Ranskill

{{Short description|Village in Nottinghamshire, England}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}

{{Infobox UK place

| country = England

| official_name = Ranskill

| coordinates = {{coord|53.38030|-1.01680|display=inline,title|scale:25000}}

| population = 1,435

| population_ref = (2021)

| shire_district = Bassetlaw

| shire_county = Nottinghamshire

| region = East Midlands

| constituency_westminster = Bassetlaw

| post_town = RETFORD

| postcode_district = DN22

| postcode_area = DN

| dial_code = 01777

| os_grid_reference = SK 655875

| static_image_name = Church of St Barnabas, Ranskill (geograph 4258406).jpg

| static_image_caption = Church of St Barnabas, Ranskill

| type = Village and civil parish

| website = {{url|http://ranskill.org.uk}}

| static_image_2_caption = Parish map

| static_image_2_name = {{infobox mapframe|frame-width=240|frame-height=180|zoom=12}}

| area_total_sq_mi = 2.05

| london_direction = SSE

| london_distance_mi = 135

}}

Ranskill is a village and civil parish in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, with its nearest town being Retford approximately {{convert|5|mi|km|abbr=off}} south. The Ranskill parish according to the 2001 census has 2,226 residents, falling to 1,362 at the 2011 census,{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11127827&c=Ranskill&d=16&e=62&g=6456317&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1460632821062&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|accessdate=14 April 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}} and improving to 1,435 at the 2021 census.{{NOMIS2021|id=E04007831|title=Ranskill parish|accessdate=22 January 2024}} There is also a Bassetlaw ward called Ranskill. This ward had a population of 2,417 at the 2011 census.{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=13693992&c=Ranskill&d=14&e=62&g=6456315&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1460633124234&enc=1|title=Bassetlaw ward population 2011|accessdate=14 April 2016|publisher=Office for National Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}

Ranskill dates back to the Danish invasions of the 9th century where the name 'Ravenskelf' meant 'shelving knoll/ridge of the raven'.[http://ranskill.org.uk/History/history.html Ranskill Parish, Nottinghamshire] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820071719/http://ranskill.org.uk/History/history.html |date=20 August 2006 }}

The village features St. Barnabas Church, built in 1878 and a Methodist chapel first built in 1868 and expanded in the 1930s. The Methodist chapel also features a schoolroom, where today the local newspaper, the STAR (Scrooby, Torworth and Ranskill) is printed. Ranskill also has a reading room, built in 1891 by the Gillott family as a library and reading room, where in 1909 the room was changed to include billiard tables. Today the room is still in use and features two billiard tables, two pool tables and a darts board.

The East Coast Main Line railway passes to the east of the village, which was the site of a Royal Ordnance Factory from 1940 until 1975. Ranskill also had a railway station which opened in 1852 where there was a half-hourly service between Retford and Doncaster. The station closed in 1958.