so vast it could have covered the entirety of the ground now occupied by the St Leonards Almshouses. Which, let's be honest, is a lovely piece of historical trivia that nobody outside of a local history group ever thinks about while sitting there.

So, why is it called Fountain Gardens? Did it spring from an ancient source? No. It's named after to commemorate a "heroic act" by a Newark nurse named Ethel Harrison.

The story is suitably tragic and dramatic. In 1906, Ethel was a head nursemaid in Cheshire. On a cold December day, five-year-old Jimmy Anderson decided it would be hilarious to make his dog jump into the Shropshire Union Canal. Jimmy, predictably, fell in first. Miss Harrison, doing her job far too well, jumped in, rescued the little rascal, passed him off to a nurse on the towpath, and was then carried into the middle of the canal and drowned. A truly selfless, and ultimately fatal, act.

The Mansfield Stone fountain erected in her memory had appropriately dramatic inscriptions: "To the memory of Ethel Harrison, of this town, who was drowned near Chester, while gallantly saving the life of a child under her care, Dec 7th 1906" and "This memorial was erected by public subscription by her fellow townspeople to commemorate the heroic act." Over the years, these noble declarations became illegible, a perfect metaphor for forgotten heroism. Thankfully, in 2007, the fountain was cleaned and the words plastered onto brass plaques on a new plinth. Progress!

The park's aesthetics took a battering in the late 20th century. In 1978, the tall hedging was removed as an "economy measure", nothing saves money like removing greenery!!!!!!!. And in 1981, the toilet block behind the Almshouses was demolished. Not because of a glorious victory for public amenity, but simply because it had fallen into a dilapidated condition.

Given that London Road and Balderton Gate were once part of the original Great North Road, it's shocking (*Cough*entirely predictable *Cough*) that the area saw a lot of development in the late 19th century, riding the wave of industrial revolution prosperity. This era of excellent transportation, by which they mean horses and dusty roads, led to the expansion of the Town. Hence the current "eclectic range of historic buildings," which is historian-speak for "a complete architectural mess."

The development of high-status Georgian villas and terraces indicates that this was, briefly, the most desirable residential address in town. Naturally, this character is still apparent today, which means the houses are still there, even if the general public is now slightly less impressed. There was a flurry of building activity in the early 19th century, producing everything from modest terraced blocks to substantial semi-detached houses.

In 1835, a savvy land sale near South Parade signalled that Newark was finally "expanding in a new direction and enlarging its horizons." As if to confirm the area's new-found snob-appeal, what had been known for centuries as Balderton Road was suddenly, and far more pompously, renamed London Road.

The final confirmation of this social upgrade came in 1849 when one of the first new houses (now 117 Balderton Gate) was built for Alderman Cooper, the Mayor of Newark.

Nothing says prestige like the mayor moving in next door.

Quick note on the Irena sendler statue

Few people in the UK may know of Polish humanitarian hero Irena Sendler and the sacrifices she made during World War II. But her story is one of monumental importance and one that Newark and Sherwood District Council, Newark Town Council and the Polish Cultural Institute in London wanted to share.

During World War II Irena worked tirelessly to help protect and rescue many Jewish children and their families. She was part of a network of workers and volunteers from that department, mostly women, who smuggled Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto.

It is estimated that Irena, who passed away in May 2008, saved many hundreds of Jewish children.

Newark has a long history with Polish culture and Polish service personnel during World War II. Many Polish airmen were stationed in Newark during the Second World War and the town has a significant number of Polish war graves. It is also twinned with the city of Sandomierz.

Following the unveiling, wreaths were laid at Polish War graves in Newark Cemetery on London Road in a mark of respect to all those who lost their lives during conflict.

The statue was created by sculptor Andrew Lilley and sits in the Fountain Gardens on London Road which is a highly visible location as a gateway into the town. The fountain in the garden is dedicated to Nurse Ethel Harrison who drowned trying to rescue a child in the early 1900s. It is hoped that the gardens will be further developed to represent more acts of heroism displayed by Irena and Ethel so their actions will never be forgotten.

02/06/2026

The Tale of St Mark’s Lane

We all know St Mark’s Lane, most of used associate it with Marks & Spencer. But do you know the whole story of St Mark’s Lane before the arrival of M&S. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

St Mark’s Lane is an historic route through the heart of Newark, dating back at least to 1790 and clearly marked on Sanderson’s Map of 1835.

Its name harks back to St Mark’s Chapel, which once stood at the rear, demolished in 1808. For centuries, the lane was a vital artery, connecting Stodman Street to Lombard Street, threading together the market town’s medieval burgage plots and bustling yards.

The northern section of the site was once occupied by two narrow buildings facing Stodman Street (pictured). The rest was a patchwork of buildings and yards, accessed off St Mark’s Lane, a typical arrangement in early 19th-century Newark, echoing the medieval layout of the town.

The photo attached shows Joseph Dixon, grocer, standing proudly outside his shop. The entrance to St Mark’s Place is visible on the left, Non of those buildings remain. He would be stood in the area now taken up by Costa.

The mid-1930s brought dramatic change. The buildings on site were demolished in phases to make way for the new Marks & Spencer store, beginning with those facing Stodman Street. The current Art Deco façade was erected, with an initial rear range facing St Mark’s Lane. By 1948, aerial photographs show the M&S store already had an extended rear range facing onto the lane.

The 1969 OS map reveals that all earlier buildings had been swept away, replaced by a 1950s or 60s extension and a rear service yard. The building line still followed the orientation of St Mark’s Lane, but the earlier element facing the lane was likely remodelled at this time. In the 1980s, a further rear extension was added to create a food hall, which projected into and diverted the route of St Mark’s Lane, altering a medieval plan form that had existed for nearly a millennium.

The expansion of M&S and the creation of St Mark’s Place shopping centre in the late 20th century fundamentally changed the character of the lane. What was once a lively thoroughfare lined with shops and homes became a service route, overshadowed by blank walls and loading bays. The medieval grain of the town was obscured, and the sense of place diminished.

Marks & Spencer continued trading in Newark throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but the premises closed in April 2019.

Today, the site is being redeveloped into homes and retail units, with plans to reinstate the alignment and vista view of ancient St Mark’s Lane.

01/06/2026

The Great Flood of 1683: When Newark Got Wetter Than a Duck in a whirlpool bath

Picture for illustration purposes only. Actual sogginess may vary……and theres 3 cheeky late 80’s/early 90’s film references in this one. Extra points if you can spot them (forgive me, im an 80’s child)

Ah, British winters. Grey skies, frozen toes, and the occasional existential crisis. But if you think today’s drizzle is depressing, allow me to whisk you back to the winter of 1682–83, when Newark-on-Trent wasn’t just cold, it was cryogenically preserved.

For months, the Trent was frozen solid like a scared goat. Locals, ever the optimists, took to skating on it. Quaint, right? Until the river decided it had had quite enough of being a glorified skating rink and staged a dramatic comeback, it defrosted like Simon Phoenix in 2032 (Three shells anyone )

Say hello to the Great Flood of 1683, also known as “The Day the Trent Threw a Tantrum.”

This wasn’t your garden-variety puddle. This was a full-blown aquatic apocalypse. Bridges? Gone. Fields? Drowned. Newark? Wetter than a local politicians handshake.

Ice floes broke loose like angry toddlers after too much sugar, and surged downstream, turning the Trent into a frosty battering ram with a vendetta.

The Town Bridge, Newark’s pride and joy, and the only thing stopping people from swimming to work, was promptly obliterated. The river hurled ice chunks at it like a drunken Viking, and by the end of it, the bridge was like a badly lost game of jenga at a family Christmas, lumps of timber everywhere, people crying in the corner, the distinct smell of disappointment in the air, me, giggling in the armchair admiring the carnage with a tipsy grin……..

Nearby villages like Holme and North Muskham didn’t escape the soggy wrath either. The Trent Valley became a waterpark nobody asked for, sheep bobbing around the streets, a gilled Kevin Costner Splashing around like a sexy smouldering dolphin.

Newark, being Newark, didn’t cry into its soggy boots. No, it rebuilt. By 1700, the bridge was back, this time with a wooden deck perched on surviving stone piers, like a slightly confused architectural mullet: business below, party on top.

As per normal, Newark rebuilt stronger (we’ve got a habit of that), it washed in a new era of respect for the River Trent. Stronger bridges, smarter planning, and a collective agreement that skating on rivers might not be the best idea.

Nowadays, Newark’s bridges are sturdier, its flood defences are (allegedly) cleverer, and its residents are mostly dry, mostly 😊

Next time you cross the Trent,give it a respectful nod. Or a nervous glance. And maybe pack an inflatable canoe……..just in case.

31/05/2026

Nominations Now Open – Let’s Celebrate the Very Best of Newark & Sherwood

The Newark and Sherwood Community and Sports Awards are back for 2026, and it’s time to shine a light on the incredible people and groups who make our area such a special place to live.

These awards celebrate those who go above and beyond for others from volunteers and community champions to sports teams, young people and local heroes.

And, let’s be honest… we’ve got a shed load of them here.

Across Newark and Sherwood, there are individuals giving up their time, supporting others, building communities, running clubs, helping neighbours, and making a real difference every single day, often without any recognition at all.

This is your chance to change that.

There are 13 award categories this year, including things like Citizen of the Year, Young Person of the Year, Community Group, Sports Achiever, Courage and Bravery, and even a Lifetime Commitment Award, so there’s a space for all kinds of stories, big and small.

Nominations open: 29 May – 3 July 2026

If someone comes to mind as you’re reading this, don’t just think “someone else will nominate them”… be that someone.

Let’s make sure the people who make Newark & Sherwood what it is get the recognition they truly deserve.

link in comments to vote

31/05/2026

The Wonder of Woolies: A Newark Institution

I would love to hear your tales of shopping here, or working here, back in the day

There’s a specific kind of magic that vanished from the British high street in the 80’s/90’s. I’m talking, of course, about F.W. Woolworth & Co. or "Woolies" to those who remember when a pound note actually bought you a feast rather than just a glance at a chocolate bar.

In Newark, the saga of Store 454 began with a level of anticipation usually reserved for royal visits or the opening of a new bypass.

Woolworths descended upon Stodman Street in 1931, officially opening its doors to a flurry of excitement in 1932. The Advertiser was giddy as a kipper, noting that the interior would be 32ft wide and 156ft long. To give the locals a sense of scale, they described it as "nearly twice the size of the town hall ballroom." One can only imagine the townspeople practicing their waltzes between the haberdashery and the biscuit tins.

The site Woolies made home had a "spirited" history long before the first packet of pins was sold. It was once the home of The White Lion (1773-1905), a public house facing down Middlegate. After the pub called last orders for the final time, the old building was eventually demolished to make way for the modern retail behemoth we see in these grainy, nostalgic photos.

The building evolved over the decades. By the 1950s, the facade had transformed into that classic, mid-century brick look, clean lines, large windows, and a sign that promised everything from a needle to an anchor.

Walking into the Newark Woolies was less of a shopping trip and more of a sensory assault. The air was a thick, intoxicating cocktail of floor wax, roasted peanuts, and the faint, sugary scent of impending dental bills.

Add the sound of creaky floors and the thrum of activity and you've got yourself a nostalgic auditory smorgasbord .

Lets get to the good stuff eh… The Pick ‘n’ Mix!! For many of us, our first introduction to the concept of "risk management." You’d stand there with your paper bag, eyeing the fizzy colas and the pink shrimps, trying to calculate if you could squeeze in one more flying saucer without the bag splitting or your pocket money running dry. There was always that one kid who tried to sneak a heavy fudge piece into the bottom to "anchor" the lighter sweets, a true retail strategist in the making.

And who could forget the broken bscuit counter? A cardboard box filled with the casualties of the factory floor. It didn't matter that the Custard Cream was snapped in half or the Bourbon was missing a corner; at that price, they tasted like victory.

You’d go in for a lightbulb and come out with a bag of crumbs, a plastic records rack, and a Ladybird book about tractors. It was the only place on earth where you could buy a goldfish (briefly!), a top-ten single, and a new set of screwdrivers under one roof.

Nothing lasts forever, not even the "3d and 6d" dream.

Woolies finally checked out of Newark in 1984/85, much to the lament of the locals. The whole frontage was split into two shops which became Superdrug and Dorothy Perkins (and in 2020, bodycare). the half to the right is now Waterstones

But Woolies wasn’t quite done with Newark. In the early 2000s, the brand staged a comeback in the form of Big W at Northgate Retail Park (where TK MAxx is) . This was Woolworths reimagined for the new millennium – a sprawling store that swapped creaky floorboards for wide aisles and offered everything from homeware to toys under one roof. For a brief moment, Newark shoppers could once again revel in that Woolies magic, albeit with a modern twist. Sadly, like its predecessor, Big W eventually bowed out.

Next time you're browsing for a Newark Bestseller (“Newark-on-Trent; A Sometimes Witty Journey Through Time” by David Fargher comes to mind 😊), just remember you’re on hallowed ground where we once weighed our jelly beans

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