Trowell () 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 Nottinghamshire, England. It lies a few miles west 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 ...

, in the borough of Broxtowe on the border with

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,568, falling to 2,378 at the 2011 census, and 2,287 at the 2021 census. The village is believed to have Saxon origins. The parish had a population of around 50, with four manors and a church, by 1066. Coal was extracted nearby from the 13th century until 1928. The main road through the village is the A609 between Nottingham and Ilkeston and A6007 from nearby Stapleford. The

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

also passes through the village, and the Trowell Motorway Services lie just to the north. Most of the village lies between the

River Erewash The River Erewash is a river in England, a tributary of the River Trent that flows roughly southwards through Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, forming the boundary between the two counties for much of its length. It rises near Kirkby-in-Ashf ...

(

boundary) and Nottingham Canal. Herbert Morrison selected Trowell as the "Festival Village" for the 1951 Festival of Britain, as a typical example of British rural life. Conveniently close to the geographical centre of England, the village was found to be far from the chocolate box idyll: there was no

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

, and its three

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s had closed. The belching chimneys and slag heaps of an ironworks to the west dominated the village. Morrison responded to hostile questions in the House of Commons that Trowell was "the type of English village where the old rural life is passing away and where an industrial community has been superimposed", " was chosen merely as an example of modern social problems in a village", and its selection would "encourage places which are not conventionally beautiful ... to have a go at improving their amenities". Trowell celebrated its selection with several events: a cricket match played in Victorian dress, awards for the best back and front gardens, a performance of Sir Edward German's

comic opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...

'' Merrie England'', and cleaning the church clock. Trowell village's main attraction and largest employer is Trowell Garden Centre & Coffee Shop which is located on the Nottingham Canal, Erewash Valley Trail and Broxtowe Nature Reserve where you can still see the original lock keepers cottages and grade 2 listed Swansea Bridge built in 1794–96 The parish church is St Helen. The village pub is The Festival Inn on Ilkeston Road (A609).Trowell Parish Council
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References

External links

Trowell Parish Council

St Helen's church

{{authority control Villages in Nottinghamshire Places in the Borough of Broxtowe Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire

See also

References

External links