Wilford


Wilford is a village close to the centre of the city of Nottingham, UK. The village is bounded to the north and west by the River Trent and to the east by the embankment of the now closed Great Central Railway.

History

Early settlements

Remains of a paved Roman ford, bordered by oak posts, were found in the Trent at Wilford in 1900. The settlement is named as Willesforde in Domesday Book, owned by William Pevrel of Nottingham Castle, who also owned the lands of nearby Clifton. It had a fishery, a priest and 23 sokemen. The land passed to the Clifton family in the 13th Century.

Development

Wilford retained its identity as a village until the later 19th century. Surrounded by woodlands and with riverside amenities such as the Wilford Ferry Inn, the village attracted many visitors from Nottingham. Spencer Hall, the Nottinghamshire poet, wrote in 1846 "Who ever saw Wilford without wishing to become an inmate of one of its peaceful woodbined homes."
In 1870 the Clifton Colliery opened on the north side of the Trent, and the area opposite Wilford became industrialised. By the end of the century the village had changed character, with modern brick-built houses replacing old thatched cottages.

Expansion

The parish was divided into North Wilford and South Wilford in 1887. The population increased to four and a half thousand by 1901, almost a ten-fold increase since 1801. The now demolished coal-fired Wilford Power Station was built in the early 1920s on the north bank of the River Trent. The civil parish of South Wilford became part of West Bridgford urban district in 1935.
The Silverdale housing estate was built on the southern edge of Wilford on farmland. An adjacent estate, Compton Acres, was built in 1986.

Education

Within the area of Wilford, there are two Primary Schools
The Old School House at South Wilford houses St Wilfrid's Church Playgroup and Nursery.
There are also two Secondary Schools in the direct vicinity of Wilford
Wilford is also in the catchment area of
Located nearby is the Clifton Campus of Nottingham Trent University.

Wilford Church

The church of St Wilfrid serves a parish covering Wilford, Silverdale and a large part of the Compton Acres estate. The church dates from the late 14th century. It is considered to have been founded by Gervase de Wilford around 1361.
The church contains two memorials to the Nottingham poet Henry Kirke White who drew much of his inspiration from Wilford and Clifton. He is said to have spent much of his time writing poems sat in the churchyard under his favourite tree. The churchyard also contains the grave of Captain John Deane, an adventurer and mercenary who lived in the village.
The churchyard contains war graves of eight soldiers of World War I and an airman of World War II - that of Albert Harvey Iremonger, son of Albert Iremonger - both local residents.
In the churchyard is a gazebo, built in 1757. In 1980 it was restored after a fire four years earlier. Located next to the River Trent the basement was at one time used as a mortuary.

Wilford sports clubs

Wilford has a number of sports clubs for football, rugby, basketball, bowls and archery.
Wilford is served by two stops of the Nottingham Express Transit system. Both Wilford Village and Wilford Lane stops are on line 2, linking the city centre to Clifton, and opened in August 2015.

Local Amenities

was converted to a foot bridge in the early 1970s and in the late 2010s was expanded to accommodate Nottingham Express Transit second phase extension south of the city to Clifton
St Wilfrid's Church, Wilford features two community spaces: the Church Hall and the Benjamin Carter Hall, both adjoined, at the entrance to the Church Paddock. The Carter Hall was built using proceeds left by Benjamin Carter.
Across Wilford Toll Bridge is Victoria Embankment, which hosts the annual Riverside Festival, the War Memorial and park, and a children's play-area and large paddling pool.
Close by is the Gresham Sports Pavilion which includes an all-weather football pitch, and indoor changing facilities.

Business

Wilford has a Co-operative Local Store, a Social and Bowls Club, the Tailor's Arms, the Ferry Inn and the Wilford Farm Harvester. At the southernmost point of Wilford is the Apple Tree Pub.
Gleeds, an architects and surveyors company, until recently, has its headquarters in Wilford House. A number of companies are based at Wilford Industrial Estate, including Seriff, a large supplies distribution company, and A. W. Consulting, a small marketing consultancy, owing to the area's proximity to the A52 and access to the M1.
The former Wilford Power Station, closed in 1981 and demolished shortly afterwards, is now the location of the Riverside Retail Park with stores including Boots UK, B&Q and Argos.

Wilfordians

Residents of Wilford are known as Wilfordians. The earliest written record of this can be found in Robert Mellors', 'Old Nottingham suburbs: then and now.

Notable Families

Iremonger:
Smiths:
Wilford has two Green Flag Award recognised open spaces, Ruddington Lane Park and Iremongers Pond.
Wilford is home to a number of nature reserves – two being Sites of Special Scientific Interest managed by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust
Wilford also has a number of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation