Gotham ( ) is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. Its population was 1,563 in the 2011 census and marginally increased to 1,567 in the 2021 census. It is in the borough of Rushcliffe and has a parish council.

The name Gotham comes from the Old English for "goat home".

References to Gotham in literature

thumb|left|Cuckoo Bush Mound is the alleged site for the tale of the Wise Men of Gotham's attempt at fencing in the cuckoo, but it is actually a Neolithic burial mound. It is about three thousand years old and was excavated in 1847.

The village is most famed for the stories of the "Wise Men of Gotham". These depict the people of the village as being stupid. However, the reason for the behaviour is believed to be that the villagers wished to feign madness to avoid a royal highway being built through the village, as they would then be expected to build and maintain this route. Madness was believed at the time to be highly contagious, and when King John's knights saw the villagers behaving as if insane, the knights swiftly withdrew and the king's road was re-routed to avoid the village.

Gotham magistrates were said to have attempted to fence in a bush to keep a cuckoo captive, this from the Sheriff of Nottingham. One of the three pubs in the village is known as the "Cuckoo Bush Inn".

Reminded of the foolish ingenuity of Gotham's residents, the American writer Washington Irving gave the name "Gotham" to New York City in his Salmagundi Papers (1807). In turn, Bill Finger named Batman's pastiche New York Gotham City. The existence of Gotham, Nottinghamshire in the DC Universe was acknowledged in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight No. 206 (and again in 52 No. 27), On 31 December 2018, a horse had to be rescued by the fire service after becoming trapped in the pillbox.

Transport

Although Gotham has never been served by a passenger railway station, it does lie at the end of a branch line about 2 miles in length that leads westwards from the Great Central main line, opened in March 1899. The branch used to serve a plaster factory and gypsum mines, but was closed in the early 1960s. The main line itself closed to regular services in May 1969, but the section from Loughborough to Ruddington was reopened and is now owned and operated by the Nottingham Heritage Railway, giving access to the railway heritage centre at Ruddington. The closest main line station today is East Midlands Parkway railway station which opened early in 2008 at Ratcliffe-on-Soar providing links on the Midland Main Line.

Gotham was home to the South Notts Bus Company, which provided a bus service between Nottingham and Loughborough running through the village. The South Notts trading name is still used by Nottingham City Transport, which took over the service in 1991.

Local government and elections

Parliamentary elections

Gotham lies in the Rushcliffe constituency. The Member of Parliament for the seat is James Naish of the Labour Party, elected in 2024. The constituency had previously been represented by Ruth Edwards (Conservative) and Kenneth Clarke, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, from 1970 until 2019.

Local government

County council

Gotham lies in the Leake and Ruddington ward, which elects two councillors. In the 2025 election, Andy Brown (Conservative) and Stuart Matthews (Reform UK) were elected with 2,241 and 1,863 votes respectively.

District council

Gotham is a part of Rushcliffe Borough Council. It is part of the Gotham ward, which elects two councillors, along with Barton in Fabis, Kingston on Soar, Ratcliffe on Soar, and Thrumpton. In the 2023 election, Gotham elected Rex Walker and Andy Brown (Conservative) with 561 and 437 votes respectively.

Parish council

The parish council has 13 members. The most recent election in 2023 was uncontested.

Churches

The village has a twelfth-century church, St Lawrence's, dedicated to the martyr Lawrence of Rome.

Other points of interest

On 2 August 1984, as rain storms lashed the county, Gotham was hit by a tornado at approximately 5:50 pm, uprooting trees, blowing garden sheds onto power cables, destroying greenhouses and severely damaging houses, roofs and chimneys; however, no one was injured.

Gotham is home to a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) listed as Gotham Hill Pasture.

See also

  • Listed buildings in Gotham, Nottinghamshire

<gallery mode=packed>

File:Gotham, England.jpg|In 2014, the Gotham sign had been stolen three times in four years by Batman fans

File:View From The Square, Gotham - geograph.org.uk - 4250.jpg|The Square

File:Gotham Legends wind vane.jpg|Wind vane in the centre of town displaying the legends of Gotham

File:The Cuckoo Bush Gotham - geograph.org.uk - 1337305.jpg|The Cuckoo Bush Inn

File:The Star Inn Gotham - geograph.org.uk - 1298920.jpg|The Star Inn

File:Thatched cottage - geograph.org.uk - 1771849.jpg|Thatched house on Nottingham Road

File:Gotham Church from the north east - geograph.org.uk - 748093.jpg|St Lawrence's Church

File:The Manor - geograph.org.uk - 1771844.jpg|Gotham Manor

File:Old gypsum workings on Gotham Hill - geograph.org.uk - 739109.jpg|The old gypsum workings on Gotham Hill

File:Gotham Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1305645.jpg|Woods on Gotham Hill

File:Old railway line - geograph.org.uk - 1771852.jpg|The Gotham branch of the Great Central Railway, now converted to a footpath

</gallery>

References

  • Official Gotham Village Website
  • Gotham Memorial Hall
  • The Gotham and District Local History Society