Arnold, Nottinghamshire - History

History

Arnold was referred to as 'Ernehale' in the Domesday Book, which translates as 'the valley of eagles'.

In the book 'A History of Arnold' by Rupert King and James Russell (1913) the derivation given is thus:

'Heron-hald',meaning the corner of the forest where Herons (large birds) live. Which becomes over the centuries since 500 A.D. by 'lazy' pronunciation, Eron-ald, thence Ern-old and Arn-old.

Due to the local topography Arnold can never have been a haunt of eagles, because they inhabit areas of rocky outcrops,which have formed cliffs; the nearest such location being Creswell Crags, some 20 miles north-west as the eagle flies.

Although, the fish-eating European White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) could have caught fish in the River Trent, which lies a mere 4 miles south-east of Arnold, on the other side of the Mapperley Plains ridge. These eagles would then have flown north-west in the evenings to roost in the ancient woodland area now known as Arnold. The Anglo-Saxon migrant-invaders, when they arrived along the River Trent from the Humber estuary in around 500 A.D.,would certainly have seen these 91 cm.long eagles flying north-west in the evenings and appropriately named this roosting location 'Erne-Halh' or 'Erne-Haugh', meaning 'Eagle's nook' or corner.

Arnold is surrounded by a circular ridge from the north-west around to the south-east,and raised ground to the west. This bowl-like topography of Arnold is certainly in keeping with the name -Halh or -Haugh.

St. Mary's Church, Arnold dates from the fourteenth century.

Arnold was a centre of the framework knitting industry in the 19th century. It was the site of the first framebreaking incidents of the Luddite riots, in March 1811, when 63 frames were smashed. The Luddite riots were a workers' response to decreasing pay, standard of living and conditions of employment in the industry as a result of changing fashions decreasing demand for their style of hosiery.