Town in Nottinghamshire, England
Mansfield
Mansfield's football ground has hosted matches since 1861, and its Stags play in what is billed as the oldest professional ground in the world.
Key information
- County
- Nottinghamshire
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Field Mill, Sherwood Forest on its doorstep, the Victorian viaduct, Mansfield Bitter
- What locals are called
- Mansfielders
About Mansfield
The football ground that started before the rules were settled
Mansfield Town play at Field Mill, and the ground has hosted football since 1861. That is why it is billed as the oldest professional football ground in the world. The Football League itself did not exist until 1888. The club are the Stags, in amber and blue, and the nickname matches the antlers on the town's emblem. The Stags have had their giant-killing days too. In 1969 they went on a famous FA Cup run as a lower-division side, beating West Ham along the way. Older fans still bring it up, and with good reason.
Robin Hood's back garden
Mansfield sits on the edge of Sherwood Forest, so it comes with a ready-made legend. The old royal forest was a hunting ground for medieval kings, and Mansfield grew up as a market town around it. The forest's famous Major Oak is a few miles away at Edwinstowe, and the Robin Hood Way passes nearby. Locals know the outlaw is good for business and have never argued. The area is much older than the legend. A Roman villa was found at Mansfield Woodhouse, a reminder that people have farmed and settled these sandy hills for nearly two thousand years.
Why a Victorian viaduct towers over the shops
The first thing many visitors notice is the Mansfield Viaduct. It was built in 1875 for the Midland Railway and strides across the town on 15 arches, a bit of Victorian engineering that feels oddly grand for a market town. The town centre has older stories too. The Moot Hall dates from 1752, and the Market Place has been the heart of town life for centuries. The Palace Theatre has been putting on shows since 1910. Mansfield Museum tells the local story, from the Roman finds to the industrial boom.
Stone, cotton and coal
Mansfield made its money from the ground. Local sandstone was quarried for building, and sand was a valuable resource in its own right. When the Industrial Revolution arrived, mills sprang up along the valleys, spinning cotton and making hosiery. Then came coal. Collieries around Mansfield drew families from across the country and shaped the town's character, with its brass bands, working men's clubs and strong community loyalty. The big pits closed in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the town has spent the years since finding new ways to earn a living.
A pint of Mansfield Bitter
Mansfield was a brewing town long before craft beer was fashionable. The Mansfield Brewery was founded in 1855, and its Mansfield Bitter was a fixture in pubs across the East Midlands. The brewery itself closed in 2002, but the beer's name lives on and plenty of locals still ask for it. The local greeting is pure Nottinghamshire. "Ay up me duck" is how many Mansfielders will start a conversation, and it is meant warmly. On a market day, the stalls and the chat in the Market Place give a good sense of why people here are fiercely proud of their patch.