An enquiry has been received from a member of the Fire Brigade Society requesting permission to use some of the information on Edwinstowe Historical Society’s website relating to the Edwinstowe Fire Brigade. This is to be included in an article for publication in their quarterly magazine Fire Cover.
The original Fire Station was situated at the junction of High Street with West Lane. In the early years the fire engine used a manual pump pulled by a horse, which was kept in the field near the River Maun. No doubt there were occasions when a bag of oats failed to coax the horse into harness, which must have added to the delay in the firemen setting off!
In the 1930s the first mechanical fire engine arrived, named ‘Mona’. The Fire Station was replaced in 1958 by a new building located on Mansfield Road, and from then was staffed on a full-time basis.
There were three major fires for which the firemen were called upon. One occurred in 1907 when fire broke out in the Co-operative Society Stores, another in 1929 when the Dukeries Hotel was seriously damaged and then in the early 1940s, the Methodist Chapel on High Street was damaged by fire. More detailed information may be found on the website www.edwinstowehistory.org.uk.
The website continues to expand, with additions to the sections about St Mary’s Church, St Mary’s Church School, the Major Oak, Visitor Centre, NCB, Festivals and Edwinstowe Businesses. For further information, please email EdwinstoweHistorySoc@gmail.com.