ABOUT
Aslockton
Aslockton is a village and civil parish 12 miles east of Nottingham, on the north bank of the River Smite. The parish borders Scarrington, Thoroton and Orston, and is within the borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire. The village has a post-office and shop, a railway station, a residential home and a number of sport clubs in addition to the well-known Grade II listed St. Thomas' church and Thomas Cranmer Centre. Cranmer's mound, the earthworks being all that remains of 12th century Aslockton Castle, stands around 5m high.
Historical Background
The place-name of Aslockton or Aslachetune, as it is known from the Domesday survey of 1086, is derived from the personal name Aslach, which is Old Scandinavian, and the suffix tun, which is Old English for farmstead (Mills 1991). There is evidence of an iron age settlement around Mill Lane dating back to the first century BC.
Situated on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir, Aslockton was, until recently, largely a farming community. It is famoulsy the birth-place of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Thomas Cranmer, who was born in Aslockton in 1489. At this time Aslockton was a Chapelry and part of Whatton Parish. This was the case until 1869 when Aslockton split from Whatton and joined with Scarrington (against the villages' wishes!) Having lost the right to be buried in Whatton Churchyard, Aslockton formed its own cemetery on Mill Lane, St Thomas Church was built later in 1898, financed by the widow of the Lord of the Manor of Whatton in memory of her son.
For further information visit the local Cranmer History Group (opens in new tab)