Spa Ponds Heritage Project: Celebrating 700 years of history

Thanks to all who took part in the project. Please check out:

Project overview

Lorraine and Rose stood in front of a project display board.
Laine and Rose letting folk know about the project at the Forest Town Craft Market in November 2016. Photo by Dennis Platts released under CC BY-NC

Spa Ponds Nature Reserve is owned and managed by the Forest Town Nature Conservation Group (FTNCG), and is open to the public at all times.

This year-long project focusing on the heritage of Spa Ponds (also known as ‘Gara Ponds’) is taking place 700 years after the creation of the medieval fish ponds.

The Heritage Management Plan produced as part of this project will guide FTNCG’s management Spa Ponds, complementing our existing Ecology Management Plan.

Map of Spa Ponds Nature Reservation
Map of Spa Ponds Nature Reserve (present day)

The project will provide participants with training and guidance from historians and community archaeologists, including MBArchaeology.

To better appreciate Spa Ponds’ heritage value, participants will develop an understanding of the basics of archaeological and historical research and landscape fieldwork, and will explore written records in archives, libraries and museums.

We will also gather memories, photographs and artefacts of the site, including through the project’s Oral Histories element.

The Forest Town Nature Conservation Group received a Heritage Lottery Fund Sharing Heritage grant of £8,500 to help us pay for this project

Matt Beresford introducing the project to FTNCG members
Matt Beresford of MBArchaeology talking to FTNCG members in November 2016. Photo taken by Shlomo Dowen and released under the CC BY-NC 3.0 license.

Experts will provide mentoring support and deliver about a dozen workshops and training sessions in 2017 covering:

  • Trees and Natural Heritage (May/June)
  • Landscape Surveying (June)
  • Day School exploring the Mediaeval Landscape of Sherwood (7 July)
  • How to Present Findings (September)

Click here for a more detailed description of project

Click here for more details about the training opportunities

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See diary dates for the whole project