Guided walk of historic Bawtry by Bawtry Heritage Group
Market Cross, Market Hill, Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN10
Today Bawtry presents as a bustling market town clustered around its impressive market place. It has a wealth of bars, restaurants, and exclusive shops, many of them located in handsome Georgian buildings. That architecture reflects the wealth of some of its inhabitants when the town used to be one of England's most important inland ports. Today, the wharf - and even the river! - are gone. Our guided walk will visit the site of the wharf and explain what happened to it. We will also point out the sites of a Roman fortlet and shrine, and a nationally important battle fought in the 7th century - involving King Raedwald of Sutton Hoo fame. We'll follow the street grid layout of a Norman "planted" town, and see a couple of medieval churches. There are several coaching inns in Bawtry. They sprung up in the town because it straddles the old Great North Road. Participants may choose to visit one of these for refreshment after the walk. We will also see Bawtry Hall, now an upmarket weddings venue but during the second World War it was the headquarters of the RAF's Number One Group Bomber Command.
There's a lot of history to see here! The walk will take about two hours and all of it bar a hundred yards or so is on paved surfaces. Participants may choose to bring bottled water.
Market Cross, Market Hill, Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN10
Bawtry's roads are sometimes busy and traffic, especially when crossing roads, is the main hazard. Some of the pavements are uneven.