Tucked away off a busy road, Burton Joyce is described as a 'stereotypical village where people know each other'. Local businesses and residents describe it as 'wholesome' - and it also has a touch of stardust
Gavin and Stacey star Mathew Horne and Sherrie Hewson, known for her role in Coronation Street, grew up in the village. Former world champion boxer Carl Froch has been spotted in a local cafe and former Nottingham Forest defender and retired Leicester City Premier League-winning captain Wes Morgan at one of the village pubs.
Paralympic gold medal winner Richard Whitehead grew up in Lowdham and lives in Burton Joyce while Aston Merrygold, who is in boy band JLS, sometimes visits a pub there. While some may live in the village itself, others clearly love what it is has to offer and like to visit when they can.
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Niki Pericleous, the 49-year-old owner of Burton Joyce Fish Bar who has been in the village for 22 years, said: “It’s a lovely village, it’s a good lovely village. I’ve been here for 22 years and never had any trouble - it’s a family orientated area. There’s a few celebs and they’re friendly. I can’t think of any negatives.”
People living there also shared how much they love the village for its ‘nice community’ and ‘ range of places’ such as the cafes and pubs. Mo Stratford, the general manager of The Nelson, a village pub, told Nottinghamshire Live the main reasons she enjoys life there.
She said: “It’s nice, it’s cute and it’s wholesome. It’s friendly - we’ve got three pubs and one bar. We’re all very close together, we all drink in each other's pubs and we help each other.
"We are all very different pubs. It’s a very stereotypical village where people know each other. It’s just a nice general local village pub - I wouldn’t say it’s a celebrity hotspot but they do come.”
Matthew Boardman, 20, is a sales assistant at Zest, a store on Main Street which sells fresh fruit and vegetables. Mr Boardman said that everyone seems nice and that he has seen famous people around.
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"It's a community based area," he said. "There’s a range of places, cafes and stuff. There’s quite a few famous people here. It's just nice people and everyone is friendly. Everyone is nice, they're always willing to help one another.”
Shell, 31, a waitress at Rhubarbs Cafe and Tea Toom, told Nottinghamshire Live that they have also been visited by famous faces.
She said: “All friendly and all nice - everyone knows one another around here. They’re nice, they’re locals aren’t they? All the businesses are quite friendly. It’s a nice village, you’ve got a lot on your doorstep.”
Resident Steven Baxter, 68, moved from Woodthorpe to Burton Joyce a year ago and says it’s ‘fantastic’.
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Mr Baxter said: “I like it, it’s really nice. People are very friendly. I came here because it is generally quiet in traffic. It’s handy for walking around the river. There’s good services like the train and bus. It’s a very pleasant place to live. It’s a real mixture of people - it’s lovely and fantastic.”
