[5][6] The place-name Misson is possibly a derivative of an Old English word, mos, 'moss, marsh, bog', hence 'mossy or marshy place'.

It is not clear what the grounds for this argument were, but the dispute was eventually referred to Pope Celestine III, who passed the decision back to local authorities.

Henry VIII's split with Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries led to Mattersey Priory being dissolved in 1538, and although most of its property was sold off, the church came under the patronage of the king from then onwards, and was valued at a little over £6.

[9] Misson was the location for one of the first schools in Nottinghamshire, when in 1693 Thomas Mowbray and John Pinder sponsored the construction of a building in the churchyard.

In 1745, the vicar John Foss reported to the Archbishop of York that there were 70 families in the village, 50 people who took communion, and over 20 children in the school.

[9] In 1832 there were eight public houses in the village: The Green Dragon, Ferry Boat Inn, The White Horse, The Red Lion, The Globe, The Golden Ball, The Oddfellows Arms and Bull Hill.

[10] A directory of 1853 stated that the village contained 5,783 acres (2,340 ha) of good sandy soil, and that most of this had previously been common land, but had been enclosed in 1769.

Most of the building, apart from the chancel, was too damaged to be usable, but enough repairs had been made by June 1894 to allow the Bishop of Southwell to reopen it, although reconstruction continued for another two years.

[9] Herbert H Skinner was the vicar from 1927 to 1933, and early in his term of office, the county council threatened to take over the Misson Church of England School because it did not meet the education authority's standards.

In 1930 he was given a three-month ultimatum by many parents, who said they would withdraw their children from the school if things did not improve, but the threatened strike was called off at the last minute.

[19] Misson lies on the north bank of the River Idle, and at the southern edge of Hatfield Chase, a large flat area of land which prior to the 17th century was mainly marshland, with a few isolated settlements where the ground was slightly higher.

[22] Vermuyden's original scheme had been funded by selling the land he would have gained by carrying out the work to a number of participants, who were mostly Dutch.

[25] Although Vermeuden had been successful in carrying out similar works in the Low Countries, there were issues with those on Hatfield Chase, and remedial action was taken over the next few years.

The onset of the English Civil War created confusion, and enabled locals to sabotage the works, re-flooding parts of the Chase by raising flood gates and breaking down banks and sluices.

[27] The Participants continued to manage the drainage scheme until 1862, when an Act of Parliament was obtained to create the Corporation of the Level of Hatfield Chase.

[34] Dunston was a Colliery proprietor and mining engineer, and in 1897 applied for a licence to serve alcohol at a hotel he was planning to build at Park Drain.

The initial exploration had been undertaken by Dunston, Arthur Wilson and the Duke of Portland, and the application was supported by 65 local landowners, just five of whom owned 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) near the site of the hotel.

A local newspaper noted that the hotel stood in an isolated position, with only some railway men's cottages and a signal box nearby.

It is not clear whether the station was in full operation at that time, as Dunston noted that some of his friends were missing from the dinner, because the railway company would not stop the train on which they were travelling at Park Drain.

At some point prior to 1923, much of the line to the east of Misson was lifted, and there are stories that the materials were shipped to France during the First World War, but no hard documentary evidence to prove it.

[41] Prior to the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, agricultural and sand traffic was sufficient that two return trips were made on most days, but by the 1960s, trains were operated "as required" and were fairly infrequent.

Soon afterwards, the line slipped into oblivion, and even the date of its closure is uncertain, with some sources quoting 7 December 1964,[40] and others 1 April 1965.

[42] In May 1966, the Eastern Ragion of British Railways produced a plan of parts of the line, when they were about to sell 2 miles 77 chains (4.8 km) of it to Nottinghamshire Crop Driers of Misson.