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Wilford
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The Wilford Round House
And
St.Wilfrids Church
 
Wilford Round House 

Wilford and Clifton were once favourite retreats from Nottingham town life. The expansion of Nottingham steadily reduced the areas popularity prior to the 20th Century but one attraction, the Wilford Round House, managed to survive until the 1960’s. The round house was a picturesque little semi-circular castle, complete with battlements that stood on the East bank of the Trent - near the Fairham Brook. It was surrounded by apple trees, gooseberry bushes and raspberry canes.  It served as a focal point for picnics and playing children. The locals generally believed it to be an old lodge used by the Clifton Family in the old days.   It's more likely to have been the gate house to the entrance of Clifton Grove  from the time when the grove's avenue of trees stretched all the way from Clifton Hall to Wilford.  It was a popular place for all ages in the forties and fifties and according to a Mrs Bailey, was 'visited by hundreds of people every summer , although it never had water laid on - it had to be fetched by cart'.  On summer weekends, people would buy a tea of eggs, bread, butter and fruit and eat in the Round House grounds. Local boys would dam up part of the nearby brook to create a swimming pool. Others would fish among the shallows. 
Wilford Round House
 
 
One frequent visitor, Mrs K Osbourne, commented ‘We were always reluctant to leave and thought nothing of ambling back to the Meadows, arriving foot sore and pleasantly tired, but looking forward to the next visit.’ An old pistol, allegedly that of a highwayman, was dug up in the Round House grounds in 1911.  The Round House fell into a state of disrepair and was was demolished in the late fifties. 
 
St. Wilfrids Church 

The stone church stands on the east bank of the Trent at a graceful bend in the river which once overlooked thick woodlands and rolling crocus populated meadows. It was a favourite location for many midlands artists and its most often associated with the poet Henry Kirke White. The church contains two memorials to him both memorials can be viewed on my Henry Kirke White page. 
Click Here To View This
Picture Of St.Wilfrids 
 
 
 
The church chiefly dates back to the 13th century although the chancel arch and tower are estimated to be of 15th century origin.   A small section of wall in the South aisle is estimated to have been in place since before the Norman conquest in 1066.  The oldest headstone in the church yard is said to show the date of 1659. 

St. Wilfrid was a Bishop of York who influenced King Oswin's decision to adopt the Roman date for Easter.   The Bishop was well traveled and visited Rome when just 18 years old.  He lived between 634 and 709 and approximately 45 churches have been named after him in Britain.  An image of St. Wilfrid is carved into the east wall of the chancel. 
 
The Church From Across The River Trent, 
September 1996 
 		 The eastern arch of the chancel has a number of grooves carved into it.  They were probably made by local archers sharpening arrows at a time when the Church was in a state of disrepair.  All Englishmen were once ordered to practice archery on Sunday afternoons, their skill proving to be decisive in battles such as Crecy (1346) and Agincourt (1415).  The church was probably heavily damaged after one of the areas frequent floods and tempests.  Before it was rebuilt and the stone work redistributed, the archers would have made use of the convenient debris. 

The church has a peculiar 900 year old carving of a pigs face to the east of the south aisle roof. It represents the patron saint of butchers! 
 
The church has a number of bright stain glass memorial windows.  They are dedicated to Henry Kirke White, Mr Wm. Quinton, the Reverend E. Davies, the Reverend Thomas Thorpe and Henry Abel Smith ( a prominent family of Wilford bankers ).
 
At the bottom of the churchyard overlooking the Trent is a small Gazebo (summerhouse) built in 1757.  It was often used to store the bodies of locals drowned in the river until an inquest could be held.  With frequent flooding and ocasional ferry disasters the small building must have housed plenty of casualties in its day.   You can view more pictures of St.Wilfrids on my Changing Wilford and John Deane pages. 
The Church Gazebo, 
November 1996 
 
 

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