St Ann's is a large district of the city of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, in the
English ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...
of
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
. The population of the district at the time of the
United Kingdom census, 2011
A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...
was 19,316.
History
The name St Ann's is possibly derived from an ancient well in the area, once thought to have healing properties. It was recorded in 1301 as ''The Brodewell'' and in other historical references it was called the ''O
well'' or ''Robin Hood's Well''.
In 1500, the spring was appropriated by monks who built a chapel adjacent to the well and dedicated the site to
St. Ann. There are several ancient names attached to the area; Peas Hill (1230), Hunger Hills (1304) and Clay Fields.
The development of the St Ann's perhaps began as early as 1750 when Charles Morley, Sheriff in 1737-8, manufactured brown earthenware very prosperously in a small factory in Beck Street, his speciality being his brown beer jugs.
In the 1830s, Clay Fields was divided into plots. Until the passing of the
Nottingham Inclosure Act 1845, the area was largely uninhabited and formed part of the Clay Fields area. After that date, the council was able to develop the land, and the area became known as St Ann's. An associated church, St. Ann's Church, was constructed in the 1860s to serve the community. The foundation stone was laid on 23 September 1863 by
Sydney Pierrepont, 3rd Earl Manvers. The church was consecrated on 26 September 1864, and was a daughter church of
St. Mary the Virgin, Nottingham.
The Nottingham Inclosure Act 1845 allowed the city to take of the Clay Fields. It was used for housing, and by 1880 the building of 'New Town' was complete. It was specifically built for the working poor. They were very basic cottages, with a butcher, a baker, a large number of public houses, a market place and, for the first time in Britain, allotments where the poor could grow their vegetables. The
Public Health Act 1875
The Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, one of the Public Health Acts, and a significant step in the advancement of public health in England.
Its purpose was to codify previous me ...
enabled local authorities to make byelaws to regulate such building. Here, all the houses were
pre-Public Health Act terraced houses, on a gridiron plan arranged around courts of ten houses. These were later demolished under
slum clearance
Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
legislation of the 1960s.
According to McKenzie (2015), the estate was a town within a town; the local constabulary refused to enter St Ann's estate, so policing was managed by the residents relying on 'family affiliation'. It was an area of hard work and low pay that culturally was separate from Nottingham. It was also an area of 10,000 houses where only 9% had an inside toilet, and 50% had no hot water system - many of the yards had shared toilets and open sewers leading to endemic dysentery and cholera. Infant mortality was three times the national average. Clearances of houses such as these started in 1930, but because of the war 'New Town' continued until 1970. The houses were flattened and the residents dispersed.
In 1970, the Victorian streets were replaced with a
Radburn style estate. While this introduced a more modern housing stock, the confusing pattern of facing houses with differing street names and the maze of undistinguishable walk-ways made the new estate impenetrable to outsiders. The houses were built by
Wimpey, using
prefabricated techniques. The first residents were proud of the houses, but critical of the design of the estate. Radburn estates worldwide have since become widely unpopular, often referred to as an urban design layout that is typified by failure because of its laneways and interconnected green squares being used as common entries and exits to houses – helping to isolate communities and encourage crime, with roads and car courts poorly surveilled.
Government
St Ann's lies within the
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
of Nottingham, and so is governed by
Nottingham City Council
Nottingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Nottingham, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England. Nottingham has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous ...
.
Geography
St Ann's lies east of Nottingham city centre, with Thorneywood to the north east and Carlton Road forming the unofficial boundary with
Sneinton to the south.
Demography
In common with other parts of the city, the largely
working-class
The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
population is still affected by the collapse of manufacturing industry and much of the area scores badly on government measures of deprivation. It is ethnically mixed with a strong sense of community. The population in 2005 was around 15,000.
St Ann's is home to people from all over the world, such as:
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
,
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
,
South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Guinea
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
.
The area has a Pakistani Community Centre and the African Caribbean National Artistic Center (ACNA).
Economy
In the nineteenth century, the local industries were
lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
and
textile manufacturing
Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...
, like most of Nottingham.
As of 2023, the area suffers from a lack of pubs, restaurants and shops, with locals left with few places to gather or meet and no major supermarket chains in the area. There is a weekly market, the St Ann's Market, which takes place every Tuesday morning.
There are several ethnic supermarkets including Jamaican, Pakistani, Somali, Portuguese, Italian and Greek. The two main ethnic supermarkets are Murat (which is Kurdish/Turkish) and Asiana, which is the largest oriental retail outlet in the East Midlands.
Culture and community
The area takes its name from St Ann's Well, a spring once thought to have miraculous healing powers, at the junction of The Wells Road and Kildare Road. It was also known as The Brodewell, the Owswell, Robin Hood's Well, in records dating back to 1301. The people of Nottingham used to walk to St Ann's Well on Easter ('Black') Monday and celebrate with a party. It was covered by a spired structure from 1856 to 1887, which was demolished to make way for the railway and later built over by what became The Gardeners pub.
Stonebridge City Farm, which charges no admission fee, is an
urban farm that is active in the community.
The last pub in the area was the Sycamore Inn, which closed in April 2014.
Landmarks
The terraces north of Victoria Park have been listed as representing a style of domestic architecture that was once widespread but has been largely lost to bomb damage and slum clearance.
The
St Ann's Allotments is the oldest and largest
allotment site in England, created in the 1830s and now
Grade 2* listed as being of "Special Historic Interest". The allotments have received
National Lottery funding
Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm use ...
for restoration, and were featured on the BBC's ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'' and
Radio 4.
Transport
The
Nottingham Suburban Railway ran through the area, connecting Trent Lane junction in Sneinton with
Daybrook, but bomb damage closed the Sneinton end in 1941 and the line ceased operations completely in 1951.
Bus services
;
Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport (NCT) is the major bus operator of the city of Nottingham, England. NCT operates extensively within Nottingham as well as beyond the city boundaries into Nottinghamshire county. Publicly owned, it is today the second ...
39:
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
→ St Ann's (Beacon Hill Rise) → Thorneywood → Carlton Valley
40: Nottingham → St Ann's →
Sherwood →
City Hospital Campus
40B: Nottingham → St Ann's → The Wells Road Top
41: Nottingham → St Ann's
42: Nottingham → St Ann's
;
Education
Blue Bell Hill Primary School is on Gordon Road along with Our Lady and St. Edwards Primary.
The Wells Academy provides secondary education, along with the new St Ann's Well Academy on Hungerhill Rd. There is also Sycamore Academy and Huntingdon Academy.
Religion
The parish church is
St. Ann with Emmanuel; the RCCG Covenant Restoration Assembly St Anns meet in Blue Bell Hill Community Centre.
There are also two Mosques in the area with one in the Pakistani Centre and the Islamic Center.
Sport
There are few sports facilities actually in St Ann's, but across the ring road is the
National Ice Centre, an Olympic-sized
ice rink
An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
that is both home to the
Nottingham Panthers
The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25.
The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...
, and also acts a major
music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...
of Nottingham.
Nottingham Racecourse
Nottingham Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated at Colwick Park, close to the River Trent and about 3 km east of the city centre.
Characteristics
There are actual ...
, the local
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
track, and the
Nottingham Greyhound Stadium are also nearby.
Media
Nottingham film-maker
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows (born 26 December 1972) is an English director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in independent film, most notably the cult film ''This Is England'' (2006) and its three sequels (2010–2015).
Meadows' other films inc ...
used St Ann's for some scenes in the 2006 drama ''
This Is England
''This Is England'' is a 2006 British coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. Its plot centres on young skinheads in England in 1983, illustrating how their subculture became influenced by far-right politics. The f ...
'' filmed in St Ann's.
Ray Gosling, broadcaster and writer, lived in St Ann's and wrote about it. He also introduced a film about
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
in the area by Thames Television.
Social issues
There have been three academic studies based on the working class community of St Anns:
* Poverty: The Forgotten Englishmen, by Ken Coates and Bill Silburn : University of Nottingham
* Getting by: by Lisa McKenzie, LSE
* Narratives From a Nottingham Council Estate: a Story of White Working-Class Mothers With Mixed-Race Children, Ethnic and Racial Studies, by Lisa McKenzie
See also
*
St Ann's riots
*
Listed buildings in Nottingham (St Ann's ward)
*
St Ann's – other places with the same name
*
The Meadows, Nottingham- similar Radburn style estate
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*Gosling, Ray (1962), ''Sum Total''. London:
Faber
Faber may refer to:
People
* Faber (surname)
Companies
* Faber & Faber, publishing house in the United Kingdom
* Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments
* Faber Music, British sheet music publisher
* Eberhard Faber, German ...
. (Republished by Pomona in 2004. .)
*Gosling, Ray (1967), ''Saint Ann's''.
Nottingham Civic Society.
*Gosling, Ray (1980), ''Personal Copy: a memoir of the sixties''. London: Faber. .
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
STAA – St. Ann's AllotmentsStonebridge City FarmEcoworks – community organisation based on St Ann's Allotments The Renewal Trust manage St Ann's Allotments and provide community regenerationReport, St Annes, Thames TV 1969, Nottingham Slums
{{Public housing in the United Kingdom
Areas of Nottingham
History of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...