Over the years, Hucknall grew into a thriving market town. Its focal point being the parish church of St Mary Magdelene, built by the Saxons and completed after the Norman Conquest, although much of what you see today was restored in the Victorian era.

The church has two famous landmarks: a memorial to bare knuckle fighter Ben Caunt, and in its crypt, the remains of George Gordon, the 6th Lord Byron – poet, freedom fighter and bon viveur in general.

Hucknall’s industry once thrived, providing work in three local coal mines, textiles, and aircraft engineering in the form of a large Rolls Royce factory, the latter being the only one to survive.

Bomber

During World War Two, Swiss-born Luftwaffe pilot Franz Von Werra made an ambitious attempt to escape from the Hucknall area where he was working on the land whilst held captive as a PoW.

Posing as a Dutch pilot he got as far as the cockpit of a Hurricane fighter parked at the aerodrome but was caught in the nick of time – just before chocks were away! His exploits can be seen in the feature film, ‘The One That Got Away’.

Robin Bailey, actor

Hucknall has also produced a few famous sons, including the aforementioned Lord Byron, actor Robin Bailey and composer Eric Coates, well known for the Dambuster’s March.

This was composed in honour of RAF Bomber Command who blasted the German Mohne and Eder damms – with a little help from Barnes Wallis’ revolutionary bouncing bomb!

Now read about the pubs in Hucknall

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