Radcliffe on Trent

Location

Radcliffe has a population of around 8,000. It is to the east of Nottingham, and is close to but not part of the Greater Nottingham built-up area. However, the Greater Nottingham Partnership considers the whole of Rushcliffe to be part of the Greater Nottingham conurbation. The village is situated on the south bank and cliff overlooking the River Trent, from which the village derives part of its name. The "Rad" part is a corruption of the Old English for red, in reference to the dark red colour of the cliffs, which are formed of Triassic red shale, with gypsum banding. Nearby places are Shelford, East Bridgford, Holme Pierrepont and Stoke Bardolph. To the South East of the Parish lies the former Saxondale Hospital which has recently been redeveloped into approximately 350 dwellings and renamed as Upper Saxondale.

The village is mainly on the northern side of the major, east-west, A52 trunk road. It is because of this road that Radcliffe is best known: at its western end it forms the eponymous Radcliffe Road which runs along the north-eastern edge of Trent Bridge cricket ground. Radcliffe is unusual among Rushcliffe villages in having its own railway station, connecting the village to Nottingham in the west and Grantham to the east. The village is also served by the Trent Barton bus company, which runs services to Nottingham once every 10 minutes on weekdays.

Places of worship

The village has Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist churches. The Anglican church is St. Mary's.

Recreation

The village boasts a number of community spaces, such as the Cliff Walk (which takes you along the river to nearby Shelford village), the Memorial Park, a recreation ground and skate park, and a complex of sports fields at the eastern end of the village. There is a lively amateur dramatics group who stage regular productions at The Grange Hall, as well as numerous other clubs and associations.

It has local branches of both the Boys' Brigade and Scouts. The village also possesses four public houses, as well as its own football, golf and cricket clubs. In 1999 the village was twinned with a French town Bussy-St-Georges, which is situated east of Paris. Radcliffe is also well endowed with educational institutions, with three schools: an infant and nursery school, a junior school and a medium-sized secondary, South Nottinghamshire Academy, formerly Dayncourt School.

Famous residents

Nineteenth century Nottinghamshire and England 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 can be seen in a number of street and building names. Also professional footballer, Ian Woan most famous for playing for Nottingham Forest lives near Radcliffe-on-Trent. Woan is now the assistant manager of Watford FC. Tom Graham who played Tom Archer for 17 years (1997–2014) in the long running BBC Radio 4 programme The Archers was raised and schooled in Radcliffe.

Other Radcliffes

Radcliffe-on-Trent is sometimes confused with other UK locations. Ratcliffe on Soar – also in Nottinghamshire – is the location of the coal-fired power station. The City of Manchester contains a suburb named Radcliffe which is served by a stop on the local Metrolink light rail system, consequently both settlements are listed on the National Rail network.