RETFORD East, a market town and borough of Nottinghamshire, is situated on the Idle and on the Great Northern and Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railways, 36 miles north-east of Nottingham by rail, and eight south-west of Gainsborough. The church of St Swithin, a large cruciform structure with a square embattled tower, dates from the 13th century, but was rebuilt in 1658 by a brief granted by Richard Cromwell. Among the modern buildings are the town-hall, the corn exchange, the court-house, and the covered markets. There is a large trade in corn, cheese, and hops, and the town possesses iron foundries, paper and corn mills, and india-rubber works. The population of the municipal borough in 1871 was 3191, but in 1878 the area was extended to 4532 acres, and in 1881 the population was 9748.

The town derives its name from an ancient ford over the Idle. In Domesday it is written Redeford, and early in the 13th century it is called Este Reddfurthx. It is a borough by prescription, and was granted in 1279 to the burgesses by Edward I. at a fee farm rent of £10, with the right of choosing a bailiff. Its rights were confirmed and extended by Edward III., Henry IV., and James I. It sent two members to parliament in the reign of Edward I., but the privilege was dormant from 1330 to 1571. The parliamentary borough, which was largely rural, having been extended in 1829 to include the whole wapentake of Bassetlaw, and comprising 207,906 acres in 1881, ceased to exist as a borough in 1885. The municipal borough is divided into three wards, and is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors.