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An introduction to the village of Burton Joyce, in the rural heart of Nottinghamshire.
Very little remains of burh-tun, the fortified farmhouse high on the hill above the present day village.
The village names of BURTON JOYCE and BULCOTE are said to be derived from BURTUNE JORZ and BOUCOT. BURTUNE could either mean the farm on the hill or the farm in a fortified place , JORZ was added later as around 1160-1380 the chief owners were the de Jorz familyA Richard de Jorse appears in the early Sherwood Forest Records. He was one of the families who were Lords of the Manor of Burton for about two hundred years. The name has many variants - Jorse, Jors, Jorz, Jort, Jortz, Jorce and Joice, until it eventually became Joyce.
In the time of King John (around 1200) Geoffrey de Jorz was the keeper of Sherwood Forest and in 1331 a Jorz family member was the Sheriff of Nottingham (possibly Sir Robert?) Is it possible that this was the Sheriff who actually locked horns with the legendary Robin Hood?
One fact not disputed is that BJ village must always have been the attractive Trent side village it is today, with the high ground overlooking the Trent to the South. This location would have been an ideal spot for an encampment, with excellent defensive qualities with a clear vision all around the area, coupled with the superb transit possibilities provided by the River Trent. The area originally was also the most south eastern extremity of Sherwood Forest the village sitting on the north bank side of the River Trent - just a 2 hours walk (as the crow flies) from Nottingham Castle.
Today BJ sprawls out and up into the side of a chain of low hills which run due eastward from Nottingham Castle to a point some 3 miles beyond Burton Joyce. Situated on the ridge is the Parish boundary, where Romano-British pottery has been found - the pottery of the first half of the 4th century AD and a coin found on the Rabbit Bank (a popular name for the hillside on the north side of Nottingham Road) - indicates Roman occupation.
Imagine the scene and so close at this point to the River Trent (the equivalent of modern Motorway today, complete with a Lay-by and Rest area -Public House), this would have provided, instant access for the more affluent and enabled travel and trade in both directions, (in relative safety away from the inevitable Highwayman - I would doubt it). This is how the River Trent must have appeared and have been seen by the villagers of BJ. A convenient means of passage and facility for those with the where for all a Water Highway provided free by their Maker - for each subsequent generation, a travel access for as far back as one can remember. The River Trent was also renowned for excessive flooding from time to time with considerable devastation and occasionally taking lives (a young Alvey child - female- actually drowned in this river)
The River Trent was the Water Motorway used by the Anglo Saxons, the Danes, the Vikings, the Romans and the man named Snot who gave his name to the area (Snottingham- the people of Snot), this eventually became adapted and is now Nottingham.
It is undeniable that the River will have been in continuous use for business, leisure, trade, travel, food, transport and even laundry purposes through the ages and from time to time, boats, barges, small ships and craft of every variety, shape and size will have used this waterway through the ages, down to the present day. Today it is mainly used by motorised leisure craft - narrow boats powered by small diesel engines, high speed boats towing water skiers and occasionally the extravagant high powered Sea-going Motor Launches - but there is very little trading on the river now a-days.
On my walks, I usually see at least a couple anglers pitting their skills against the fish living in the Trent. It appears to me that the challenge to the Anglers in 2006 is to hook, play and land a treasured Barbell, disgorge the hook and then gently massage the prey, in shallow water, ultimately giving back its freedom to swim gently away within the depths of river - very little of the fish are taken for food, contrary to days gone by. I have watched these duals between Angler and Barbell on numerous occasions, they usually last around 13 to 20 minutes - to land the biggy - 10/12 llb (sorry 5 kilos in new world speak). It was after watching such a dual, that the thought came to me The Trent and its embankment must also have been an endless larder for adding protein to the diet, - roach, barbell, bream, gudgeon and eels,for adding protein to the diet, - roach, barbell, bream, gudgeon and eels, various wild fowl, their eggs, and the occasional large geese, which often fly in, several hundreds at a time - in their familiar V formation - squawking and calling out to and amongst themselves, whilst landing and taking off in unison.
