Nottingham
Nottingham is one of the 3 major cities in the East Midlands and is in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham is a member of the English Core Cities Group.
Nottingham City proper has a population of 288,700. The Nottingham Urban Area has a population of 667,000, but much of this is in the surrounding boroughs, which are not part of the City, and some of it spills over into the neighbouring administrative County of Derbyshire. The urban area is the 7th largest urban area in the United Kingdom, ranking between Liverpool and Sheffield. The city proper population is notably smaller, this is because the city boundary is a historical one and is tightly drawn, therefore this boundary excludes many places which today are part of Nottingham. The Nottingham Urban Area does include these areas which are the large expanse of suburbs, along with nearby towns such as Ilkeston and Eastwood.
At the heart of Nottingham City Centre is the Old Market Square. This 22,000 sq/m open space is the largest square in England and was refurbished in 2007 to include a large water feature, which consists of numerous fountains and gushing rapids. The entire square was also re-surfaced with granite slabs. Nottingham Council House which overlooks the square can be seen for miles around thanks to its dome which rises 200 ft above the city, and is lit up at night. Inside the Council House is the Exchange Arcade, an upmarket shopping centre which houses many high class shops, shopping being one of the main attractions of the City. Radiating out from the central square are the other areas of the city. The Hockley quarter, characterised by a higher proportion of independent retailers and alternative cinema, is situated to the east of the city. Hockley is adjacent to the Lace Market area which is home to many large grand Victorian era buildings owing to Nottingham's importance in the Victorian Lace Industry, the city's interesting history being another main attraction. To the south of the square shopping streets lead their way into the soon to be totally rebuilt Broadmarsh shopping centre. Beyond the shopping centre lies the canal which is a pleasant area full of cafes and restaurants. To the west is Nottingham Castle and Maid Marian Way which is home to the majority of the high rise office buildings in the city. Northwards from the square more major shopping streets lead to the Victoria Shopping Centre and to an entertainment quarter with numerous restaurants and a cinema complex. The Theatre Royal, Nottingham on Theatre Square and Nottingham Playhouse at the Albert Hall can also be found here.
History
Nottingham is relatively unusual among major manufacturing cities in Britain in having a mediæval and pre-industrial past of equal importance to its more recent one. The first evidence of settlement dates from pre-Roman times, and it's possible that the Romans also lived in the area.
In Anglo-Saxon times, around 600 AD, the site formed part of the Kingdom of Mercia, when it was known in the Brythonic language as Tigguo Cobauc meaning Place of Caves, until falling under the rule of a Saxon chieftain named Snot, whereby it was dubbed "Snotingaham" literally, "the homestead of Snot's people". Snot brought together his people in an area where the historic Lace Market in the City can now be found. In Saxon times, Robin Hood, a famous outlaw, lived near Nottingham.
Nottingham was captured in 867 by Danish Vikings and later became one of the Five Burghs - or fortified towns - of The Danelaw.
In the 11th century Nottingham Castle was constructed on a sandstone outcrop by the River Leen. The Anglo-Saxon settlement developed into the English Borough 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.
In the 15th century, Nottingham had established itself as the centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from alabaster. The town became a county corporate in 1449, giving it effective self-government, in the words of the charter, "for eternity". The Castle and Shire Hall were expressly excluded and technically remained as detached Parishes of Nottinghamshire.
During the Industrial Revolution, much of Nottingham's prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular, Nottingham was an internationally important centre of lace manufacture. However, the rapid and poorly planned growth left Nottingham with the reputation of having the worst slums in the British Empire outside India. Residents of these slums rioted in 1831, in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire his residence, Nottingham Castle.
In common with the UK textile industry as a whole, Nottingham's textile sector fell into headlong decline in the decades following World War II, as British manufacturers proved unable to compete on price or volume with the output of factories in the Far East and South Asia. Very little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham, but the City's heyday in this sector endowed it with some fine industrial buildings in the Lace Market district. Many of these have been restored and put to new uses.
The old central area focused around Market Square
Nottingham was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and at that time consisted of the parishes of Nottingham St Mary, Nottingham St Nicholas and Nottingham St Peter. It was expanded in 1877 by adding the parishes of Basford, Brewhouse Yard, Bulwell, Radford, Sneinton, Standard Hill and parts of the parishes of West Bridgford, Carlton, Wilford. In 1889 Nottingham became a county borough 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. A further boundary extension was granted in 1951 when Clifton and Wilford were incorporated into the city.
Architecture
Nottingham has some truly magnificent architecture, buildings from a vast swathe of history stretching right back to the 1100s have been built in the City. Victorian Nottingham saw a building boom with many grand buildings being built owing to the City's 19th century importance. Architects such as Alfred Waterhouse, Thomas Chambers Hine and Watson Fothergill have all built spectacular buildings in Nottingham.
The western third of the city is home to most of the modern offices and businesses of the city, several tall office buildings line Maid Marian Way whilst there are some handsome buildings around Oxford and Regent Streets mainly occupied by professional firms. The Albert Hall was rebuilt in 1909 after the original Watson Fothergill masterpiece burnt down, sits next to the comparatively unimpressive Nottingham Cathedral by Pugin. 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 the Arkwright Building which is a beautiful example of gothic revival architecture and was previously Nottingham's public library - Nottingham Trent University now owns this building as well as many in the area. Theatre Royal on Theatre Square with its pillared façade was built in 1865 in just six months. Head further south down King and Queen Street which are home to many magnificent Victorian architecture buildings designed by the likes of Alfred Waterhouse who designed London's Natural History Museum and Nottingham's own Watson Fothergill whose buildings are distinctive and unique.
The Prudential Building Architecture from different eras side by side
The central focal point of the City is Old Market Square which is the largest in the UK and is home to many beautiful buildings, most notably Nottingham Council House. This was built in the 1920s to display civic pride, ostentatiously using baroque columns and placing stone statues of two lions at the front to stand watch over the square; the Exchange Arcade inside the building contains an upmarket shopping centre with boutique shops, it is a small but beautiful covered area. Portland Stone, the same as used for St Paul's Cathedral, was used to construct the Council House and Exchange Arcade. Streets lead from all directions off the square but to the south, shopping streets lead their way in to the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre which is soon to be completely rebuilt. Plans include a massive three floor centre with glass covered streets a landmark new building on the south west corner of the site and a new transport terminus for the proposed tram lines and buses.
Nottingham Council House and Queen Street
The Canal side, further south of this is adjacent to the railway station and several new but sympathetically designed modern offices are planned. This is an inviting redevelopment of 19th century industrial buildings into a cluster of bars and restaurants. The eastern third of the city contains the Victoria Shopping Centre which was built in the 1970s on the site of the demolished Victoria Railway Station. All that remains of the beautiful old station building is the clock tower and the station hotel which is now the Hilton Hotel, Nottingham. The Victoria Centre flats stand above the shopping centre. At 250 feet high they are the tallest buildings in the city. The eastern third also contains perhaps the most interesting areas of the city, such as Hockley Village. Hockley is where the vast majority of the unique, independent shops are to be found. Hockley is also home to two cinemas which show alternative cinema. They are the Broadway cinema and The Screen Room cinema. The Screen Room is the smallest in the world with only 21 seats, while the Broadway was the cinema of choice for Quentin Tarantino's UK premier of Reservoir Dogs. The Lace Market area is another interesting area just south of Hockley. The Lace Market was once the heart of Britain's Lace industry during the 19th century British Empire and the area provides a snapshot of typical Victorian Britain, with its densely packed streets full of 4-7 story red brick warehouses, ornate iron railings and red phone boxes.
These have all been restored and cleaned and the buildings are now used for different purposes, New College Nottingham now has many sites in the Lace Market including the impressive Adams Building built by Thomas Chambers Hine for Thomas Adams. Many of the buildings are also now used for upmarket city centre apartments. Several bars and restaurants also have premises in the Lace Market. The area was once a run down one with the warehouses abandoned but since cleaning and gentrification is now an attractive aspect to this part of the city. The church of St Mary the Virgin is also in this area and is widely considered to be the best example of an English cross-shaped church. On this medieval site was supposedly where Robin Hood was arrested after being betrayed by a monk and subsequently imprisoned by the Sheriff of Nottingham, before being rescued by Little John. It and the adjacent Shire Hall are two interesting buildings from the city's medieval past. The Georgian built Galleries of Justice are also in the Lace Market, they were used as courts and prisons from 1780 for 200 years although the site has been home to a court since 1375.
Galleries of Justice in the Lace Market
Wollaton Hall lies about 2.5 miles to the west of the city centre. This building built in 1588 is a massive piece of spectacular Tudor period architecture, it is home to the city's Natural History Museum and is set in 500 acres of deer park taking a large chunk out of the urban area surrounding it. It is located just north of the University of Nottingham's University Park Campus.
Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem partially built into the cave system beneath the castle claims the title of "England's Oldest Pub" due partly to the questionable date of 1189 painted on the side of the inn, whilst The Bell Inn on the Old Market Square, and Ye Olde Salutation Inn on Maid Marian Way have both disputed this by laying claim to being the oldest public house in the city. An episode of the Channel 4 TV documentary series History Hunters tested the three claimants and found that, while each has its own evidence, none can claim exclusivity. The Trip, while the oldest building and oldest location, was for most of its early life a brewery and not a public house. The Salutation sits on the oldest recognised public house site, but the current building is comparatively recent. The Bell, although not in such an antiquated location, does boast the oldest public house building. There is also conflicting information available: dendrochronology from roof timbers in the Salutation give a date for the building of c.1420 with similar dates for the Bell. Ultimately, the roots of the multiple claims can be traced to various subtleties of definition in terms such as public house and inn.
Typical red brick lined street in the Lace Market
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Culture
Nottingham Playhouse and Cathedral reflected in Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror
Nottingham has two large-capacity theatres, the Nottingham Playhouse and the Theatre Royal and a smaller theatre space at the University of Nottingham's Lakeside Arts Centre. The city also has smaller theatres with the Nottingham Arts Theatre and the Lacemarket Theatre. There are also several art galleries which often receive national attention, particularly the Nottingham Castle Museum, the University of Nottingham's Djanogly Gallery and Wollaton Park's Yard Gallery. The visual arts in Nottingham will be significantly enhanced in 2008 and 2009 by the opening of New Art Exchange and Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham. In a new £13.9 million 3000 square metre building on the corner of High Pavement and Middle Hill designed by Caruso St John, CCAN will be one of the largest venues for exhibitions of contemporary art in the UK. Both of the city's universities also put on a wide range of theatre, music and art events open to the public throughout the year.
The city has several multiplex cinemas alongside two arthouse cinemas in Hockley. The independent cinemas are the Broadway Cinema, one of the major independent cinemas in the UK and Screen Room, which claims to be the world's smallest cinema. Broadway was redeveloped and expanded in 2006. Quentin Tarantino held the British premiere of Reservoir Dogs there in 1992.
There is a classical music scene, with long-established groups such as the city's Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, Harmonic Society, Bach Choir, Early Music Group Musica Donum Dei and the Symphonic Wind Orchestra giving regular performances in the city.
The annual Goose Fair in October is always popular, being one of the largest fairs in the country.
Nottingham won the Britain in Bloom competition, in the Large City category, in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007. It also won the Entente Florale Gold Award in 1998.
Nottingham is known for its large teenage alternative scene the heartland of which is Old Market Square. Another focus for their activities is the Rock City concert venue. The Sumac Centre based in Forest Fields has for many years supported local upcoming musicians, artists and film makers, and a variety of campaign groups.
Nottingham has a strong grass roots "Do it yourself" music culture, and is very in touch with underground trends in modern music. Nottingham is renowned as one of the biggest cities supporting the Dubstep movement of dance music. It also has a strong DIY Punk and Indie/Folk scene based at venues such as The Old Angel Inn, The Rose of England and Lee Rosys Tea in Hockley.
Since 2006, Nottingham has also been the location of the annual Gamecity Festival - an independent game festival which is open to the public and held in the Old Market Square and various other venues across the city.
