Introduction
In the 19th century, for head of population, Hucknall produced more than its share of exceptional talents in the worlds of sport, the arts and in jail.
Some of the famous names with a Hucknall connection are the poet Lord Byron, the composer Eric Coates (The Dambusters March), the bareknuckle boxing champion of England Ben Caunt, the Nottinghamshire and England cricketers John and George Gunn, and the Nottingham Forest and Manchester United footballer Enoch 'Knocker' West.
Hucknall was also home for a number of years to Dorothea Waddingham, a nurse, who was hung in 1936 for the poisoning of an elderly widow and her disabled daughter who were both in her care. It was one of the most sensational murder trials of the time and Dorothea was one of only 12 women to be hung in twentieth century Britain.
Memorial to Ben Caunt in St Mary's churchyard Hucknall.
