Gotham Parish Council
Clerk to the Council
33 Leake Road
Gotham
Nottinghamshire
NG11 0HW
Tel: 0115 9830863
Website: www.gothamvillage.org.uk
Gotham Village History
Gotham is a green belt village situated 7 miles south of Nottingham centre and about 2 miles south of the river Trent. With 830 residential dwellings and 2050 inhabitants, it is within 5 miles of the M1 motorway and the East Midlands Airport.
The land to the east of the village was originally a flood plain. This land has now been drained into the local Fairham Brook to provide good alluvial soil for root crops such as potatoes and sugar beet. To the north, west and south of the village is an amphitheatre of hills of clay soil which are partly covered with trees and bushes. The remainder is devoted to cattle grazing and the production of wheat crops. There are a total of 7 farmers cultivating the land around the village.
These surrounding hills have been heavily mined for gypsum rock since the beginning of this century until the last mine closure in 1994. At their peak the mines produced 160,000 tons of building material rock a year thus providing regular employment for many local workers. The mines were originally served by a branch line from the Great Central Railway until 1965 when lorry transport became more economical. In 1996 the disused line was partly converted into a village relief road, and the remainder retained as a nature trail.
The village is centred around the church, with its Norman nave and thirteenth century steeple, together with the medieval Manor House dating back in parts to 1210. Other old buildings include the Old Rectory, the Curates House, Paradise Farm and a Tithe Barn in the South Notts Bus Company depot. The present Church Hall was once a Victorian boarding school but the local Primary School is now situated on 2 sites on the Kegworth Road. Children over 11 years old attend the Comprehensive School 3 miles away at East Leake.
Most of the houses in the village date from the eighteenth century onwards but only one thatched cottage remains. A number of small housing developments have taken place since the Second World War within the confines of the village perimeter as governed by the Green Belt regulations. This has made it a desirable place to live for commuters to the adjacent towns of Nottingham, Loughborough and Derby.
The original pump structure stands in the Square next to the Church, whilst on the other side of the Square is the Sun Public House, once an old coaching inn. Nearby is the Cuckoo Bush public house recalling the famous Tales of Gotham where the local Wise Men persuaded King John that they were mad, and so prevented him and his entourage from charging taxes and building a main road through the village. These stories, which include raking the moon out of the pond, trying to drown eels, putting cows on thatched roofs to eat the straw and including fencing the cuckoo in, have spread far and wide including America where some New Yorkers are sometimes called Gothamites. This in turn spawned the Batman and Robin stories. US President Bill Clinton and ex-President George Bush are also alleged to have family origins in the village.
Gotham boasts 2 other public houses namely the Windmill and the Star, and also a Royal British Legion, which stands on the site of the original blacksmiths forge. There were once 2 Methodist chapels in the village but these have now been converted to other uses. The Band of Hope building is now a Good Companions Club. Gotham is reasonably well served with shops including a post office, newsagent, grocer, butcher, florist and fish and chip shop.
The local petrol station also provides car sales and repair facilities. The village is fortunate in having a regular bus service to both Nottingham and Loughborough, using buses based in the village.
There is a number of small businesses situated locally in converted industrial units. These include engineering, upholstery, computing, and kitchen furniture as well as packaging and distribution services. Other businesses include an alpine nurseryman, a private catering establishment and a livery stable. Two lorry firms have their depots in the village.
The Memorial Hall and Recreation ground are a centre of sporting and social activities for young and old alike such as football, tennis, cricket, bowls and badminton. The Hall and its adjacent Youth Centre also houses the local Health Centre, County Library and Playgroup. The whole complex is the venue for the annual village Gala. Gotham is fortunate in having some 20 different organisations in which residents can participate. Footpaths and bridlepaths through the surrounding fields and woods benefit walkers and horseriders alike.
