Early Arnold

The Early History of Arnold

Arnold has a very long history with the earliest traces of the occupation being not at its present location but on what is now Ramsdale golf course. This was a hill fort occupied by the local tribe, the Coritani. When the Romans arrived they took over the fort and forced the tribe to move to the area of what is now Arnold. The first habitation in the present area was in the form of defence earth works dating from the late Bronze Age. These are situated between Killisick Lane and Coppice Road. This shows that Arnold was a residential place even at this early date. The good supply of timber, water and good growing land together with the defensive position made it a good place to stay. When the Angles invaded England they took over the settlement in about 600AD and called the place Ernehale. Translated this means "the place of the eagles" (or more rightly, herons). The name Ernehale can be found in many places in the existing town. The most noticeable of these being the old Co Op building, now The Ernehale pub, on Nottingham Road.

The next invaders were the Danes who passed through the village in 868 on there way to attack and capture Nottingham. They burnt the houses of the Arnold village as they passed through. By the time of the Norman Conquest, and occupation of the country, Ernehale is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a thriving village with a population of about 150; quite a large place for the time and can be considered a small town. Not much is then known about our town until 1436 when it was decimated by the plague, which had spread to the village. It took some 200yrs before Arnold had returned to its former size. The population was still dependent on agriculture and the supporting trades. The name of the town now changed, first to Arnhale and then to Arnold as the spoken word was written down and translated by scribes who were not natives of the area.

First hand knitting and then in the 18th century framework knitting was introduced. This was an extra form of income for families, especially during the winter months. The work was done from home by all members of the family. The frames were rented from wealthy hosiers. This soon became the main form of employment for the town. At its height some 1300 frames were at use in the town. This number being greater than all other places except Nottingham itself and Sutton in Ashfield which employed slightly more.

Conditions for the knitters were awful. Their conditions were made worse when in 1791 the common land they used for their odd cow or pig and to grow vegetables was now "Enclosed". This prevented their access to even the basics required for survival. All this changed as Arnold Mill was built on the edge of the park that employed directly or indirectly the whole town. For a time at least that changed their fortunes.