locally In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighborhoods of points).
Pr ...
) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
unitary authority area
A unitary authority is a local government, local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the ...
in
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
,
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
, England. It is located north-west of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, south-east of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and north-east of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin Hood and to the lace-making, bicycle and
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
industries. The city is also the county town of Nottinghamshire and the settlement was granted its
city charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
in 1897, as part of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Nottingham is a tourist destination; in 2018, the city received the second-highest number of overnight visitors in the Midlands and the highest number in the East Midlands.
In 2020, Nottingham had an estimated population of 330,000. The wider conurbation, which includes many of the city's suburbs, has a population of 768,638. It is the largest urban area in the East Midlands and the second-largest in the Midlands. Its Functional Urban Area, the largest in the East Midlands, has a population of 919,484. The population of the Nottingham/
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
metropolitan area is estimated to be 1,610,000. The
metropolitan economy
A metropolitan economy refers to the cohesive, naturally evolving concentration of industries, commerce, markets, firms, housing, human capital, infrastructure and other economic elements that are comprised in a particular metropolitan area. Rat ...
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
.
Nottingham is a major sporting centre and, in October 2015, was named 'Home of English Sport'. The
National Ice Centre
The National Ice Centre (NIC) is located in Nottingham, England. It is situated just east of the city centre, close to the historic Lace Market area. The NIC was the first twin Olympic-sized (60m x 30m) ice pad facility in the UK, "heralding ...
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, famously two-time winners of the
UEFA European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competiti ...
under
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
and
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
. The city has professional rugby, ice hockey and cricket teams; it also hosts the Aegon Nottingham Open, an international tennis tournament on the ATP and WTA tours. This accolade came just over a year after Nottingham was named as the UK's first ''City of Football''.
The city is served by Nottingham railway station and the
Nottingham Express Transit
Nottingham Express Transit (NET) is a tram system in Nottingham, England. The system opened to the public on 9 March 2004 and a second phase, that more than doubled the size of the total system, opened on 25 August 2015, having been initially ...
, is the largest publicly owned bus network in England. In December 2015, Nottingham was named a ' City of Literature' by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, joining a list of 20 Cities of Literature. The title reflects Nottingham's literary heritage, with
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
,
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
and
Alan Sillitoe
Alan Sillitoe Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (4 March 192825 April 2010) was an English writer and one of the so-called "angry young men" of the 1950s. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was appl ...
having links to the city, as well as a contemporary literary community, a publishing industry and a poetry scene. The city is served by three universities: the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
,
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
and the Nottingham campus of the University of Law; it hosts the highest concentration of higher education providers in the East Midlands.
Toponym
The name of Nottingham is
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
in origin. A Saxon chieftain named Snot ruled an area known as in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
; the homestead of Snot's people ( = 'the people of'; = 'homestead'). Some authors derive ''Nottingham'' from (caves) and (homestead) but "this has nothing to do with the English form".
A settlement existed before the arrival of the Anglo Saxons in the early 7th century CE because it is known in the
Brythonic
Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to:
*Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain
*Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic
*Britons (Celtic people)
The Br ...
as , meaning '' Place of Caves'' (known also as "City of Caves"). In modern
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
, Nottingham is known poetically as and in Irish as , 'The Cavey Dwelling'.
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
outcrop by the
River Leen
The River Leen is a 15-mile (24 km) long tributary of the River Trent that flows through Nottinghamshire, and the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England.
The name Leen developed through various renderings of the Celtic word ...
. The Anglo-Saxon settlement was originally confined to the area today known as the Lace Market and was surrounded by a substantial defensive ditch and rampart, which fell out of use following the Norman Conquest and was filled by the time of the Domesday Survey (1086).Scott C. Lomax (17 October 2013). Nottingham: The Buried Past of a Historic City Revealed. Pen and Sword. pp. 83–. . Following the Norman Conquest the Saxon settlement developed into the English
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of Nottingham and housed a Town Hall and Law Courts. A settlement also developed around the castle on the hill opposite and was the French borough supporting the Normans in the castle. Eventually, the space between was built on as the town grew and the Old Market Square became the focus of Nottingham several centuries later. Defences consisted initially of a ditch and bank in the early 12th century. The ditch was later widened, in the mid-13th century, and a stone wall built around much of the perimeter of the town. A short length of the wall survives, and is visible at the northern end of Maid Marian Way, and is protected as a Scheduled Monument.
On the return of Richard the Lionheart from the
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
in 1194, the castle was occupied by supporters of Prince John, including the Sheriff of Nottingham. It was besieged by Richard and, after a sharp conflict, was captured. In the legends of Robin Hood, Nottingham Castle is the scene of the final showdown between the Sheriff and the hero outlaw.
By the 15th century Nottingham had established itself as a centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from
Nottingham alabaster
Nottingham alabaster is a term used to refer to the English sculpture industry, mostly of relatively small religious carvings, which flourished from the fourteenth century until the early sixteenth century. Alabaster carvers were at work in Lo ...
. The town became a
county corporate
A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Wales, and Ireland.
Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing county, county-e ...
in 1449 giving it effective self-government, in the words of the charter, "for eternity". The Castle and Shire Hall were expressly excluded and remained as detached Parishes of
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
.
One of those highly impressed by Nottingham in the late 18th century was the German traveller C. P. Moritz, who wrote in 1782, "Of all the towns I have seen outside London, Nottingham is the loveliest and neatest. Everything had a modern look, and a large space in the centre was hardly less handsome than a London square. A charming footpath leads over the fields to the highway, where a bridge spans the Trent. … Nottingham … with its high houses, red roofs and church steeples, looks excellent from a distance."
During the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, much of Nottingham's prosperity was founded on the
textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturi ...
; in particular, the city became an internationally important centre of lace manufacture. In 1831 citizens rioted in protest against the
Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...
's opposition to the
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...
, setting fire to his residence on the site of Nottingham Castle.
In common with the UK textile industry, Nottingham's textile sector fell into decline in the decades following World War II. Little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham; however, many of the former industrial buildings in the Lace Market district have been restored and put to new uses.
Nottingham was one of the boroughs reformed by the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...
, and at that time consisted of the parishes of St Mary, St Nicholas and St Peter. It was expanded in 1877 by adding the parishes of Basford, Brewhouse Yard,
Bulwell
Bulwell is a market town in the City of Nottingham, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is south-west of Hucknall and to the north-west of Nottingham. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded the population of Bulwell at 29,771 which amounted to o ...
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
, Wilford (North Wilford). In 1889 Nottingham became a
county borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...
under the Local Government Act 1888. City status was awarded as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria, being signified in a letter from the prime minister, the Marquess of Salisbury to the mayor, dated 18 June 1897. Nottingham was extended in 1933 by adding Bilborough and Wollaton, parts of the parishes of Bestwood Park and Colwick, and a recently developed part of the
Beeston Urban District
Beeston was an urban district in Nottinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1935.
The urban district was created by the Local Government Act 1894 on the borders of the Beeston Civil Parish and the Beeston Urban Sanitary District. It bordered the co ...
. A further boundary extension was granted in 1951 when Clifton and Wilford (south of the River Trent) were incorporated into the city.
Electric trams were introduced to the city in 1901; they served the city for 35 years until 1936. Trams were reintroduced after 68 years when a new network opened in 2004.
In the sporting world, Nottingham is home to the world's oldest professional football club, Notts County, which was formed in 1862. The town's other football club,
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, had a period of success between 1977 and 1993 under manager
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
and two
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
s. During this time Forest signed
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis (born 19 April 1954) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player follo ...
, Britain's first £1 million footballer, who joined the club in February 1979 from
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
.
The city was the site of race riots in 1958, centred on the St Ann's neighbourhood.
During the second half of the 20th century Nottingham saw urban growth with the development of new public and private housing estates and new urban centres, which have engulfed former rural villages such as Bilborough, Wollaton, Gedling and Bramcote. South of the river there has also been expansion with new areas such as Edwalton and West Bridgford, adding to Nottingham's
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
. Although this growth slowed towards the end of the century, the modern pressures for more affordable and council housing is back on the political agenda and there is now pressure on the
green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
who are based at
Loxley House, Nottingham
Loxley House is the administrative office of Nottingham City Council and an office base for the Department of Work and Pensions and Nottingham City Homes in the south of Nottingham city centre. It is situated opposite Nottingham railway station ...
on Station Street. It consists of 55
councillors
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
, representing 20
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
, who are elected every four years; the last elections being held on 2 May 2019. The council is independent of
Nottinghamshire County Council
Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election ...
but work with them for local developments and other matters. Nottingham, though, remains the county town of Nottinghamshire even though the county hall is in the neighbouring town of West Bridgford where the county council is based.
The city also has a Lord Mayor who is selected by city councillors from among themselves. The position is largely ceremonial but the Lord Mayor also acts as Chair of Full Council meetings.
The City of Nottingham's boundaries are tightly drawn and exclude several suburbs and towns that are usually considered part of
Greater Nottingham
The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres - see the List of urban ...
. Unlike the city, these areas are governed by a two tier system of local government. Nottinghamshire County Council is based at the county hall. It provides the upper tier of local government whilst the lower tier is split into several district or borough councils. The County Council are responsible for Health, Social Care, Education, Highways, Transport, Libraries and Trading Standards, whilst the lower tier councils are responsible for local planning, neighbourhood services, housing, licensing, environmental health and leisure facilities. The towns of Beeston, Stapleford and
Eastwood Eastwood may refer to:
Places
;in Australia
*Eastwood, New South Wales
**Eastwood railway station
**Electoral district of Eastwood
*Eastwood, South Australia
;in Canada
* Eastwood, Ontario
*Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood
;in the Ph ...
are administered by
Broxtowe Borough Council
Broxtowe refers to a number of geographic entities, current and historic, in Nottinghamshire, England:
* Broxtowe, Nottingham, a housing estate in Apsley ward, within the City of Nottingham
* Broxtowe (UK Parliament constituency), the constituency ...
. Further west still, the Nottingham urban district extends into
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
where
Ilkeston
Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...
Erewash Borough Council
Erewash may refer to:
* Borough of Erewash, a local government district in the county of Derbyshire, England
* Erewash Valley, is the valley of the River Erewash
* River Erewash, river in England
* Erewash (UK Parliament constituency), Derbyshir ...
, and
Ripley
Ripley may refer to:
People and characters
* Ripley (name)
* ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1
* Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Ali ...
Ashfield District Council Ashfield may refer to:
People
* Ashfield (surname)
Places
Australia
* Ashfield, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Municipality of Ashfield, a former local government area in Sydney
** Electoral district of Ashfield, a former electoral dist ...
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
Rushcliffe
Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 111,129. Its councilRushcliffe Borough CouncilRuddington and Tollerton and the town of Bingham.
UK Parliament
Nottingham has three UK parliamentary
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
seats within its boundaries.
Nottingham North
Nottingham North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Norris of the Labour and Co-operative party.
Boundaries
1955–1974: The County Borough of Nottingham wards of Byron, Mapperley, ...
has been represented since 2017 by
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
Nottingham South
Nottingham South is a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, represented since 2010 by Lilian Greenwood of the Labour Party.
Members of Parliament
Since 2010, the seat has been represented by Lilian Greenwood, who succeede ...
since 2010 by Labour MP
Lilian Greenwood
Lilian Rachel Greenwood (born 26 March 1966) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham South since 2010, and the Opposition Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons since 2021.
A former unio ...
. Each of the outer districts (Broxtowe, Ashfield, Gedling and Rushcliffe) are also parliamentary constituencies in their own right although the parliamentary constituency boundaries do not align with the boundaries of the council districts of which they share their name.
Geography and ecology
Nottingham is situated on an area of low hills along the lower valley of the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
, and is surrounded by the
Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.
The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...
Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
Bestwood
Bestwood Estate is a large council estate located to the north of the city of Nottingham, England. Based on the 2011 census, its population is 4,719. There is also a ward of the City of Nottingham called Bestwood, which at the time of the 2011 ...
*
Bestwood Park
Bestwood Park is a large post-war council estate located to the north of the city of Nottingham, England, and roughly bounded by Beckhampton Road, Oxclose Lane and Queens Bower Road.
Origins
It is distinct from the older Bestwood Estate to th ...
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
*
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Forest Fields
Forest Fields is an inner-city area of the City of Nottingham, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England.
Geography
Forest Fields is slightly north of the city centre, just past the Forest Recreation Ground. The area includes 31 streets from ...
*
Highbury Vale
Highbury Vale is an area located in the city of Nottingham, and is located in the Bulwell Forest ward (which includes Rise Park and the western area of Top Valley). The area is located roughly from the City Centre, and about from Bulwell. Su ...
New Basford
Basford is a northerly suburb of Nottingham, England, incorporated into the city in 1877. It gave its name to Basford Rural District, which existed from 1894 to 1974. The ward population at the 2011 census was 16,207, estimated at 16,779 in 2 ...
Old Basford
Old Basford is an area of Nottingham located next to Basford, Nottingham, New Basford being split by Valley Road/Western Boulevard. The parish church of St Leodegarius was built in the 12th century. The north aisle and north arcade were rebuilt i ...
Rise Park
Rise Park is an area of Romford, a district in the London Borough of Havering. It is one of a series of parks which stretch northwards from the railway line at Romford
Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre o ...
*
Sherwood
Sherwood may refer to:
Places Australia
*Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Sherwood, South Australia, a locality
*Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland
*Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...
*
Sherwood Rise
Sherwood Rise is a residential area in the north of the city of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. It is bordered by Carrington, Basford, Forest Fields and Sherwood.
Politics
Sherwood Rise is part of the Berridge ward and the Nottingham Ea ...
Top Valley
Top Valley is a largely residential area in the north west of Nottingham, England. It is located to the south of Rise Park, to the north and west of Bestwood, to the southwest of Bestwood Village and to the east of Bulwell. It is approximately ...
*
Whitemoor Whitemoor may refer to:
* Whitemoor, Cornwall, England, village
* Whitemoor, Nottinghamshire, area of the City of Nottingham, England
* Whitemoor Haye, area in the floodplain of the River Tame, Staffordshire, England
* Whitemoor (HM Prison), priso ...
Bramcote
Bramcote is a suburban village in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England, between Stapleford and Beeston. It is in Broxtowe parliamentary constituency. The main Nottingham–Derby road today is the A52, Brian Clough Way. Nearby ...
*
Bulcote
Bulcote is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 330, reducing to 309 at the 2011 Census. The village is on the fringe of the Greater Notti ...
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
Cotgrave
Cotgrave is a town and civil parish in the borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, England, some 5 miles (8 km) south-east of central Nottingham. It perches on the South Nottinghamshire Wolds about 131 feet (40 metres) above sea level. ...
*
Daybrook
Daybrook is a suburb of Arnold, Nottinghamshire. The area is located just outside the city of Nottingham but inside the conurbation of Greater Nottingham. It lies next to the areas of Arnold town centre, Sherwood, Woodthorpe, Redhill and Bes ...
*
Eastwood Eastwood may refer to:
Places
;in Australia
*Eastwood, New South Wales
**Eastwood railway station
**Electoral district of Eastwood
*Eastwood, South Australia
;in Canada
* Eastwood, Ontario
*Eastwood, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighborhood
;in the Ph ...
Edwalton
Edwalton is an area of West Bridgford in the Borough of Rushcliffe, in Nottinghamshire, England, covering Gamston and the older Edwalton village. The population of the Rushcliffe Ward was 3,908 at the 2011 Census. A 2019 estimate put it at 4, ...
Giltbrook
Giltbrook is a village in England situated approximately northwest of Nottingham and within close reach of junction 26 of the M1 motorway. It is part of Greasley (Giltbrook and Newthorpe) ward, which had a population of 6,076 in 2001, increasi ...
*
Holme Pierrepont
Holme Pierrepont is a hamlet and civil parish located south-east of the city of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is in the Gamston ward of the Rushcliffe local authority in the East Midlands region. The population of the civil parish ...
Ilkeston
Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...
Killisick
Killisick is an area of the market town of Arnold in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. It also used to be a local government ward area of Gedling borough until 2015. The population of the ward as it ...
*
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
Langley Mill
Langley Mill is a large village in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England.
History
Originally named ''Long Lea'', the village of Langley Mill was a major employer throughout the mid 1900s with many companies including The Flour Mi ...
Lowdham
Lowdham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire between Nottingham and Southwell. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,832, increasing to 3,334 at the 2011 Census. Two main roads slicing thro ...
Sandiacre
Sandiacre is a town and civil parish in the borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England adjoining the border with Nottinghamshire. The population of the town was 8,889 at the 2011 Census.
The name Sandiacre is usuall ...
Strelley Village
Strelley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Broxtowe and City of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is to the west of Nottingham. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 653. It is also the name of t ...
*
Toton
Toton is a large village in the Borough of Broxtowe, Nottinghamshire, England. The electoral ward of Toton and Chilwell Meadows population of this ward was 7,298 in the 2001 census. It increased to 8,238 at the 2011 census.
Until 1974 Toton ...
red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
,
peregrine falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
and common kingfisher. Notable nature reserves around the city include
Attenborough Nature Reserve
Attenborough Nature Reserve is a nature reserve at Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England, located south west of Nottingham city centre. It is owned and managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, supported by Broxtowe Borough Council, followin ...
SSSI,
Sherwood Forest
Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood.
The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...
National Nature Reserve, Holme Pit SSSI, Fairham Brook Local Wildlife Site and Wollaton Park. Due to its position as a central city with strong transport links, Nottingham has become home to invasive animal and plant species including
rose-ringed parakeet
The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...
,
Japanese knotweed
''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
and
Himalayan balsam
''Impatiens glandulifera'', Himalayan balsam, is a large annual plant native to the Himalayas. Via human introduction it is now present across much of the Northern Hemisphere and is considered an invasive species in many areas. Uprooting or cutt ...
.
Climate
Like most of the United Kingdom, Nottingham has a
temperate oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
( Köppen: Cfb) and experiences warm mild summers and mild to cool winters with abundant precipitation throughout the year. There are two weather-reporting stations close to Nottingham: the former "Nottingham Weather Centre", at Watnall, about northwest of the city centre; and the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
's agricultural campus at Sutton Bonington, about southwest of the city centre. The highest temperature recorded in Nottingham (Watnall) stands at , whilst Sutton Bonington recorded a temperature of , both recorded on 19 July 2022, and the record-high minimum temperature is recorded in August 2004. On average, a temperature of or above is recorded on 11 days per year, whilst a temperature of is recorded at least 1 day per year at Watnall for the period of 1991–2020, and the warmest day of the year reaches an average of .
For the period 1991–2020 Nottingham (Watnall) recorded on average 36.9 days of air frost per year, and Sutton Bonington 42.2. The lowest recorded temperature in Nottingham (Watnall) is recorded in 23 January 1963 and 13 January 1987, whilst a temperature of was recorded in Sutton Bonington on 24 February 1947. The record-low maximum temperature is recorded in
January 1963
The following events occurred in January 1963:
January 1, 1963 (Tuesday)
*Osamu Tezuka's ''Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy)'', Japan's first serialized animated series based on the popular manga, was broadcast for the first time. It premiered on ...
. For the period of 1991–2020, the coldest temperature of the year reaches an average of
in Nottingham (Watnall).
Air quality
In 2017 it was reported that Nottingham is one of a number of UK cities that break WHO air pollution guidelines for the maximum concentration of small particulate matter. Pollution in part being caused by harmful wood-burning stoves.
Green belt
Nottingham is bounded by a green belt area, provisionally drawn up from the 1950s. Completely encircling the city, it extends for several miles into the surrounding districts, as well as towards Derby.
Architecture
The geographical centre of Nottingham is usually defined as the Old Market Square. The square is dominated by the
Council House
A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...
, which replaced the Nottingham Exchange Building, built in 1726. The Council House was built in the 1920s to display civic pride, ostentatiously using
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
columns and placing stone statues of two lions at the front to stand watch over the square. The
Exchange Arcade
Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square which is also referred to as the "City Centre". It is a Grade I ...
, on the ground floor, is an upmarket shopping centre containing boutiques.
Tall office buildings line Maid Marian Way. The Georgian area around Oxford and Regent Streets is dominated by small professional firms. The Albert Hall faces the
Gothic revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
Pugin
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...
. Nottingham Castle and its grounds are located further south in the western third of the city. The central third descends from the University district in the north, past
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
's Gothic revival Arkwright Building. The university also owns many other buildings in this area. The Theatre Royal on Theatre Square, with its pillared façade, was built in 1865. King and Queen Streets are home to striking
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
buildings designed by such architects as
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...
Broadmarsh Shopping Centre
Broadmarsh is a historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale Slum clearance in the United Kingdom, slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road co ...
. The Canal-side further south of this is adjacent to Nottingham railway station and home to numerous redeveloped 19th-century industrial buildings, reused as bars and restaurants.
The eastern third of the city centre contains the Victoria Shopping Centre, built in the 1970s on the site of the demolished Victoria railway station. All that remains of the old station is the clock tower and the station hotel, now the Nottingham Hilton Hotel. The 250-foot-high Victoria Centre flats stand above the shopping centre and are the tallest buildings in the city. The eastern third contains
Hockley Village
Hockley is an area near the city centre of Nottingham, England. It lies adjacent to the Lace Market area and has many well-preserved Victorian buildings. There has been a mercantile presence in the area since at least the 13th century. With man ...
. Hockley is where many of Nottingham's unique, independent shops are to be found. It is also home to two alternative cinemas.
Lace Market
The Lace Market area just south of Hockley has streets with four- to seven-storey red brick warehouses,
iron railing
An iron railing is a fence made of iron. This may either be wrought iron, which is ductile and durable and may be hammered into elaborate shapes when hot, or the cheaper cast iron, which is of low ductility and quite brittle. Cast iron can also ...
s and red phone boxes.
Many of the buildings have been converted into apartments, bars and restaurants. The largest building in the Lace Market is the Adams Building, built by Thomas Chambers Hine for
Thomas Adams Thomas Adams may refer to:
Politicians
* Thomas Adams (MP), Member of Parliament for Bedford
*Sir Thomas Adams, 1st Baronet (1586–1667/68), Lord Mayor of London
* Thomas Adams (politician) (1730–1788), Virginia delegate to the Continental Cong ...
(1807–1873), and currently used by Nottingham College. The Georgian-built Shire Hall, which was once Nottingham's main
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
and
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
building, is now home to the
National Justice Museum
The National Justice Museum (formerly known as the Galleries of Justice Museum and, historically, the Shire Hall and County Gaol) is an independent museum on High Pavement in the Lace Market area of Nottingham, England.
The museum is housed i ...
(formerly the "Galleries of Justice").
Public houses
''
Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is a Grade II listed public house in Nottingham which claims to have been established in 1189, although there is no documentation to verify this date. The building rests against Castle Rock, upon which Nottingham Cast ...
'' (the ''Trip''), partially built into the cave system beneath Nottingham Castle, is a contender for the title of England's Oldest Pub, as it is supposed to have been established in 1189. '' The Bell Inn'' in the Old Market Square, and ''
Ye Olde Salutation Inn
Ye Olde Salutation Inn (nicknamed The Sal) is a Grade II listed public house, with parts dating from around 1240, which lays claim (along with Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and The Bell Inn) to being the oldest pub in Nottingham. The inn also has a ...
'' (the ''Salutation'') in Maid Marian Way have both disputed this claim. The ''Trip'''s current timber building probably dates back to the 17th or 18th century, but the caves are certainly older and may have been used to store beer and water for the castle during medieval times. There are also caves beneath the ''Salutation'' that date back to the medieval period, although they are no longer used as beer cellars. The ''Bell Inn'' is probably the oldest of the three pub buildings still standing, according to
dendrochronology
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
, and has medieval cellars that are still used to store beer.
Education
Almost 62,000 students attend the city's three universities,
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
; in the 2016/17 academic year, Trent University was attended by 29,370 students and Nottingham University by 32,515. The
University of Nottingham Medical School
The University of Nottingham Medical School is the medical school of the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Its first intake of 48 students graduated in 1975. Student intake has steadily increased to a current level of 330 students per ye ...
further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
located in Nottingham:
Bilborough College
Bilborough Sixth Form College is a sixth-form college in Nottingham, England. The college has students from across the conurbation. A third of its students come from Nottingham, another third from the surrounding county of Nottinghamshire, and ...
is solely a
sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
; Nottingham College was formed in 2017, by the amalgamation of Central College Nottingham and New College Nottingham (which had both previously formed from the merger of smaller FE colleges); and the
Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies
Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies is a specialist education provider with courses in Games, Film & TV, Media, Events, Esports, and Music. It offers both college and degree level courses, and is part of Nottingham Trent University and Not ...
, owned by Nottingham Trent University, is a further education college that specialises in media. The city has dozens of sixth form colleges and academies, providing education and training for adults aged over sixteen.
Nottingham also has a number of independent schools. The city's oldest educational establishment is
Nottingham High School
, motto_translation = Praise to the end
, address = Waverley Mount
, city = Nottingham
, county = Nottinghamshire
, postcode = NG7 4ED
, country = England
, coordinates =
, type = Independent day school
, established =
, closed =
, religious ...
, which was founded in 1513.
Economy
Nottingham is the East Midlands' largest economy.
In 2010, Nottingham City Council announced that the target sectors of their economic development strategy would include low-carbon technologies;
digital media
Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
;
life sciences
This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...
; financial and business services; and retail and leisure.
Nottingham is home to the headquarters of several companies. These include
Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots GmbH was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom.
The company had a presence in over 27 countr ...
Experian
Experian is an American–Irish multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more t ...
; energy company
E.ON Energy UK
E.ON UK is a British energy company and the largest supplier of energy and renewable electricity in the UK, following its acquisition of Npower. It is a subsidiary of E.ON of Germany and one of the Big Six energy suppliers. It was founded in 1 ...
; betting company Gala Bingo; amusement and gambling machine manufacturer Bell-Fruit-Games; engineering company
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
Vision Express
Vision Express is a British company established in 1988 that sells spectacles and contact lenses.
History
The company opened its first store in 1988, at the MetroCentre, Gateshead, quickly followed by several other stores. In October 1993 ...
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''.
Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...
; PC software developer Serif Europe (publisher of PagePlus and other titles); web hosting provider
Heart Internet
Heart Internet is a web hosting company based in Nottingham, England selling domain names, shared hosting, reseller hosting and servers. It has been a subsidiary of UK based hosting and domain registration company Host Europe Group since 2011. ...
; the American credit card company Capital One; the national law firm
Browne Jacobson
Browne Jacobson LLP is law firm with offices in Birmingham, Exeter, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Dublin. It offers services across a number of key sectors: public, health, insurance, brands, retail, technology, education, financial servi ...
; and
Earache Records
Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...
, an independent music company founded by local resident Digby Pearson, based on Handel Street in Sneinton. Nottingham also has offices of
Nottingham Building Society
The Nottingham Building Society is a building society founded in 1849 by a group led by Samuel Fox (1781–1868), a Quaker and prominent local grocer.
The purpose of the society was to promote the construction of a better class of dwellings, ...
Driving Standards Agency
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) was an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport (DfT).
DSA promoted road safety in Great Britain by improving driving and motorcycling standards. It set standards for education and training, as wel ...
;
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
BBC East Midlands
BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire (except High Peak, North East Derbyshire and the northern areas of the Derbyshire Dales), Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw), Rutland, southern parts of South Kes ...
.
Nottingham was named one of the UK's six science cities in 2005 by the then
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
. Among the science-based industries within the city is BioCity. Founded as a joint venture between Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham, it is the UK's biggest bioscience innovation and incubation centre, housing around 80 science-based companies.
Until recently, bicycle manufacturing was a major industry: the city was the birthplace of Raleigh Bicycle Company in 1886, later joined by Sturmey-Archer, the developer of three-speed hub gears. However, Raleigh's factory on Triumph Road, famous as the location for the filming of '' Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'', was demolished in 2003 to make way for the University of Nottingham's expansion of its Jubilee Campus. The schools and aerial photographers, H Tempest Ltd, were Nottingham-based for many years, until relocating to
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives ( kw, Porth Ia, meaning "Ia of Cornwall, St Ia's cove") is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commerci ...
January 1959.
In 2015, Nottingham was ranked in the top 10 UK cities for job growth (from 2004 to 2013), in the public and private sectors. And in the same year, it was revealed that more new companies were started in Nottingham in 2014–15 than in any other UK city, with a 68% year-on-year increase.
Retail
In 2017, Nottingham came seventh in Harper Dennis Hobbes's Top 50 British Centres, behind the
West End of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.
Victoria Centre
Nottingham's Victoria Centre is the city's main retail shopping centre. It was the first to be built in the city and was developed on the site of the former Nottingham Victoria railway station. It provides parking for up to 2,400 cars on several levels, and contains a bus station.
Its owners, Intu have plans to extend the centre's floor space but it is understood these will not be submitted until the
Broadmarsh
Broadmarsh is a historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road complex created in the early 1970s cut-t ...
redevelopment is complete.
Broadmarsh
Broadmarsh
Broadmarsh is a historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road complex created in the early 1970s cut-t ...
is undergoing a major redevelopment as part of the city's £2bn southside regeneration scheme, due to be completed in 2021.
Work on redeveloping Broadmarsh, at a cost of £400million (creating 400 stores and of shopping space), was originally approved in September 2007. Nottingham City Council, then owners of the Broadmarsh Centre, had been trying to redevelop it for "almost two decades". However, the economic downturn meant that redevelopment was delayed throughout from 2008 to 2010. In the light of the Victoria Centre's redevelopment plans, Westfield announced in 2011 that it was once again planning a £500million development of Broadmarsh, which would start in 2012. This, however, did not happen either.
Broadmarsh was eventually sold to Capital Shopping Centres, the owners of the Victoria Centre. The purchase prompted an investigation by the
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic ...
and the Competition Commission, who were concerned that the company's monopoly over the city's shopping centres could have a negative impact on competition. CSC subsequently rebranded itself and the centres use the "Intu" name. Although the new owners wished to start the planned development of the Victoria Centre, Nottingham City Council insisted that Broadmarsh must have priority, with the Council offering £50million towards its redevelopment. The deputy leader of Nottingham City Council said the Council would withhold planning permission for the development of the Victoria Centre until they saw "bulldozers going into the Broadmarsh Centre."
Other shopping outlets
Smaller shopping centres in the city are
The Exchange Arcade
Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square which is also referred to as the "City Centre". It is a Grade ...
, the
Flying Horse Walk
The Flying Horse Walk is a shopping arcade located at the heart of Nottingham City Centre in Nottingham, England. The arcade houses a variety of fashion boutiques and other retailers. It is situated just off the city's Old Market Square on Th ...
Bridlesmith Gate
Bridlesmith Gate is a pedestrianised shopping street in the city centre of Nottingham, England.
It is located between Middle Pavement and Victoria Street. St. Peter's Gate and Bottle Lane stem off it along with Byard Lane.
Bridlesmith Gate ho ...
area has numerous designer shops, and is the home of the original Paul Smith boutique. There are various side streets and alleys with some interesting and often overlooked buildings and shops—such as Poultry Walk, West End Arcade and Hurts Yard. These are home to many specialist shops, as is Derby Road, near the Roman Catholic Cathedral and once the antiques area.
Nottingham has a number of
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s including the
House of Fraser
House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...
In March 2011, the government announced the creation of Nottingham Enterprise Zone, an enterprise zone sited on part of the Boots Estate. In March 2012, Nottingham Science Park, Beeston Business Park and Nottingham Medipark were added to the zone. In December 2014, the government announced that the zone would be expanded again, to include Infinity Park Derby, a planned business park for aerospace, rail and automotive technology adjacent to the Rolls-Royce site in
Sinfin
Sinfin is a suburb of Derby, England, southwest of the city centre on its southern outskirts. The ward, which includes Osmaston as well as Sinfin itself, had a population of 15,128 in 2011. Historically, Sinfin and Osmaston were separate vill ...
, Derby.
Creative Quarter
The Creative Quarter is a project started by Nottingham City Council as part of the Nottingham City Deal. Centred on the east of the city (including the Lace Market, Hockley, Broadmarsh East, the Island site and BioCity), the project aims at creating growth and jobs. In July 2012, the government contributed £25million towards a £45million
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
fund, mainly targeted at the Creative Quarter.
Culture
Theatres and cinemas
Nottingham has two large-capacity theatres, the
Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and Fr ...
and the Theatre Royal, which together with the neighbouring Royal Concert Hall forms the Royal Centre. The city also contains smaller theatre venues such as the
Nottingham Arts Theatre
Nottingham Arts Theatre is a theatre on George Street in Nottingham, England. Formerly known as the Co-op Arts Theatre, it is located in the former George Street Particular Baptist Church building.
It has a seating capacity of 274 in the Aud ...
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...
and a Showcase in the city. Independent cinemas include the Arthouse
Broadway Cinema
Broadway Cinema is an independent cinema in the city of Nottingham, England in the United Kingdom.
It is located in the Hockley area. In 2009, it was rated as one of the best cinemas in the world by Total Film magazine.
History
The site now ...
in Hockley, and the four-screen
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
Savoy Cinema
The Savoy Cinema is the oldest operational cinema in Dublin, and it is the preferred cinema in Ireland for film premières.
History
The cinema was built in 1929 by Meagher & Hayes, on the site of the old Granville Hotel. The luxurious auditori ...
.
Galleries and museums
The city contains several notable museums and art galleries including:
*
National Justice Museum
The National Justice Museum (formerly known as the Galleries of Justice Museum and, historically, the Shire Hall and County Gaol) is an independent museum on High Pavement in the Lace Market area of Nottingham, England.
The museum is housed i ...
– Museum of Law, Crime and Punishment through the ages, based at the Shire Hall in the Lace Market.
*
City of Caves
City of Caves is a visitor attraction in Nottingham based on a network of caves, carved out of sandstone that have been variously used over the years as a tannery, public house cellars, and as an air raid shelter. The caves are listed as a sched ...
– A visitor attraction consisting of a network of man-made caves, carved out of sandstone, beneath the
Broadmarsh Shopping Centre
Broadmarsh is a historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale Slum clearance in the United Kingdom, slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road co ...
.
*
Green's Windmill
Green's Windmill is a restored and working 19th century tower windmill in Sneinton, Nottingham. Built in the early 1800s for the milling of wheat into flour, it remained in use until the 1860s. It was renovated in the 1980s and is now part of a ...
and Science Centre – A unique working windmill in the heart of the city that was home to the 19th-century mathematical physicist and miller George Green.
* Nottingham Castle Museum – Home to the city's fine and decorative art collections, along with the Story of Nottingham galleries, and the
Sherwood Foresters
The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...
Regimental Museum.
*
Nottingham Contemporary
Nottingham Contemporary (formerly known as the Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham (CCAN)) is a contemporary art centre in the Lace Market area of Nottingham. The gallery opened in 2009.
The gallery describes its site as being "the oldest in ...
– Contemporary art centre in the Lace Market, opened in 2009.
*
New Art Exchange
New Art Exchange is a contemporary art gallery in Nottingham's Hyson Green neighborhood representing contexts of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic artists and communities. The organisation formed as a charity in 2003 from APNA Arts (a South ...
– Contemporary art gallery, the largest in the UK dedicated to showing diverse artists, opened in 2008.
*
Nottingham Industrial Museum
The Nottingham Industrial Museum is a volunteer-run museum situated in part of the 17th-century stables block of Wollaton Hall, located in a suburb of the city of Nottingham.
The museum won the ''Nottinghamshire Heritage Site of the Year Award 2 ...
– Housed in Wollaton Park, collections relating to textiles, transport, communications, mining and steam.
*
Nottingham Natural History Museum
Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuildings ...
– Based at Wollaton Hall, contains zoology, geology, and botany collections.
In 2015, the National Videogame Arcade was opened in the Hockley area of the city; being "the UK's first cultural centre for videogames". It was announced in June 2018 that the arcade was soon to close and relocate to
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
city centre, where it reopened in November 2018 as the National Videogame Museum.
Music and entertainment
Nottingham has several large music and entertainment venues including the Royal Concert Hall, Rock City, Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (2,500-capacity) and the Nottingham Arena (Social centre). Nottingham's City Ground played host to rock band R.E.M with Idlewild and The Zutons supporting in 2005, the first time a concert had been staged at the football stadium.
Nottingham also has a selection of smaller venues, including the Albert Hall (800-capacity),
Ye Olde Salutation Inn
Ye Olde Salutation Inn (nicknamed The Sal) is a Grade II listed public house, with parts dating from around 1240, which lays claim (along with Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and The Bell Inn) to being the oldest pub in Nottingham. The inn also has a ...
,
Malt Cross
The Malt Cross is a building in Nottingham, England. It is situated on St James Street in Nottingham city centre, off the Old Market Square. The building was built in 1877 and is one of only a few Victorian music halls still standing. It was a ca ...
, Rescue Rooms, the Bodega, the Old Angel, the Central, the Chameleon and the Corner. 1960s blues-rock band Ten Years After formed in Nottingham, as did the 1970s pop act Paper Lace and the critically acclaimed Tindersticks, as well as influential folk singer Anne Briggs. Since the beginning of the 2010s, the city has produced a number of artists to gain media attention, including; Jake Bugg, London Grammar,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Sleaford Mods
Sleaford Mods are an English post-punk music duo, formed in 2007 in Nottingham. The band features vocalist Jason Williamson and, since 2012, musician Andrew Fearn. They are known for their abrasive, minimalist musical style and embittered explo ...
Dog Is Dead
D.I.D, formerly known as Dog Is Dead, are a five-piece indie pop band from West Bridgford, Nottingham, who have described their music as "an original blend of harmonious, indie-pop in the disco, with a cheeky jazz hint" and "uplifting pop for jazz ...
Amber Run
Amber Run is a British indie rock band from Nottingham, UK composed of Joshua "Joe" Keogh, Tom Sperring, and Henry Wyeth. The band have released three full-length albums. three mini-albums and five EPs. Initially called Amber, they later changed ...
.
Nottingham is home to
Earache Records
Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...
, a large independent record label setup in Nottingham in 1986 and famously home to
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
scene, with long-established ensembles such as the city's Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra,
Nottingham Harmonic Society
Nottingham Harmonic Society is Nottingham's civic choir, and has established itself as one of the leading provincial choruses in Britain.
It started life as the Vocal Music Club of the Nottingham Mechanics' Institution under the direction of Alfre ...
, Bach Choir, Early Music Group Musica Donum Dei and the Symphonic Wind Orchestra giving regular performances in the city. The
Sumac Centre
The Sumac Centre is a self-managed social centre in Nottingham, UK. It provides resources, meeting spaces and workshops for groups and individuals, and supports campaigning for human rights, animal rights, the environment, and peace. It is part of ...
is a
social centre
Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
in Forest Fields.
Wollaton Park in Nottingham hosts an annual family-friendly music event called Splendour. In 2009 it was headlined by
Madness
Madness or The Madness may refer to:
Emotion and mental health
* Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat
* Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns
* ...
and
the Pogues
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". T ...
. The following year it was headlined by the Pet Shop Boys and featured, among others,
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
Athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
and
OK Go
OK Go is an American rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion), and ...
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B.
Dizze ...
,
Razorlight
Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...
Hard-Fi
Hard-Fi are an English indie rock band, formed in 2003 in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey. The band's most recent lineup before going on hiatus consisted of Richard Archer (lead vocals and guitar), Kai Stephens (bass guitar and backing vocals) and S ...
. In 2014, Wollaton Park hosted the first-ever No Tomorrow Festival, featuring the likes of
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
Clean Bandit
Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...
.
Nottingham is known for its hip-hop scene. Rofl Audio Recording Studios opened in 2013, on the site of a former square known as "Milk Square" which was known to have hosted musicians, bands and orchestras in the 1800s. Since opening, the studios have hosted musicians and actors from various places including involvement in Hollywood films, and British rock band Spiritualized's album And Nothing Hurt. The studios are a base for rapper and producer Sway Dasafo's New Reign Productions and Jake Bugg's manager, Jason Hart. The rock band
Church of the Cosmic Skull
Church of the Cosmic Skull are a British rock band from Nottingham.
Career
The group was formed by guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Fisher in 2016. The group members had previously played in various bands in and around Nottingham, and a num ...
are from Nottingham.
Annual events
Nottingham holds several multicultural events throughout the year. The city has hosted an annual Asian Mela every summer since about 1989, there is a parade on St Patrick's Day, fireworks for the
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
events.
The city is particularly famous for its annual Goose Fair, a large travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground at the beginning of October every year. Established over 700 years ago, the fair was originally a livestock market where thousands of geese were sold in the Old Market Square, but the modern-day Goose Fair is known for its fairground rides and attractions.
Since the late 1990s, Nottinghamshire Pride has organised an annual
pride parade
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
, a day-long celebration that usually takes place in the city in July.
Arts and crafts
The Hockley Arts Market runs alongside Sneinton Market.
Food and drink
There are more than three hundred restaurants in Nottingham, with several
AA rosette
AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association.
Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The ...
winners (). City-centre restaurant, Ibérico World Tapas, was awarded a Bib Gourmand in the 2013 Michelin Guide. There are also two Michelin-starred restaurants: Alchemilla in the city centre has one star; and
Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance ...
, on the edge of the city near Clifton Bridge, has two Michelin stars. There were five other Nottingham restaurants recommended in the
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...
in 2020.
Tourism
In 2010, Nottingham was named as one of the "Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2010" by DK Travel. Nottingham was ranked number one for the 'Best Value City Break' in August 2017 by TripAdvisor. According to the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM) report, tourism in Nottingham city was valued at £628 million in 2017, an increase of 4.1% over the 2016 figure of £604 million.
The Robin Hood Pageant takes place in Nottingham each year and has been rebranded Robin Hood Live for 2020. The city is home to the Nottingham Robin Hood Society, founded in 1972 by Jim Lees and Steve and Ewa Theresa West.
Each February Nottingham celebrates
Light Night
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022
Light Night is an annual cultural event which first happened in the city of Leeds in October 2005, as part of the launch of the region-wide Illuminate Cultural Festival.
Based on the European model of Nuit Blanche ...
, with dozens of free creative events illuminating the city. The city has also hosted the Nottingham Cave Festival, Nottingham Puppet Festival, The Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, plus a series of outdoor film and theatre performances at historical locations throughout the summer.
In February 2008, a Ferris wheel was put up in the Old Market Square. The wheel returned to Nottingham in February 2009 to mark another night of lights, activities, illuminations and entertainment. Initially marketed as the Nottingham Eye, it was later redubbed as the Nottingham Wheel, to avoid any association with the
London Eye
The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United ...
.
Sherwood Forest County Park is a Natural Nature Reserve spanning in the county of Nottinghamshire only north of Nottingham. This grand forest has been a part of great history for centuries, showing evidence of use by prehistoric hunters and gatherers. It is even said that the legendary Robin Hood of the 1200s has set foot here and hid near the Major Oak, referred to as the 1,000-year-old giant tree. Today, Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre & Nature Reserve is internationally recognised, with annual visitors reaching around 350,000.
People
Many local businesses and organisations use the worldwide fame of Robin Hood to represent or promote their brands. Many residents converse in the East Midlands dialect. The friendly term of greeting "Ay-up me duck" is a humorous example of the local dialect.
Miscellaneous
Nottingham has featured in a number of
fictional works
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditio ...
.
Sport
Football
Nottingham is home to two professional football clubs: Notts County and
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
. Their two football grounds, facing each other on opposite sides of the River Trent, are noted for geographically being the closest in English league football. Notts County, formed in 1862, is the oldest professional football club in the world. They were also among the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
's founder members in 1888. For most of their history they have played their home games at Meadow Lane, which currently holds some 20,000 spectators, all seated. They currently play in the
Vanarama National League
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
, at Level 5 in the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
(most recently played at Level 1 in May 1992). Nottingham Forest, who currently play in the Level 1
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, were English Level 1 champions in 1978 and won the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
twice over the next two seasons under the management of
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Englis ...
, who was the club's manager from January 1975 to May 1993, leading them to four
Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
triumphs in that time. They have played at the City Ground, on the south bank of the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
, since 1898. Nottingham Forest joined the Football League in 1892, four years after its inception when it merged with the rival Football Alliance, and 100 years later, they were among the
FA Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
's founder members in 1992—though they had not played top division football from May 1999 until their promotion from the Level 2
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
in the 2021/2022 season, 23 years later. The City Ground played host to group stage games in the 1996 European Football Championships.
Nottingham won the title of 2015 City of Football after five months of campaigning, which resulted in £1.6m in funding for local football ventures and to encourage more people to play the sport. Nottingham was selected to be a host city for the
England 2018 FIFA World Cup bid
England 2018 was the Football Association's unsuccessful bid for the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited bidding countries to bid for either the 2018 or the 2022 finals, or both. The FA initially decided to bid for both, but with ...
. It was proposed that if the bid were successful, the city would have received a new Nottingham Forest Stadium.
Other sports
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Nottinghamshire. The club's limited overs team is called the ...
2009 ICC World Twenty20
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural ...
tournament. Nottinghamshire won the
2010 County Championship
The 2010 County Championship season, known as the LV County Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 111th County Championship season. It was contested through two divisions: Division One and Division Two. Each team played all the others in ...
.
The
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
team,
Nottingham R.F.C.
Nottingham Rugby Club is a rugby union club based in Nottingham, England. The club's first team currently plays in the RFU Championship, the second tier of English Rugby.
The first XV are nicknamed The Archers, in reference to the famous Robin ...
, competes in the RFU Championship, playing their home games at the Nottinghamshire Sports Club in the Lady Bay area of the city. The Nottingham Outlaws are an amateur
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
team that plays in the Yorkshire Men's League. The Nottingham Caesars are the city's American football club, playing their games at the Harvey Hadden Stadium in the Bilborough area of Nottingham.
The city was the birthplace and training location for Torvill and Dean, who won gold medals in ice dance at the 1984 Winter Olympics, 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. The
National Ice Centre
The National Ice Centre (NIC) is located in Nottingham, England. It is situated just east of the city centre, close to the historic Lace Market area. The NIC was the first twin Olympic-sized (60m x 30m) ice pad facility in the UK, "heralding ...
, which first opened in 2000, is the home base of the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team, and hosts an array of winter sporting events including the UK Speed skating, Speed Skating Championships. The plaza at the front of the ice centre is named "Bolero Square" after Torvill and Dean's gold medal-winning performance.
Other sporting events in the city include the annual Nottingham Trophy (tennis), Nottingham Trophy tennis tournament (staged at the Nottingham Tennis Centre), the Nottingham Marathon, "Robin Hood" Marathon, the Milk Race, the Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride, and the Outlaw Triathlon. Nottingham has two roller derby leagues: Nottingham Roller Derby (consisting of two teams, the Nottingham Roller Girls and the Super Smash Brollers); and the Nottingham Hellfire Harlots.
In October 2015, Nottingham was named as the official Home of Sport by VisitEngland, for its sporting contributions and in recognition of its development of football, cricket, ice hockey, boxing, tennis, athletics, gymnastics, and water sports.
Transport
Air
Nottingham is served by East Midlands Airport (formerly known as ''Nottingham East Midlands Airport'', until it reverted to its original name), near Castle Donington in North West Leicestershire, north-west Leicestershire, just less than south-west of the city centre.
Railways
Nottingham was an important interchange for many railways and mineral lines which served the city, its suburbs and the collieries around the city. Nottingham railway station, formerly ''Nottingham Midland'', provides access to rail services for the city; trains are operated by CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway and Northern (train operating company), Northern. It is the only remaining station in the city centre and is the second-busiest railway station in the Midlands for passenger entries and exits.
The city once had five other railway stations; these are:
* Nottingham Carrington Street railway station, Nottingham Carrington Street was the first station opened in Nottingham on the former Midland Counties Railway. It was opened in 1839, before closing in 1848 to passengers after the opening of Nottingham Midland station. The site is now under Nottingham Magistrates' Court.
* Nottingham Victoria railway station, Nottingham Victoria which was the second largest station in the city. Owned jointly by the Great Central Railway and Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), Great Northern Railway. It closed in 1967, after declining usage and the station buildings were demolished. The site is now the Victoria Centre shopping centre. The clock tower is still in situ and the cutting is under the shopping centre at the lower level including the old Mansfield Road Railway Tunnel.
* Nottingham Arkwright Street railway station, Nottingham Arkwright Street was originally the second station in Nottingham, near to Nottingham Midland. It was originally only to be opened temporarily but was kept open until 1963, when it was closed. It reopened briefly in 1967 as the terminus of a skeleton service from Nottingham to Leicester Central railway station, Leicester and Rugby Central railway station, Rugby, only to be closed in 1969. The site is now buried under a road alignment, tram tracks and industrial buildings.
* Nottingham London Road railway station, Nottingham London Road Low and High Level was located directly north-east of Nottingham Midland and the low-level platforms were closed to passengers in 1944. The high-level platforms were closed in 1967. Goods services continued to serve the station until 1972 when the rails were removed. The station is still in situ and is now used for retail.
* Nottingham Racecourse railway station, Nottingham Racecourse was located near Nottingham Racecourse and was a minor station on the line between Nottingham and Grantham. The station closed in 1959 and the line is still in use. Nothing remains of the station.
Trams
The reintroduction of Nottingham Express Transit, trams in 2004 made Nottingham the newest of only nine List of modern tramway and light rail systems in the United Kingdom, English cities to have a light rail system. The trams run from the city centre to Hucknall in the north, with a spur to the Phoenix Park park and ride, close to junction 26 of the M1. Two new lines opened in 2015, extending the network to the southern suburbs of Wilford and
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
*Clifton (surname)
*Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
* Clifton, Queensland, a town
**Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
*Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
*Clifton, Nova Scotia ...
In April 2012, Nottingham became the first city in the UK to introduce a workplace parking levy. The levy charges businesses £350 on each parking space made available to their employees, provided that the business has more than ten such parking spaces. The council have used the revenue of around £10 million a year to develop the city's tram system. There has been a 9% reduction in traffic and 15% increase in public transport use since the introduction of the levy.
(NCT) is the biggest transport operator in Nottingham, with 330 buses. NCT has won five UK Bus Operator of the Year awards, most recently winning it in 2019.
In September 2010, Nottingham was named "England's least car-dependent city" by the Campaign for Better Transport (United Kingdom), Campaign for Better Transport with London and Manchester in second and fourth place, respectively.
Waterways
Nottingham's waterways, now primarily used for leisure, were used extensively for transportation in the past.
Public services
Emergency
Fire and rescue services are provided by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, and emergency medical care by East Midlands Ambulance Service, both of which have their headquarters in Nottingham. Law enforcement is carried out by Nottinghamshire Police, whose headquarters are at Sherwood Lodge in Arnold. The city has a Nottingham Crown Court, Crown Court and a Nottingham Magistrates' Court, Magistrates' Court.
Laurie Macdonald of ''Inside One'' magazine observes that Nottingham's former high crime rate earned it the nickname "Shottingham", but that by 2013 this image was outdated. The article was written in response to a uSwitch survey that had found south Nottinghamshire to be the fourth-best place to live in the UK in terms of living standards. Crime in the city of Nottingham had also fallen by three-quarters since 2007.
Healthcare
There are two major National Health Service hospitals in Nottingham, the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) and Nottingham City Hospital, both managed by the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The QMC is a teaching hospital with close connections to the University of Nottingham Medical School, Medical School at Nottingham University; until 2012, it was the largest hospital in the UK. Nottingham City Hospital includes maternity and neonatal facilities but has no Emergency department, A&E department. Students from the Medical School are attached to most of the departments at City Hospital as part of their clinical training.
Water supply
Severn Trent, Severn Trent Water is the company responsible for supplying fresh water to households and businesses in Nottingham, as well as the treatment of sewage. Severn Trent took over these services from the City of Nottingham Water Department in 1974.
Energy supplies
Nottingham was host to the UK's first and only local authority–owned and not-for-profit energy company, Robin Hood Energy.
The city has one of the largest district heating schemes in the UK, operated by EnviroEnergy Limited, which is wholly owned by Nottingham City Council. The plant in the city centre supplies heat to 4,600 homes and a wide variety of business premises, including the Concert Hall, the Nottingham Arena, the Victoria Baths, the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, the Victoria Centre, and others.
Veolia operates a cogeneration (CHP) plant in Nottingham for generating energy from biomass.
Religion
Historically, the requirement for city status was the presence of an Anglican (Church of England) cathedral; however, Nottingham does not have one of these, having only been designated a city in 1897 in celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. From around AD 1100, Nottingham was part of the Diocese of Lichfield, controlled as an Archdeacon of Nottingham, archdeaconry from Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire. In 1837, Nottingham's archdeaconry was placed under the control of the Diocese of Lincoln and, in 1884, it was incorporated into the newly created Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, Diocese of Southwell which it is still part of today. The bishop is based at Southwell Minster, northeast of the city.
Although lacking an Anglican cathedral, Nottingham has three notable historic Church of England parish church, Anglican parish churches, all of which date back to the Middle Ages. The oldest and largest of these is St Mary's Church, Nottingham, St. Mary the Virgin, situated in the Lace Market. The church dates from the eighth or ninth centuries, but the present structure is at least the third building on the site, dating primarily from 1377 to 1485. A member of the Major Churches Network, St. Mary's is considered the mother church of the city and is used for holding civic services, including the annual welcome to the new Lord Mayor. In the heart of the city is St Peter's Church, Nottingham, St. Peter's, the oldest building in continuous use in Nottingham, with traces of building dating back to 1180. The third notable Anglican parish church is St Nicholas Church, Nottingham, St. Nicholas', known locally as "St. Nic's", situated on the edge of the city centre in the direction of the castle.
There are various chapels and meeting rooms in Nottingham. Many of the grand buildings have been demolished, including Halifax Place Wesleyan Chapel, but some have been re-used, notably High Pavement Chapel which is now a public house. The city has three Christadelphian meeting halls and is home to the national headquarters of the Congregational Federation.
Nottingham is one of 18 British cities that do not have an Anglican cathedral. It is, however, home to the Nottingham Cathedral, Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Barnabas, which was designed by Augustus Pugin and consecration, consecrated in 1844. It is the cathedral church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham.
Today, there are places of worship for all major religions, including Christianity and Islam (with 32 mosques in Nottingham).
Demographics
The city of Nottingham has a population at 312,900 with the
Greater Nottingham
The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres - see the List of urban ...
population at 729,977 and the Metro population at 1,543,000. The city of Nottingham has a density of .
65.4% are White British, 13.1% Asian, 8.2% of West Indian origins, 6.1% are European/North American, 4.3% African, 1.6% Middle Eastern and 1.1% South/Central American. The city's population also has the largest proportion of any UK city identifying as mixed race, at 6.7% with 4% being mixed white and black Caribbean.
Media
Television
The BBC has its BBC East Midlands, East Midlands headquarters in Nottingham on London Road. ''BBC East Midlands Today'' is broadcast from the city every weeknight at 6:30 pm.
From 1983 to 2005 ITV Central, Central Television (the ITV (TV network), ITV region for the east Midlands) had a studio complex on Lenton Lane, producing programmes for various networks and broadcasting regional news.
The city was granted permission by Ofcom to establish its own local television station. After a tender process, Confetti College was awarded the licence. The station was declared open by Prince Harry in April 2013 and Notts TV began broadcasting in spring 2014.
Radio
In addition to the national commercial and BBC radio stations, the Nottingham area is served by licensed commercial radio stations (though all broadcast to a wider area than the city).
Radio stations include:
* BBC Radio Nottingham (103.8 FM & Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB)
* Gold (British radio network), Gold (AM & DAB)
* Gem (radio station), Gem (106 FM & DAB)
* Capital East Midlands, Capital Midlands (96.2 FM & DAB)
* Smooth East Midlands (106.6 FM & DAB)
* Kemet FM (97.5 FM)
* Radio Dawn (107.6 FM)
Student radio
The city's two universities both broadcast their own student radio station. Fly FM (Nottingham), Fly FM is based at Nottingham Trent University's city campus and is broadcast online. The station originated in 1996 with its original name of Kick FM. University Radio Nottingham (URN) is broadcast around Nottingham University's main and Sutton Bonington campuses on medium wave (AM), as well as over the internet. URN was founded in 1979 after starting out with a slot on BBC Radio Nottingham in the late 1970s.
Newspapers and magazines
Nottingham's main local newspaper, the ''Nottingham Post'', is owned by Local World and is published daily from Monday to Saturday each week.
LeftLion, ''LeftLion'' magazine (established 2003) is distributed for free across the city, covering Nottingham culture including music, art, theatre, comedy, food and drink.
Student tabloid ''The Tab'' also publishes online content and has teams at both universities.
Film
Nottingham has been used as a location in many locally, nationally, and internationally produced films. Movies that have been filmed (partly or entirely) in Nottingham include:
*''Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' (1960)
*''The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner'' (1962)
*''The Ragman's Daughter'' (1972)
*''Robin Hood (1973 film), Robin Hood'' (1973)
*''In Celebration (film), In Celebration'' (1975)
*''Twenty Four Seven (film), Twenty Four Seven'' (1997)
*''Once Upon a Time in the Midlands'' (2002)
*''This Is England'' (2006)
*''Magicians (2007 film), Magicians'' (2007)
*''Control (2007 film), Control'' (2007)
*''Mum & Dad'' (2008)
*''Easy Virtue (2008 film), Easy Virtue'' (2008)
*''Bronson (film), Bronson'' (2009)
*''The Unloved'' (2009)
*''Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee'' (2009)
*''Goal III: Taking on the World, Goal 3'' (2009)
*''Bunny and the Bull'' (2009)
*''A Boy Called Dad'' (2009)
*''Oranges and Sunshine (film), Oranges and Sunshine'' (2010)
*''Weekend (2011 film), Weekend'' (2011)
*''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012)
International relations
Nottingham is Town twinning, twinned with the following cities:
* Ljubljana, Slovenia (1963)
* Minsk, Belarus (1966-2022)
* Karlsruhe, Germany (1969)
* Harare, Zimbabwe (1981)
* Ghent, Belgium (1985)
* Ningbo, China (2005)
* Timișoara, Romania (2008)
* Krasnodar, Russia (2012-2022)
* Września, Poland
Note: Ljubljana, Minsk, and Harare are Capital city, capital cities. Nottingham ended its relations with Minsk and Krasnodar in March 2022.Ukraine invasion prompts Nottingham to sever ties with twinned Russian and Belarusian cities ''Nottingham Post, Nottinghamshire Live'', 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022
Notable people
List of mayors and lord mayors
The Sheriff of Nottingham
See also
*List of public art in Nottingham
*1185 East Midlands earthquake
*Snotingas
Notes
References
External links
Nottingham City Council
{{Authority control
Nottingham,
Cities in the East Midlands
County towns in England
Local government districts of the East Midlands
Local government in Nottinghamshire
Towns in Nottinghamshire
Unitary authority districts of England
Unparished areas in Nottinghamshire
Boroughs in England