Gedling is a village and former
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
which gives its name to the larger
Borough of Gedling
Gedling is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The council is based in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, Arnold. The borough also includes Carlton, ...
in
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
, England. It lies north-east of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
city centre. The parish was abolished in 1935 and absorbed into the
urban district of
Carlton, which in turn was abolished in 1974 on the creation of borough of Gedling. The population of the Gedling ward at the 2011 census was 6,817 and 111,787 for the district. Gedling was recorded 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086, and is still a distinct settlement, although residential, commercial and industrial growth in the wider borough of Gedling and the neighbouring
city of Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, boroughs of
Broxtowe and
Rushcliffe
Rushcliffe is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. The borough also includes the towns of Bingh ...
and district of
Ashfield (as well as the Derbyshire boroughs of
Amber Valley
Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of ...
and
Erewash, which have become increasingly urban around Nottingham) means it can be difficult to distinguish the village of Gedling from the nearby town of Carlton, with which it has become contiguous.
History
Gedling was first settled around
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
times, when the Saxon chief Gedl (hence the name Gedling, coming from the chief "Gedl" and "Ing" being Saxon for People, Gedl-Ing meaning "Gedl's People") sailed up the
River Trent
The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...
, and then up the Little Ouse dyke, until he could get no further upstream. He landed at the spot which is thought to be the present-day site of All Saints' Church. Gedling has had several versions of its name including Ghellinge, Gedlinga, Geddlings, and Gettang.
Despite being a fairly small place, Gedling gives its name to the
local borough council which has its offices in nearby
Arnold, and also to the local
parliamentary constituency
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
, which covers the suburbs to the east of Nottingham, including Arnold and Carlton. Village pubs are the Gedling Inn (once the Chesterfield Arms) and The Willowbrook on Main Road.
Church
In the older part of Gedling is All Hallows'
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
Church. It dates from the 11th century, with the oldest part of the church (the entrance) dating back to 1089 – although there have been four other churches on this site, the oldest dating back to the year 678AD.
Civil parish
In 1931 the parish had a population of 2822. On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged with Carlton.
Colliery

Gedling Colliery, which was the life-blood of Gedling and many of the surrounding villages, opened in 1899 and was closed in 1991. One hundred and twenty-eight men died at the colliery, which produced over a million tonnes of coal per year in the 1960s.
It developed a reputation as the "pit of all nations" because of the diversity of foreign miners who worked there:
in the 1960s, 10 per cent of the colliery's workforce of 1,400 were originally from the
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
.
The site was opened as
Gedling Country Park on 28 March 2015.
Country park
Opened in March 2015 on the site of the former Gedling Colliery, the site has views of Gedling, and from its highest point there are views across
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
and into neighbouring
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...
and
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
. On a clear day it is possible to see as far as
Belvoir Castle and
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral, also called Lincoln Minster, and formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, is a Church of England cathedral in Lincoln, England, Lincoln, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lincoln and is the Mo ...
. There are a number of paths that weave their way through the woodlands and grasslands that make up the flora and fauna within the country park.
Railway station
There are plans to either reopen the railway line from
Nottingham railway station
Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...
and to reopen
Gedling railway station which was closed on 4 April 1960, or to open the old line as a part of the Mineral Line cycleway. The original station building is now owned by a youth group. The line itself officially closed in 1995 when the line to the colliery eventually was classed as redundant.
Education
The local school is the
Carlton le Willows Academy, Wood Lane, Gedling for 11-to-18 year olds.
The Gedling School closed to pupils in 2016 after becoming an Academy.
Media
Gedling borough has its own
hyperlocal
Hyperlocal (also reckoned Hyper-local) is an adjective used to describe something as being "limited to a very small geographical area", and in particular, to anything " tremely or excessively local", in particular with regard to media (commu ...
news website called Gedling Eye, which has been publishing local news daily since 2015.
Nature Reserves
There are two nature reserves in Gedling, Gedling House Woods and Gedling House Meadows. These are contiguous spaces owned by Gedling Borough Council and managed by the Friends of Gedling House Woods. The woodland part of the site was designated a local nature reserve in 1992, with the meadow added in 2007.
Bus services
;
Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport (NCT) is the major bus operator of the city of Nottingham, England. NCT operates extensively within Nottingham as well as beyond the city boundaries into Nottinghamshire county. Publicly owned, it is today the second ...
*24: Nottingham, Carlton Hill, Victoria Retail Park.
*25: Nottingham, Carlton Hill, Westdale Lane, Mapperley, Daybrook, Arnold.
*25B: Nottingham, Carlton Hill, Westdale Lane, Mapperley.
*26: Nottingham, Carlton Hill, Gedling, Carlton-le-Willows, Burton Joyce, Lowdham, Southwell.
*26A: Nottingham, Carlton Hill, Gedling, Carlton-le-Willows (School), Burton Joyce, Lowdham, Southwell (Minster School).
*26B: Nottingham, Carlton Hill, Gedling. (Schooldays Only)
*N26: Nottingham, Colwick, Netherfield, Gedling, Burton Joyce, Lowdham, Southwell.
*44: Nottingham, Sneinton Hermitage, Colwick, Netherfield, Gedling.
*44A: Nottingham, Sneinton Hermitage, Colwick Industrial Estate, Netherfield, Gedling.
*60: Nottingham, Woodborough Road, Mapperley, Westdale Lane, Gedling (Chase Farm).
;Nottingham Minibuses & Coaches
*774: Victoria Retail Park, Netherfield, Cavendish Road, Westdale Lane, Adbolton Avenue, Jessops Lane, Carlton Square, Netherfield, Victoria Retail Park.
*775: Victoria Retail Park, Netherfield, Emerys Road, Stoke Bardolph, Burton Joyce, Foxhill Road.
References
External links
Gedling Borough CouncilGedling – A HistoryFriends of Gedling Country ParkGedling Eye
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Villages in Nottinghamshire
Former civil parishes in Nottinghamshire