Balderton is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England, which had a population of 9,757 at the 2011 Census.
Balderton is one of the largest villages in Nottinghamshire, although it may be more properly considered a suburb of Newark-on-Trent, which is almost adjacent to the north-west. Balderton is split into Old Balderton, the southern part of the village, and New Balderton.
Geography
The busy A1 trunk road once ran through the village, but now skirts Balderton to the west and south. The old A1 near the site of the hospital/hall was called the Ramper. The East Coast Main Line railway between London and Edinburgh crosses the parish north of the village; the nearest station is Newark North Gate. Balderton was also once on the Great North Road.
The soil is mostly alluvial clays. Large deposits of gravel and sand were excavated in New Balderton, and the resulting pits were turned into a lakeside park. Gypsum is still mined nearby. The surrounding area is mostly agricultural, mixed arable and livestock.
History
The name Balderton has obscure roots but may have been derived from Balder or Baldur – the Norse god of innocence, beauty, joy, purity, and peace and Odin's second son eventually killed by his blind brother in an accident involving Loki the god of mischief and fire. The village itself is probably of Anglo-Saxon origin and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The ton suffix suggests a Late Anglo-Saxon origin. The Saxon countess Godiva, the wife of Earl Leofric, had property in the Manor of Newark nearby.
In the Domesday Book the place is called Baldretune and is described as a berewick (a dependent hamlet) of Newark. In the Pope Nicholas IV taxation of 1291 it is spelt Baldirton.
Balderton's Lords, the Busseys, lived in the area in William the Conqueror's era and held it until the reign of Elizabeth I. It subsequently descended to the Meers and Lascels. In the 1840s, when its population was a little over 1,000, large parts of the village were owned principally by the Duke of Newcastle, who was lord of the manor.
Two petitions of the fourteenth century show disputes with the nearby village of Claypole. In 1305 the bishop of Lincoln and the Busseys were hindering passage along the road to Newark market (National Archives S8/161/8038) and in 1324 the people of Claypole petitioned about Balderton people attacking jurors in relation to the Oldebrigg between Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire (National Archives S8/39/1930). The will of John de Boston, a mercer of Newark, in 1443 left twenty shillings for the maintenance of the bridge between Balderton and Bennington; the bridge was called "fennebrige" (Brown (1907) 1.172).
Grapes were once grown at Balderton. In 1578 there were accusations of vines being cut down (Brown (1907) 1.188).
During the final siege of Newark in the English Civil War, Colonel Rossiter, a parliamentary commander, was camped at Balderton.
A Balderton enclosure act was passed in 1766.
London Road was built in 1767 as a turnpike (bypass) for the Great North Road (designated the A1 in 1923) which ran through Balderton and to the north of England. One of the former coach houses built to serve the turnpike is now a public house.
A windmill at Balderton was recorded as having been removed c. 1845. It was a postmill on a 2-storey roundhouse, with 2 spring and 2 common sails. A windmill was recorded on the Old Series Ordnance Survey map on a site close to Spring Lane ().
In 1901 Simpson and Co opened their pump manufacturing works at Balderton; it was subsequently Worthington Simpson in 1917 and from 2001 Flowserve Pumps Ltd. Their products are used in the chemical, water, and pharmaceutical industries.
Pre-Roman and Roman sites have been noted in English Heritage's Pastscape records for Balderton, along with two Civil War sites.
Administration
Since 1894 Balderton has been governed at the village level by a parish council. There are currently 18 elected members. Land owned by the Balderton Parish Council includes the cemetery and Garden of Remembrance on Belvoir Road and Mount Road, the Coronation Street playing field, Balderton Lake, and the Parish Council Hall on Pinfold Lane.
