Stanford on Soar is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and civil parish located on the River Soar

River Soar

The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...

, just within the Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 side of the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

 boundary, in the Borough of Rushcliffe

Rushcliffe

Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging the West Bridgford Urban District, the Bingham Rural District and part of Basford Rural District.-Political representation:The...

. It is around a mile north of Loughborough

Loughborough

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

 in Leicestershire. It is the southernmost place within the county of Nottinghamshire. Other nearby places are Normanton on Soar

Normanton on Soar

Normanton on Soar is a village and civil parish in the south of Nottinghamshire in England near the River Soar.Nearby villages include Zouch, Sutton Bonington and Stanford on Soar....

 and Cotes

Cotes, Leicestershire

Cotes is a hamlet and very small civil parish near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, England, with a population of about 50.It lies on the River Soar, and Cotes Bridge provides the main bridging point in that area. The A60 Trunk Road goes over Cotes Bridge on its way out of Loughborough...

.

Close to the church there is a viaduct (Stanford Viaduct

Stanford Viaduct

thumb|rightStanford Viaduct is a railway viaduct in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. It is named after the nearby village of Stanford on Soar....

) over the River Soar carrying the former Great Central Railway

Great Central Railway

The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...

. This stretch of line runs from the Midland Mainline

Midland Mainline

Midland Mainline was a British train operating company owned by the National Express Group and based in Derby. It was created after the privatisation of British Rail. Midland Mainline services operated from April 1996 to November 2007....

 at Loughborough South Junction to Ruddington

Ruddington

Ruddington is an English village situated five miles south of Nottingham in the Borough of Rushcliffe. It had a population of 6,441 at the 2001 UK census....

 and carries freight trains to the British Gypsum

BPB plc

BPB plc is a British building materials business: it is the world's largest manufacturer of plasterboard. It once was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...

 works at East Leake

East Leake

East Leake is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire, England, although its closest town and postal address is Loughborough across the border in Leicestershire. It has a population of around 7,000. The original village was located on the Sheepwash Brook. ...

 as well as heritage steam and diesel trains. There are proposals to build a railway bridge over the Midland Mainline, known as Loughborough Gap

Loughborough Gap

The Loughborough Gap is a short, disused section of the former Great Central Main Line in the northeastern corner of Loughborough, England, between the northern and southern sections of the present-day Great Central Railway. The formation originally consisted of an embankment and three bridges: two...

, at the east end of Loughborough Station to reconnect this stretch with the remaining Great Central Railway (preserved)

Great Central Railway (preserved)

The Great Central Railway is a heritage railway split into two adjacent sections, one in Leicestershire and the other Nottinghamshire.The Leicestershire section is currently Britain's only double track mainline heritage railway, with of working double track, period signalling, locomotives and...

 running from Loughborough Central railway station

Loughborough Central railway station

Loughborough Central Station is a railway station on the Great Central Railway and the Great Central Railway serving Loughborough....

 to Leicester North

Belgrave and Birstall railway station

Belgrave and Birstall railway station was a railway station opened by the Great Central Railway in 1899. In 1991 Leicester North railway station was opened immediately to the south of Belgrave and Birstall railway station by the preserved Great Central heritage railway and is representative of the...

. Although there isn't a rail station in the village, East Midlands Parkway

East Midlands Parkway railway station

East Midlands Parkway is a railway station located north of Ratcliffe-on-Soar on the Midland Main Line in the East Midlands of England. It provides park and ride facilities for rail passengers on the routes from Leicester to Derby and Nottingham...

 opened early in 2008 at Ratcliffe on Sour providing links on the Midland Main Line

Midland Main Line

The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...

.

Parish Church

The Parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 Church of St John the Baptist was begun in the 13th Century and underwent a significant restoration in 1893. It is within the Anglican Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham

Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham

The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York. It is headed by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham. The diocese covers all of the English county of Nottinghamshire and part of South Yorkshire...

 and is the most southerly parish in the Province of York

Province of York

The Province of York is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England, and consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to an Archbishopric in 735 AD: Ecgbert of York was the first archbishop...

. It also forms part of a joint Benefice

Benefice

A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...

 with the neighbouring parishes of Costock

Costock

Costock is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire, although its closest town and postal address is Loughborough across the border in Leicestershire. It is situated next to the A60 road. It has a Church of England primary school. St...

, East Leake, West Leake

West Leake

West Leake is a small village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire. It is on the Kingston Brook, between the larger village of East Leake to the east and Kingston to the west; the parish of Sutton Bonington lies to the south. The parish church is St. Helena's Church, West...

 and Rempstone

Rempstone

Rempstone is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire,although its closest town and postal address is Loughborough across the border in Leicestershire. It is situated at the crossing of the A60 and A6006 roads. It has no schools...

. There is a Rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 and Associate Priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

.