Rushcliffe Borough Council has an obligation under Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to review, from time to time, its Conservation Area designations.

A Conservation Area, as defined under Section 69, is ‘an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.

Aslockton Conservation Area was designated in 2007. The Aslockton Conservation Area was reviewed in 2018 however; due to the pandemic the there were delays in the consultation. The appraisal document was updated to reflect the area’s recent developments and was adopted after consultation in August 2023.

Section 71 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 highlights the local planning authority’s duty to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of the conservation areas. This document, therefore, aims to identify and
reaffirm (or redefine) the special architectural or historic interest of the area which warrants its designation.

Conservation Area Appraisals are not, and never have been, tools for to fossilise a place against change, instead, the processes of change which allow places to grow and evolve are recognised as being unavoidable, and it is also recognised that change can be a positive and desirable force. The designation instead allows greater scrutiny and control to manage change to positive effect and to ensure that any changes which require planning permission do not harm, and ideally serve to actively enhance, the existing character of the place.

Aslockton Conservation Area: Summary of Special Interest

A linear village with a strong rural character.

Many of the roads have an enclosed feel, particularly the dense Main Road with walls and properties abutting the road. The
approaches to the village are dominated by hedgerows.

Many of the smaller side streets in the village have their own unique character such as the narrow Dawns Lane.

An archaeologically important village with strong historical associations with Thomas Cranmer who was born in the village and became Archbishop of Canterbury.

Many positive buildings which reflect the pre 1900 style of vernacular architecture in the Borough.

1.2 The Purpose of a Conservation Area Character Appraisal

The purpose of a Conservation Area Character Appraisal is to:

Identify and record the special interest of the Conservation Area to ensure there is public awareness and understanding of what is
worthy of preservation.
To define and reassess current boundaries to accurately reflect what is now perceived to be of special interest.
To identify opportunities to safeguard and enhance the special interest of the Conservation Area.

It should be noted that the content in this document is not a comprehensive account of every significant building, structure, tree, wall, feature, or space. Therefore, any omission should not be assumed to imply that they are of no interest.

Generally, the character and appearance of a Conservation Area will be preserved or enhanced by:

Providing controls and regulating development through the planning system.
Applying the extra controls that designation provides over demolition, minor development, and the protection of trees.
Environmental enhancement schemes and possibly providing financial assistance for the repair and restoration of specific buildings.
Encouraging public bodies such as the local highways authority or utility companies to take opportunities to improve the street scene through the appropriate design and sensitive sighting of street furniture (and retention of historic features of interest), or the removal of eyesores and street features that have a negative impact such as overhead wires.

1.3 The Planning Policy Context

This appraisal provides a firm basis on which applications for development within the Aslockton Conservation Area would be
assessed. It should be read alongside the wider development plan policy framework produced by Rushcliffe Borough Council and other
National Planning Policy Guidance documents. The relevant documents include:

Rushcliffe Local Plan Part 1: Core Strategy, with a specific focus on:
- Policy 10 (Design and Enhancing Local Identity) [in part]
- Policy 11 (Historic Environment)
Rushcliffe Local Plan Part 2: Development Policies, with a specific focus on:
- Policy 28 (Conserving and Enhancing Heritage Assets)
- Policy 29 (Development Affecting Archaeological Sites)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (Revised -2021)
The National Planning Practice Guidance (2015 - Subject to Continual Review)
By Design: Urban Design in the Planning System – Towards Better Practice (2000)
The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990

2 Aslockton Location and Landscape Setting

Rushcliffe Borough forms the southern tip of Nottinghamshire, which borders Leicestershire. It is predominantly a rural Borough that contains a mixture of city suburbs, market towns and villages. Rushcliffe is located about half a mile South of Nottingham city centre, with the River Trent forming the majority of its northern boundary and the River Soar defining its western boundary.

The A46 (Fosse Way), a distinctive Roman Road, runs through the centre of the Borough and leads to Newark in the North and Leicester in the South. In the northern half of the Borough, the A52 forms Nottingham’s primary transport link to Grantham and the East of England. Junction 24 of the M1 and East Midlands Airport are located about 1 mile from the western border.

Aslockton is located to the North of the A52 due East of Nottingham and lies along the rail line from Nottingham to Grantham. The village is separated from Whatton by a watercourse which was a previous line of the River Smite. The village contains a primary school, a church, a post office/shop and a public house along with several other small businesses.

Figure 1- A Map of the Borough of Rushcliffe

2.1 The Aslockton Conservation Area

The conservation area predominantly covers the parts of the village occupied before 1900. Since then, the village has increased through ribbon development along the main roads out of the village. The Conservation Area does not include the site identified as Cranmer’s Mound which was the site of a Motte and Bailey Castle with moated fishponds. This area is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and as such already receives statutory protection to a far greater degree. The boundary of the Conservation Area does not set out to try and include all open space around the village but where appropriate it does include open space within a logical boundary. For instance, the western
boundary follows for much of its length the western edge of the public footpath, to include a viewpoint over undeveloped land to the west and towards the former Maltings.

The setting of the conservation area contributes greatly to it by providing a strong connection to the village's rural origins. Most development in Aslockton has been low level ribbon development along the approach roads, thus the conservation area is mostly bordered by open fields, not urban development.

The village only has 2 listed buildings but the main body of the village contains a large number of high quality traditional buildings which make a positive contribution to the special character of the village.

At the time of the 2017 review of the conservation area appraisal a re-survey of the boundary was undertaken to determine whether the adopted boundary was still considered appropriate or whether any amendments were desirable.

On this occasion one property, Whiteways on Cliffhill Lane, has been identified which was previously just outside of the conservation area boundary but which makes a strong positive contribution to the character of the area such as to warrant its inclusion inside the boundary. This positive contribution had been previously acknowledged within the townscape appraisal.

The viewpoint immediately south of the railway crossing identified in the Townscape Appraisal also warrants inclusion.

There were no areas around the periphery of the conservation area which, as a result of changes or alterations, are no longer appropriate for inclusion and as such there are no reductions in the existing boundary proposed.

As a result of this re-assessment it is considered appropriate for the appraisal to be re-adopted with minor boundary changes to extend the conservation area and include within its boundary:

Whiteways
The viewpoint immediately south of the railway crossing

Conservation Area Boundary covers: 14.5 hectares (approximate)
Number of Grade I listed buildings: 0
Number of Grade II* listed buildings: 0
Number of Grade II listed buildings: 2

A full list of Aslockton Conservation Area’s Listed buildings can be found in Appendix 1.

3 Historical Contexts

3.1 Location and Historic Activities

Aslockton is first recorded in Domesday Book and would have been an agricultural community; this was the case even after the train station was built in 1850. The 1881 census shows that 45% of the population were farmers or agricultural labourers. The village would have been originally farmed on an open field system with a small number of large open fields surrounding the village. There is remaining evidence of this early agriculture in the form of ridge and furrow paddocks located to the north west of Cliffhill Lane. In Aslockton and Scarrington an Enclosure Act was made between 1779 and 1780 with the actual enclosure taking place in 1781. This resulted in the formation of many of the field boundaries we see today. Even where fields have been subsequently enlarged or combined
to accommodate larger agricultural machinery they often have at least one boundary which reflects the field pattern created in 1781, which itself would have retained at least some sections of boundary relating to the open fields, usually identifiable as having curving boundaries, such as some of the fields to the north side of Abbey Lane.

The village was a chapelry within the parish of Whatton until 1891. Within large and sparsely populated parishes it was common to find settlements with a ‘chapel of ease’ created so that the residents did not have to walk considerable distances to the Parish Church on Sundays, in this case the distance to the church at Whatton was not large via the ford but anyone wishing to arrive at church dry would have had to walk a considerable distance to the nearest bridge. In most cases a Chapel of Ease is still administered by the parish, but in this case the Aslockton Chapel was a ‘peculiar’ of Southwell Minster. In the 15th Century Nottinghamshire was within the Diocese of York
and all its parishes under the control of the Archbishop of York. The collegiate church at Southwell was a notable exception, being self-governing and independent of control from York. It was this collegiate church which established the chapel at Aslockton, as such it was not under the control of the Archbishop but the pre-bendal college at Southwell.

The present day parish church of St Thomas was built in 1891. The church cost £3000 and was paid for by Mrs Sophia Hall of Whatton Manor in memory of her son Thomas Kendrick Hall (former Vicar of Whatton who had died in a shipwreck). A Methodist Chapel was located on Chapel Lane the site of which has since been developed. The 15th Century Holy Trinity Chapel was located on Main Street, and the remains of it can still be seen incorporated into Cranmer’s Cottage.

Prior to 1891 church worship and burial between the villages of Aslockton and Whatton had always been joined, utilising the churchyard in Whatton. However residents of Aslockton were excluded from being buried in Whatton Churchyard in the 1860’s, this lead the village to buy a piece of land for use as a cemetery to the northwest of Aslockton. It is likely that the reasons related to overcrowding of the Whatton graveyard. Within 30 years Aslockton was granted status as a separate parish.

Aslockton has connections with Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) who was born in the village and spent the first 14 years of his life here. He later became Archbishop of Canterbury, appointed by Henry VIII. He played a central role in the Reformation and was responsible for producing the 'Book of Common Prayer', for use in the Church of England and the Anglican Church worldwide. The original house belonging to the Cranmer family has disappeared (the site is now occupied by ‘Cranmer House’ to the North-West of the village centre). However a series of earthworks, behind St Thomas’s Church, known as Cranmer’s Mound, are thought to be the remains of sixteenth
Century gardens and watercourses, originally belonging to the family, and possibly occupying the site of a small Norman motte and bailey castle.

3.2 Archaeology

There is archaeological evidence of Iron Age and Roman occupation within Aslockton. The Key to English Place Names identifies the name Aslockton as having Norse Origins, and this is supported by recent academic research by the University of Nottingham. It has been suggested that the name is a hybrid name from the Old Norse male personal name Áslákr combined with the Old English element tun ‘farm, settlement’. The agricultural settlement has a low lying relatively flat surroundings being readily adapted to agriculture once cleared of woodland, with the nearby River Smite acting as a source of water rather than transportation (the river was crossable via a ford between Aslockton and Whatton).

Scheduled Monument - Cranmer’s Mound a Scheduled Ancient Monument located North of Saucer Farm to the East of Main Street. Grid Ref: SK 744 401.

In 1893 the grave of a warrior with sword and spear was discovered at Aslockton, the location of this is shown at the North of the 1900 plan above. Although the settlement of the village itself is thought to date back to the Saxon Period archaeological remains indicate sporadic occupation within the parish, as far back as the 5th century BC.

The settlement is not in a readily defendable landscape and would not have been founded in this location for any reason other than to exploit the surrounding good quality agricultural land.

3.3 Historical Mapping

4 Spatial Analysis

The relationship between open spaces and the built form within a conservation area can be central to its character. This section describes the village’s layout, highlighting the significant views, landmarks and historical focal points. The contribution of open green spaces, trees and other natural elements to the conservation area’s character is also described within this section.

4.1 Plan, Form and Layout

The village has maintained its linear form, with late 20th-century ribbon development extending along Abbey Lane (formerly Moor Lane), Mill Lane, and Cliffhill Lane. This layout offers occasional views into the surrounding fields and paddocks, reinforcing the village’s rural setting and historical roots.

The River Smite has historically acted as a natural boundary between the village and Whatton, a separation further emphasised by the later addition of the railway line. Despite some modest housing developments introducing parallel access roads, the overall road layout has remained largely unchanged since the 1784 enclosure map.

The streetscape of the village features several more intimate lanes and rights of way, often well enclosed by buildings, walls and hedging to create intimate a hierarchy of spaces within the public realm adding to the character and variety of the conservation area.

Below is a map that describes the current plan, form and layout of the village/town.

This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of His Majesty’s Stationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings.
Rushcliffe Borough Council - 100019419

4.2 Landmarks, Focal Points and Views

The Townscape Appraisal map illustrates these key views along with the many other views and vistas that reveal the rural location of the village. The village doesn’t have many focal points, the enclosed nature of many of the streets focus views along the roads. Many of these enclosed lanes have a distinctly rural feel. As an example Abbey Lane from Main Road starts as a tightly enclosed lane with a high proportion of enclosure hedges and trees suggesting an imminent departure from the village into the countryside. This character changes after a few hundred yards as modern development takes over, showing the transition between the pre-1900 village and its modern expansion.

4.3 Open Spaces, Trees and Landscape

Areas within the conservation area are strongly influenced by trees and hedge planting which enclose the public realm and create a less formal rural character such as in Figure 5, Chapel Lane.

Elsewhere, such as in the eastern section of Abbey Lane mature trees and hedging enclose the public realm and give the lane a more enclosed and intimate character than in its more open western section.

The most significant trees, hedges, open spaces, grass verges and gardens are marked on the Townscape Appraisal map. There is no significant public open space within the Conservation Area, but there are areas to the South of the village. Whilst parts of the village have an enclosed feel there is still sufficient space in gardens for trees to make an important contribution to the character of the village and give it a mature setting.

Works to Trees

You must contact the Local Planning Authority (LPA), Rushcliffe Borough Council before any works (cutting OR pruning) are carried out to trees within the Aslockton Conservation Area.

Six weeks’ notice is required before any works to trees within the Conservation Area is carried out, even if they are not protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO).

If there is a tree which undergoes annual maintenance, include this information with the notice. It may be possible, upon agreement with the tree officer, that only one notice is required to cover the future annual maintenance.

Standard notification forms (a section 211 notice), further information and contact details.

A flow chart of the decision-making process regarding works to trees.

4.4 Public Realm

The village has a strong rural feel and this is predominantly characterised by Hawthorn hedges which help link the main body of the village along the rural approaches with the countryside beyond. Main Street has a mixture of boundary treatments dominated by brick walls and Hawthorn hedges. Significant walls and hedges are marked on the Townscape Appraisal map.

View looking North along Main Street with a typical mix of hedgerows and walls and one of the rural approached to the village dominated by hedgerows.

5 Buildings of the Conservation Area and Key Characteristics

5.1 Building Types and Activity

The building types in Aslockton reflect its origins as a small agricultural village and are surprisingly varied despite the settlement’s modest size. The most common forms are:

Vernacular Cottages
Typically one‑and‑a‑half or two‑storey, two‑ to three‑bay dwellings, originally housing farm workers and craftsmen. They are usually constructed of local red brick or coursed limestone, under plain tile or pantile roofs, with simple stone or brick dressings. A few retain timber‑framed casement windows, low doorways and gabled porches, contributing to the intimate street scene.

Traditional Farm Buildings
Scattered throughout the Conservation Area are small courtyarded complexes comprising former barns, stables, cart sheds and granaries. These outbuildings, often grouped around a yard, were originally laid in Flemish‑bond brick with large segmental‑arched openings, many have now been sympathetically converted to residential or home‑office use.

Victorian and Edwardian Infill
From the late 19th and early 20th centuries come a handful of larger houses set back behind front gardens. Built of stretcher‑bond brick with decorative bargeboards, timber sash windows and slate or tile roofs, these properties introduce modest ornamentation while respecting the village’s prevailing scale.

5.2 Key Characteristics and Building Materials

Prior to the arrival of the railway in 1850, building materials were largely locally sourced. Bricks did not often travel far from where they were made, leading to interesting village specific sizes, colours and styles. After 1784 the total volume of a brick was standardised (as the result of the introduction of a ‘brick tax’ levied as 4s per 1000 bricks –the tax was being undermined by brickmakers who simply started making larger bricks, forcing the government to legislate a maximum size for bricks) as such after the late 18th century local
variations in brick sizes cease.

Many buildings were also timber framed. Roofs would have been made from local materials such as thatch, stone and clay. This leads to a local vernacular architecture with a range of styles and materials.

The traditional building materials within the Conservation Area are as follows:

Walls: Reddy brown bricks dominate, although a number of properties have been rendered or painted cream.

Roofs: Predominantly clay pantiles and with some Welsh slate with plain closed eaves.

Windows: Timber sliding sashes, with many creating a symmetrical façade and having glazing bars, often set below a shallow brick arch. First floor windows are set just below the eaves.

Many windows not topped by arches have chamfered reveals, cills and hood lintels.

Doors: Traditional doors remain Timber.

Chimneys: The majority are located within the gable wall.

Although a wealth of vernacular cottages and farmhouses form the bulk of the buildings within the conservation area there are also a number of more formally designed buildings.

The parish Church is the most notable of these, built during the high Victorian Period in the scholarly Gothic Revival style. The Thomas Cranmer centre, begun 2008, represents a successful modern addition to the church and an example of how careful modern design can respect historic character.

5.2.1 Key Characteristics: Entrance via Mill Lane (Character Zone 1)