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Bingham
Market Square with its buttercross
Bingham Bingham shown within Nottinghamshire
Population	9,131 (2011 UK census)
OS grid reference	SK 70405 39975
District	Rushcliffe
Shire county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NOTTINGHAM
Postcode district	NG13
Dialling code	01949
Police	Nottinghamshire
Fire	Nottinghamshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Newark
List of places UK England Nottinghamshire 52°57′08″N 0°57′07″W / 52.95222°N 0.95194°W / 52.95222; -0.95194Coordinates: 52°57′08″N 0°57′07″W / 52.95222°N 0.95194°W / 52.95222; -0.95194

Bingham is a market town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England, nine miles (14.5 km) east of Nottingham and 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south-west of Newark-on-Trent. The town had a population of 9,131 at the 2011 UK census (up from 8,655 in 2001).

Geography

Bingham lies near the junction of the A46 (which follows the old Roman road, the Fosse Way) and the A52, about nine miles (14 km) east of Nottingham and similar distances south-west of Newark-on-Trent and west of Grantham. The neighbouring communities are Radcliffe-on-Trent, East Bridgford, Car Colston, Scarrington, Aslockton, Whatton in the Vale, Tithby and Cropwell Butler.

History

The place-name Bingham seems to contain an Old English personal name, Bynna, + ingahām (Old English).^[1]

The Romans built a fortress at Margidunum (Bingham) and a settlement at the river crossing at Ad Pontem (East Stoke) on the Fosse Way that joined Isca (Exeter) to Lindum (Lincoln).^[2] The south-east of Nottinghamshire later formed the wapentake of Bingham. Bingham acquired a market charter in 1341.

Dormitory town

Eastern end of A52 bypass, which opened in December 1986

Bingham has expanded vastly since the 1950s, and much of the housing is relatively new. Most of the older buildings (including the Church of St. Mary and All Saints, Bingham, the oldest) are in the centre.

About 500 houses are being built bordering the A52 (Grantham Road) and the existing Mill Hill estate. There have been concerns that the 1,000+ people who will move into these new houses will require more and improved services, which the local councils are so far proving reluctant to provide, despite the large sums gained for the Exchequer from the sale of the land in public ownership. Another 1,000 houses are planned as part of future Bingham, north of the railway line.^[3]

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.

Education

There are four schools in Bingham: Robert Miles Infant school, Robert Miles Junior School,^[4] Carnarvon Primary School^[5] and the comprehensive Toot Hill School.^[6]

Churches

The Anglican parish Church of St. Mary and All Saints, Bingham, occupies a Grade I listed medieval building restored in 1845–46 and again in 1912. It has a peel of eight bells and a 19th century organ. It belongs to the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham.

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.^[7] It belongs to the Grantham and Vale of Belvoir Circuit.^[8] Archive documents for Bingham Methodist Circuit date back to 1843.^[9]

Economy

Although Bingham is largely a dormitory town for Nottingham, it also has a number of thriving businesses and a busy centre. The town has a shop vacancy rate of just 2% against an East Midlands average of 16%.^[10]* There are 20 takeaways and places to eat, 11 hairdressers/salons, 5 estate agents and 39 other retail outlets.

There is a open-air food market in the central Market Place every Thursday, and a farmers' market there on the third Saturday of the month. Bingham also provides shopping, medical and other services to those in the surrounding villages. Planning permission has been obtained to build a large supermarket near the town centre, but construction has not yet commenced. In March 2015 planning permission was granted for two other chain supermarkets.^[11]

To the north of the town is an industrial estate with about 40 businesses. The largest include GWIBS 24/7, Focus Label Machinery, Trent Designs, XACT Document Solutions, The Workplace Depot and Water at Work, as well as a business club.^[12]

Film and TV locations

Bingham was a location in Midlands film director Shane Meadows' film Twenty Four Seven, which contained scenes shot at Toot Hill top field, The Linear Walk and Bingham Boxing Club. Bingham has also been in two episodes of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet,^[13] as well as some episodes of Crossroads, Woof! and Boon.

Robot Wars series 3, Jungle Run and scenes from Shane Meadows' 2006 film This is England were filmed nearby on the former RAF Newton site.

Dickinson's Real Deal 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 at Bingham Townhouse Hotel in May 2016 and first aired in late autumn 2016.

Notable people

In birth order:

• 
  Thomas Foster (fl. 1820s), first-class cricketer with Nottingham Cricket Club (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 (1864–1938), first-class cricketer (Derbyshire)


• 
  Harry Churchill Beet (1873–1946), awarded a Victoria Cross for valour at Wakkerstroom, South Africa, in the Second Boer War on 22 April 1900, was born at Brackendale Farm near Bingham.^[14]


• 
  Stafford Castledine (1912–1986), first-class cricketer (Nottinghamshire), was born in Bingham.^[15]


• 
  Mary Joynson (1924–2013), director of Barnardo's from 1973 to 1984, was born in Bingham.^[16]


• 
  Spencer Cozens (born 1965) is a Bingham-born musician, writer and producer.

Leisure and sports

Bingham Leisure Centre has sports facilities and a swimming pool. The facilities are attached to Toot Hill School.

The Crown Inn

There used to be six pubs in the town, of which four remain as such: the White Lion, the Butter Cross Wetherspoons (formerly The Crown), the Chesterfield at Bingham, and the Horse and Plough. The Moot House has been redeveloped, and the former Bingham has reopened as a pub-restaurant and has been renamed the Wheatsheaf.

Bingham has Scout troops totalling around 140 young people. 1st Bingham Scouts includes Beavers and Cubs.^[17]

The town's sports clubs are:

• British Canoe Union


• Bingham Town Youth Football Club^[18]


• Bingham Cricket Club^[19]


• Bingham Rugby Club


• Bingham Badminton Club


• Bingham Lawn Tennis Club


• Bingham Leisure Centre Archery Club^[20]


• Bingham Sub-Aqua Club^[21]


• Bingham Penguins - Swimming Club^[22]


• Vale of Belvoir Cycling Club


• Vale Judo Club^[23]

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

Transport

Bingham railway station

Trent Barton provides a frequent public bus service into Nottingham.^[24]
Bingham's railway station provides a less frequent service to and beyond Nottingham and Grantham.

Bus services

Centrebus

• 6: Bingham – Grantham


• 24: Bingham – Melton Mowbray


• 54: Bingham – Newark

Trent Barton

• Rushcliffe Main Line: Bingham – Radcliffe – West Bridgford – Nottingham (fastest Bingham–Nottingham route)


• Rushcliffe villager 1: Bingham – East Bridgford – Radcliffe – West Bridgford – Nottingham


• Rushcliffe villager 2: Bingham – Whatton – Barnstone – Cropwell Bishop – Cotgrave – Gamston – West Bridgford – Nottingham

Signpost gallery

References

External links

• Detailed history of Bingham


• Bingham Town Council


• Rushcliffe Borough Council


• This is Bingham


• Bingham at the Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway