Dave Fargher launches the Newark Guide in a bid to spread awareness of the area’s history

A man has launched a free digital gateway with the aim of bringing a town’s history to life while preserving its past for future generations.

Dave Fargher launched the Newark Guide on Saturday (February 15), offering a range of information on the area’s history, curiosities, parks and public spaces and events.

For the past few months Dave, born and bred in Newark, has been working on developing the map into becoming a more concise and user-friendly guide. It initially started as a hobby and led to the creation of a new website — www.newarkguide.co.uk.

Dave said he was ‘thrilled’ to be able to unveil the free resource.

He said: “My goal is to inspire a sense of pride in Newark's heritage and encourage residents and visitors alike to explore its rich history.”

It features historic sites and buildings, curiosities, interactive maps, a search function, local legends, surrounding villages, industrial heritage, photo and video gallery, parks and public spaces, useful links and contacts, events, groups and the people of Newark.

In March 2021, Dave created the ‘Newark on Trent Photographs’ Facebook group to share his photographs of the town with the community, which has grown to thousands of members.

In early 2024, Dave started working on an interactive map to highlight places in the area, spreading knowledge that some people might not be familiar with.

Originally the map focused on Newark but it has expanded to other towns and villages in the area, featuring a range of key places such as popular historic sites, curiosities, churches and former religious buildings, former factories and warehouses and breweries.

“The town is what makes it special. from a significance perspective, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but preserving the history and beauty of the town is important,” said Dave.

He added: “Even if I get 10 people visiting the town, I'll be a happy man.”

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