Nottingham

Nottingham

The city of Nottingham is to be found in the East Midlands region of England. It is 128 miles north of London and 45 miles northeast of Birmingham. In 2017, it had a population of 329,200 and, including its suburbs, it had a total population of 768,638.
Nottingham was originally called Snotingaham as it was under the rule of a Saxon chieftain called Snot. After the Norman conquest, the Saxon settlement developed into the Borough of Nottingham and possessed a Town Hall and Law Courts. Nottingham Castle was built in 1068 by the River Leen and a settlement grew around the castle which became a French borough supporting the Normans in it. As the town grew, the Old Market Square later became its focus. When Richard Lionheart returned from the Crusades, the castle was occupied by supporters of Prince John (including the Sheriff of Nottingham) but he first besieged it and then finally captured it. Interestingly, it is thought that Nottingham Castle was the location of the final showdown between the Sheriff of Nottingham and the legendary outlaw Robin Hood.
It is worth noting that in the fifteenth century Nottingham was an important exporter of religious sculptures made from local alabaster. The textile industry (especially lace manufacture), was extremely important to Nottingham during the Industrial Revolution and continued to be so until it declined after the Second World War. Now there remains little textile manufacture although many industrial buildings have been restored and modified for modern use.

Notably, City Status was awarded to Nottingham as part of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
In modern times, the city has perhaps been best known as the home of two-time UEFA European Cup winners Nottingham Forest who under the guidance of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, dominated Europe in 1979 and 1980. It would be unfair to not also mention Notts County who were formed in 1862 and who are the world’s oldest professional football club. But Nottingham also offers many other sporting activities like cricket, water sports, rugby union, boxing, ice hockey, athletics, tennis, cycling and there is even an American football club called Nottingham Caesars. It was also the birthplace and training base for the famous ice dancers Torvill and Dean.
Today there is a lot of pressure for more affordable and council housing, and consequently, there is a lot of pressure on the green belt which surrounds the city.

If you have time to visit Nottingham, you will discover a wide array of interesting examples of architecture such as St Barnabas’ Roman Catholic Cathedral, The Theatre Royal on Theatre Square (built in 1865) and the Georgian area around Oxford and Regents streets. There are normally many places that you can shop in like, The Exchange Arcade which contains a lot of interesting boutiques, the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre and the Victoria Shopping Centre which was built on where the Victoria railway station once stood, in the 1970s.
Tourists are attracted to the city by The Robin Hood Pageant, Light Night, and in the past by events like Nottingham Cave Festival, Nottingham Puppet Festival and the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity. Also, since the 1990s, people have been able to participate in the annual Pride Parade which is organised by Nottinghamshire Pride. There are also galleries and museums to visit such as the North Industrial Museum and the New Art Exchange which has exhibited contemporary art since it opened in 2008. If you like trips to the theatre, then maybe you could go to the Nottingham Playhouse or the Royal Concert Hall.
Nottingham has a vibrant music scene – both popular and classical. It is the home of Earache Records which is a large independent record label set up in 1986 and is also the home to the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bach Choir and the Symphony Orchestra. The SPLENDOUR music event was headlined by the groups Madness and the Pogues in 2009, and it is true to say that the city is known for its Hip-Hop scene. In addition, you can normally go to the Asian Mela every summer and celebrate the Hindu Spring festival and a parade on St Patrick’s Day. Nottingham is famous also for its annual Goose Fair which actually used to sell geese!
Although Nottingham is a city it does not meet the usual prerequisite of having an Anglian Cathedral although it does have three historic Anglican parish churches and St Barnabas’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, various chapels and meeting rooms, thirty-two mosques and also houses places of worship for Sikhs, Hindus and Jews.
The city is also home to many economic powerhouses like Alliance Boots, Chinook Sciences, Pedigree Pet Food, Vision Express and Spec Savers. It was the birthplace of Raleigh Cycles in 1886 and it is where Sturmey-Archer developed 3-speed hub gears.
One pub that you may like to go to during a visit to Nottingham, is Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem (the Trip) which is located partially in the cave system beneath the castle – the caves may have been used to store beer and water for the castle during medieval times. It may actually be the oldest pub in England as it was established in 1189 although its current timber building probably dates back to the seventeenth or eighteenth century.
If you are thinking of moving to the Nottingham area, you will find a strong education system that you or your children could benefit from as there are three universities, three colleges of further education and many state and independent schools.
Travel to the city by public transport is quite easy as there is a good bus and tram service and East Midlands Airport is only just under 15 miles southwest of the city.
So, when this terrible pandemic is finally over, then why not invest a bit of time and money to visit the home of the legendary Robin Hood!
* With a lot of help from Wikipedia

Nottingham is featured within FTHM Issue 77