Party

Where

Newark Town Hall, Market Place, Newark NG24 1DU

The market place is semi-pedestrianised, and the market will be in operation until about 4pm with no access for vehicles.

Newark Town Hall on market day (photo © Richard Croft)

Entrances are in the market place (four steps) or via the Buttermarket from Middle Gate or Chain Lane (both flat). The ballroom is on the first floor and there's a lift as well as a sweeping staircase up. Both are at the front (market end) of the building – there's a large button to press for access to the staircase.

Buttermarket entrance

Chain Lane – entrance to Buttermarket is on the right about half way along

When

3pm to 9pm.

Travel

* Train

Newark has two stations, Newark Northgate for the East coast mainline and Newark Castle for trains between Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln. The Town Hall is less than a mile walk from both.

* Bus

The service we're most familiar with is the roughly hourly service 90 from Nottingham, run by Marshalls. The timetable is here (PDF). You want the 'Lombard Street (for Bus Station)' stop, the first one after you pass ASDA's upper car park and go round a corner at a three-way junction with some traffic lights.

* Driving

Newark is just off both the A1 and A46. If you're coming from the south on the A1, be aware that there are four speed cameras on the main route from there into town.

There are numerous options for parking, and all are easy walks to the Town Hall:

Council long term ('outer town') car parks – there are two, both most easily reached via the A46 by-pass, the Livestock Market (this is where the 'Newark attractions' parking signs are sending you to) and the Riverside (the latter is reached from Tolney Lane).

Both only charge until 6pm and cost £2 for 2-4 hours, if you arrive after 2pm that will be good for all the evening too. If you arrive in the morning, it'll be £3.

Council short term ('inner town') car parks – there are four. The Wharf is by the Castle Barge pub, London Road is by the library, a small offshoot of London Road is on Balderton Gate and Appletongate is near the National Civil War Centre.

All charge £7.50 for over 4 hours parking. (There is an evening rate, but it only applies if you buy a ticket after 6pm!)

On street 'blue badge' disabled parking – there are bays on Kirk Gate, Middle Gate (two of them), Stodman Street and Barnby Gate. Let us know if you will be wanting to use them and we can let you have more details.

Alternative pay car parks – the local car park firm is 'Robin Hood Parking'. It has two suitable ones a small one by the side of a building on Cow Lane near Aldi (£2.40 for up to 24 hours) and a large one that's through Asda's car park (go into Asda's car park from Lombard Street and head to the right hand side of the back – the exit there is the only entrance to the Robin Hood car park that costs £3.50 for up to 24 hours).

Newark Castle station car park off Ossington Way (£2.20 all day).

Lovers Lane car park (£3 for up to 12 hours).

Free on street parking – further away than the pay options, but..

Balderton Gate east of the junction with Sherwood Avenue

Roads going north off Balderton Gate / London Road from Whitfield Street

Roads going south off London Road from Hatton Gardens

London Road itself, past Fountain Gardens

It is also available on Lovers Lane (see above) and some roads off it, but the closer you get to Newark Northgate station, the more likely it is to be residents only or already taken.

No good – the NCP car park on Lombard Lane (it closes at 7pm and others are cheaper), the Robin Hood car park on Lombard Lane itself (£1/hour is much more than their others), and the Aldi / Asda / Morrisons / Waitrose car parks (all too limited how long you can stay there).

For the ceremony information, please see here.

When

28th January 2017, at noon.

Where

Friends Meeting House, 3 Meeting House Lane, Brant Broughton LN5 0SH

Brant Broughton is just north of the A17, about eight miles from Newark and is roughly half way between Newark and Sleaford. Coming from Newark, you can see the tall spire of the local church just before the left turn for the village, just after a sign for the right turn for Stragglethorpe. There is a filter lane to help get off the A17 safely.

The Meeting House is in Meeting House Lane, a turning from the High Street roughly opposite the Generous Briton pub. It is one of the original converted barns – it was given to the Quakers for use as a Meeting House three centuries ago – and although the meeting room itself has heating, it may not be very warm. So do dress for warmth and comfort and maybe bring a lap blanket or shawl.

Directions via Google Maps

Parking is on the High Street. People can be dropped off directly outside the Meeting House or even on the drive if they can't walk far. There is a wheelchair available to borrow and a ramp available for access to the Barn room where the meal will be served. We can reserve seating for you if you need easy access to the door of the Meeting House.

Timetable

Arrivals from 11.40am.

The meeting will start at noon. There's very little fixed ceremony in a Quaker wedding, but we expect that it will take about 45 minutes.

What's happening

For a simple explanation of Quaker marriage we encourage you to see here.

If you want to know every last detail and know some of the things we've been doing over the past few months to enable this to happen, see chapter 16 of Quaker Faith and Practice. It is perhaps typically Quakerly that it doesn't mention that the other group, along with Quakers and Jews, exempted from the The Marriage Act of 1753 is the royal family! The sample documents to assist the Area Meeting's Registering Officer are all about marriages in the fictional area of Ambridge, Borsetshire, home of Radio 4's The Archers.

The Meeting will be followed by certificate signing and, from 1pm, a bring & share lunch.

The contributions for lunch can be taken to the barn (the first door on the right when you arrive). There are some facilities to warm precooked foods. Hot and cold drinks will be served but no alcohol is allowed.