Retford
Encyclopedia : R : RE : RET : Retford
- redirect
It gets its name from an ancient ford crossing of the River Idle at this point. It was originally named Redforde because the river water was tinged red due to the red clay river bed and frequent crossing of people and livestock disturbing the clay river bed. Piercy, John Shadrach. The History of Retford. 1828. cited at [Derivation of the Towns Name] Updated May 29 2003, accessed June 17 2006. The first land settled was on the western side of the ford – this area being less liable to flooding – but as the community grew it spread to occupy land on the other bank of the river, and it was this eastern part of the town that eventually became more important; hence Retford's alternative (and, for administrative purposes, still official) name of East Retford.
Retford gained its first charter in 1246, when Henry III granted the right for a fair, this was later extended to holding a Saturday Market by Edward I in 1275. It was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and then remained a municipal borough until 1974 when it was merged into Bassetlaw district. Its civic traditions are maintained by Charter Trustees.
Retford was largely destroyed by a fire in 1528, but prospered after the Great North Road was diverted to run through the town in 1766 and the Chesterfield Canal (1777) and the direct London to York railway (1849) were both routed via the borough. The Great North Road was bypassed around the town in 1961 and part of the route through the town is now a pedestrian precinct.
In the Market Square there is an ornate French-inspired Victorian Town Hall, in front of which is a broad stone. Legend says that this stone had a hollow in it that used to be filled with vinegar during plague times to disinfect coins.
Just across from the Market Square is Cannon Square which has St Swithun's Church and a cannon captured from the Russians during the Siege of Sevastopol at the end of the Crimean War in 1855. The Victoria Cross is made from another cannon captured during the same battle.
Retford also features a skate park within the grounds of Kings Park in the centre of Retford.
Retford also has a established football team called Retford United F.C.
See also
References
External links
- [Retford Times newspaper]
- [The History of Retford, written by John Shadrach Piercy published in 1828]
- [History of the Great North Road through Retford]
- [Retford Exists]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.