West Retford
As described in 1871:
"RETFORD (West), a parish in East Retford district, Notts; on the river Idle and the Great Northern railway, adjacent to East Retford, and communicating with that town by a bridge. Post-town, Retford. Acres, 1,080. Real property, £3,386. Pop., 637. Houses, 169. The property is divided among a few. W. R. Hall was formerly the seat of the Denmans and the Emersons, and is now the seat of B. Huntsman, Esq. W. R. House is the seat of H. B. W. Milner, Esq. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln. Value, £550. Patron, J. Hood, Esq. The church was restored and enlarged in 1864; and has a lofty square tower, with octagonal spire. There are an endowed school with £10 a year, an hospital or alms-house with £1,145, and other charities £34."
[John Marius Wilson's "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales," 1870-72]
- The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
- There was a special census of West Retford in 1794. Typically, in those days the entry would show head of household's surname and a count of people in the household. There is a 23-page booklet available from the Nottinghamshire Family History Society, "West Retford - 1794 Census," by J. B. Bailey, publ. 1996.
- The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
Census
Year |
Piece No. |
| 1861 |
R.G. 9 / 2416 |
| 1891 |
R.G. 12 / 2640 |
- The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel.
- The church was restored in 1864.
- Here is a photograph of St. Michael's Church on Geograph.
- For more history, pick up a copy of "St. Michael the Archangel's Church, West Retford," which is a history of the church, publ. by Church Publishers, 1961, about 17 pages.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1770.
- The International Genealogical Index (IGI) includes records from this parish for the period 1622-1841.
- A Baptist chapel was built here before 1869.
- The parish was in the East Retford sub-district of the East Retford Registration District.
- Civil Registration started in July, 1837.
West Retrod is a village and was a parish on the west bank of the River Idle, across from East Retford. The parish covered 1,000 acres.
If you are planning a visit:
- Here is a photograph of the Chesterfield Canal as it passes by West Retford.
- By automobile, take the A1 motorway north to Ranby and turn right onto the B6079 trunk road. Continuing east through Babworth, and West Retford is dead ahead. It is hard to distinguish West Retford from East Retford these days, but everything west of the Idle River is the old parish and village of West Retford.
- West Retford Hall is actually in East Retford parish. It is a grade II historic building, built in 1699.
- The national grid reference is SK 6982.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The village had a hospital for sixteen "decayed" tradesmen, founded in 1665 by John DARREL, Esq. It is not known what records may survived as the law did not require the records to be archived. The hospital was still in operation in 1869.
- This parish was an ancient parish in Nottingham county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
- The parish was in the Hatfield division of the ancient Bassetlaw Wapentake (Hundred) in the northern division of the county.
- On 1st April, 1921, this parish was abolished and amalgamated with the Civil Parish of East Retford and, by in large, became the West Ward of East Retford.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1801 |
483 |
| 1811 |
542 |
| 1821 |
571 |
| 1831 |
593 |
| 1841 |
618 |
| 1851 |
653 |
| 1871 |
691 |
| 1881 |
816 |
| 1891 |
821 |
| 1901 |
782 |
| 1911 |
881 |
- A National School for both sexes was built here in 1860.
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[Last updated: 8-February-2011 - Louis R. Mills]
