Hucknall - the only two khatchkar town in Western Europe?

Hucknall, near Nottingham in the district of Ashfield, is the site of two khatchkars.

The following information has been provided by Stephen Walker and Odette Basil.

The original stone dates from 1991 and was to be found in the quadrangle of The Holgate School, . It was installed at the school at a ceremony held on 5^th November in the presence of members of the two school communities (Holgate and Lord Byron Schools), representatives of the town of Leninakan, Mr Kenneth Clarke (The British Minister of Education) and the stonemason. It commemorated the gratitude of the Armenian Government to the British Government for the donation of the Lord Byron School in Leninakan (now Gyumri) to replace schools lost in the earthquake of 1988.

In around 2000, the stone was attacked by vandals, toppled and unfortunately irreparably shattered.

The Armenian ambassador to the United Kingdom arranged for another stone to be commissioned, and that is the one which is now in place. It was installed in 2001, and at the same time the old stone was fixed to the wall of the Parish Church in Hucknall, as a memorial to the former Rector, Fred Green, who had been a major influence on the development of the relationship between the two schools. (see attached photos).

Hucknall and Gyumri councils signed an Agreement of Friendship, and the two schools are twinned. There has been a number of teacher and pupil exchanges in both directions, and there are many who fondly recall their time in Armenia. The ambassador and the Byron Society of Armenia are represented each year to observe Byron's anniversary. Even the Service Book at Newstead Abbey ( where Byron is buried) has been translated into Armenian.

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