Stapleford is a town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the Borough of Broxtowe in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, England, west of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. The population at the 2011 census was 15,241.

Geography

Stapleford lies on the border between

and

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. To the north of Stapleford is Ilkeston and to the east is Beeston. To the west across the

River Erewash The River Erewash is a river in England, a tributary of the River Trent that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire, close to its eastern border with Nottinghamshire. Etymology The approximate meaning of the name is not in doubt, b ...

Sandiacre Sandiacre is a town and civil parish in the borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England adjoining the border with Nottinghamshire. The population of the town was 8,889 at the 2011 Census. The name Sandiacre is usua ...

, and in the south is

Toton Toton is a large village in the Borough of Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, England. The electoral ward of Toton and Chilwell Meadows population of this ward was 7,298 in the 2001 census. It increased to 8,238 at the 2011 census. Until 1974 Toton ...

Politics

Stapleford is part of Broxtowe borough and the Broxtowe Parliamentary Constituency. From 1935 until 1974 Stapleford was paired with the town of Beeston in the Beeston and Stapleford Urban District, having previously been part of the Stapleford Rural District. The town was parished in 1987 and now has a town council. The local MP is Darren Henry of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

from December 2019, and the town is represented on Nottinghamshire County Council by the Conservative Party and also on Broxtowe Borough Council by two Labour Party, one Conservative Party and one Independent Councillor and two Liberal Democrats. The town council is a mixture of Labour Party, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and 4 Independent Councillors since the election in May 2019.

Brief history

The place-name is first attested in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, where it appears, unusually, spelt as now, and in the Pipe Rolls of 1197 . The name means "ford marked by a post or posts". Stapleford's origins can be traced to before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

. In the churchyard of St Helen's church is the

Stone Cross Stone crosses (german: Steinkreuze) in Central Europe are usually bulky Christian monuments, some high and wide, that were almost always hewn from a single block of stone, usually granite, sandstone, limestone or basalt. They are amongst the ...

which is

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and believed to be the oldest Christian monument in the

Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...

. Stapleford owed its development in part to its closeness to the

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

and the River Erewash as the town became a point of trade. The antiquary

John Weever John Weever (1576–1632) was an English antiquary and poet. He is best known for his ''Epigrammes in the Oldest Cut, and Newest Fashion'' (1599), containing epigrams on Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and other poets of his day, and for his ''Ancient ...

defined an staple town "to be a place, to which by the prince's authority and privilege wool, hides of beasts, wine, corn or grain, and other exotic or foreign merchandize are transferred, carried or conveyed to be sold." The area also expanded in the late 18th century when the stocking hose trade thrived in the Midlands. Evidence of this history can be found today with the original Stocking Knitters' Houses still standing alongside more modern properties and shops such as on Nottingham Road. The main crossroads in Stapleford at the junction of Nottingham Road, Derby Road, Toton Lane and Church Street is called The Roach. The name is from the time when French prisoners from the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

were set the task of cutting through rock to create roads and this was referred to as La Roche. Stapleford is also home to the Hemlock Stone on Stapleford Hill. It is approximately 200 million years old, dating to the

Triassic Period The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

. In 2006, a new NHS Health Centre and Walk-In Centre opened in the town, but has since closed and has been succeeded by a large multi use healthcare centre with a mental health unit and cafe on site.

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

local was opened on the site of the former Total petrol station in 2007. Stapleford is the home of the Full Mash microbrewery.

Nickname

The town is often referred to informally as "Stabbo".

Notable people

* Tom Johnston,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

manager and player. * Arthur Mee, the writer, journalist and educator, was born in Stapleford in 1875. *

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...

hero Walter Richard Parker, VC, lived in Stapleford and is buried in the town cemetery. * Dave Watson, who was a defender in the

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

team that won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

in 1973, was born in Stapleford in 1946. * Sir

John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Naval career Born in Stapleford, Nottinghams ...

, an 18th-century MP for Nottingham and an admiral, lived in Stapleford. The now closed Happy Man and Warren Arms

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

were named after him and his family. A large

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It ...

named after him is located in the town centre. * John Radford, wine and food writer, author and broadcaster, grew up in Stapleford from 1949 to 1965 *

Frederick Attenborough Frederick Levi Attenborough (4 April 1887 – 20 March 1973) was a British academic and principal of University College, Leicester. Biography He was the son of Mary (née Saxton) and Frederick August Attenborough of Stapleford, Nottinghamshir ...

, academic, principal of University College, Leicester. * Frederick Randon, cricketer * Sir Robert Salisbury, renowned educationalist, professor and author * Alan Charlton, British diplomat

Schools and colleges

Primary schools

*Albany Infant and Nursery School *Albany Junior School *Fairfield Primary Academy *Wadsworth Fields Primary School (formerly Fredrick Harrison's Infant school & Stevenson's Junior School) *St John's C of E Primary School (The oldest building still in use as a school in Nottinghamshire) *William Lilley Infant and Nursery School

Secondary schools

George Spencer Academy The George Spencer Academy (informally George Spencer; formerly George Spencer Foundation School and Technology College) is an English academy in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire encompassing both a secondary school and sixth form on the same campus ...

Colleges

* George Spencer Sixth Form

Transport

Road transport is the primary method of transport in and out of the area. East Midlands Airport is approximately 10 miles or 16 kilometres away, the airport provides domestic and international routes, focused mainly on EU/EEA/Swiss routes.

Bus

Bus services operate to

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, Beeston, Ilkeston and other local towns.

Trentbarton Trentbarton operates both local and regional bus services in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, England. It is a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History In October 1913, Trent Motor Traction Company was foun ...

* i4: Nottingham – QMC – Stapleford – Sandiacre – Risley – Derby. * my15: Old Sawley – Stapleford – Ilkeston. * 20: Nottingham – QMC – University Boulevard – Boots – Beeston – Ilkeston – Heanor. (Sundays only) * 21: Nottingham – QMC – Stapleford – Kirk Hallam – Ilkeston.

NottsBus

* 510: Beeston – Attenborough – Toton – Stapleford. (Subsidised by Nottinghamshire County Council) * 511: Stapleford Shopper. (Subsidised by Nottinghamshire County Council)

CT4N

In October 2018, CT4N took over the running of the trentbarton service '18'. * eighteen: Nottingham - QMC - University Boulevard - Boots - Beeston - Stapleford

Roads

Stapleford is connected to Nottingham,

and the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

by the A52.

Railway

The closest railway station (with regular services) is Beeston providing direct services to Nottingham, Derby, London, Lincoln, Bedford, Burton upon Trent, Leicester, Loughborough, Tamworth, Newark (Castle), Luton, East Midlands Parkway, Birmingham and Matlock.

Light rail

In August 2015, a Light Rail (tram) line was opened towards Stapleford via Beeston and Chilwell as part of the

Nottingham Express Transit Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a tram system in Nottingham, England. The system opened to the public on 9 March 2004 and a second phase, that more than doubled the size of the total system, opened on 25 August 2015, having been initially ...

system. A

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

station, called Toton Lane Park & Ride has been built about 1 mile south of Stapleford town centre, and adjacent to some residential areas of the town. It is on Toton Lane, just south of the A52 roundabout, and is the terminus of line 1 of the Phase 2 expansion. There are no plans for extension into the centre of Stapleford.

References

External links

Official site of Stapleford Town CouncilStapleford Town Football ClubStapleford Community Group WebsiteStapleford WebsiteBroxtowe Borough CouncilLocal news and events website, includes town history
{{authority control Towns in Nottinghamshire Places in the Borough of Broxtowe Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire