NOTTINGHAM LACE is in our genes

Nottingham Table Lace “is in our genes”.. ..

Machine made Lace, originated with the father of lace making, the Rev William Lee in 1589 in the Nottingham village of Calverton - hence the beginning of the generic term Nottingham Lace. Subsequently generations of Nottingham families have grown up with and passed on their “lace making gene” - providing the skill and pride, for supplying this “ aristocrat of textiles” to the world at large.

Our own ancestors have been traced back to the Nottingham village - Burton Joyce back to the mid 1600’s (authenticated by archive material), where together with their relatives in the villages of Gedling, Lambley, Woodboro, Calverton, Oxton, Lowdham, Caythorpe and Gunthorpe- then as thro’ the years to today they were/are part of a cottage industry continually creating lace related products for sale direct or via the Lace Merchants of Nottingham. This cottage industry continued alongside the major factories thro-out the18th, 19th. 20th centuries and still exists today albeit in a much smaller form.--

Nottingham Lace is in our genes !………


The finest Nottingham Lace Machines are 14 point and have 17920 threads , they are 8 metres long and if one thread unfortunately breaks the whole machine is stopped while the damaged thread is located and replaced. ( costly - no other answer though)
Nottingham city was the perfect place for the "finishing of" lace as it is built on “bunter sandstone”, from which comes the brightest water, free from all organic matter yet containing Chlorine and Ammonia. These two natural constituents present in the water assist greatly the bleaching and cleaning process and thus "quality finishing"

Today the Nottingham's lace industry is relatively quite compact with individual specialist supplier/provider companies.. One of these companies are our friends at - the “Doyenne of Nottingham’s Lace Industry - Peggy Wilkins” - for whom we thank for all the exclusive designs within our collection of

“Quintessential English”

Many years ago at the same time as John Livesay invented his machine, referred to as the Nottingham Lace Curtain machine, another process, the Madras was also invented -

The Madras is a narrow machine only 4 meters wide ( compared with 8 meters for the Lace Curtain Machine), uniquely the structure of the fabric it produces is a very fine net with the pattern imposed over it. This technique gives the very raised affect of the pattern, however when lace is produced on the Madras machine, the pattern has long threads attached and all these have to be cut off by hand before dyeing and finishing off by hand before dyeing and finishing ( very costly, but there is no cheap alternative). The "Madras technique is a very special process, there is only one machine which can make this complicated pattern.

Designs created on the Nottingham Lace Curtain machine are Stratford, Rosemary, Derby etc

Designs created on the Madras machine are Malmesbury, Milton Chatswoth etc

Hopefully we have helped to make clear an understand producing authentic Nottingham Lace cannot ever be an easy or cheap process . It requires the input of many constituents ( many the result of nature and resources unique to the geography of Nottingham) plus other complimentary, human techniques developed over generations contribute in the creation of our own offering of this superb example of ingenuity -

"Quintessential English" - EXCLUSIVE and AUTHENTIC NOTTINGHAM LACE

When choosing lace products , remember, it is not only the pattern which is of interest, but also the stability of the colour, the stability of dimension, the quality/consistency of each thread, the overall material quality, and finally its beautiful appearance…… hence

Do not be mislead - Nottingham Lace - from the “City of Lace” has an unsurpassed individual quality and beauty, created and managed with an expertise passed down from generation to generation……

YES !!.Nottingham Lace is in our genes ! ……….

Take note also that simply because you may be offered “Nottingham Lace “ it does not guarantee it is supplied from Nottingham . There are now many Lace Producers in the USA, Russia, China, Japan, Poland, Europe and South America who have purchased second hand lace making machines, originating in Nottingham and describe the lace produced as “Nottingham Lace” -!!!!!!

Quintessential English Table Lace.
www.english-lace.co.uk
Nottingham, England

e mail : wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk

THE LIFE of BRIAN Visuals

This entry is an attempt to add a little flavour and colour to the episodes of The LIFE of BRIAN

The "LIFE OF BRIAN" early years......

Maternal GrandFather, David Stone and Great Grandfather, Samuel Stone

Father Samuel Alvey and grandfather Samuel Alvey

Grandfather David Stone and me the grandson


Father Samuel and me the son

Me growing-up with my first car !!

Me at junior school

Me - photo was mothers idea !!! ( at 15 years old )

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and then I never appeared to grow older - As the "Dorian Grey" portrait ? ;-)

"Early LIFE of BRIAN"

The "LIFE of BRIAN" Part 8 & 9

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The LIFE of BRIAN Part 8

………COINCIDENCE 4 Unbeknown to me at that time, in fact not until approx 30 years later This area of Burton Joyce is precisely where my namesakes and ancestors lived and worked . For years my cousins searched for our 4x Great Grandfather referred to as “Missing JOHN Alvey” and it was only in 2006 that a good probability for his location was established in the area.
In the mid 1990’s, as Self employed Consultant Designer, I was asked by the MD of an Italian Company - manufacturing hosiery in Italy, exporting throughout the world , and who had recently established an extensive Sales & Distribution facility in the area, to design and create a Promotional Product as a give-away, which was associated with hosiery and manufactured from Nottingham Lace. As a direct result of the success of this project, Sandra and I began a business in “Nottingham Lace” product design, manufacture, sales and marketing. Rapidly the business became a great success and as a result most mornings I would visit the many out/home workers we used in the villages of Burton Joyce, Gunthorpe, Calverton, Woodthorpe, Carlton, Bestwood, etc, I began each day taking materials for making up products - 100’s at a time and collecting the completed work from the previous day - ( I had become the modern day version of the 19 century Lace Bagman)

see our websites http://www.weddinglace.co.uk/ and http://www.english-lace.co.uk/

……COINCIDENCE 5 My ancestors were Stockingers operating Framework Knitting Machines in their homes, these were the earliest creators of machine made hosiery and Nottingham Lace, Machine Made Lace is reputed to have been originally created on a machine design and made by the Rev Lee of Calverton. The Rev. Lee had difficulty gaining a patent for his invention from Queen Elizabeth the First she was hesitant as she feared the machine would create an uprising by out of work Stockingers ( she was not far wrong -, remember the Luddites.) She insisted that to grant a patent on the invention The machine must first be capable of working with the finest of delicate silks (very difficult at that period in time). Eventually the Rev Lee did create a machine to work with silk, but he still had difficulties in obtaining a patent. It is worth adding here that the ALVEY Framework Knitters in Burton Joyce were working in silk - hosiery, gloves and undergarments

……COINCIDENCE 6 In the late 1800’s there were 3 or 4 individuals in Burton Joyce who were active “Bagmen” one of them was a JOHN ALVEY of “The Spring” on Main Street, known as “Nonkling John” because of the way he moved his head


The LIFE of BRIAN Part 9 - (Conclusion only to the PRELUDE of the ALVEY’S of BURTON JOYCE )

……COINCIDENCE 7 To conclude this extended Prelude I should provide put into print the explanation and reason for Blogging
My particular family line together with that of Sandra my beloved wife ends with us. Both of our parents departed this life many years ago, we have no immediate heirs, brothers or sisters, so after long consideration and chats with Sandra I decided to record for posterity some of our life and research into the “Alvey‘s of Burton Joyce“, listing the important contribution made by my bloodline, to the village activities and development of our Burton Joyce roots throughout the 1600’s, 1700’s and 1800’s.
For the ALVEY bloodline provided, several Sheriffs of Nottingham and a continual presence/contribution to BURTON JOYCE for 350 YEARS plus….
………… 350 years, of agricultural workers tending the farm land around the village, two generations of village blacksmiths, shopkeepers, a verger, many fwk workers, farmers and landowners, a journalist, wives of eminent villagers, several employers of Fwk and weavers, “bagmen“, mechanics, councillors, and fathers of at least two illegitimate children ! ! ! !
Also as there were/are numerous namesakes and “relatives” in the adjoining areas of Gedling, Carlton, Nottingham, Arnold, Lambley, Lowdham, Gunthorpe, Bleasby, Stoke, Bulcote, Epperstone, Hoveringham, Caythorpe etc.. the notes may just fill a few gaps

PART 9 is the conclusion to the LIFE of BRIAN .

Howeve if you are interested in Social History, Burton Joyce or the Alvey family name you should not miss my ALVEY'S of BURTON JOYCE Timeline 1600 to 1950 this will follow in this website in comfortable "bites" within this website.. .. dont miss it !!

The "LIFE of BRIAN" - Part 7

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The LIFE of BRIAN Part 7

……….COINCIDENCE 1 Numerous males within the ALVEY lineage were Blacksmiths - the earliest engineers . Certainly NOT professional pianists
……… COINCIDENCE 2 My Grandmother ALVEY was born and lived within 100M of my office in Nottingham ( Note! I am now naturally and automatically into “New World” speak - It shows you what 30 years of use can do) - I found out 30 years later

I met my wife Sandra, - Nottingham born and bred, and we married. However as I was not familiar with the area, ( in fact I had to look at an atlas to precisely locate where Nottingham was in the UK, before relocating here) it was Sandra who decided that Burton Joyce would be a pleasant area to live, she selected a house that had come up for sale and made arrangements with the Estate Agent to view. We met with the Agent to look over the property and area, we both instantly loved what we saw and agreed to buy the very next morning………………………….

Our home of 30+ years in Hillcrest Gardens - BJ. and view from our second home in BJ,

Sandra and I purchased the land - within 100M of first home - designed by ourselves in 1974

It was after a short period of working in Nottingham , that my employer - Tube Investments - Churchill Automatic Assembly, decided to relocate the company back to the Midlands to Redditch - Worcestershire. As the General Manager of the operation they wanted me to re-establish the business with as many of the existing workforce as could be persuaded to relocate. Those who would not be persuaded could opt for a redundancy settlement. After taking a “straw poll” of the employees ( all of whom possessed specialist skills and individual experiences) it was my opinion that the relocation would be a complete failure. For out of a workforce of approx 80 only 4 were willing to move with their families away from Nottingham - Quite frankly there was no way was I going to leave Nottingham and Burton Joyce either, now that I was newly married and buying a dream home (although I did agree that I would supervise the to re establishment of the project as a working proposition at the new site ( which was within an existing manufacturing facility controlled by the Group. What happened in reality was unbelievably fortunate and opportune. The T.I. company had an existing order book to fulfil, without the capacity or staff to expedite. It was therefore agreed , with T.I.‘s blessing, together with a colleague who was my number two, to form a company based here in Nottingham to take on the worked under T.I.’s wing, using several of the Nottingham workforce who had decided not to relocate and had not already found new employment. This worked very satisfactorily for all parties
…….COINCIDENCE 3 Neither Sandra my wife or I knew until 30 years later that Burton Joyce where we were to spend the rest of our lives together within the surrounding locations which was the “Hot Bed” of the ALVEY namesake and that Burton Joyce, Woodboro and Lowdham in particular had registered the vast majority of the earliest ALVEY families - this area was obviously my ROOTS and unbeknown, I was back in.. .. .. .. .. .. .. -

"THE BOX"

Comments from other Alveys families and old buddies will be appreciated

Contact by e mail wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk

The LIFE of BRIAN - Part 6

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The LIFE of BRIAN - Part 6

A significant contribution from my father....

When my time came to leave Mexborough Schofield Technical School complete with GCE’s in Engineering, I had the opportunity of an apprenticeship with the National Coal Board. Now this was widely recognised and accepted as a superb career vehicle (they even financed an education at University, providing you qualified of course) but my father said an emphatic “ NO! No son of mine is going down the Pit” - “ There is enough with one of the family having to earn a slice of bread at the Jam Factory” - translation - It was normally accepted that the Coal Mine was the only opportunity for the vast majority of men with low skills to earn sufficient money - for a living on bread and jam. As an alternative, I applied for, and was offered an Indentured Apprenticeship as a Student Engineer at Robert Jenkins and Co Ltd - Rotherham - (32 Bus Stops away and 3 Bus Changes). After a few weeks learning the ropes and travelling to work and back via public transport, I began to cycle to and from work each day (even weekends when I worked in the Maintenance Dept for a period. When I began shift working during my works experience training and needed to combine this with Day Release and “Night School” - which was 1 day and 2 evening each week- my father found “the deposit” on a new “Lambretta Scooter” - white /175 cc for me- What fantastic luxury, this really did help me tremendously.
After serving a 5 year Indentured Apprenticeship as a Student Engineer/Production Development Draughtsman it was obvious that I had a natural talent for the subject. However, after being bred ad brought up in an environment of Coal Mines and HELLS BOILERHOUSE, I yearned for a greater quality and broader lifestyle, which professional engineering could give. I therefore sought to relocate to the sophistication of Coventry - the centre for modern professional engineering, high precision machine tools, with the latest in production techniques and adopt the profession for a lifetime as a Production/Product/Design Engineer.. .. and still -“OUT SIDE the BOX”-
After several elevations in position and working/travelling throughout the UK, Europe, and the USA, I eventually settled down in Nottingham, employed by the then owners of Raleigh Industries………….

This is where the "7 coincidences" came to the light of day ... influencing totally my subsequent lifestyle

See also http://www.weddinglace.co.uk/ and http://www.english-lace.co.uk/

I will be pleased to receive any comments or observations and certainly any information relative past buddies at Mexbro Tech and Robert Jenkins - contact me on e mail ..mailto:..wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk

The "LIFE of BRIAN" - Part 5

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The LIFE of BRIAN Part 5

So now to I will set the scene for the 7 Coincidences, but first……

A significant contribution from my Mother……..

When it was time to change from the local Junior to Senior school - I did not pass the 11 plus entitling me to transfer to the local grammar School, even though my parents expected me to - they were probably blinded by the fact that at the age of 11 my piano playing prowess was at Grade 6 level in both practical and theory (equivalent to GCE levels). However they probably did not appreciate that a musical prowess is not a substitute for developing intelligence. This was a major catastrophe, so my mother, bless her, ( she was a member of the Junior school PTA and she could not accept that her child would go to the “inferior” Park Road Senior School - incidentally neither did I want to go there - (they gave selected new-comers the “bumps”, in an initiation ceremony and frequently flushed a head down the loo, just for good measure). So she got on a Grape Vine, contacted her ex Headmaster and pleaded her case. The ex Headmaster who then the Head of the next village senior school - Brampton Bierlow Ellis. (12 Bus Stops away) This was a School with a progressive attitude, in fact, the School was so progressive it owned its very own Farm, complete with animals - cows and pigs etc. It was on the edge of a farming community and was providing the education of good proportion of the total students had parents who were farmers and spread far and wide. I recall the Head Masters’ name , an elderly gentleman, as Mr Steer. ( very relevant, don’t you think - animals, cows !!!). I have to thank both him and my mother for that major significant redirecting of my education, for I progressed in leaps and bounds within Brampton Bierlow Ellis, “motoring” through 4 year education levels in just 2 years, culminating in winning a scholarship at the age of 13, awarded by the West Riding County Council (Education) which, praise, upon praise redirected my education , this time into the Engineering stream at Mexborough Schofield Technical School. A school located in the opposite direction in the town of Mexborough (you guessed). This school was at least 20 Bus Stops and 2 bus changes away - travelling certainly brought the “isolationist complex” out off me the result was attending a school where a fabulous attitude and school philosophy prevailed, and together with a fantastic and talented set of teachers, fast tracked the education of children like me through to GCE standard within 3 years - biased towards a technical, building, commercial or nursing background - engineering in my case. I thoroughly enjoyed and excelled in this period of my life. I am deeply indebted to everyone who touched my life at that time for I have benefited greatly from those 3 years at Schofield Technical, benefited ever since. This style of education and the resulting/subsequent Indentured Apprenticeship were instrumental in moulding of my Professional Engineering career. (far from that of a Professional Pianist!!!)

By the way I will be pleased to receive any contact from " Old Mexbro Techies" especially any info re....
Geo Barry Lowe - my long lost buddy

The LIFE of BRIAN - Part 4

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The LIFE of BRIAN Part 4

We never had a car, no one around us could drive anyway, nor a telephone - even though everyone could speak, in fact, we did not have electricity for the first 14 years of my life. We had the “historic” Outside Loo, we tore off pieces of newspaper to act as a Toilet Roll, this was for 14 years, until we eventually got to the top of the Housing List and allocated into a “Council House” in the adjoining village of West Melton. I grew up so remotely that as child I thought that “Blackmen” were the fathers coming home from the Coal Mine, complete with a face black with coal dust, a pit helmet , pads fastened around their knees, clogs/boots, an empty “Snap Tin” - which when full invariably contained Bread/Jam, Bread/Dripping, Bread/Salmon Paste or the like and a non metallic container for Drinking Water. These were “Blackmen” as knew them. Not the respected coloured native South African immigrant .

Oh! I forgot to mention I that as a child I was also “nailed” to the piano stool - for at least an hour every day - from the age of 5 to 15. I could only get off that stool to get to sheet music which may have been inside the cavity under the seat (Yes even before I started attending the local Infants school I could not even read/write properly). Yes even at that age, it was envisaged that I would become a Professional Pianist despite my engineering gene which had begun to show itself in the way I excelled with my Double O size “Meccano“ Set - creating and living dreams with model bridges, railways and the like. Somewhere around the age of 8, 9, or10 my fathers brother - Uncle Len, gifted me a “Junero” set which the next step up from using the pre-formed components of a Meccano, in that the Junero was equipped with simple “metal working punches” and “tin snips” etc. to enable the user to actually create simple components necessary to build the dreams of man and boy. This was the lifestyle which moulded me into a “bit of an introvert” with huge feelings of isolation, detachment and then rushes of anxiety - yet it also gifted me in the science of lateral thinking and stimulated an extensive gift of ingenuity and capability for creating, alternative solutions/replacements

Blog 130207 The "LIFE OF BRIAN" Part3

BLOG 130207 - The “LIFE of BRIAN “ - Part 3 of 10

(Still “OUTSIDE THE BOX“?)

My Grandparents on both my mother and father’s side, several uncles, aunts and cousins also lived and worked in the “Queen of Villages” - not that we saw much of any of them, other than my Grandfather Alvey, who used walk the couple of miles to visit us every Sunday morning about 11.00 o’clock .

We lived in a row of 10 terraced Midland Railway Cottages- Number 5 to be precise, quite a way from the main centre of the “Queen of Villages” - (6 Bus Stops ) - my mother always insisted we used the description “Midland Railway Cottages” as our address, this gave our home a little cudos and differentiate us from the group of terraced houses , named Midland Terrace ( One Bus Stop away). These two separate developments of Railway houses were well removed from all other civilisation - there were no other houses within 4 Bus Stops of us and the “Queen of Villages” centre or the next village - Bolton upon Dearne, . You should note here that both WATH and BOLTON were in fact “- upon- Dearne“ which is the local river !!!! The river is named “Dearne” ( pronounced simply as “dern“) - which brings me to the annual highlight of my early childhood.

The River Dearne flowed within 1 Bus Stop (Oh! go on then - 400M - in New World speak) of our home and each year in the rainy season, our ten terraced Midland Railway Cottages, plus the detached Station Master’s House actually became an island - Yes!, the water flooded all the fields to the front, rear and came over the only road, which ran alongside the Cottages, to all sides, cutting off access in all directions around the small rise in round where the Railway Cottages were situation. We were only reached by simple rafts constructed by the parents they were made up from old discarded Railway Sleepers, or by being carried “ piggy back” by adults wearing long waders ( you know the ones normally seen worn by deep sea fishermen). I swear this flooding happened every year ( well thro my child eyes, it seemed like every year). I guess the nearby LMS Railway embankment must have been created by scraping and collecting all the local earth/and fill, to build-up the high embankment on which the railway track was sited (some 25 foot high and at least 4 rail track widths wide). This obviously left our adjoining fields below the level of the only road to and from the “Queen of Villages” and to the next village Bolton-upon-Dearne, which was not even a “Princess of Villages” this was probably why Midland Railway Cottages and detached Station Masters House were susceptible to regular and repeated flooding. I should add that, fortunately, we had permanent mini flooding in the fields to front and rear of our home. Why fortunately? Well, most of the time this was not a problem, the flooded areas had reeds, willows and bull rushes, and were quite pleasant to look at and play in. However, most importantly, they provided a source for eggs - courtesy of the water fowl (during the war years Mum could only buy dried egg powder), and the water invariably froze over most winters, providing instant ice rinks, People came from miles around to slide, sledge and play in the fields. Kids and families had to come from miles around, remember, - we were 4 Bus Stops away from other houses and kids - we did not include “Midland Terrace” as other housing

Look out for Part 4 of 10 in the "LIFE OF BRIAN"
from the - "ALVEYS of BURTON JOYCE" research

If you have an issue you would like to get “off your chest” or discussed as a “One to One“,

e mail; wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk

The "LIFE of BRIAN" Part 2

BLOG 290107 - The “LIFE of BRIAN “ - Part 2 of 10

Our “Queen of Villages” could NOT boast as having an Airport or Bus Station In fact, throughout the full 20+ years I lived in the “Queen of Villages” I NEVER once saw an aircraft pass overhead - I did once hear the Luftwaffe though, I think it was 1942, flying over to drop their load of bombs on the numerous Steel Works in the Sheffield/Rotherham area, - it was during some dark, dismal and dank night, I remember getting under the lounge table - none of the families used the brick built Anderson Air Raid Shelters built for our communal protection they were damp, filthy and smelly. Oh! I should add that the local bus service did pass by our front garden ( a 10ft x 10foot patch of grass descried as lawn when the need to impress prevailed) ,it passed by twice each hour, every hour in both directions from about 6.00am in the mornings to 10.00pm at night (at 20 minutes to and 10 minutes passed the hour, in one direction and 10 minutes to and 20 minutes passed the hour, the other way), six days a week - on Sundays it was a reduced service which did not start until mid-day and finished about 6.00pm. I should have added that we did have a 2 Bus Stops within 20 paces ( crafty measurement … yes? ) -that’s 20 child’s paces of our front door. No cars, or taxis service though. Shanks Pony was the only alternative - very few pushbikes also ( War effort I suppose)

The “Queen of Villages” could boast an Infants and Junior School - Victoria School - (5 Bus Stops away) This was my school where I had my early education, walking there most days - 30 to 45 minutes in each direction ( all weathers). I also had my own “personal coat hook” in the school cloak room- designated with a dangling coloured cardboard cut out, of a grey elephant - this was my own personal coat hook and I was very proud of it ( as retaining in my memory obviously substantiates). There were separate Girls and Boys outside Loo s - the Boys Loos were really Bogs and were open aired and exposed to the elements, (I don’t know if this was true for the girls also - I never went near them). Oh! and sometimes I had a sleep in the afternoons - on a camp bed in the School Hall/Class Room. In fact all the class were supposed to have a sleep - dont know why, probably because they thought the possibility of nightly bombing raids by the Germans would depriveus of our rest and keep us awake.

I went to church every Sunday - to St James’ ( cant remember from what age). In later years I did play the Church Organ there, and occasionally (less than discretely I should add) I “pepped” up the music with jazz and boogie - that was until “Skip - the Scoutmaster” heard me one time and suggested it was not the thing to do to illustrate my talent, and that if I was not careful he may consider demoting me as the Patrol Leader of the my beloved “Peewits“ Patrol - only recently I learned that both Billy Connelly and Bernard Cribbens were also Peewit Patrol Leaders - such exalted company . What a disgrace that would have been - too great to handle, I guess, I would have left the 12th Don and Dearne St James Scout Troop - with a Sherwood Green (edged with Yellow) Neckerchief, held in place with a woggle - such a disgrace if that had happened thankfully it did not.. . ..

The "LIFE of BRIAN" Part 1 of 10 - 060107

BLOG 060107 - The “LIFE of BRIAN “ - Part 1 of 10

Let me now set my life scene !!! My family name and bloodline is ALVEY

I was born and bred in S Yorkshire, after 20 plus years I began moving around following my chosen profession of Design/Production Engineering. Eventually I met and settled down in 1971 with my wife Sandra, right here in Burton Joyce, with a pleasant, satisfied and comfortable feeling (now I realise why) for I have lived in this village for a greater length of time than anywhere else. Surprisingly it was only 6 months ago that I discovered that Burton Joyce was in fact, was “slap bang” in the middle of “THE BOX” (a close group of villages where the Alvey name may well have germinated) - MY ROOTS - Is this some mystical solution to my feelings of pleasance, satisfaction and comfort ?

These notes are just a small part of a “Genealogy/Social History Study” I have begun to develop as an extension to the major genealogy study my cousins Joan and Peter have been undertaking for many years. My particular interest is the “ALVEY’s of BURTON JOYCE“ - no surprise for it is my name and where I choose to live.

Early spelling of the ALVEY name, vary around themes of the pronounced ”sound of it“, no surprise, for many individuals could neither read nor write in early times, early spellings will therefore understandably differ

ALVEY family members certainly were never backwards at coming forwards, as the following list illustrates :-

In 1557 Robert Alvye was Chamberlain of Nottingham
In 1558 Robert Alvye was the Sheriff of Nottingham,
in 1564 Edward Alvey matriculated from Nottingham to Cambridge University.
In 1572 Nicholas Alvey was Chamberlain of Nottingham
In 1573 Robert Alvey was Mayor of Nottingham
In 1576 Nicholas Alvey was the Sheriff of Nottingham
In 1577 Henry Alvey admitted Foundress Fellow of Cambridge University
In 1580 Robert Alvye Mayor of Nottingham

In 1587 **Robert Allve was the Mayor of Nottingham ( fair probability that he was my 10x Great Grandfather - BjFams ref. no.19 )
In 1594 Robert Alvey was Mayor of Nottingham (Robert of Car Colston)
In 1596 Henry Alvey was Chamberlain of Nottingham
In 1598 Henry Alvey (Cordwainer) was the Sheriff of Nottingham
In 1611 John Alvey was Chamberlain of Nottingham

It is via “Robert Alvey” the Mayor of Nottingham that the “ALVEY’s of BURTON JOYCE” originate - via his Grandson William Alvie of Burton Joyce (Ref74) in Burton Joyce from 1647. - William the son of Richard Alvey (43) of Woodboro

In 1641/42 “William Alvie of Burton Joyce” was listed in the Protestant Returns

So here we go .. .. ..

The “LIFE of BRIAN” - Part 1

I was born and raised in South Yorkshire, - “OUT SIDE the BOX“ - within a working class family, living and working the South Yorkshire coal fields in a small village/town with the name of Wath-upon-Dearne (pronounced as Waf on Dern ) and referred to as the “Queen of Villages!” !!. First of all I should explain…. It was not a village, nor indeed could it legitimately be justified in boasting and calling itself the “Queen of Villages “ but it did?????.”.

However, it could boast as having TWO major coal mines ( Manvers Main and Wath Main) - both complete with majestic Pit Head winding gear, Manvers Main also had the added facility of huge Coke Ovens, all continuously spelching out, acrid smoke and toxic fumes all over the “Queen of Villages”….. and numerous slag heaps. Slag heaps of such stature they obliterated the mid-day sun and spread wide over such an area, they probably rivalled the ski slopes of the Cairngorms and Glencoe added together. So intimidating were these Coal Mines, slag heaps and smouldering Coke Ovens that, and until the age of 11 , I assumed and really believed we could actually be living alongside HELLS BOILERHOUSE ( I have typed this is upper case so that it shouts out at you in the same way as it shouted out at me.. .. .. .. for ll of 14 years.)

For 14 years I could constantly see both of the Pit Heads - only a few hundred yards away (sorry it was the pre-metric” era ) and they were always there, both of them, always. When I looked out of our lounge window it was “Manvers Main” I could see, hen when I looked out of the front room window it was “Wath Main“. It was when I was 11 and started going to the school in the next village - Brampton (“10 Bus Stops” away - sorry but this is a much easier way to describe distance than quoting a metric measurement) and it was then that I realised that it could not be HELLS BOILERHOUSE - it just looked and smelt like I imagined Hell it would be.

Our “Queen of Villages” could boast as having, not just one, but TWO railways - complete with stations and tracks - the old LNER and its rival the LMS. The LMS was our own personal operation (our home was an LMS terraced cottage) and it could be seen from both our lounge and front room windows. The track and lines had been constructed on the crest of a 25 foot (Sorry! Cannot convert English feet to New World Metric) embankment only 400M (about 1 Bus Stop) away - (See! I can occasionally use metric as a measurement). It ran in a direction which was across our vision ,which meant that the scenes remained visible for quite a time, to a small child I me the trains were magical, immense and both noisy and spectacular. As a result I became an avid Train Spotter

Our “ Queen of Villages” could also boast as having the largest Rail Marshalling Yards, devoted to coal distribution, in the whole of Great Britain.
It could boast also as having it own Gas Works and Storage Plant - I couldn’t see this from our lounge and front room windows ( and it was only 4 Bus Stops away), although occasionally I am sure I could smell it
My village could boast of having a canal system also (The Don and Dove), a Brewery (Whitbreads), two Cinemas ( the Majestic and the Grand), A Swimming and Slipper Baths - ( I never did understand what “Slipper” meant ), an Athletics and Sports Ground, which occasionally hosted wait for it .. .. Yorkshire Cricket - second team. (each of these facilities were 4 Bus Stops away from my home , except the Grand Cinema which 6 Bus stops - we also referred to Cinemas as “Picture Houses” in those days).... ...

and there more, much more to come

Part 2 of 10 to follow.. ..

If you have an issue you would like to get “off your chest” or discussed as a “One to One“,
e mail; wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk

"THE BOX" and The LIFE of BRIAN

BLOG - “THE BOX” - the “LIFE of BRIAN “ - 050106

THE BOX

"Out of" THE BOX

This BLOG is by way of an introduction to the "LIFE of BRIAN" which will be the conyiuing BLOG subject over the next few postings

"THE BOX” This is the term given to the compact area of small Nottinghamshire villages which appears to have contributed greatly and be quite instrumental in the "spawning" the ALVEY family name

The later notes will explain in a little detail how “Missing John”’s branch of the Alvey family fragmented away "out of" THE BOX only to return in later years, quite passively and without any knowledge of its significance

The illustration of “The Box” shows it containing the villages of Burton Joyce, Gedling, Lambley, Woodboro, Lowdham, Gunthorpe, Caythorpe, Oxton, Epperston, Shelford Stoke Bardolph, Bleasby, Carlton, Arnold, Calverton, plus East of Nottingham

The the right plots how my particular branch of the ALVEY’s moved away from THE BOX - initially to South Normanton and eventually to South Yorkshire - presumably for economic reasons. The illustration also clearly shows the return path taken by myself completely oblivious as to any historical significance of my “family roots”

If you have an issue you would like to get “off your chest” or discussed as a “One to One“,

e mail; wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk