
Radcliffe-on-Trent is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
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 ...
borough of
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. The population of the civil parish at the
Census 2011 was 8,205, falling slightly at the
Census 2021 to 8,144
Location
Radcliffe has a population of about 8,000. It is to the 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 ...
, close to but not part of the
Greater Nottingham built-up area. However, the
Greater Nottingham Partnership sees the whole of Rushcliffe as part of the conurbation. The village lies on the south bank and cliff overlooking 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 ...
. The "Rad" part of its name is a corruption of the
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), 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 developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
for red, in reference to the dark red colour of the cliffs, which are formed of
Triassic
The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...
red shale with
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
banding. Nearby places are
Bingham,
Shelford,
East Bridgford,
Holme Pierrepont and
Stoke Bardolph.
To the south-east of the parish lies the former Saxondale Hospital, which has been redeveloped into some 350 dwellings and renamed
Upper Saxondale, which was formerly within Radcliffe, but has now become its own civil parish.
Harlequin
Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...
, a small mainly residential area, lies between it and Radcliffe, which is mainly on the northern side of the major, east-west,
A52 trunk road. At its western end it the Radcliffe Road runs along the north-eastern edge of
Trent Bridge
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
ground. Radcliffe has a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
connecting it to Nottingham and beyond in the west and
Grantham
Grantham () is a market town and civil parish 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 (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...
and beyond to the east. The village is served by the
Trentbarton bus company, which runs daily services to Nottingham – once every 10 minutes on weekdays.
Places of worship
The village has an
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 ...
parish church,
St. Mary's, and
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
churches.
Recreation
The village has a number of community spaces, such as Cliff Walk (which runs beside the river to nearby Shelford village), Rockley Memorial Park, a recreation ground and skate park, and a complex of sports fields at the eastern end of the village. There is an amateur dramatics group which stages regular productions at the Grange Hall, as well as numerous other clubs and associations.
There are local branches of the
Boys' Brigade
The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...
and
Scouts
Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
. The village has four
public houses, its own
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
,
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
and cricket clubs.
There is also a
Kickboxing
Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...
club throug
KickboxUK(
Professional Kickboxing Association – Radcliffe-on-Trent).
In 1999 the village was twinned with Bussy-St-Georges, a French town which lies east of Paris.
Radcliffe has an infant and nursery school, a junior school and a medium-sized secondary,
South Nottinghamshire Academy, formerly known as Dayncourt School.
Famous residents
John Boot, the founder of the pharmacy chain
Boots
A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...
, was born in Radcliffe in 1815.
The 19th-century
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
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
cricket captain
George Parr was born and died in the village. He also played for the Radcliffe on Trent Cricket Club. Evidence of the Parr family's long association with Radcliffe appears in several street and building names.
Professional footballer
Ian Woan (born 1967) lived near Radcliffe while playing for
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.
Founded in 1865, Nottingham Forest h ...
As of 2024, Woan is assistant manager of
Everton F.C.
Gary Mills, who played in the victorious
1980 European Cup Final, making him the youngest finalist in
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
history, still lives in Radcliffe.
Billy Walker (1897-1964), former
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...
and
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football.
Founde ...
player and manager, died at
Saxondale Hospital after a long illness.
The actor Tom Graham, who played Tom Archer for 17 years (1997–2014) in the long-running
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
programme ''
The Archers
''The Archers'' is a British radio soap opera currently broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word Radio broadcasting, channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now pr ...
'', was raised and went to school in Radcliffe.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Radcliffe-on-Trent
References
Bibliography
*
*
Footnotes
External links
Parish council
{{authority control
Villages in Nottinghamshire
Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire
Rushcliffe