Population 843 (2011) District Rushcliffe Country England Local time Saturday 9:16 PM Dialling code 01949 UK parliament constituency Rushcliffe | OS grid reference SK746392 Region East Midlands Sovereign state United Kingdom Shire county Nottinghamshire Post town Nottinghamshire | |
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Weather 9°C, Wind W at 11 km/h, 82% Humidity | ||
Whatton in the Vale is a village in the English county of Nottinghamshire.
Contents
Map of Whatton-in-the-Vale, UK
Whatton lies in the Vale of Belvoir on the south bank of the River Smite, just to the north of the major A52 road, twelve miles east of Nottingham. It had a population of 843 at the 2011 census. It is served by Aslockton railway station, across the river to the north of the village. Administratively it is part of the borough of Rushcliffe. Whatton was the site of the telephone exchange for many villages in the district, although the name has now been replaced by a dialling code (01949).
Toponomy
The place name seems to contain the Old English word hwǣte for wheat, + tūn (Old English) meaning an enclosure, a farmstead, a village, an estate, etc., so "Farm where wheat is grown." "In the Vale," i. e. the Vale of Belvoir. The place appears as Watone in the Domesday survey of 1086.
Heritage
Whatton Mill was a five-storey brick tower windmill built in 1820. It had four patent sails (sails with shutters instead of cloth), two of which were double. Milling ceased in about 1916. The capless tower is now a listed building.
The Anglican Church of St. John of Beverley, Whatton is a Grade II* listed building dating from the 14th century, but extensively restored and rebuilt in the 19th century. It belongs to the Cranmer Group of parishes, with the churches at Aslockton, Hawksworth, Orston, Scarrington and Thoroton. A service is held there once a month.
The population of Whatton was 306 in 1801, 399 in 1821, and 388 in 1831.
Whatton Manor, to the south of the village, passed into the hands of the Hall family in 1840, who financed charitable and church-building work in the district. The substantial manor house the Halls built and the grounds it stood in were sold in 1919 to Samuel Ernest Chesterman, who in turn sold them to William Goodacre Player, son of John Player of the cigarette manufacturers John Player & Sons). The manor building was demolished in the mid-1960s, but the original stables can still be seen from Manor Lane. They now house a stud farm.
The village pub, the Griffin's Head, was closed in the mid-1990s and replaced by private housing.
Prison
Whatton (HM Prison) opened at the west end of the village in 1960 as a detention centre. Since 1990 it has been a Category C closed male prison for sex offenders.