In 1643 Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham Castle. England plunged into bloody Civil War. Six years later, he would be dead. Among the signatures to his death warrant was Colonel John Hutchinson of Owthorpe.

But there was another side to this Roundhead. His wife Lucy's memoirs record he had great delight in ‘planting groves and walkes and fruite-trees, in opening springs and making fishponds’.

Today Col Hutchinson's fishponds are being brought to life once more. The site is usually open in daylight hours, and free for visitors to wander round and experience its peace and wildlife.

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In 2002, with a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative we undertook a survey of the wood, its history and its wildlife. Click here for more on this project.