Kingston on Soar

Village in Nottinghamshire, England

Kingston on Soar is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England.

Kingston on Soar predominantly lies within the Trent Washlands character area, and partially in the Nottinghamshire Wolds character area. White's Directory of Nottinghamshire, written in 1853, describes Kingston on Soar as such:Kingston Upon Soar is a small village and parish 10 miles south west by south of Nottingham, betwixt the Wolds and the Leicestershire border. John Throsby, writing during 1790 in his new edition of Robert Thoroton's Antiquities of Nottinghamshire, describes Kingston on Soar such:This Lordship contains 1100 acres of old inclosed land, divided into 3 farms, exclusive of some patches of home ground, attached to some inferior dwellings: It belongs chiefly to the Duke of Leeds, who is lord of the manor. [ ] The village contains about 30 dwellings.

St Winifred's church dates back to 1540, when the chancel was built under the Babington family of Dethick. Before, when Kingston on Soar belonged to the parish of Ratcliffe on Soar, a chapel of ease existed dating back to the late 11th or early 12th century. The church was largely rebuilt in 1900 by R Creed. The hall was built by the architect Edward Blore Ronald Strutt, the 4th Lord Belper, sold the hall in 1976. In 1980 the hall was converted into 12 individual dwellings and the surrounding buildings were sold for separate occupation. The University Farm, a commercial research farm, partly lies in the parish, including an associated high technology dairy centre.

The Member of Parliament for the parliamentary constituency of Rushcliffe is Ruth Edwards, of the Conservative party, who has held the seat since 2019. She was elected with 28,765 votes. The constituency had previously been represented by Kenneth Clarke, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1970 until 2019.

For Nottinghamshire County Council elections the parish comes within the Leake & Ruddington electoral ward, which has two council seats. The most recent election was in May 2021, when Matt Barney and Reg Adair, both of the Conservative party, won the two available seats.

For the election of a councillor to Rushcliffe Borough Council, the parish forms part of the Gotham ward, which elects two councillors. The most recent election was on 4 May 2023, in which Rex Walker and Andy Brown of the Conservatives were elected.

The parish council has 7 seats. Council meetings usually take place on the first Tuesday every two months. Before 1894 the parish was part of the Shardlow sanitary district, along with other nearby villages such as Ratcliffe on Soar and Kegworth. Between 1837 and 1930 the parish was also part of the Shardlow poor law union and registration district. From 1927 the parish was part of the Leake Rural District, until its abolition in 1935, when the parish was then transferred to the Basford Rural District. In April 1974 the Basford Rural District was abolished and the non metropolitan district of Rushcliffe was created, which Kingston on Soar became part of.

There is no railway station in the village, however East Midlands Parkway opened in January 2009 at nearby Ratcliffe on Soar providing links on the Midland Main Line with journeys to London St Pancras taking approximately 90 minutes. The Soar Valley Bus routes 1 7 serve the village, including a regular service to East Leake Academy during school term time, a weekly service to Loughborough on Thursday (market day), a weekly service to East Leake on Tuesday and a service every Friday to either Long Eaton Asda or West Bridford Asda. The Nottinghamshire 865 bus also serves the village providing a regular service to Clifton NET Park & Ride between Monday to Saturday.

The Village Hall, built in 1935, is located near the centre of the village on The Green. Kingston on Soar has one postbox, located on The Green.