Misk Hills - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Misk Hills consist of a gently undulating sandstone plateau between Hucknall

Hucknall

Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in...

and Annesley

Annesley

Annesley is a village and civil parish in the District of Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, England, located between Hucknall and Kirkby-in-Ashfield. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,096. Nearby to the west is Annesley Woodhouse...

in the county of Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

in the North East Midlands

East Midlands

The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...

of England. They offer views Southwards across the town of Hucknall, and the City of Nottingham. They are locally considered to be the first hills in the Pennine Chain, and rise to a high point of 170 metres above sea level from the flat plains to the east. The hills are the source of three minor watercourses, the Gilt Brook, the Whyburn

Whyburn

The Whyburn, or Town Brook is the main watercourse flowing through the town of Hucknall in the English county of Nottinghamshire. It rises in two separate springs at the foot of the Misk Hills by Whyburn Farm, and flows east into the town of Hucknall, past Whyburn Lane to which it also gives its...

(Hucknall's 'Town brook') and Farleys Brook

Farleys Brook

Farleys Brook is the name of a minor watercourse in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. It rises in a pool within a copse close to the M1 motorway at the foot of the Misk Hills. It flows Southeastwards through the Misk Meadows, Pennine View, and Nabbs Lane Estates, where several parks and open spaces are...

. They separate the Leen Valley

Leen Valley

The Leen Valley is the wide valley formed by the River Leen within the county of Nottinghamshire.The Leen Valley was once an important centre for hosiery and coal mining industries. Today, although light manufacturing continues, the valley is increasingly becoming part of the commuter belt for...

from the Erewash Valley

Erewash Valley

The Erewash Valley is the valley of the River Erewash on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as far as the River Trent. It runs along the boundary of the southern end of the Derbyshire hills and the more rolling Nottinghamshire country...

Literary Links

The view over Hucknall from the easternmost height in the range, Diadem Hill, provided the setting for 'The Dream' http://www.abichal.com/html/poetry/byron/the_dream.htm, a poem by Lord Byron, the Romantic English Poet who lived locally in Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey

Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, originally an Augustinian priory, is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron.-Monastic foundation:The priory of St...

http://www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure-and-culture/tourism-and-travel/local-attractions/annesley-and-ravenshead/.

I saw two beings in the hues of youth

Standing upon a hill, a gentle hill,

Green and of mild declivity, the last

As 'twere the cape of a long ridge of such,

Save that there was no sea to lave its base,

But a most living landscape, and the wave

Of woods and corn-fields, and the abodes of men

Scattered at intervals, and wreathing smoke

Arising from such rustic roofs: the hill

Was crowned with a peculiar diadem

Of trees, in circular array, so fixed,

Not by the sport of nature, but of man

The Misk Hills were also the subject of Byron's Poem 'The Hills of Annesley

Annesley

Hills of Annesley, bleak and barren,

Where my thoughtless childhood strayed,

How the northern tempests, warring,

How about thy tufted shade!

Now no more, the hours beguiling

Former favourite haunts I see,

Now no more, my Mary smiling,

Makes ye seem a heaven to me.

The Misk Hills were also mentioned by local author D. H. Lawrence

D. H. Lawrence

David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...

, in his autobiographical novel, Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. The Modern Library placed it ninth on their list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.-Plot introduction and history:...

http://www.ahanova.com/b06/b060404/sons_and_lovers_en11um9zqk.html, and Nottingham-born writer Alan Sillitoe

Alan Sillitoe

Alan Sillitoe was an English writer and one of the "Angry Young Men" of the 1950s.. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied.- Biography :...

wrote a poem entitled 'View from Misk Hill' http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/lilly/mss/subfile/sillitoe2poem.html

Origins of the Name

The etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

of the name Misk is unknown. Speculations are that the name relates to an Old English word for the moon, misor, or from the Anglo-Saxon word miersc meaning 'boundary'. This word also has etymological links with the Kingdom of Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

. A range of sand hills in Stevenston

Stevenston

Stevenston is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is one of the 'Three Towns' along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats.-History:The town is named after Stephan Loccard or Lockhart, whose father obtained a grant of land from Richard de Morville, Lord Cunninghame and Constable of Scotland, around 1170....

, Ayrshire, Scotland, also share the name of Misk http://www.threetowners.com/Ardeer%20Factory/explosion1913.htm.

Land Use

The Misk Hills are used for a mixture of dairy and arable farming as well as commercial forestry, and are a popular place for walking, horse riding and cycling. Skylark

Skylark

The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...

s, fallow deer

Fallow Deer

The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...

and hares inhabit the area. The area is intersected by the M1 motorway

M1 motorway

The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...

close to junction 27. The hills are central to Ashfield

Ashfield

Ashfield is a local government district in western Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 UK census, it has a population of 111,387. The district is mostly urban, with a tradition of coal mining. There are three towns in the district; the largest being Sutton-in-Ashfield...

and Gedling

Gedling

Gedling is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in Arnold. It is part of the Greater Nottingham metropolitan area lying to the North and East of the City of Nottingham....

District Council's 'Hidden Valleys

Hidden Valleys

Hidden Valleys was a name coined in 2004 to describe an area of interesting historical and scenic value between Nottingham and Mansfield in the county of Nottinghamshire. Promotional Literature and tourist information for the Hidden Valleys were created to encourage tourism in an area which had...

' area, designed to promote tourism in the former coal mining district of Nottinghamshire http://www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure-and-culture/tourism-and-travel/local-attractions/. 'Annesley Castle,' a Motte and Bailey fortification exists at the foot of Diadem Hill and can be seen from the A611 Annesley

Annesley

Bypass as it intersects the Misks http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/120/annesleycastle.htm.
A Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

refuse dump was located in the area, and fragments of blue and white pottery litter the hills.
some years ago I was doing some research concerning Annesley in Shire Hall Archives, opposite the Shire Hall court house, in Nottingham. I was looking for other materials in the Index system, when I noticed that there was a section on castles. Having been raised in Annesley I presumed that there would be no reference in this file, but, to my surprise there was a single index card. I filled in a viewing request slip and went back later to the reading room to view the contents.
The silk tied parchments were amazing and I dare hardly touch them, although gloves were provided. They are in Latin and so of little use to me. However, I was able to identify the site referred to in the document as a farmhouse ( name? ) that I had seen many times in my early youth. It is situated slightly north/east of what is now Hollinwell Golf House and slightly North West of Newstead Abbey. The house itself was then surrounded by high walls with a small courtyard. As small children in that day, we didn't get too close for fear of being caught!
I presume these records will still be intact as they were extremely well looked after at the time I viewed them and cetainly worthy of a little research by interested parties.
Also on Annesley, at the top of Mutton Hill, turning left toward Mansfield, stood an old "Coach-house". My Uncle, Rob Parker, had a photo of it. It was castlated (decoratively) along the top. I don't know any more about it.

Richard Stevenson

During World War Two, a bomb shelter was built on top of the hills. Nearby Hucknall was targeted by bombers as it had an RAF base, a Rolls Royce engineering facility and numerous coal mines.

A microlight landing strip once operated in the hills.