Bassetlaw District

This article is about the district. For the constituency, see Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency). For the wapentake, see Bassetlaw Wapentake.

Bassetlaw District
District
Official logo of Bassetlaw District Logo
Shown within Nottinghamshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Administrative county	Nottinghamshire
Founded	1 April 1974
Admin. HQ	Worksop
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district
• Governing body	Bassetlaw District Council
• Council Leader	Cllr Simon Greaves (Lab)
• Executive	Labour
• MPs:	Brendan Clarke-Smith, Robert Jenrick
Area
• Total	246 sq mi (638 km2)
• Rank	55th
Population  (2022)
• Total	120,012
• Rank	Ranked 198th
• Density	490/sq mi (190/km2)
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode Areas	DN, S
ONS code	37UC (ONS) E07000171 (GSS)
Ethnicity	97.5% White 1.0% S.Asian
Website	bassetlaw.gov.uk

Bassetlaw is the northernmost district of Nottinghamshire, England. The district is predominantly rural, with two towns: Worksop, site of the borough council offices, and Retford.

History

Bassetlaw was created as a non-metropolitan district in 1974 by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Worksop and East Retford and most of Worksop Rural District and East Retford Rural District following the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Local Government in Nottinghamshire is organised on a two-tier basis, with local district councils such as Bassetlaw District Council responsible for local services such as housing, local planning and refuse collection and Nottinghamshire County Council responsible for "wide-area" services, including education, social services and public transport.

The district is named after the ancient Bassetlaw wapentake of Nottinghamshire.

Settlements

Bassetlaw is divided into 66 parishes, each governed by an elected parish council or parish meeting. The two main settlements of Retford and Worksop are the only areas of the district that are unparished, however, both towns are entitled to elect a town mayor via their respective charter trustees.

Name	Status	Image	Population (2011)	Ward(s)
Retford	Unparished (Charter trustees)	Retford Town Hall	22,023	Retford East Retford North Retford South Retford West
Worksop	Unparished (Charter trustees)	Chesterfield Canal, Worksop	43,252	Worksop East Worksop North Worksop North East Worksop North West Worksop South Worksop South East
Askham	Civil parish	St. Nicholas' Church, Askham	181	East Markham
Babworth	Civil parish	Chesterfield Canal, Babworth	1,687	Sutton
Barnby Moor	Civil parish	Ye Olde Bell, Barnby Moor	278	Sutton
Beckingham	Civil parish	All Saints' Church, Beckingham	1,098	Beckingham
Bevercotes	Civil parish	Farm buildings in Bevercotes	Unknown	East Markham
Blyth	Civil parish	St Mary and St Martin's Church, Blyth	1,233	Blyth
Bole	Civil parish	St Martin's Church, Bole	247	Sturton
Bothamsall	Civil parish	Lound Hall, Bothamsall	270	East Markham
Carburton	Civil parish	Ollerton Road Bridge, Carburton	Unknown	Welbeck
Carlton in Lindrick	Civil parish	St. John's Church, Carlton in Lindrick	5,623	Carlton
Clarborough and Welham	Civil parish	Public house in Clarborough	1,088	Clayworth
Clayworth	Civil parish	St Peter's Church, Clayworth	419	Clayworth
Clumber and Hardwick	Civil parish	Clumber Park	Unknown	Welbeck
Cottam	Civil parish	Cottages in Cottam	108	Rampton
Darlton	Civil parish	St. Giles Church, Darlton	110	Tuxford and Trent
Dunham-on-Trent	Civil parish	St. Oswald's Church, Dunham-on-Trent	343	Tuxford and Trent
East Drayton	Civil parish	St. Peter's Church, East Drayton	252	Tuxford and Trent
East Markham	Civil parish	St. John the Baptist Church	1,160	East Markham
Eaton	Civil parish	Eaton	233	East Markham
Elkesley	Civil parish	St. Giles Church, Elkesley	822	Welbeck
Everton	Civil parish	Holy Trinity Church, Everton	839	Everton
Fledborough	Civil parish	St Gregory's Church, Fledborough	Unknown	Tuxford and Trent
Gamston	Civil parish	St Peter's Church, Gamston	246	East Markham
Gringley on the Hill	Civil parish	St Peter & St Paul's Church	699	Everton
Grove	Civil parish	View towards Grove	105	Rampton
Harworth Bircotes	Civil parish	All Saints Church, Harworth	7,948	Harworth
Haughton	Civil parish	Haughton watermill	Unknown	East Markham
Hayton	Civil parish	St. Peter's Church, Hayton	385	Clayworth
Headon cum Upton	Civil parish	St. Peter's Church, Headon	253	Rampton
Hodsock	Civil parish	Hodsock Priory	2,472	Langold
Holbeck	Civil parish	Chapel of St. Winifred	195	Welbeck
Laneham	Civil parish	Signpost in Laneham	312	Tuxford and Trent
Lound	Civil parish	Lound	471	Sutton
Marnham	Civil parish	St. Wilfrid's Church, Marnham	117	Tuxford and Trent
Mattersey	Civil parish	All Saints' Church, Mattersey	792	Ranskill
Misson	Civil parish	St. John the Baptist Church, Misson	745	Everton
Misterton	Civil parish	All Saints' Church, Misterton	2,140	Misterton
Nether Langwith	Civil parish	Public house in Nether Langwith	526	Welbeck
Normanton on Trent	Civil parish	St. Matthew's Church	345	Tuxford and Trent
North and South Wheatley	Civil parish	Church of St. Peter and St. Paul's	509	Sturton
North Leverton with Habblesthorpe	Civil parish	North Leverton Windmill	1,047	Sturton
Norton and Cuckney	Civil parish	St. Mary's Church, Cuckney	351	Welbeck
Ragnall	Civil parish	St.Leonard's Church, Ragnall	Unknown	Tuxford and Trent
Rampton and Woodbeck	Civil parish	All Saints' Church, Rampton	1,139	Rampton
Ranskill	Civil parish	Church of St Barnabas, Ranskill	1,362	Rampton
Rhodesia	Civil parish	Chesterfield Canal, Rhodesia	982	Worksop North West
Saundby	Civil parish	Church of St Martin of Tours	165	Worksop North West
Scaftworth	Civil parish	Public house in Scaftworth	Unknown	Everton
Scrooby	Civil parish	St. Wilfrid's Church, Scrooby	315	Blyth
Shireoaks	Civil parish	Shireoaks Hall	1,432	Worksop North West
South Leverton	Civil parish	All Saints’ Church, South Leverton	480	Rampton
Stokeham	Civil parish	St. Peter's Church, Stokeham	Unknown	Rampton
Sturton le Steeple	Civil parish	Sturton le Steeple	486	Sturton
Styrrup with Oldcotes	Civil parish	St. Helen's Church, Oldcotes	684	Blyth
Sutton	Civil parish	St. Bartholomew’s Church	673	Sutton
Torworth	Civil parish	Great North Road, Torworth	263	Ranskill
Treswell	Civil parish	St. John the Baptist Church, Treswell	211	Rampton
Tuxford	Civil parish	Tuxford High Street	2,649	Tuxford and Trent
Walkeringham	Civil parish	St. Mary Magdalene Church, Walkeringham	1,022	Beckingham
Wallingwells	Civil parish	Wallingwells Hall	22	Carlton
Welbeck	Civil parish	Welbeck Abbey	Unknown	Welbeck
West Burton	Civil parish	West Burton power stations	Unknown	Sturton
West Drayton	Civil parish	West Drayton	225	East Markham
West Markham	Civil parish	All Saints' Church, West Markham	170	East Markham
West Stockwith	Civil parish	West Stockwith lock	327	Misterton
Wiseton	Civil parish	Cottages in Wiseton	Unknown	Clayworth

Politics

Parliamentary constituency

Main article: Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency)

The constituency was created in 1885 by the Redistribution of Seats Act. Bassetlaw was for many years a safe seat for the Labour Party. Labour first won the seat in the 1929 general election. However, its Member of parliament Malcolm MacDonald was one of the few Labour MPs to join his father Ramsay MacDonald's National Government. MacDonald held the seat as a National Labour candidate in the 1931 election, but was defeated at the next election in 1935 by Labour's Frederick Bellenger.

The constituency was held by the Labour Party until December 2019, when the incumbent Labour MP John Mann stood down to take on a full-time role as the government’s antisemitism tsar. He was later given a life peerage in Theresa May's resignation honours list, styling himself Baron Mann, of Holbeck Moor in the City of Leeds. In the 2019 general election the Conservative Party candidate Brendan Clarke-Smith won the seat with the biggest swing in the election, turning a 4,852 Labour majority into a 14,013 Conservative majority and becoming the first non-Labour MP to represent the constituency in 90 years.

Members of Parliament:

• 1929-1935 Malcolm MacDonald (Labour, National Labour)
• 1935-1968 Frederick Bellenger (Labour)
• 1968-2001 Joe Ashton (Labour)
• 2001-2019 John Mann (Labour)
• 2019-current Brendan Clarke-Smith Conservative

Council elections

Main article: Bassetlaw local elections

Bassetlaw District Council was created in 1974 following the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. The first elections to the council took place on 7 June 1973, which resulted in the Labour Party taking control of the newly created council after winning 29 of 51 seats available. Following the next set of elections in 1976, the Labour Party lost its majority and no single party held a majority of seats. Labour regained control of the council following the 1979 local elections and continued to hold a majority of seats on the council for a further 25 years until they once again lost their majority in 2004. In 2006, the Conservatives gained control of the council for the first time and held control until 2010 when a series of by-election defeats caused them to lose their majority. Labour regained control of the council in 2011 for the first time in seven years and has been in control of the council since.

The most recent council election on 2 May 2019 resulted in the Labour Party retaining its control of the council with an increased majority. The Conservative Party suffered its worst defeat in Bassetlaw since 1973, winning only 5 seats of the 12 seats it was defending. Both Independents and Labour gained seats from the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats gained a seat from Labour in East Retford West, the first Liberal Democrat elected in Bassetlaw since 2006.

Year	Labour	Conservative	Independent	Liberal Democrats
2019 election	37	5	5	1
2015 election	33	12	3	0
2011 election	27	18	3	0
2010 election	20	25	3	0
2008 election	16	30	2	0
2007 election	16	27	5	0
2006 election	14	28	5	1

Wards

Bassetlaw is divided into 25 wards for electoral purposes. Each ward returns either one, two or three councillors at each election depending upon the number of electors within each ward.

Beckingham Blyth Carlton Clayworth East Markham East Retford East East Retford North East Retford South East Retford West Everton Harworth Langold Misterton

Rampton Ranskill Sturton Sutton Tuxford and Trent Welbeck Worksop East Worksop North Worksop North East Worksop North West Worksop South Worksop South East

Demography

Population

Population of Bassetlaw (1811–2011)
Year	Population		Year	Population		Year	Population
1811	25,813		1881	43,735		1951	101,590
1821	30,148		1891	45,203		1961	99,221
1831	32,950		1901	50,796		1971	96,918
1841	34,961		1911	57,084		1981	101,119
1851	37,180		1921	63,854		1991	105,354
1861	39,365		1931	71,427		2001	107,701
						2011	112,863
Pre-1974 statistics were gathered from local government areas that now comprise Bassetlaw. Source: Great Britain Historical GIS.

Religion

Religion	Percent
Christian	81.53%
Buddhist	0.09%
Hindu	0.13%
Jewish	0.05%
Muslim	0.33%
Sikh	0.07%
No religion	9.99%

Town twinning

• Farmers Branch, Texas, USA
• Garbsen, Germany
• Pfungstadt, Germany
• Aurillac, France