Toton

Although the village of Toton has existed since at least Norman times, little is known of its history. It is known that Toton parish at one time encompassed a much larger area than is now apparent, including much of what is now Attenborough village; it shared a church (probably on the site of St. Mary's, Attenborough) with the neighbouring Chilwell parish, an arrangement that was unusual for the times.^[4]

The village itself was, for most of its history, small and dominated by agriculture. It then grew principally because of Toton Sidings (see Toton Traction Maintenance Depot), a huge marshalling yard of the Midland Railway, where coal mined from Nottinghamshire coal fields would be sorted and distributed across Great Britain. The area's population grew substantially during World War I when most of the area of level ground between Chilwell and Toton was occupied by the National Shell Filling Factory No. 6 and the original direct route between Chilwell and Toton became a gated military road, now known as Chetwynd Road; this site is now known as Chetwynd Barracks.

As a result, the nature of the village changed drastically in the twentieth century. Almost all the agricultural land (mostly orchards) to the north of the A6005 was developed with housing. A few of the old orchard trees were retained in some gardens. Most of the old farmhouses were demolished and perhaps twelve buildings remain that are pre-1900. Almost no visible traces remain of Toton's agricultural past.

Toton was historically a township in the parish of Attenborough. It became a civil parish in 1866.^[5] In 1931 the parish had a population of 644.^[6] On 1 April 1935 the parish was abolished and merged into Beeston and Stapleford urban district.^[7] Beeston and Stapleford Urban District was abolished in 1974 to become part of Broxtowe. No successor parish was created and it became an unparished area.^[8]

As of 2025, the borough ward is served by two Conservative party councillors: Stephanie Kerry and Halimah Khaled MBE, as well as Teresa Cullen, who is a member of the Broxtowe Alliance party.^[9]

Manor Park (built on the site of the old Manor Farm) is a popular council park, with well-maintained cricket and football pitches, tennis courts and a bowling green. This joins onto Banks Road Open Area, an extended strip of land along and between the banks of the River Erewash and its overflow channel; it stretches up along Toton Bank. These areas are managed collectively as Toton Fields Local Nature Reserve.

Toton Washlands is a nature reserve, created by the Environment Agency to the west of Toton Sidings, that serves as flood defence for the River Erewash and sits to the east of the Erewash Canal. Although it is within the village's boundaries, it is only possible to access the area from neighbouring Long Eaton due to the presence of the sidings.

Toton has four schools:

• Banks Road Infant and Nursery School
• Bispham Drive Junior School
• Chetwynd Primary Academy
• George Spencer Academy and Sixth Form.

Toton has its own cricket team and various football teams, including Toton Tigers, Toton Tornadoes and Toton United; most teams train at the local cricket ground of Beeston and Toton Sycamore Cricket Club or Manor Farm open space. Toton also has a bowling green, at which Toton Bowls Club are based, along with tennis courts and outdoor play areas.

Toton has three churches: St. Peter's (Church of England), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Toton Methodist Church. Toton Methodist Church and St. Peter's are in a covenanted Churches Together relationship, working together frequently on various community activities.^[10]

Toton has two scout groups: 1st Toton, based at St Peters church, and 2nd Toton, at Greenwood Community Centre.