Upper Saxondale 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 ...

district, in the county 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. It lies in an upland area between 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 the

Vale of Belvoir The Vale of Belvoir ( ) is in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England. The name is from the Norman-French for "beautiful view". Extent and geology The vale is a tract of low ground rising east-north-east, drained by the ...

, and between the A52 and

A46 road The A46 is a major A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway developme ...

s, close to their junction at Saxondale Roundabout near Bingham. The nearby

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

Saxondale ''Saxondale'' is a British sitcom, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers. The show is set in St ...

was the site of an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

and earthworks, visible from the A52. A civil parish for Upper Saxondale was created from portions of

Radcliffe-on-Trent Radcliffe-on-Trent is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, 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 po ...

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 ...

parishes, it came into being on 1 April 2023.

Growth and features

Upper Saxondale was developed on the site of the former Saxondale Hospital by David Wilson Homes from about 1995 to 2001. It includes some 350 dwellings, ranging from three-bedroom converted hospital buildings to newly built five to six-bedroom detached houses. There is also a restaurant and bar called Sanctuary, a hairdresser, a tennis club and a bowling green. The estate is surrounded by parkland, much of it owned by Upper Saxondale Residents' Association. Upper Saxondale has a designated

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

of 30 hectares (74 acres). The rare flame brocade moth ''(Trigonophora flammea)'' has been spotted there. The area boundary encompasses the former Saxondale Hospital site and includes extensive semi-wooded grounds, parkland landscape and fine trees. The chapel was built in 1902 to the designs of E. W. Roberts, then County Architect, for use by hospital staff and patients. The small

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

building is now home to the Catalyst Church (part of Christian Growth International). David Wilson Homes originally called the development St James Park, but a change of name to Upper Saxondale was voted at a Residents' Association meeting in 1999. Upper Saxondale also includes original houses in Saxondale Drive, which are not part of the development. The converted Victorian buildings, mature parkland, core of community buildings and public open spaces amount to a residential area of unusual character. There are several ghost stories relating to the area. One has a troop of Roman soldiers marching up Henson Lane. The ghost of Lady Elinor Denison is said to haunt the grounds.

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry ...

is said to have camped on land to the west during the

Battle of Stoke Field The Battle of Stoke Field, which took place at East Stoke, Nottinghamshire, on 16 June 1487, may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims deriv ...

. A RAF Avro Anson Mk.I bomber crashed close to Upper Saxondale during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Both crew were killed. The site is marked by five mature trees set out in the shape of a cross in the middle of a field close to the main Saxondale Drive. The impact made a slight hollow and piles of earth are still clearly visible. The site was marked with a memorial stone, but this has now been removed.

References

External links

Upper Saxondale Residents' AssociationCatalyst Church
*https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=209749 {{Nottinghamshire Villages in Nottinghamshire Civil parishes in Nottinghamshire Rushcliffe