A Plethora of New Village Businesses

Whilst many high streets up and down the country continue to struggle in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and people’s changing shopping habits, it seems Ruddington is coping better than many. Although there have been shop closures here, generally our retail units in the village centre don’t stay empty for long. Currently there are plenty of new arrivals. In fact the opening of ‘The Courtyard’ two years ago – an attractive new shopping precinct where mainly derelict old buildings used to be – plus the redevelopment of the former Barclay & Cook site…

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New Ruddington Café Launches

The recently opened coffee shop within the new extension and gardens at Ruddington’s knitting and textile museum is now officially in new hands – following its ‘launch’ this weekend. The Split Screen Coffee Company – which has previously traded from The Bottle Top on High Street as well as from its famous converted VW camper van – is now running the hospitality area at Parker’s Yard within the former ‘Gunn Cottage’. Along with the museum gift shop and its Old Chapel, these are areas of Ruddington’s internationally famous tourist attraction which can…

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Telly Fame For Our Framework Knitters!

Ruddington will feature on national television again this week – after a well known presenter and her camera crew secretly dropped in on one of our village’s heritage attractions earlier in the year. It was at the start of February that BBC1‘s Bargain Hunt came to Nottinghamshire, where host Natasha Raskin Sharp and experts Ben Cooper and Izzie Balmer brought the two teams antique hunting. During the morning of Friday February 4th Natasha visited Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum on Chapel Street to discover how a 16th-century curate revolutionised the world of knitting –…

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New Museum Manager Announced

Following the stepping back of former manager and curator Jim Grevatte, Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum has just revealed its latest boss. After completing “a competitive recruitment process” for their new ‘Operations Manager’ role, the venues’ Trustees say they are “delighted” to announce that Ruddington resident Sarah Godfrey has been appointed. Sarah is already well known for her extensive community work within our village. The Trustees add: “With a strong arts background, Sarah brings us an unusual combination of both creativity and commercial awareness, as well as a wealth of experience…

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It’s Goodbye to Jim

The man who has guided a Ruddington museum through one of the most important periods in its history has now left for pastures new. Jim Grevatte, who’s been the Manager and Curator at The Framework Knitters’ Museum since December 2018, has just stepped down from the role following the appointment of a new ‘Operations Manager’.* However, he will continue as a trustee for our internationally famous Chapel Street tourist attraction. Over the last three years, Jim has been instrumental in implementing (amongst many other things) the ‘Right Good Yarn’ project…

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Funding Boost for Museum

Staff and volunteers at Ruddington’s historic Framework Knitters’ Museum say they’re “super happy” to have received new funding worth £62,925. The cash will be used for urgent structural, chimney, window and roofing repairs, as well as improving the heating and security at their Chapel Street tourist attraction. The award is part of a £48m national package of additional government support for museums and libraries in the UK from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England. The museum has already benefitted from extensive previous funding to help with its ambitious…

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Will YOU Open Your Garden This Summer?

As plans progress for the 2022 ‘Ruddington Open Gardens’ weekend, organisers are now seeking villagers who’d be able and willing to open their gardens to others in support of two children’s charities. As before, all proceeds from the event on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd July will be split between Save the Children and Action for Children. Back in the summers of 2016 and 2018 the Open Gardens proved a great success, with an impressive £2280 raised for the two charities. Sadly, COVID-19 put a stop to the biennial event happening in 2020 so it’s hoped…

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Omicron Christmas Closures and Cancellations

Just when it seemed the Coronavirus pandemic was under control in the UK, another variant of COVID-19 is forcing significant changes to our festive plans for the second year in a row. With daily infections now reaching a record high, seemingly driven by the highly contagious new Omicron strain, the Government is still largely putting its faith in the mass vaccine rollout to see us through. Indeed Ruddington hospitality venues are largely grateful that no official restrictions on them have been re-imposed just yet. However, perhaps partly due to this…

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Countdown to Christmas in Ruddington

Whilst some of Ruddington’s main Christmas celebrations have already been and gone, residents and visitors can still look forward to more festive fun and activities over the holiday period. Continuing caution about Coronavirus – particularly the new Omicron variant – has led to some organisers and venues asking people to carry out a COVID-19 lateral flow test before mingling with others, and to wear face coverings according to the Government’s new ‘Plan B’ rules. Booking systems have also been introduced in some places to keep down numbers during the busiest…

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Night at the Museum

Those attending the official re-opening of Ruddington’s famous Framework Knitters’ Museum this week got to see it in a different light…. the dark! Staff and volunteers at Ruddington’s now internationally acclaimed tourist attraction welcomed invited guests to see the newly expanded site at four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon (23rd November) – and it was soon apparent why this time was chosen. As night fell, the workers’ cottages – recently restored to how they would have looked in 1890 – and the museum’s new ‘community garden’ were lit by candles and other…

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