Heritage – Page 5 – RUDDINGTON.info

Further Vandalism at Our Heritage Railway

2nd February 20213rd February 2021 Graham Wright

Volunteers at Great Central Railway Nottingham (GCRN) now have some more unexpected and unwelcome work to do after trespassers at the Ruddington site decided to spray graffiti onto one of the 125 Group‘s recently restored MK3 coaches. The Heritage Centre is already facing great financial challenges thanks to the Coronavirus – having been unable to run any passenger services from there since the February half-term last year. Whilst not on the scale of the vandalism in 2019, it’s still very upsetting and disheartening for all those involved. This latest, mindless act was discovered…

Museum’s ‘Victorian Life Swap’

17th November 202017th November 2020 Graham Wright

Back in July we reported how Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum had reopened with a more personal and ‘socially distanced’ visitor experience – having been shut for four months due to first COVID-19 ‘lockdown’. With full Coronavirus restrictions sadly now back on, once again the doors are firmly closed to the public until at least December 2nd. However, with spare time on their hands once more, staff at the popular village visitor attraction began to wonder what life must have been like without many of the things we take for granted. How…

Heritage Centre Reopens – But Without Trains

10th August 202022nd August 2020 Graham Wright

Directors at Great Central Railway (Nottingham) have announced that no vintage steam or diesel trains will be running from Ruddington until Easter 2021 at the earliest. Passenger services last ran from our heritage site during the February half-term before all trains were cancelled and the centre closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. The charity reveals that, over the last couple of months, The Office of Road & Rail and The Heritage Railways Association have been working with heritage railway groups up and down the country to determine ways…

Museum Reopens for a New Chapter

19th July 202029th October 2020 Graham Wright

Having been closed since ‘lockdown’ began in March, Ruddington’s Framework Knitters’ Museum is reopening on Wednesday July 29th.* During closure, the team has been developing a more personal and ‘socially distanced’ visitor experience which it’s promised will be fun, interesting and safe. From this date, anyone visiting will be able to book the whole site for two hours to explore it with their family or social bubble. To make the tour as safe as possible, visitors will be asked to wear (knitted) cotton gloves as they explore the workers’ cottages…

Canal Bridge Completed

7th July 20207th July 2020 Graham Wright

From Loughborough comes news that a major two-day operation at the start of this month has ‘all but’ finished the overhaul of the elegant Victorian railway bridge which spans the Grand Union Canal in the town. The relevance of this restoration for our village is that it marks another step forward for the eighteen mile heritage line vision between Ruddington and Leicester North by reconnecting the currently separate sections of tracks operated by volunteers from our own Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) and Loughborough’s Great Central Railway (GCR). Built in the…

‘Factory Flyover’ Continues Railway ‘Reunification’

7th March 20208th March 2020 Graham Wright

Volunteers from Ruddington’s heritage railway are celebrating reaching another milestone in its ‘reunification’ project to create an 18 mile train line all the way between our village and Birstall on the outskirts of Leicester. The tracks comprising Ruddington’s Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) and Loughborough’s Great Central Railway (GCR) are set to be rejoined once the 500 metre gap in the middle is bridged – meaning services will then be able to run between the two for the first time since 1969. So far RUDDINGTON.info has told you about the installation…

Iconic ‘Railbus’ for Ruddington

20th January 20203rd September 2020 Graham Wright

Ruddington’s Great Central Railway (Nottingham) has revealed that the latest addition to its heritage fleet should mean it will able to run trains here all year ’round. Please see the September 2020 update below*. Currently services are operated by its volunteers only through the summer, in the lead-up to Christmas and over some other half-term holiday periods**. However, the imminent arrival of a Class 144 DMU Railcar (144003) from Porterbrook, to become preserved for heritage use, could see services increasing to 52 weekends a year. Once it’s released from mainline duties during the first…

Uganda Calling!

10th December 201910th December 2019 Graham Wright

It’s the end of an era for Ruddington – as our last remaining public telephone box has just been granted planning permission by Rushcliffe Borough Council for a rather interesting change of use. The Grade II listed, traditional, cast iron, red kiosk – in front of the War Memorial on Church Street – is a Type K6 designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Although an important heritage landmark for our village within the Conservation Area, BT Payphones decided that its lack of use made it no longer viable…

‘Fork Handles’ Gets Connected

8th December 20198th December 2019 Graham Wright

A small but state-of-the-art new property development in Ruddington will again be the cause of some good old-fashioned roadworks this week – as the site gets reconnected to the mains gas supply! The crumbling, former Bostock’s DIY shop at 70, Wilford Road, which closed in 2015, was bought by Ruddington’s Mascari Design Solutions Ltd and demolished two years’ ago to make way for two contemporary homes on the land – to be called ‘Fork Handles’ and ‘The Yard’ in tribute to their heritage. Since then a rather lengthy spell of construction work has been taking place –…

Knit Your Own Christmas in Ruddington!

13th November 20194th December 2019 Graham Wright

If you’re looking for a unique yet inexpensive gift to give to someone this Christmas, you perhaps need look no further than our Framework Knitters’ Museum? The popular Ruddington heritage site is offering you the chance to ‘Knit Your Own Christmas’ on one of its vintage knitting machines – creating up to fifteen gifts over two hours using unlimited yarn – all for just £15! It was villager Sarah Godfrey who suggested the idea. “The women responsible for the Wilbur cat party were knitting tails and we thought ‘Knit Your Own Xmas’ would…