Bingham is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in the

Rushcliffe Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 111,129. Its councilRushcliffe Borough Council 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, east 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 ...

, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south-west of

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

and 14.5 miles (23.3 km) west of

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

. The town had a population of 9,131 at the 2011 census (up from 8,655 in 2001, with an estimated 10,197 in 2019).

Geography

Bingham lies near the junction of the A46 (following an old Roman road, the Fosse Way) between Leicester and Newark-on-Trent and the A52 between Nottingham and Grantham. Neighbouring communities are

Radcliffe-on-Trent Radcliffe-on-Trent is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the Census 2011 was 8,205. Location Radcliffe has a population of about 8,000. It is to the ea ...

, East Bridgford, Car Colston,

Scarrington Scarrington is an English civil parish and village in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, adjacent to Bingham, Car Colston, Hawksworth, Orston and Aslockton. Its 973 acres (394 ha) had a population in 2011 of 183. It lies at Ordnance S ...

Aslockton Aslockton is an English village and civil parish 12 miles (19.3 km) east of Nottingham and two miles (3.2 km) east of Bingham, on the north bank of the River Smite opposite Whatton-in-the-Vale. The parish is also adjacent to Scarring ...

Whatton-in-the-Vale Whatton-in-the-Vale is an English village in the Nottinghamshire borough of Rushcliffe. It lies in the Vale of Belvoir, with the River Smite to the west and the River Whipling to the east, mainly north of the trunk A52 road, 12 miles (19 k ...

, Tithby and

Cropwell Butler Cropwell Butler is a village and civil parish in the borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, one mile east of the A46, under the NG12 postcode. It shares a parish council with Tithby and is adjacent to the south to Cropwell B ...

History

The name "Bingham" is likely to come from an

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 settlers in the mid-5th c ...

personal name, ''Bynna'' + '' ingahām '' (Old English). The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

built a fortress at ''

Margidunum Margidunum was a Roman settlement on the Fosse Way at Castle Hill near present-day Bingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. The site is a protected Scheduled Monument. Description Margidunum in Latin means 'marly fort' (marl is a lime-rich cl ...

'' (Bingham) and a settlement at the river crossing at ''Ad Pontem'' ( East Stoke) on the Fosse Way, which ran between '' Isca'' ( Exeter) and ''

Lindum Lindum Colonia was the Latin name for the settlement which is now the City of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. It was founded as a Roman Legionary Fortress during the reign of the Emperor Nero (58–68 AD) or possibly later. Evidence from Roman tomb ...

'' (

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

). The south-east of Nottinghamshire later formed the

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...

of Bingham. Bingham acquired a

market charter A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in 1341.

Population and developments

Historically the population of Bingham was 1,082 in 1801. This increased slowly to 2,054 in 1851, but fell back again and in 1901 was just 1,604. In 1951 it was 1,692, since when Bingham has expanded vastly. Much of the housing is relatively new. Most of the older buildings, including the oldest, St Mary and All Saints Church, are near the centre of the town.

Education

Bingham's four schools are Robert Miles

Infant school An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school ...

, Robert Miles

Junior School A Junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at Infant school which covers the age range 5–7. (As both Infant and Junior schools are giving Primary ...

, Carnarvon

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

and the comprehensive

Toot Hill School Toot Hill School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form, located in Bingham in the English county of Nottinghamshire, built in 1969. The school is a member of the Nova Education Trust and has a student population of almost 2000 peo ...

Churches

The Anglican parish

Church of St. Mary and All Saints, Bingham The Church of St. Mary and All Saints, Bingham, is the parish church of Bingham in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. The church, in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Grade I listed building and this was given by t ...

, occupies a Grade I listed medieval building restored in 1845–1846 and again in 1912. It has a peal of eight bells and a 19th-century organ. It belongs to the

Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. It covers all the English county of Nottinghamshire and a few parishes in South Yorkshire. It is bo ...

. A new Bingham Methodist Church and social centre, built by public subscription, opened on 1 April 2016 at Eaton Place, on the site of the earlier church. It belongs to the Grantham and Vale of Belvoir Circuit. Archive documents for Bingham Methodist Circuit date back to 1843.

Economy

Although Bingham is largely a

dormitory town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for Nottingham, it has several businesses and a busy centre. Its shop vacancy rate of 2 per cent contrasts with an East Midlands average of 16 per cent.* There are 20 takeaways and places to eat, 11 hairdressers/salons, 5 estate agents and 39 other retail outlets. The open-air food market in the central Market Place takes place every Thursday and a farmers' market there on the third Saturday of the month. Bingham provides shopping, medical and other services to surrounding villages. Planning permission has been gained to build a large supermarket near the town centre, but construction has yet to begin. In March 2015 planning permission was given for two other chain supermarkets. To the north of the town there is an industrial estate holding about 40 businesses. The largest include GWIBS 24/7, Focus Label Machinery, Trent Designs, XACT Document Solutions, The Workplace Depot and Water at Work, and a business club.

Film and TV locations

Bingham was a location in Midlands film director

Shane Meadows Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the cult film '' This Is England'' (2006) and its three sequels (2010–2015). Meadows' other films i ...

' film Twenty Four Seven, which contained scenes shot at Toot Hill top field, the Linear Walk, and Bingham Boxing Club. Bingham has also appeared in two episodes of

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site in ...

, and in some episodes of '' Crossroads'',

Woof! ''Woof!'' is a British children's television series produced by Central Independent Television about the adventures of a boy who shapeshifts into a dog. It was based on the book by Allan Ahlberg. It was directed by David Cobham with the screenp ...

and

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

. '' Robot Wars'' series 3, ''

Jungle Run ''Jungle Run'' is a British children's television adventure series that aired on CITV as part of the ITV network from 10 September 1999 to 29 November 2006. It was a game show similar to shows such as '' Fort Boyard'' and ''The Crystal Maze''. ...

'' and scenes from Shane Meadows' 2006 film ''

This is England ''This Is England'' is a 2006 British drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. The story centres on young skinheads in England in 1983. The film illustrates how their subculture, which has its roots in 1960s West Indies culture, espec ...

'' were filmed nearby on the former

RAF Newton Royal Air Force station Newton or more simply RAF Newton is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and south west of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. It was used briefly as a bomber base for s ...

site.

Dickinson's Real Deal ''Dickinson's Real Deal'' is a UK modern antiques and collectables television programme that is broadcast on ITV and presented by David Dickinson. A US version of the show, produced by Zodiak USA and titled simply '' Real Deal'', was aired f ...

was filmed at the Bingham Leisure Centre in 2015 and broadcast on TV on ITV1 in March 2016. ''Four in a Bed''
Series 11 Episode 18
was filmed a
Bingham Townhouse Hotel
in May 2016 and first aired in the late autumn of 2016.

Notable people

In birth order: * Thomas Foster (fl. 1820s), first-class cricketer with

Nottingham Cricket Club Nottingham Cricket Club was an English cricket club which played in Nottingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. Matches have been recorded between 1771 to 1848 and the team played in 15 first-class matches between 1826 and 1848. The earliest ...

(1827–28), was reportedly born in Bingham. * Robert Lowe, first Viscount Sherbrooke (1811–1892), was a statesman born in Bingham into the family of the Rector of the parish. * Thomas Brown (1848–1919), first-class cricketer (Nottinghamshire), was born in Bingham. * Philip Miles (1848–1933), first-class cricketer (Nottinghamshire), was born in Bingham. * John Brown (born 1862), first-class cricketer (Nottinghamshire) was born in Bingham. *

Albert Widdowson Albert Widdowson (31 March 1864 – 28 April 1938) was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire in 1894. Widdowson was born in Bingham, Nottinghamshire Bingham is a market town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England ...

(1864–1938), first-class cricketer (Derbyshire), was born in Bingham. * Harry Churchill Beet (1873–1946), awarded a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for valour at

Wakkerstroom Wakkerstroom, (''Awake Stream''), is the second oldest town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is on the KwaZulu-Natal border, 27 km east of Volksrust and 56 km south-east of Amersfoort. History The settlement was laid out o ...

, South Africa, in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

on 22 April 1900, was born at Brackendale Farm near Bingham. * Stafford Castledine (1912–1986), first-class cricketer (Nottinghamshire), was born in Bingham. * Mary Joynson (1924–2013), director of

Barnardo's Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same group ...

from 1973 to 1984, was born in Bingham. * Spencer Cozens (born 1965) is a Bingham-born musician, writer and producer. * Jonathan Stenner (born 1966), cricketer and gastroenterologist, was born in Bingham. * Joe Heyes (born 1999), from Bingham, is a professional rugby union player for Leicester Tigers.

Leisure and sports

Of the six

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 ...

s in the town, four remain as such: the ''Butter Cross'' (

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 o ...

, formerly ''The Crown''), the ''Horse and Plough'' ( Castle Rock Brewery), the ''White Lion'' and the ''Wheatsheaf''. Bingham Leisure Centre has sports facilities and a swimming pool. These are attached to

. Bingham has Scout troops with about 140 young members: 1st Bingham Scouts includes Beavers and Cubs. The town's sports clubs are: *

British Canoe Union British Canoeing, formerly known as the British Canoe Union (BCU) is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom, established in 1936 as the British Canoe Union. In 2000 it federalised to become the umbrella organisation for ...

*Bingham Town Youth Football Club *Bingham Cricket Club *Bingham Rugby Club *Bingham Badminton Club *Bingham Lawn Tennis Club *Bingham Leisure Centre Archery Club *Bingham Sub-Aqua Club *Bingham Penguins – Swimming Club *Vale of Belvoir Cycling Club *Vale Judo Club

Twin town

Wallenfels Wallenfels is a town in the district of Kronach, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Franconian Forest, 11 km east of Kronach, and 32 km west of Hof. Geography Wallenfels lies on the B 173, between Hof and Coburg. Neighbouri ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Germany. Music groups have visited to and from the twin towns, and a beer festival is held in Bingham every year.

Transport

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 ...

provides a frequent public bus service into Nottingham. Bingham's main

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

provides an hourly service to and beyond

and

and to

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, ...

along the

Poacher Line The Grantham–Skegness line, originally promoted as the "Poacher Line", runs for between Grantham and Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. Trains on this route originate from Nottingham via the Nottingham to Grantham Line as an hourly through se ...

. Another station south of Bingham named Bingham Road was opened on the Nottingham-Leicester-Northampton Line. It closed in 1951 to passengers and 1964 to freight. The station site has been demolished and the trackbed is now used as a greenway.

Bus services

*Vectare: 833 Bingham Circular via Cropwell Bishop, Langar, Orston and Aslockton *Centrebus: *X6: Bingham–Grantham Trentbarton:Trent Barton.
/ref> *Rushcliffe Mainline: Bingham–Radcliffe–West Bridgford–Nottingham (fastest Bingham–Nottingham route) *Rushcliffe Villager 1: Bingham–East Bridgford–Radcliffe–West Bridgford–Nottingham. The A46, to the west of the town, was upgraded and completed in 2013 as a grade-separated dual carriageway. The Widmerpool-Newark Improvement has been diverted to the west of the former Roman town to preserve archaeological remains. The A52 bypass to the south of the town opened in December 1986.

Signpost gallery

File:UK Bingham (Sign1).jpg File:UK Bingham (Sign2).jpg File:UK Bingham (Sign3).jpg File:UK Bingham (Sign4).jpg

References

External links

Detailed history of BinghamBingham Town CouncilThis is Bingham
{{authority control Towns in Nottinghamshire Market towns in Nottinghamshire Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire Rushcliffe