Nottingham

 

Random Facts About Nottingham

1. HP sauce was invented in Nottingham
2. Nottingham Goose Fair has existed since 1284 and is one of the biggest fairs in the UK
3. Nottingham has more sports facilities for its size than any other city in Europe
4. Famous people that come from the Nottingham include DH Lawrence, Lord Byron, Brian Clough and Paul Smith
5. Notts County FC is the worlds oldest professional Football Club
6. Some of the most important Ice Age finds in Britain were excavated at Creswell Crags
7. King Charles I started the Civil War near Nottingham Castle, surrendered at Newark and was confined at Southwell
8. In 2007 Nottingham was positioned fifth in the retail shopping league of England
9. Nottingham’s old market square is the largest square in the country 
10. Nottingham Trent University has a unique environmental chamber that can help top athletes acclimatise to any type of environment – from Egypt to Everest.

 

History

“perhaps there is no other town in the kingdom whose origin is hid in greater obscurity than Nottingham”

      

Evidence of human settlement discovered at Creswell Crag Caves suggests that Nottingham’s history dates back to 40,000BC. Since then Nottingham has transformed into a thriving economic hub and has played its part in a number of historic events throughout the years. This includes contributions to the industrial revolution, the Pilgrim Fathers sailing in the Mayflower to New England and Charles I declaring the start of the civil war in Nottingham. During the 19^th century lace manufacturing was developed in Nottingham, John player established his tobacco shop Players in the Broadmarsh shopping centre, Jesse Boot founded Boots the Chemist and Frank Bowden Raleigh Cycles.

The County and City of Nottingham now has an estimated population of 1.3 million, attracts 300,000 overseas visitors a year and has established itself as one of eight core cities recognised by the Government.

Retail

Nottingham is rated in the top 6 UK shopping cities and there are plenty of areas to get some retail therapy no matter what your taste or style. There are two main shopping centres in Nottingham: Victoria Centre and Westfield Broadmarsh both boasting a range of independent and chain stores. Smaller shopping centres include The Exchange Arcade, the Flying Horse Walk and new developments in Trinity Square and The Pod. There are also a number of large department stores including House of Fraser, John Lewis and Debenhams.

The Bridlesmith Gate area is home to numerous designer shops and boasts the original Paul Smith boutique as well as Ted Baker, Kurt Geiger and Limeys. There are also various side streets and alleys that hide some interesting and often overlooked buildings and shops. Hockley Village caters to alternative tastes with shops like Ice Nine and Void, famous across the city.

In addition to that available in the city centre Nottingham also has a number of smaller market towns that offer the opportunity for alternative shopping including: Mansfield, Retford, Worksop, Newark and Southwell. All of these towns regulary hold markets which sell a variety of local produce. Markets held in Mansfield and Southwell date back to the 13^th Century and Newark is internationally renowned for its antique and pine outlets.

Culture

Nottingham has an increasing cultural profile with a number of theatres, art galleries and specialist cinemas throughout the county. Theatres in Nottingham include Nottingham Playhouse, the Theatre Royal and the University of Nottingham’s Lakeside Arts Centre. All these venues see a diverse mix of performances from opera, to ballet to comic acts.

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 Nottingham Contemporary is still under construction but when it is opened will be one of the largest venues for exhibitions of contemporary art in the UK.

Alongside the cities several multiplex cinemas there are 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 at just 21 seats. Quentin Tarantino held the British premiere of Reservoir Dogs at the Broadway cinema in 1992.

Nightlife

Nottingham has an eclectic mix of nightlife to suit all tastes. Castle Wharf (known to the locals as the Waterfront) boasts a number of attractive bars and restaurants in former warehouses that look out over the water. Hockley and the Lace Market cater for more expensive tastes, with stylish independent bars and the Old Market square hosts the larger chains pubs and bars. Nottingham also boasts a number of different nightclubs including Oceana,  Stealth and Cookie Club.

In addition to this Nottingham also has some of the oldest pubs in the UK. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is carved into rock beneath Nottingham castle and said to be the oldest inn in the world. The Bell Inn also has a long past dating back to1437.

Sport

Nottingham has an impressive portfolio of sporting venues across the county. The City Ground – home to Nottingham Forest FC and used for international matches during the European Championship Finals in 1996. Trent Bridge Cricket ground – the worlds 3^rd oldest cricket ground which hosts test matches and the National Ice Arena home to ice hockey team Nottingham Panthers.

Nottingham also boasts a National Watersports Centre offering a variety of different activities, the Nottingham Tennis Centre which hosts a variety of high profile tournaments and a number of golf courses and racing tracks throughout the county.

Education

Nottingham is home to two prestigious Universities; the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University which over 40,000 full time students attend. The University of Nottingham’s Medical School is part of the largest hospital in the UK, the Queens Medical centre. There are also a number of colleges throughout the region.

Nottingham has recently been designated a science city due to is outstanding achievements in science over the past two centuries, Nottingham was the birth place of ibuprofen and the MRI scanner to name but a few. New development BioCity is the UK’s largest bioscience innovation and incubation centre, providing a fantastic place for new companies to start out and grow and Nottingham Science Park is a multi award winning environmentally sustainable building. Both Universities are involved with top research projects and recent inventions include a machine to constantly and unobtrusively monitor an unborn child’s heart, a way of seeing all layers of a painting (down to the initial sketch) as well as current tests on a super broccoli that may help to fight particular cancers.

Tourism

The following are some of Nottingham’s top tourist spots:

• Sherwood Forest and Nottingham Castle – to trace the footsteps of legendary Robin Hood
• Market square – hosts a number of events throughout the year including music festivals and an ice rink and German market at christmas. Currently there is a purpose made seaside called the Nottingham Riviera
• City of Caves – explore original anglo-saxon tunnels that sit underneath Nottingham
• Lace Market – combine retail, trendy bars and history all in one place
• The Galleries of Justice – The only museum of its kind in Europe, preserving the site of Nottinghamshire’s old courthouse and county gaol and maintaining a vast collection of spine chilling artefacts relating to crime and punishment over the last three centuries.
• City’s ancient pubs – Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, the Bell Inn and the Salutation Inn to name but a few
• Wollaton Hall and Park – An Elizabethan house and museum set in 5 hundred acres of gardens.
• University Highfields Park – gifted to the City by Jesse Boot (Boots the Chemist), beautiful grounds and lake for boating on.
• Colwick Park – 250 acres of woodland and also a racecourse
• Creswell Crags – valley and caves famous for being the site of the earliest know humans in the UK
• Goose Fair – an annual event held on the Forest Recreation Ground in October. It is one of the biggest fairs in the country.

 Please see the Links page for details of where you can find more information about Nottingham.