Retford (/ˈrɛtfərd/), also known as East Retford, is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies on the River Idle and the Chesterfield Canal. Retford is located 26 miles (42 km) east of Sheffield, 23 miles (37 km) west of Lincoln and 31 miles (50 km) north-east of Nottingham. The population at the 2021 census was 23,740. It is near North Wheatley.[1] The town is bypassed by the A1 road.
The borough of East Retford was enlarged in 1878 to include Ordsall, West Retford and part of the parish of Clarborough. The East Retford constituency was a noted example of a rotten borough, being effectively controlled by local landowners the Dukes of Newcastle until reformed in the early nineteenth century.[2] Retford and the surrounding area was also a centre of Nonconformism.