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'Wollaton' (often mistakenly spelt Woolaton) is an area in the west of the City of Nottingham, England. It is home to Wollaton Hall with its museum, Deer Park, lake, walks and golf course. The Park housed Prisoners of War and US troops during the World Wars.

Contents

Overview

Railways

Mining

See also

References

Overview

The picturesque Wollaton Village at the heart of the suburb has remained relatively unchanged over the past few hundred years and is dominated by the Admiral Rodney public house and the Anglican church of St Leonard's dating back to the 1200s. It also features historic cottages and a water pump. The village was 'swallowed up' by the suburbanisation of Nottingham and is now considered part of the Greater Nottingham metropolitan area.
Wollaton is primarily situated in the City of Nottingham, although a small part of it is under the administration of Broxtowe borough. The City Wards divide Wollaton into Conservative Party controlled Wollaton West (Represented by Coun. Margaret Cobb) and Liberal Democrat controlled Wollaton East with Lenton Abbey (represented by Coun. Tony Bernard Sutton).
It is considered one of the most desirable parts of the city in which to live, with relatively high house prices. This is largely due to the good quality schools, traditional public houses and good access to the M1 via the A52 to the South and the A610 to the North.
The A52 runs directly into the centre of Derby and has recently been renamed Brian Clough Way as a tribute to the former Derby County and Nottingham Forest football manager who took both clubs to the league championship in the late 1970s and later took Nottingham Forest to back-to-back European Cups.
As a tribute to two of Nottingham's favourite sporting stars, Wollaton is home to the Torvill and Dean estate, built near the former site of Wollaton Colliery.
The suburb's main shopping area along Bramcote Lane primarily consists of local family run stores. Among the shopping area is a post office/newsagent, two pharmacies, a gardening store, two liquor stores, a fish and chips restaurant, a beauty supply store, two cafes, a hair salon, a bookmaker, a butcher shop and others. The largest supermarket in Wollaton is the CO-OP which is on Trowell Road. The neighborhood directly adjacent to the Bramcote Lane shops is a thickly inhabited upper middle class area with a relatively diverse population. For example, along Ashchurch Drive can be found residents of African, Pakistani, Indian, Eastern European, Iranian and American backgrounds.
The local Fernwood Infants, Juniors and Comprehensive schools are some of the best performing schools within Nottingham City and even the UK. The nearest sixth form college for post 16 education is Bilborough College in Bilborough.
The area is also home to the Martin's Pond Nature Reserve, a small council owned lake which provides a haven for plant and animal life (including some rarer species).

Railways

Wollaton is also noted for the existence of one of the earliest recorded railway lines in the world, the Wollaton Wagonway. The wagonway ran between nearby Strelley and Wollaton. Horse-drawn coal wagons travelled to their destination on wooden railway lines.
The wagonway was completed in 1604, built by Huntingdon Beaumont working in partnership with the second occupier of Wollaton Hall, Sir Percival Willoughby.
Nowadays Wollaton is not serviced by a train, even though the line from Nottingham to the Erewash Valley line passes through, and is not on the current plans for the tram system.

Mining

Coal has always been an important presence in the suburb and revenue from Wollaton Colliery was a major source of income to the Willoughby family, who built and owned Wollaton Hall up until the 20th Century. The colliery closed after the Second World War and employment today is primarily in the service and civil servant sector, with many of the local residents commuting to work in the Nottingham and Derby area.
The area is loosely bordered with the West Nottingham suburbs of Lenton, Bramcote, Trowell, Bilborough and Radford. The University of Nottingham and Queen's Medical Centre (QMC), the UK's largest hospital, are also nearby.
In terms of transport, buses run by Trent Barton and Nottingham City Transport offer access to and from the City Centre, Beeston, Bulwell and Stapleford. Wollaton Vale is the central road through the area.

See also

References

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