Zouch is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in south west

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 traditi ...

, England. It is located between

Hathern Hathern is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The village itself is located in the north of the district, and is just north of Loughborough. It is served by the A6. The parish has a population o ...

and

Normanton on Soar Normanton on Soar (), formerly known as Normanton-upon-Soar and known locally as Normanton, is a village and civil parish in the south of Nottinghamshire in England near the River Soar. This historic village is home to one of the last operating ...

and is situated by the

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leicest ...

, which marks the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

boundary with

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

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mapping Most of the hamlet lies in the

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 authority ...

Sutton Bonington Sutton Bonington () is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south-west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has a site just to the north of the village: Sutton Boni ...

, apart from Zouch Farm which falls within Normanton on Soar parish, and the part in Leicestershire which is in Hathern parish. The nearest town is

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

. The

A6006 road List of A roads in zone 6 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...

passes through the hamlet and crosses the Soar on Zouch Bridge (alternatively "County Bridge"Loughborough Boat Club
location as it spans the county border). The

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of Zouch is . There is a

pub 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 ...

in the hamlet, the ''Rose and Crown'', with one side of the pub on Main Street and the other on the bank of the Zouch Cut canal. On the far western end of the hamlet, on the Leicestershire side of Zouch Bridge, is the County Bridge Mobile Home Park, where tent pitching is available.

River Soar and Zouch Cut

Zouch is an example of a small canal settlement, though there was a mill there long before the Soar was made navigable (and on some historic maps is denoted as Zouch Mill). Due to the canalisation of the River Soar, involving the construction of the Zouch Cut and several weirs and canals in the vicinity, the hamlet lies on several islands (including the main island, and the much smaller islands of Lower Holme and Upper Holme, which have small houses on them). Canal mooring is a notable feature; on the Leicestershire side of Zouch Bridge, situated on the River Soar, are Zouch Marina and the clubhouse of the Loughborough Boat Club. The Long Whatton Brook joins the Soar between the two.

Etymology

The meaning of the name derives from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

term for poor ground. It is alphabetically last in a list of all the named settlements in Britain.

gazetteer (2011)

Gallery

File:River Soar at Zouch - geograph.org.uk - 6426.jpg, The old

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a mi ...

through the hamlet (not Zouch Cut) which once fed Zouch Mill File:Zouch canal - geograph.org.uk - 1292190.jpg, Zouch Cut, which effectively by-passes the hamlet to the north File:Zouch Cut and Lock - geograph.org.uk - 716043.jpg, Zouch Cut, looking east, with Zouch Lock Image:Main_Street,_Zouch_-_geograph.org.uk_-_552014.jpg, Main Street (the A6006) entering the hamlet from the Nottinghamshire side File:Zouch canal And pub - geograph.org.uk - 1292161.jpg, The rear of the "Rose and Crown" pub, on the Zouch Cut File:Narrow boats at Zouch Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 559969.jpg, Boats moored (on the River Soar) at Zouch Marina File:Zouch Weir - geograph.org.uk - 716040.jpg, The main weir at Zouch; this is the main channel of the River Soar, which has the county border running along its centre File:Zouch Lock - geograph.org.uk - 554830.jpg, Zouch Lock, on the Zouch Cut — there is also a "flood lock" where the cut passes under the Main Street

References

{{Nottinghamshire Hamlets in Nottinghamshire Sutton Bonington