July 2026

A group of us visited the village of Clifton cum Glapton, which was swallowed up by the Clifton housing estate in the 1950s, for a guided walk with Graham Woodward, local historian and Chair of Nottingham Civic Society. The original villages can be seen on the section of an Ordnance Survey map obtained from Colwick Local History library.

Starting on the green we were given a brief history of the landowners starting from the Norman Conquest. There was a huge dovecote which provided fresh meat to the Hall.

We then passed the old school (now village hall) and various houses which had been built to accommodate the estate workers. Many had been built in the last two centuries, but the oldest was a thatched building that had started life as a medieval hall house, which is a home built using traditional materials by local people, rather than by a professional architect. This is the oldest domestic dwelling in Nottinghamshire.

The stable block is an imposing building, now converted into three houses, located next to the ancient church surrounded by a tranquil graveyard. Many buildings in the village are listed; even the church gates.

The imposing Hall has now been converted into two apartments, but it had previously been used as a school, which one of our members shared memories of attending. We then finished our walk at the ice house in the woods with wonderful views over Nottingham and the River Trent.