 Short
History of Bingham
By 47 AD the Romans had invaded Britain and built the Fosse Way.
There were several small towns and villages in the area and the
nearest to modern Bingham was called Margidunum. Margidunum survived
until about 450 AD and evidence of burials as well as a number of
villas have been found. Life in the mid-4th century was subject
to raids from Germanic tribes, Angles and Saxons, and Picts and
Scots from the north and from Ireland. Anglo-Saxon villages appeared
in the area, including Bingham, which had acquired its new name
at about this time. New invaders avoided the exact sites of Roman
settlements and, in Bingham's case, moved about 800 metres south-east
to the present site.
There has been a succession of owners of the manor of Bingham.
The Domesday Survey reveals that the last owner before the Norman
Conquest in 1066 was Tostig, a nobleman of Danish descent, but by
1086 the manor was in the possession of a Norman baron, Roger de
Busli. Henry III granted the manor to Ralph Bugg a wealthy Nottingham
merchant in 1265. The family took the name of their manor and he
became Ralph de Bingham. Two notable Lords of the Manor were Sir
Thomas de Rempstone, who helped King Henry IV depose Richard II
in 1399 and his son, also Sir Thomas, who fought at the battle of
Agincourt (1415) but was later captured by French forces under Joan
of Arc. At the time of the Domesday Survey the population was about
250 people and the annual rental for the village was £10.
The population grew and then decreased as the Black Death struck
in 1348. This led to part of Bingham known as Crow Close becoming
overgrown and finally disappearing. Arial photographs clearly show
the pattern of houses and 'closes' which once existed. There is
a surviving survey taken in 1586 and many family names mentioned
crop up again and again over the centuries. In 1674 records show
there was a total of 117 households in Bingham, possibly a population
of 600-700.
In 1314 Alice de Bingham, widow of Ralph's son Richard de Bingham,
claimed the right to hold a market every Thursday, with a fair on
6 days a year. The market was discontinued at the end of the 19th
Century following the opening of the Nottingham to Grantham railway.
This revolutionised local transport and allowed the journey to Nottingham
to be made in 23 minutes. It also marked the decline of Bingham
as traders and customers travelled to Nottingham or Grantham instead
and Bingham market dwindled. However, the market was revived in
1975 and is held every Thursday around the Butter Cross. The Butter
Cross marks the site where women sat to sell baskets of butter more
than 200 years ago. The Butter Cross itself dates back to 1861 when
it was erected to the memory of John Hassall by his friends and
neighbours at a cost of £700. He was the Agent of the Earl
of Carnarvon, the Lord of the Manor of Bingham. The initials JH
are entwined in the spandrels of the arches and the inscription
reads: "to be beloved is better than all bargains".
Almost everyone was employed in agriculture, sheep farming being
the most widespread. The names of former fields have survived as
names of modern farms and streets. The annual rent due to the Lord
of the Manor in 1586 was £95.14s.7½d. Some small farmers
were also traders or craftsmen and cheese-making was done on a large
scale. Industries changed during the 18th century and a significant
number of framework knitters were in Bingham, the last surviving
as late as 1915. The 1851 census showed a wide variety of trades
and crafts being carried out in the town
The present church, St Mary and All Saints, was built in the early
13th century although the font dates in part from the early Norman
period (late 11th century). The font is believed to have come from
an earlier church which was possibly built in the 10th century.
Medieval burials have been found which may have been associated
with a chapel of St Helen on Kirkhill. In the 16th Century the rector
of the church John Stapleton ran a school in the church. In 1710
a local apothecary called Peatfield attempted to burn down the town.
He was arrested, tried and judged to be insane and locked up for
almost 30 years until he died. At the same time the local rector
Henry Stanhope was 'incapacitated for takeing the Oaths to the Government
by being a Lunatick' but was able to continue in his post for almost
50 years with the curate carrying out his parish duties.
 During
the Civil Wars of 1642/9 Bingham was uncomfortably situated between
the Royalist strongholds of Newark, Shelford, Wiverton and Belvoir,
and the Parliamentarian base at Nottingham. Although the inhabitants
of Bingham were not actually fighting they probably ended up paying
taxes to both sides. Soldiers returning from the wars brought back
with them the plague resulting in many deaths in the town. The parish
register of that time makes sad reading.
Over the centuries Bingham grew into a successful community and
became the centre of one of the administrative divisions of Nottinghamshire
known as 'wapentakes'. This Scandinavian word dates from the time
in the 9th century when Danes invaded and settled in the East Midlands
alongside the Angles who had already been in the area for about
400 years. The town never lost its position as a local administrative
centre. A new Workhouse was built on Nottingham Road in 1837 replacing
the earlier one on Union Street. This was home for many old people,
handicapped, orphans, unmarried mothers and those who had fallen
on hard times and served a large number of villages throughout the
south-east of Nottinghamshire.
When local government began to take on its modern form, Bingham
became the centre and headquarters for one of the new Rural District
Councils until the reorganisation of local government in 1974. Bingham
is now in the Borough of Rushcliffe with civic offices in West Bridgford.
Only a few houses were built after the 1939-45 war. In the mid-1950s
Bingham became popular once more, as people wanted to live and work
in smaller communities away from big cities. Many old properties
were demolished and large new housing estates were developed around
the town.
Bingham is twinned with Wallenfels in Germany and an active Twinning
Association organises regular exchange visits.
The town has an infant, two primary and a comprehensive school.
A leisure centre was built in 1969 and has a swimming pool, a floodlit
all-weather athletics track, sports hall and sports pitches. The
Town Council provides sports fields for football, rugby union and
cricket.
Adapted from "A Guide to Bingham," 1992
Photographs copyright ANDREW SHELTON.
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