Basford, Nottinghamshire

For the village in Shropshire, see Basford, Shropshire.

Basford
Nottingham Road, Basford
Basford  Basford shown within Nottinghamshire
Population	17,277
District	Nottingham
Shire county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NOTTINGHAM
Postcode district	NG6 / NG7
Dialling code	0115
Police	Nottinghamshire
Fire	Nottinghamshire
Ambulance	East Midlands
EU Parliament	East Midlands
UK Parliament	Nottingham North
List of places UK England Nottinghamshire

Basford /ˈbeɪsfərd/ is a suburb in northern Nottingham. Basford parish was absorbed into Nottingham in 1877. It gave its name to the Basford Rural District which existed from 1894 to 1974.

There is both an ‘Old Basford’ and a ‘New Basford’ although New Basford is mainly Victorian. Basford lies close to the River Leen, a tributary of the River Trent. Basford is located on the main route of the Nottingham Express Transit, which connects it to Nottingham City Centre to the south and Hucknall and Bulwell to the north.

The place name comes either from Old English "the ford near the home of Bassa" (Bassa's ford) or French le bas ford, 'the lower ford'.

History

Close to Basford Register Office is the site of a former workhouse, this was used for Basford and the neighbouring parishes. The workhouse later became a maternity hospital and then a psychiatric hospital. The hospital is due to be demolished.

Near Vernon Park there used to be a complex of high rise flats which consisted of horizontal and vertical blocks connected together by aerial concrete walkways. These were demolished in 1983.

Basford has a good range of shops in its extensive area. Home to Vernon Park, Basford also has football teams who play in there, and is also home to the Bulwell and Basford Rotary Club.

For many years one of the largest industries in Basford was the manufacture of soap. A soap factory was established in Basford in the 1890s by Gerard Bros. In 1955 Gerard Bros. was acquired by Cussons Sons & Co., manufacturer of Cussons Imperial Leather soap. In 2005 the factory was closed and production was moved to Thailand.

Basford was well served by railways with no less than three stations bearing its name in one form or another. Basford Vernon was the first to be built, on the Midland Railway's Nottingham to Mansfield Line. The next built was Basford North on the Great Northern Railway, which was originally called Dob Park from the land it was built on, then later Basford & Bulwell. Lastly came New Basford on the Great Central Main Line. Basford North and New Basford closed along with the lines on which they were situated. Basford Vernon closed in 1964 but the line on which it stood remained open for freight and was subsequently reopened to passengers as the Robin Hood Line; the station did not reopen but is now the site of Basford tram stop on the Nottingham Express Transit.

Basford also had over the years three breweries, though probably only the main one, Shipstones, is widely known. The other two were Basford Brewery (taken over via Shipstones) and the redundant Prince of Wales Brewery in Old Basford which closed over 90 years ago. However, its buildings remain pretty much as built in the form of Murphy's Chemical Works on Alpine Street.

Demography

Basford has a population of 17,277; the average household sixe is 2.20 people and population density is 42.80 people per hectare.

Basford is a multi-cultural area with 70.1% White British, and 29.9% people of other ethnicities. These include: 11.5% Caribbean, 3.3% are Indian, 2.7% Pakistani, 3.3% European. Basford has people from 51 different countries and has a number of Gurdwara, Mosques, Hindu and Buddhist Temples as well as Churches with Asian, African, European and Caribbean origins.

Education

Children in the Basford area usually attend Southwark Primary and Infants School, Heathfield Primary School, or Old Basford School. The only senior school in the Basford area is the Ellis Guilford School and Sports College, located on Bar Lane. Ellis Guilford has been highly refurbished recently with a new school building, new changing rooms, new sports hall, tennis courts, and football pitches.

Transport

Tram services

Basford is served by several stops of the Nottingham Express Transit system:

• Basford (lines 1 and 2)
• Cinderhill (line 2)
• David Lane (lines 1 and 2)
• Highbury Vale (lines 1 and 2)
• Wilkinson Street (lines 1 and 2)

Places of worship

There a number of places of worship for several faiths in Basford. The Christian denominations have St Aidan's Church (Church of England), St. Leodegarius Church (Church of England),and Basford Road Baptist Church. The Nottingham Basford Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses also have a hall there.

External links

• Vernon Park Basford - with photographs