21/10/2026
Many thanks to Neil at Laneham Historic Photo Library (Please follow!!) - Neil is also the owner at the Garden Centre in the village. (Where we get lot's of our fab plant's and Begonias in particular). We had to "pinch" his wonderful post and AI depiction. We must pop to Bassetlaw Museum (Retford) where the cannon ball still lives.
We bought the farm from the Day family in June 1998 (How time flies).
𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐉𝐨𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲
Joe Day wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as his spade bit into the dark, fertile earth of his vegetable garden at Trent Field Farm in Laneham. It was a crisp afternoon in 1994, and Joe was merely turning over the soil for his upcoming spring planting.
His shovel struck something completely unyielding with a dull, metallic clank.
Curious, he dug around the obstruction, expecting a stubborn boulder. Instead, his spade scraped against a heavily encrusted, rusted cast-iron mass. The object was massive and deeply embedded.
Joe gripped his spade, straining against the heavy clay's suction. After a grueling struggle that left him breathless and mud-splattered, he finally pried the object from its dark tomb.
He rolled the heavy sphere onto the grass. He scraped away centuries of packed dirt, revealing the relic's true shape. It was a perfectly round, football-sized cannonball.
Joe stepped back in awe, realizing he held a dramatic piece of local history. Local historians later linked the massive projectile to the Civil War siege of Torksey Castle, just across the River Trent. It had likely been fired centuries ago, flying over the water to eventually rest quietly under the soil of Trent Field Farm.
Shortly after he found his prize, Joe knew the relic belonged to the community. He packed up the heavy iron sphere and gave it to Bassetlaw Museum.
The story could have ended a few different ways, but this was the only one that truly made sense.
Joe gave it to the Museum, ensuring this remarkable piece of local heritage would be preserved and shared with the world for generations
