Underwood and Bagthorpe Villages
The village of Underwood listed in the Domesday Book as 'Hunderwode', was given its present name in 1490. Bagthorpe was listed 'Baggi's Thorp' meaning 'outlying village'. The two villages are joined and Lower Bagthorpe is now a conservation area. Although the Industrial Revolution had a great effect on the two villages, the building of the two Turnpike roads that ran through Underwood marked the real change. The Turnpike from Nottingham to Newhaven was opened in 1759 and the one from Derby to Mansfield was completed in 1761.
The two industries of coal mining and framework knitting, both of which employed cheap labour, had a great effect on the population increase. In 1851 the census shows the population of Underwood and Bagthorpe as 878. By 1871 it had doubled. Today there are 1200 dwellings and some 3500 people in the two villages.
Until Earl Cowper built St.Michael and All Angels in 1890, there was no church in Underwood or Bagthorpe, but there were two chapels. Bagthorpe Baptist Chapel was built in 1837 and is still thriving. A Christian Meeting House was built in 1873 on Palmerston Street, Underwood but closed in 1977.
The villages have two schools. Bagthorpe School was built in 1873 and enlarged in 1912. Underwood Church of England Primary School was built in 1879 and enlarged later. Underwood and Bagthorpe Miners Institute was built by Thomas Barber, a well-known local benefactor, and opened in 1894.
Felley Priory, Wansley Hall and
Haggs Farm are famous buildings in Underwood and Bagthorpe. Felley Priory was
founded by Ralph Britto, Lord of Annesley, in 1156 for Augustinian or Black
Canons; Robert the Hermit dwelt in a small chapel there. The Priory was
dissolved in 1536. Today it is owned by the Chaworth-Musters family.
Wansley Hall was originally
called 'Wandeslie' Manor and was owned by Lord Leuric at the time of the
Domesday Book. In 1279 it was owned by Ralph de Wandesley but is now an
historical ruin.
Haggs Farm was built around 1795 and is famous the world over for its D H Lawrence connection. He met his first sweetheart Jessie Chambers here, whom he later portrayed as Miriam in his famous novel, Sons and Lovers. Lawrence always asserted that he received 'the inspiration to write' at Haggs Farm with Jessie as his mentor.
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