Normanton on Soar

The Library at Nottingham will prove useful in your research.

• The parish was in the Leake sub-district of the Loughborough Registration District.
   
• The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
   

(Data supplied by Lesley Donald)

• The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint James.
   
• The date of construction is uncertain, probably 14th or 15th century, although the locals claim "circa 1200".
   
• The church was restored in 1889.
   
• The church seats 150.
   
• Jerry EVANS has a photograph of St James' Church on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2008.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST also has a photograph of St James' Church on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2014.
   
• The church is located by the river.
   
• The church is Grade I listed with English Heritage.
   

• The Anglican parish register dates from 1559, but early years are in poor condition.
   
• The church was in the rural deanery of West Bingham.
   
• The General Baptists chapel was built here in 1886.
   
• The Wesleyan Methodists also had a chapel built here in 1888.

• The parish was in the Leake sub-district of the Loughborough Registration District.
   
• In 1935, the parish was reassigned to the Basford sub-district of the Loughborough Registration District.
   
• Civil Registration began in July, 1837.

This place is a village, a township and a parish on the south-west border of the county in the Soar Valley (Vale of the Soar). It is separated from Leicestershire by the River Soar and is 118 miles north of London, 2 miles north-west of Loughborough (in Leicestershire), and 12 miles south of Nottingham.

The village sits on the north bank of the River Soar. If you are planning a visit:

• By automobile, take the A453 south out of Nottingham, pick up the A6 south out of Kegworth and turn east (left) onto the A6006 just before Hathern. If you are coming out of Loughborough, take the A6 north, turn right (east) just after Hathern onto the A6006. Normanton on Soar will be to your right.
   
• Tom GLOVER has a photograph of the village from across the Soar on Geo-graph, taken in July, 1995.
   
• Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the village sign on Geo-graph, taken in September, 2007.
   
• The village is served by the Skylonk Bus Service.
   
• Please slow down for the ducks crossing the road.

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Normanton on Soar to another place.

Tim GLOVER has a photograph of the old Chain Ferry across the Soar on Geo-graph, taken in January, 2009. There had been a rowing ferry here for about 800 years, and a chain ferry since the late 18th century.

In 1912, Colonel John Francis BURN-MURDOCH of the Royal Dragoons resided in the manor house here. He would die in January, 1931, in Nottingham, NOTTS, with the rank of Major-General and be buried in the churchyard.

• See our Maps page for additional resources.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK517230 (Lat/Lon: 52.802087, -1.234587), Normanton on Soar which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.

• There is a brass and bronze War Memorial plaque inside St. James church. It is inscribed:

1914 - 1919/ SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS VILLAGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR/ (NAMES)/ GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS

• In April 1944, a British Wellington bomber crashed in Normanton on Soar in the playing fields. All four crew members perished.
   

For a photograph of the War Memorial plaque, see the Nottingham County Council site.

These are the names listed on War Memorial plaques in St. James church:

1. Samuel Ernest BURLEY, 20th Btln. Australian Infantry
2. Thomas Charles BURLEY, 1/5 Btln Leics. Regt.
3. George CLOWES, Leics. Yeomanry
4. Charles Archibald EVANS, KRRC
5. Victor Henry Digby MASON, Leics. Yeomanry
6. George Ernest ROPER, RN

The name Normanton is fairly common. It is Old English northman+tun, or "farmstead of the Northmen or Norwegian Vikings".
[A. D. Mills, "A Dictionary of English Place-Names," Oxford University Press, 1991]

• This place was an ancient parish in Nottinghamshire and it became a Civil Parish when those were established.
   
• The parish was in the southern division of the ancient Rushcliffe Wapentake in the southern division of the county.
   
• You may contact the local Normanton on Soar Parish Council regarding civic or political issues, but they are NOT staffed to help with family history lookups.
   
• District governance is provided by the Rushcliffe Borough Council.
   
• Alan MURRAY-RUST has a photograph of the Village Hall on Geo-graph, taken in May, 2014. Stop in when they are open and ask to see a copy of the schedule of forth-coming events.
   

• Bastardy cases would be heard in the Nottingham petty session hearings.
   
• The Common Lands were enclosed here in 1770.
   
• As a result of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, this parish became part of the Loughborough Poor Law Union in Leicestershire.

Year	Males	Females	Total
1801			265
1841	226	202	428
1851	204	189	393
1861	178	182	360
1871	152	174	326
1881	155	167	322
1891	164	175	339
1901	161	178	339

(Data supplied by Lesley DONALD)

• A Board School was erected here in 1876. A Public Elementary School for 60 children was built that same year.