Sherwood Community Centre is one of the largest Community Centres in Nottingham.  It has a main Hall, where which is where the Ladies Ballet and Adult Tap Classes are held, as well as Sherwood Community Playgroup, and other activities.  Elevation Dance also holds classes in the Hall, as well as in the Small Hall and the Annex Dance Studio.  The Hall and several meeting rooms are available for hire for activities and parties.  Several charities also have offices within the building.  There is also a Community Cafe, open Monday to Thursday, during term time.  For further information about Sherwood Community Centre, click on the logo.

Woodthorpe House (Sherwood Community Centre) is a Grade II listed building and parts of it are the oldest building in Sherwood.  The cottage (left), known as the Annex, may be earlier than 1750, as it is older than the adjacent section which is likely to have been built in the 1750’s.  There was certainly a building on this site in 1774 and these parts of the building were on the Inclosure Map of 1792.  The small dance studio (below left) is in the former stable (seen to the left of the cottage) and the Annex Dance Studio (below) has taken the place of the yard.  

In the early 19th century the house was extended and some floor levels were adjusted.  The house became a mansion which was advertised as having 9 bedrooms in 1892.  The land belonging to the family who lived here extended as far as the Day Brook (beyond the ring road), to the central reservation of Edwards Lane and included land on the other side of Woodthorpe Drive.

The Orangerie stood behind the annex yard in the 1880’s. Room 2, formerly the Dining Room has grape and vine moldings on the ceiling.  Room 1 has an anthemion border and other beautiful plasterwork on the ceiling and fretted pelmets.  The Butlers Pantry was between these rooms.

Woodthorpe House has an interesting history. The earliest information available is that it had been Mr Hooley’s farm, which, by the time it was advertised following his death in 1830, was a mansion “suitable for a genteel family”. Various eminent people lived in the house, including several wealthy factory owners, one of whom was also a French Consul , then later, the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire.  Most of the property was sold to Sir Charles Seeley in 1896, and with the exception of the house and the land which currently surrounds the building, the remaining land remained in his family’s possession until his sons sold it to Nottingham Corporation for the building of what was one of the first Council estates in Nottingham.   Sherwood Estate celebrated it’s Centenary in 2022, with a picnic event on the Estate and an evening party with a Jazz Band and bar at Sherwood Community Centre, and a Charleston Workshop taught by Jill Gregory and Yasmin Stevens.

In 1940, the house was requisitioned by the War Office and was Regimental Headquarters for the 172 (M) HAA  Regiment, then the 161 (M) HAA Regiment.  ATS (Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service) worked in the offices which were on the ground floor of the house, the officers slept in the house, and the soldiers slept in Nissen huts  in the grounds.  The huts were still in use as part of the Community Centre during the 1950’s.  Had it not been for the War, Woodthorpe House would have been demolished to provide building land for houses.

The Army left the house in a neglected state in 1944, and the Council purchased it in 1946.  For a while it was used as an annex for Haywood Girls’ School, before being passed to Sherwood Community Association in 1949.  Since it’s official opening in 1950,  Sherwood Community Centre has provided a wide range of activities for the local community and is possibly the busiest Community Centre in Nottingham.  The Hall was built in 1979, to help cater for the Centre’s growing needs.  The Coffee Bar and Foyer were added in 1984.

Sherwood Community Centre  was due to celebrate its 70th Anniversary on 8 July 2020.  Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, this was not possible.  Further information about the beginnings of Sherwood Community Centre can be found on the Woodthorpe House History and Tours Facebook page.

Visit the Sherwood Community Centre website to see what other activities take place here.  Or if you found this history of Woodthorpe House interesting, you may be able to see the History Exhibition in the main corridor, if you are attending a group, or visiting the cafe.

Woodthorpe House - The History of Sherwood Community Centre

Before Foyer was built, the entrance to Woodthorpe House was the neo-classical portico with dentilated cross-beams and Doric columns.  There are vaulted cellars, and at a lower level a cave (listed by the Nottingham Cave Survey). Guided tours of the building are possible at some Community Centre events.

1977

Sherwood Community Centre is run by Sherwood Community Association CIO, a registered charity.  The Centre relies on grants and rents for running costs, and fund raising for improvements to the Centre.  If you would like to get involved with organising events, fundraising, activities or assisting the volunteer Trustees, please click on the logo to find contact details for the Centre.

1880s