Nottingham

This article is about the City of Nottingham in England. For the county, see Nottinghamshire. For The University of Nottingham, see The University of Nottingham. For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation).

City of Nottingham
—  City & Unitary authority  —
Nottingham skyline, plus landmarks clockwise from top left: Robin Hood, Council House, NET Tram, (middle) Trent Bridge, the Castle Gate House, Wollaton Hall, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem and Nottingham Forest's City Ground
Coat of arms of Nottingham City Council
Motto: Vivit Post Funera Virtus (Virtue Outlives Death)
Nottingham shown within Nottinghamshire and England
Coordinates: 52°57′N 1°08′W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Ceremonial county	Nottinghamshire
Admin HQ	Nottingham Council House
Settled	600
City Status	1897
Government
• Type	Unitary authority, City
• Governing body	Nottingham City Council
• Council Leader	Coun. Jon Collins (Lab)
• Executive	Labour
• MPs	Chris Leslie (Lab) Graham Allen (Lab) Lilian Greenwood (Lab)
• Lord Mayor	Coun. Leon Unczur
Area
• City & Unitary authority	28.81 sq mi (74.61 km2)
Elevation	200 ft (61 m)
Population (2011 est.)
• City & Unitary authority	303,900
• Density	10,550/sq mi (4,073/km2)
• Urban	666,358(LUZ:825,600)
• Ethnicity (2011 Census)	71.5% White (65.4% White British) 13.1% Asian 7.3% Black British 6.7% Mixed Race 1.5% Other
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Postal Code	NG
Area code(s)	0115
Twin cities
•  — Ghent	Belgium (since 1985)
•  — Harare	Zimbabwe (since 1981)
•  — Karlsruhe	Germany (since 1969)
•  — Ljubljana	Slovenia (since 1963)
•  — Minsk	Belarus (since 1966)
•  — Ningbo	China (since 2005)
•  — Timişoara	Romania (since 2008)
Grid Ref.	SK570400
ONS code	00FY (ONS) E06000018 (GSS)
ISO 3166-2	GB-NGM
NUTS 3	UKF14
Website	www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/

Nottingham (ⁱ/ˈnɒtɪŋəm/ NOT-ing-əm) is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire.

Nottingham is famed for its links with the legend of Robin Hood and, during the Industrial Revolution, obtained worldwide recognition for its lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. With origins traceable back to 600 AD, Nottingham was granted its city charter as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria in 1897 and has since been officially titled the City of Nottingham. Nottingham is home to the BBC East Midlands offices and formerly the Government Office for the East Midlands. It is one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group.

Whilst Nottingham City has always had a traditionally tightly-drawn city boundary, accounting for its relatively small population of 305,700 (making it the second largest city in the East Midlands behind its local neighbour Leicester with a population of 330,000); the Nottingham Urban Area in fact has a population of approximately 640,900; in the 2011 census, it was the eighth largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Eurostat's concept of the Larger Urban Zone listed the area's population at 825,600 as of 2004.

Today, Nottingham is known for its strong economy, nightlife, shopping, tourism (travel publisher Dorling Kindersley named it as one of its top 10 city destinations in the world in 2010), and as a sporting centre - the city boasts the National Ice Centre, the National Water Sports Centre, a world-famous Test cricket ground, two professional English Football League teams, and top-flight cricket and ice hockey sides. In addition, over 60,000 students attend the city's two universities, the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, giving the city a large student population.

Culturally, there are two large-capacity theatres (plus a number of smaller ones), numerous museums and art galleries including the Nottingham Contemporary, an independent cinema (The Broadway, rated one of the 'best in the world' by Total Film magazine in 2009) and several live music venues, including the Capital FM Arena and Rock City, both of which regularly host major UK and international artists.

Being located at the heart of the UK, Nottingham also has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK and abroad, and the city itself benefits from a state-of-the-art tram system and the largest public bus network in the UK. In October 2012, it was named Transport City of the Year. The city is connected internationally by East Midlands Airport, located to the south-west of the city.

History

See also: History of Nottingham

In Anglo-Saxon times, around 600 AD^{[citation needed]} the site formed part of the Kingdom of Mercia and was known in the Brythonic language as Tigguo Cobauc, meaning Place of Caves. In Welsh it is known poetically as Y Ty Ogofog, "The Cavey Dwelling". When it fell under the rule of a Saxon chieftain named Snot it became known as "Snotingaham"; the homestead of Snot's people (Inga = the people of; Ham = homestead). Snot brought together his people in an area now known as the Lace Market. Some authors derive "Nottingham" from Snottenga, caves, and ham, but "this has nothing to do with the English form".

Nottingham was captured in 867 by Danish Vikings^{[citation needed]} 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. On the return of Richard Coeur de Lion from the Crusades, the castle stood out in Prince John's favour. So, it was besieged by Richard, and after a sharp conflict, captured.

By 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.

The Adams Building in the Lace Market – a former lace warehouse

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.^{[citation needed]} Residents of these slums rioted in 1831, in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire to his residence, Nottingham Castle.

In common with the UK textile industry as a whole, Nottingham's textile sector fell into 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

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 (North 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 (south of the River Trent) were incorporated into the city.

Demographic evolution of Nottingham

Year Population 4th century <37 10th century <1,000 11th century 1,500 14th century 3,000 Early 17th century 4,000

Year Population Late 17th century 5,000 1801 29,000 1811 34,000 1821 40,000 1831 51,000

Year Population 1841 53,000 1851 58,000 1861 76,000 1871 87,000 1881 159,000

Year Population 1901 240,000 1911 260,000 1921 269,000 1931 265,000 1951 306,000

Year Population 1961 312,000 1971 301,000 1981 278,000 1991 273,000 2001 275,000

Electric trams revolutionised public transport in Nottingham on their inception in 1901; they served the city for 35 years until the trolleybus network was expanded in 1936. The city's road network was improved between 1922 and 1932 when a new dual carriageway was built. Housing conditions also began to improve the city's poorer residents at this time, when the first council houses were built on new suburban estates to rehouse families from slum clearances. Mass private house building also took place, with the process continuing to boom until some 30 years after World War II ended in 1945. Trams made their comeback after 68 years when a new network opened in 2004.

In the sporting world, one of Nottingham's biggest claims to fame is being home to the world's oldest professional football club, Notts County, which was formed in 1862, although the team's subsequent history has been relatively low profile. However Nottingham Forest, under manager Brian Clough, had a period of success between 1977 and 1993, winning the First Division, four League Cups, a UEFA Super Cup and two European Cups. During this time Forest signed Trevor Francis, Britain's first £1million footballer, who joined the club in February 1979 from Birmingham City.

Four years after Nottingham Forest's second European Cup success in 1980, ice dancers Torvill and Dean won a Gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The performance was the only since to obtain a perfect 6.0 score from all the judging panel.

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. 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 which surrounds the city.

Recent years have seen Nottingham rise into the national spotlight for both positive and negative news, however strong growth in high-tech, educational and medical industries, as well as high profile innovative transport development such as the Nottingham Express Transit and the Workplace Parking Levy, have raised the national profile.

Government

Nottingham is represented by three tiers of elected government: Nottingham City Council (local), UK Parliament (national), and European Parliament (Europe). The city also has a Lord Mayor; though now simply a ceremonial position, in the past the office carried considerable authority, with executive powers over the finances and affairs of the city council. In 2010 the Lord Mayor of Nottingham was Brian Grocock. In a city-wide referendum in May 2012, residents voted for Nottingham not to have a directly elected Mayor.

The city is the seat of regional government bodies, including the East Midlands Development Agency and Government Office East Midlands.

Emergency services are provided by Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Nottingham City Council

Nottingham Council House

It consists of 55 councillors, representing 20 wards. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. It is elected every four years, the last elections being held on 5 May 2011. The council meets in Nottingham Council House in the Old Market Square.

UK Parliament

Nottingham has three UK parliamentary constituency seats within its boundaries. Nottingham North has been represented since 1987 by Labour MP Graham Allen, Nottingham East since 2010 by Labour MP Chris Leslie and Nottingham South since 2010 by Labour MP Lilian Greenwood.

European Parliament

Nottingham lies within the East Midlands European parliamentary constituency. In 2009 it elected five MEPs; Derek Clark (UKIP), Roger Helmer (UKIP), Bill Newton Dunn (Liberal Democrat), Emma McClarkin (Conservative) and Glenis Willmott (Labour).

Geography

Nottingham is located at 52°58′00″N 01°10′00″W (52.9667,-1.1667).

The City of Nottingham's boundaries are tightly drawn and exclude several suburbs and satellite towns that are usually considered part of Greater Nottingham, including Arnold, Carlton, West Bridgford, Beeston and Stapleford. Outlying towns and villages include Hucknall, Eastwood, Tollerton, Bingham, Ruddington, Ilkeston and Long Eaton of which the last two are in Derbyshire. The geographical area of Greater Nottingham includes several local authorities: Gedling, Broxtowe, Rushcliffe, Ashfield, Erewash and Amber Valley. In December 2011, Rushcliffe, in which the suburb of West Bridgford is located, was named one of the 20 most desirable places to live in the UK by the Halifax building society. It was one of only four places outside the south of the country to appear in the top 50.

Main article: List of places in Nottinghamshire

Within the city

Alexandra Park The Arboretum Aspley Bakersfield Beechdale Bilborough Broxtowe Bulwell Bestwood Bestwood Park Carrington Cinderhill Clifton Colwick Dunkirk Forest Fields Highbury Vale Hockley Hyson Green Lace Market Lenton Lenton Abbey Mapperley Mapperley Park The Meadows New Basford Nottingham City Centre Old Basford The Park Radford Rise Park Sherwood Sherwood Rise Silverdale Sneinton St Anns Strelley Thorneywood Top Valley Whitemoor Wilford Wollaton

Around the city

Arnold Attenborough Beeston Bingham Bramcote Bulcote Burton Joyce Calverton Carlton Chilwell Cotgrave Daybrook Eastwood East Leake Edwalton Gamston Gedling Giltbrook Heanor Holme Pierrepont Hucknall Ilkeston (Derbyshire) Keyworth Killisick Kimberley Kirkby-in-Ashfield Lady Bay Langley Mill (Derbyshire) Lambley Long Eaton (Derbyshire) Lowdham Mansfield Netherfield Nuthall Radcliffe-on-Trent Redhill Ripley Ruddington Sandiacre (Derbyshire) Sawley (Derbyshire) Stapleford Sutton-in-Ashfield Toton Trowell West Bridgford Woodthorpe

Climate

Two official weather reporting stations are in close proximity to Nottingham – the University of Nottingham Sutton Bonington agricultural campus, about 10 miles to the south-west of the city centre, and Watnall, previously known as Nottingham Weather Centre, about 6 miles north-west of the city centre. Sutton Bonington is perhaps more representative of the lower-lying areas of the city, such as the city centre and the southern suburbs around the river Trent, lying as it does only 48 m (147 ft) above sea level, while Watnall is perhaps more relevant to some of the hillier northern suburbs with an evelation of 117 m (384 ft).

The absolute maximum temperature at Watnall stands at 34.6 C (94.3 F) whilst at Sutton Bonington it is 34.8 C (94.6 F) Both occurred on 3 August 1990. On average, 12.0 days annually record a temperature of 25.1 C (77.2 F) or above at Watnall (1981–2010), and the warmest day of the year there reaches, on average, 29.6 °C (85.3 °F).

For the period 1981–2010 Watnall recorded on average 42.9 days of air frost per year, and Sutton Bonington 47.1. Also reflecting the lower frost tendency at Watnall is the absolute minimum temperature, a relatively high (for an inland location) −13.3c(8.1f), recorded in both January 1963 and January 1987. Most recently, the temperature fell to −11.9c(10.6f) during December 2010.

Climate data for Nottingham Watnall, elevation 117m, 1981-2010, extremes 1960-
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	13.5 (56.3)	17.3 (63.1)	22.8 (73)	25.6 (78.1)	27.6 (81.7)	30.8 (87.4)	32.4 (90.3)	34.6 (94.3)	28.9 (84)	28.4 (83.1)	17.9 (64.2)	14.7 (58.5)	34.6 (94.3)
Average high °C (°F)	6.6 (43.9)	7.0 (44.6)	9.7 (49.5)	12.5 (54.5)	16.1 (61)	18.9 (66)	21.3 (70.3)	21.0 (69.8)	17.9 (64.2)	13.7 (56.7)	9.4 (48.9)	6.7 (44.1)	13.4 (56.1)
Average low °C (°F)	1.3 (34.3)	1.0 (33.8)	2.8 (37)	4.3 (39.7)	7.1 (44.8)	10.0 (50)	12.1 (53.8)	12.0 (53.6)	10.0 (50)	7.1 (44.8)	3.9 (39)	1.6 (34.9)	6.1 (43)
Record low °C (°F)	−13.3 (8.1)	−11.1 (12)	−10.6 (12.9)	−4.6 (23.7)	−2.1 (28.2)	1.0 (33.8)	4.4 (39.9)	4.5 (40.1)	0.9 (33.6)	−3.1 (26.4)	−9.2 (15.4)	−11.9 (10.6)	−13.3 (8.1)
Precipitation mm (inches)	61.2 (2.409)	47.2 (1.858)	49.5 (1.949)	53.8 (2.118)	51.8 (2.039)	62.5 (2.461)	57.6 (2.268)	62.0 (2.441)	58.6 (2.307)	71.2 (2.803)	65.7 (2.587)	68.6 (2.701)	709.4 (27.929)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	54.7	73.2	104.2	141.0	181.6	170.6	191.1	180.1	131.2	99.4	63.7	49.2	1,440.1
Source #1: Met Office
Source #2: KNMI

Climate data for Nottingham Watnall, elevation 117m, 1971-2000
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	6.3 (43.3)	6.7 (44.1)	9.4 (48.9)	11.8 (53.2)	15.7 (60.3)	18.4 (65.1)	21.1 (70)	20.8 (69.4)	17.5 (63.5)	13.4 (56.1)	9.2 (48.6)	7.1 (44.8)	13.2 (55.8)
Average low °C (°F)	1.0 (33.8)	0.9 (33.6)	2.5 (36.5)	3.9 (39)	6.6 (43.9)	9.5 (49.1)	11.8 (53.2)	11.6 (52.9)	9.5 (49.1)	6.7 (44.1)	3.5 (38.3)	1.9 (35.4)	5.8 (42.4)
Precipitation mm (inches)	64.82 (2.552)	51.11 (2.0122)	54.19 (2.1335)	52.11 (2.0516)	49.84 (1.9622)	61.13 (2.4067)	52.03 (2.0484)	57.04 (2.2457)	59.88 (2.3575)	64.48 (2.5386)	63.18 (2.4874)	70.85 (2.7894)	714.42 (28.1268)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	50	61	93	128	179	170	185	177	124	94	61	42	1,364
Source #1: YR.NO
Source #2: KNMI

Climate data for Sutton Bonington, elevation 48m, 1981-2010
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	7.2 (45)	7.5 (45.5)	10.3 (50.5)	12.9 (55.2)	16.3 (61.3)	19.2 (66.6)	21.7 (71.1)	21.4 (70.5)	18.4 (65.1)	14.2 (57.6)	10.0 (50)	7.3 (45.1)	13.9 (57)
Average low °C (°F)	1.6 (34.9)	1.3 (34.3)	3.0 (37.4)	4.1 (39.4)	6.8 (44.2)	9.8 (49.6)	11.9 (53.4)	11.9 (53.4)	9.9 (49.8)	7.2 (45)	4.1 (39.4)	1.7 (35.1)	6.1 (43)
Precipitation mm (inches)	52.2 (2.055)	38.9 (1.531)	43.9 (1.728)	48.9 (1.925)	44.2 (1.74)	60.2 (2.37)	54.1 (2.13)	55.5 (2.185)	51.0 (2.008)	61.0 (2.402)	54.5 (2.146)	55.9 (2.201)	620.2 (24.417)
Avg. rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)	10.9	9.1	10.6	9.7	8.7	9.4	8.7	8.6	8.2	10.2	10.2	10.9	115.2
Mean monthly sunshine hours	52.3	74.4	107.4	143.9	178.2	158.1	188.0	179.0	134.1	104.0	60.9	43.3	1,423.5
Source: Met Office

Architecture

• 

  King Street with Alfred Waterhouse's and Watson Fothergill's buildings

• 

  The Prudential Building

• 

  Architecture from different eras side by side

• 

  Nottingham Council House and Queen Street

Nottingham is home to a multitude of different architectural styles, with buildings dating from the 1100s.^{[citation needed]} Architects such as Alfred Waterhouse, Thomas Chambers Hine and Nottingham's own Watson Fothergill produced elaborate buildings in the 19th century to meet the expansion generated by increasing industrial output.

The geographical centre of Nottingham is usually defined as the Old Market Square, the largest city square in the UK. The square is dominated by the Council House, which replaced The Nottingham Exchange Building, built in 1726. The Council House 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, on the ground floor, is an upmarket shopping centre containing high-end boutiques. Portland Stone was used to construct the Council House and Exchange Arcade.

West of the centre

Nottingham Trent University, Arkwright Building

The western third of the city has most of the city's modern office complexes.^{[citation needed]} 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 St Barnabas' 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 Nottingham Trent University'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 buildings designed by the likes of Alfred Waterhouse and Watson Fothergill.

South of the centre

To the south, is Broadmarsh Shopping Centre. 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.

East of the centre

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 feet-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 where many of Nottingham's unique, independent shops are to be found. It is also home to two alternative cinemas. The Screen Room in Hockley claims to be the smallest cinema in the world with only 21 seats.

Lace Market

The University of Nottingham, founded in 1798, situated on University Park Campus

St Mary's church in the Lace Market

Typical red brick lined street in the Lace Market

Galleries of Justice in the Lace Market

The Lace Market area just south of Hockley has densely packed streets full of four to seven-story red brick warehouses, ornate iron railings and red phone boxes.

New College Nottingham occupies the Adams Building, built by Thomas Chambers Hine for Thomas Adams (1817–1873). Many buildings have been converted into apartments, bars and restaurants. St. Mary's Church, Nottingham on High Pavement is the largest medieval building still standing in Nottingham. The Georgian-built Shire Hall is home to the Galleries of Justice and was Nottingham's main court and prison building, for 200 years from 1780, although the site's use as a court stretches back as far as 1375.

Pubs

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem (The Trip), partially built into the cave system beneath Nottingham Castle, is a contender for the title of "England's Oldest Pub" due to its supposed establishment in 1189. The Bell Inn on the Old Market Square, and Ye Olde Salutation Inn (The Salutation) on Maid Marian Way, have both disputed this claim. An episode of the Channel 4 TV documentary series History Hunters tested attributes of the three claimants and found that, while each has its own evidence, none can claim exclusivity. The Trip, whilst the oldest building, 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 Inn, although not in such an antiquated location, boasts 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 Inn. Ultimately, the roots of the multiple claims can be traced to various subtleties of definition in terms such as public house and inn.

Education

Secondary education

Nottingham's state schools consistently rank poorly in national league tables. Despite a lot of investment, the closure of numerous schools and the opening of new city academies, Nottingham City LEA remains near the bottom of the league tables at both primary school and secondary school levels. However, there are some exceptions with Secondary schools such as Rushcliffe School and George Spencer Academy attaining a 100% GCSE pass rate in 2010-2011, with the latter receiving an "Outstanding" Ofsted Report in 2010. At primary level, Nottingham was ranked fourth from bottom in the country, at 147th out of 150 local authorities rated in 2006, whilst at secondary level, Nottingham came eighth from bottom nationally in terms of GCSE results attained.

Nottingham also has a number of independent schools, with Nottingham High School, which was founded in 1513, being the city's oldest educational establishment. Nottingham High School came eighth nationally for A-Levels in 2008 according to The Sunday Times.

Further education

Three further education colleges are located in Nottingham. Central College Nottingham is the largest and was formed from the merger of South Nottingham College and Castle College Nottingham. New College Nottingham is the result of the merger of four smaller further education colleges, whilst Bilborough College is solely a Sixth Form college.

Typical red brick lined street in the Lace Market

Higher education

Nottingham is home to two universities: the University of Nottingham (formerly University College Nottingham), and Nottingham Trent University, (formerly Trent Polytechnic). Both universities have several campuses in the city. The University of Nottingham has campuses at University Park, Jubilee and King's Meadow, with an agricultural college at Sutton Bonnington. Nottingham Trent University has campuses on Burton Street in the city and Clifton, with an agricultural college at Brackenhurst, near the medieval cathedral town of Southwell. In 2011/12, the University of Nottingham had 35,630 students and Nottingham Trent University had 27,930 making Nottingham one of the largest centres of higher education in the UK. The University of Nottingham's teaching hospital, University of Nottingham Medical School, is part of the largest hospital in the UK, the Queen's Medical Centre (or QMC). The city is home to the headquarters of the National College for School Leadership.

Economy

Part of the HMRC complex in Nottingham

Nottingham is home to the headquarters of many well-known companies. One of the best known is Boots the Chemists (now Alliance Boots), founded in the city by John Boot in 1849 and substantially expanded by his son Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent and grandson John Boot, 2nd Baron Trent into a retail company known throughout the world. Other large current employers include the credit reference agency Experian, the energy company E.ON UK, the tobacco company Imperial Tobacco, betting company Gala Group, amusement and gambling machine manufacturer Bell-Fruit-Games, engineering company Siemens, sportswear manufacturers Speedo, high street opticians Vision Express, games and publishing company Games Workshop (creator of the popular Warhammer series), PC software developer Serif Europe (publisher of PagePlus and other titles), Web hosting provider Heart Internet, the American credit card company Capital One, whose European offices are situated by the side of Nottingham railway station. Nottingham is also the home of HM Revenue and Customs, the Driving Standards Agency, and Nottingham Building Society, set up in 1849.

Although Boots itself is no longer a research-based pharmaceutical company, a combination of former Boots researchers and university spin-off companies have spawned a thriving pharmaceutical/science/biotechnology sector. BioCity, the UK's biggest bioscience innovation and incubation centre, sits in the heart of the city and houses around seventy science-based companies. Other notable companies in the sector include Perceptive Informatics (ClinPhone plc before being bought by Parexel) and Pharmaceutical Profiles. The city was made one of the UK's six Science Cities in 2005 by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Until recently bicycle manufacturing was a major industry, the city being the birthplace of Raleigh Cycles in 1886 and later joined by Sturmey-Archer, the creator of 3-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 Summer 2003 to make way for the University of Nottingham's expansion of Jubilee Campus. However the bicycles are still designed and assembled close to Nottingham in Eastwood, and still bear the city's name on their logo.

Nottingham is also birthplace of, and joint headquarters of Paul Smith, the high fashion house.

Creative Industries are a target growth sector for the city with graphic design, interiors and textile design being a particular focus. There is already a thriving design and new media industry in the city.

Nottingham City Council announced that other target sectors include Financial and Business Services, Science and Technology, Public Sector and Retail and Leisure as part of their economic development strategy for the city.^{[citation needed]} The global Business SMS company Esendex was founded in the Lace Market district and now operates in 6 markets across the world. Ceramics manufacturer Mason Cash was founded and continues to have operations in Nottingham.

The schools and aerial photographers, H Tempest Ltd were Nottingham-based for many years, until relocating to St. Ives (Cornwall) around 1960. A skeleton office remained for many years in the original building next to Mundella School.

Many of the UK's railway ticket machines and platform departure boards run software written by Atos Origin in their offices in Nottingham. Other major industries in the city include engineering, textiles, knitwear and electronics. An increasing number of software developers are located in Nottingham: Reuters, Crytek UK, Nexor and Legendary Games are based in the city centre, and Serif Europe are based between Wilford and Ruddington, south west of the Trent and east of Clifton.

Nottingham is progressively changing from an industrial city to one based largely in the service sector. Tourism — particularly from the United States and the Far East — is becoming an increasingly significant part of the local economy.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004 Nottingham had a GDP per capita of £24,238 (US$48,287, €35,529), which was the highest of any English city after London, and the fourth highest of any city of the UK, after London, Edinburgh and Belfast.

Economic trends

Year	Regional Gross Value Added (£m)	Agriculture (£m)	Industry (£m)	Services (£m)
1995	4,149	2	1,292	2,855
2000	5,048	1	912	4,135
2003	5,796	–	967	4,828
source: Office for National Statistics

Shopping

The Exchange Arcade inside the Council House

In 2010, Nottingham was positioned sixth in the retail centre expenditure league of the UK, behind the West End of London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

There are two main shopping centres in Nottingham: Victoria Centre and The Broadmarsh. The Victoria Centre was established on the site of the former Nottingham Victoria railway station, and was the first to be built in the City, with parking for up to 2,400 cars on several levels and two levels of shopping with bus station. Victoria Centre is also topped by 26 floors of flats, the tallest building in Nottingham. Work on redeveloping The Broadmarsh at a cost of £400 million (creating 400 stores, 136,000 m² of shopping space) was due to start in 2008. However, the downturn in the economy meant that redevelopment was delayed throughout from 2008 to 2010. Finally in 2010, Westfield announced that it would not be redeveloped but would benefit from a $40 million refurbishment instead^{[citation needed]}. Months after this announcement, the Victoria Centre also announced plans for expansion, to compete with new centres in Derby and Leicester^{[citation needed]}.

In 2011, in light of the Victoria Centre's redevelopment plans, Westfield announced that it was once again planning a £500 million development which was planned to start in 2012, before finally selling the centre to Capital Shopping Centres, the owners of the Victoria Centre. Smaller shopping centres are The Exchange Arcade, the Flying Horse Walk and new developments in Trinity Square and The Pod. The new developments will increase the shopping sales area in the city centre by 28% to 4,300,000 square feet (400,000 m²). The Bridlesmith Gate area has numerous designer shops, and is the home of the original Paul Smith boutique. There are also various side streets and alleys that hide some interesting and often overlooked buildings and shops – streets such as Poultry Walk, West End Arcade and Hurts Yard. These are home to many specialist shops, as is Derby Road, near the Cathedral and once the antiques area but now home to some the city's most interesting independent shops, including The Worm that Turned, Le Chien et Moi, Celia's Vintage Clothing and Danish Homestore.

Nottingham has a number of department stores including the House of Fraser, John Lewis, and Debenhams. Hockley Village caters to alternative tastes with shops like 'Ice Nine', 'Void' and 'Fuzz Guitar Boutique', famous across the city.

Culture

Nottingham Playhouse and Cathedral reflected in Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror

Theatres

Nottingham has two large-capacity theatres, the Nottingham Playhouse and the Theatre Royal (which, together with the neighbouring Nottingham Royal Concert Hall forms the Royal Centre) and a smaller theatre space at the University of Nottingham's Lakeside Arts Centre. The city is also host to smaller theatre venues, such as the Nottingham Arts Theatre and the Lace Market Theatre. Also, within the University of Nottingham Campus grounds, the New Theatre, the only entirely student-run theatre in England.

Galleries and museums

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. 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.

• Brewhouse Yard Museum, the museum of Nottingham Life based within five 17th-century cottages at the base of the rock of Nottingham Castle. Once a refuge for persecuted members of dissenting religious groups, today, the museum investigates over 300 years of local history.
• The Galleries of Justice – Museum of Law Trust based at the Shire Hall in the Lace Market
• Green's Windmill 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.
• New Art Exchange – an award-winning contemporary art gallery based in Hyson Green. Focus on African, African Caribbean and South Asian art.
• Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery – home to the city's fine and decorative art collections, along with the Story of Nottingham galleries, and the Sherwood Foresters Regimental Museum.
• Nottingham Contemporary – Nottingham's newest art centre.
• Nottingham Industrial Museum - in Wollaton Park.
• Nottingham Natural History Museum – based at Wollaton Hall, an Elizabethan mansion in the heart of Nottingham.
• Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre in Ruddington is a museum of local transport. It has an eight mile (13 km) long railway where Heritage steam trains and Diesel locomotives are used on passenger runs, a classic Road Transport collection with many Nottingham associated vehicles, a miniature and model railway.
• Nottingham's Independent Arts Centre
• Lakeside is the University of Nottingham's unique public arts and craft centre.

Cinemas

The city has many multiplex cinemas, the largest being the Cineworld complex sited within The Corner House and Showcase Cinema operated by National Amusements, as well an Arthouse cinema in Hockley. Independent cinemas include the Broadway Cinema, one of the major independent cinemas in the UK, Savoy Cinema, a four-screen Art Deco cinema. Broadway was redeveloped and expanded in 2006. Quentin Tarantino held the British premiere of Pulp Fiction there in 1994.

Music

The Albert Hall, Nottingham, an important music venue.

There is a classical music scene, with long-established groups such as the city's Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, Nottingham Harmonic Society, Bach Choir, Early Music Group Musica Donum Dei and the Symphonic Wind Orchestra giving regular performances in the city.

Nottingham is also well known for Rock City, a concert venue, along with its sister venues – Rescue Rooms, The Bodega Social Club and Stealth. The city is home to a few independent record labels actively contributing for the alternative rock, pop and garage music scene, such as Hello Thor, Dead by Mono Records. 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. There are also a large number of live music venues promoting rock and metal music throughout the city, including The Central, The Old Angel, The Maze and Ye Olde Salutation Inn.

Although it has generally had a rather sparse output in terms of pop and rock music, in recent years local bands have been touted in the media both within the city and across the country. Dog Is Dead, an indie quintet have been signed to Atlantic Records. Other prominent artists include Jake Bugg, Frontiers, Great British Weather, Hhymn and the 60s blues band Ten Years After who are famous for their performance at the Woodstock Festival.

Wollaton Park in Nottingham hosts an annual family-friendly music event called Splendour. In 2009 it was held on Sunday 19 July and was headlined by Madness and The Pogues. Splendour returned on 24 July 2010, headlined by The Pet Shop Boys and featuring Calvin Harris, Noisettes, Athlete and OK Go among others. It returned again in 2011, featuring headline acts Scissor Sisters, Blondie, Eliza Doolittle and Feeder, alongside many others. Splendour 2012 saw Dizzee Rascal, Razorlight, Katy B, Hard-Fi, Levellers and The Lightning Seeds perform in the stunning grounds of Wollaton Park on a beautiful sunny Saturday 21 July.

Nottingham has a strong 'DIY' music scene, with a large number of independent promoters using a variety of venues, pubs/bars, warehouse spaces and gallerys to host gigs throughout the city.^{[citation needed]} Nottingham is also known for Hip Hop and Grime. There are countless MC's from Nottingham, some of whom have garnered national attention, like Wariko and Fangol who have both appeared on London radio shows. Cappo, Scorzayzee and Karizma are just some of the cities MC's that have continuously released music for the last decade. There are notable producers that have emerged from the city including Joe Buddha and P Brothers for their classic Hip Hop sound, The Elementz and recently Beat Geeks have been getting regular radio play with a more electronic sound. This thriving scene could be seen as a result of Nottingham's close cultural affiliation with London, and its diverse ethnic background.^{[citation needed]}

Nottingham's City Ground also played host to rock band R.E.M. in 2005, the first time a concert had been staged at the football stadium.

Arts and Crafts

The Hockley Arts Market, is a new arts market that runs alongside Sneinton Market on the fourth Saturday of every month. Started by a collective of Textile graduates from Nottingham Trent University, the market acts as a platform for independent artists to showcase and sell their wares. Nottingham artists are represented by The Nottingham Society of Artists, formed in 1880, to bring together artists and art lovers. They have regular exhibitions at their headquarters in St. Lukes House

Food

In the 1980s, Nottingham was barely mentioned in the Good Food Guide; but now there are several restaurant entries and a range of cuisine reflecting the ethnic diversity of the city. The Nottingham Restaurant Awards play a leading role in promoting the industry.^{[citation needed]}

There are several hundred restaurants in Nottingham, with several AA rosette winning restaurants and one two Michelin starred restaurant, Sat Bains. In addition, Iberico World Tapas, situation in the city centre, was awarded a Bib Gourmand in the 2013 Michelin Guide.

The Old Market Square is host to the Nottingham Food and Drink Festival.

Tourism

Ferris wheel in Old Market Square

Nottingham receives around 300,000 overseas visitors each year. Many visitors are attracted by Nottingham's nightlife and shops, by its history, and by the legend of Robin Hood, visiting Sherwood Forest and Nottingham Castle. Popular history-based tourist attractions in central Nottingham include the Castle, City of Caves, Lace Market, The Galleries of Justice, and the City's ancient pubs.

Parks and gardens include Wollaton Park (over 500 acres) near the University Highfields Park on the University of Nottingham campus, Colwick Park, which includes the racecourse, and the Nottingham Arboretum, Forest Recreation Ground and Victoria Park which are in or close to the city centre. Sherwood Forest, Rufford Country Park, Creswell Crags and Clumber Park are further away from the city itself.

The Nottingham Robin Hood Society was originally formed by Robin Hood historian Jim Lees and two Nottingham teachers Steve and Ewa Theresa West in 1972. Steve and Ewa Theresa played the part of Maid Marion and Robin Hood and attracted a ' band' of like minded followers who ' costumed up ' nearly every weekend for a function. The then society acted in street theatre, appeared at charity events and functions and for several years ' held up ' the appointed Sheriff of Nottingham at the opening of the annual Nottingham Festival. The society also made a film for Japanese Television and joined in picnics and midnight vigils around in Major Oak to promote tourism. Although a Nottingham Robin Hood Society remains, the original society members disbanded after the death of Jim Lees.

There are two main Robin Hood events throughout the Nottingham area, including the Robin Hood Pageant during October, and the Robin Hood Festival during the summer. The pageant is held at the Castle, whilst the festival is held in nearby Sherwood Forest.

In 2009 the Sheriff of Nottingham, Councillor Leon Unczur set up a Commission to look at the possibility of setting up a World Class Robin Hood Attraction. The Commission was due to report in May 2010.

In February 2008, a Ferris wheel was put up in the Old Market Square and was a major attraction of Nottingham City Council's 'Light Night' on 8 February. 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. It was seen again in 2010, and is now a much welcomed annual event happening in Nottingham.

In 2010, Nottingham has seen a rise in recommendations from publications around the world, including a positive write up in the New York Times as well as being touted as one of the Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2010, alongside Delhi, Nara, Tel Aviv and Reykjavík, by DK Travel.

Entertainment

New buildings on the south side of the Lace Market area.

The 2,500-capacity Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and 10,000-capacity Nottingham Arena attract the biggest names in popular music. For less mainstream acts and a more intimate atmosphere, Nottingham has a selection of smaller venues, including the 800-capacity Albert Hall, Ye Olde Salutation Inn, Seven (formerly Junktion 7) and The Old Angel. Nottingham is host to the award-winning dedicated rock music venue Rock City and its smaller sister venues, The Rescue Rooms, The Red Room, The Bodega, Social Club and Stealth. These venues, with their close proximity, make Nottingham one of the centres of live popular music in the UK.

The large number of students within the city bolsters its night-time entertainment scene. There are several well established areas of the city centre focused on evening entertainment, such as Lace Market, Hockley, The Waterfront and The Corner House.

People

People from Nottingham are known as Nottinghamians, and the people have a proud identity, often focused on the legend of Robin Hood. Many local businesses and organisations use the worldwide fame of Robin Hood to represent or promote their brands. Many residents speak using the unique East Midlands dialect. The friendly term of greeting 'Ayup me Duck' is a famously humorous constitute of the local dialect but with an unclear origin.

The cultural diversity of Nottingham's population has led to a mixture of cultures from all across the world contributing to the city's cosmopolitan feel. In the 1960s and 1970s Nottingham's Asian and Caribbean population grew through immigration, which has left its mark in the culture of the city including food, dance and celebrations, such as the Nottingham Carnival. The recent ties between Nottingham University and China have also led to a strong growth in the Chinese population, and as a result the cultural impact of this community on the city, most notable in the Beeston area.

Miscellaneous

The annual Nottingham Goose Fair is held during the first week of October and is one of the largest and oldest travelling fairs in Europe, having only been cancelled for The Plague and both world wars since 1284. The fair has been held on the Forest Recreation Ground since 1928, having previously been held in the Old Market Square.

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 has one of the oldest city farms in the UK, Stonebridge city farm, dating back to 1978.

Nottingham is home to the GameCity annual videogame festival, which attracts leading industry speakers from around the world.

Sport

Main article: Sport in Nottingham

The City Ground and River Trent

Football

Nottingham is home to two high profile football clubs.

Nottingham Forest, who current play in the Football League Championship, were English league champions in 1978 and won the European Cup twice over the next two seasons under the management of Brian Clough, who was the club's manager from January 1975 to May 1993 and also led them to four Football League Cup triumphs in that time. They have played at the City Ground, on the south bank of the River Trent, since 1898. Numerous high profile English and non-English international footballers have turned out for Forest over the years. Nottingham Forest joined the Football League in 1892, four years after its inception, and 100 years later, they were among the FA Premier League's founder members in 1992 - though they have not played top division football since May 1999.

Notts County, are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They were also among the Football League'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 Football League One - the third tier of English league football - and most recently played top division football in May 1992.

The two grounds are notable for being the closest in English league football.

The City Ground played host to group stage games in the 1996 European Football Championships.

Ice hockey

Ice Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the city of Nottingham and it is home to one of the biggest ice hockey teams in Britain, the Nottingham Panthers. The team compete in the 10 team professional Elite Ice Hockey League, and share an intense rivalry with the Sheffield Steelers.

The city is also home to the Nottingham Mavericks, a University team of players from the city's two universities.

Cricket

Nottingham is also home to the 2010 Cricket County Champions Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, who play at Trent Bridge (a major international cricket venue with a capacity of 17,000) and a regular host of Test Cricket each summer. In 2009 the city was chosen as one of the three host cities for the ICC T20 tournament.

National Watersports Centre

Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre

The National Water Sports Centre is based at Holme Pierrepont, with a 2000 metre regatta lake for rowing, canoeing and sailing, and a white water slalom canoe course fed from the river.

Rugby League

Nottingham Outlaws are an amateur rugby league club who play in the Rugby League Conference National Division. They play their home games at Harvey Hadden Stadium, which has a capacity of 1600.

Rugby Union

Nottingham is also home to Championship Nottingham RFC who play their home games at League One Notts County's Meadow Lane stadium.

Ice skating

The city was the birthplace and training location for ice dancers Torvill and Dean, who won Gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics and are co-hosts of the ITV series Dancing on Ice. The citys National Ice Centre, opened by Torvill and Dean, is a national centre for ice sports and the Great Britain Olympic Speed Skating team train in Nottingham.

Other sports

Notable sporting events that take place in the city include the annual tennis AEGON Trophy which is staged at the City of Nottingham Tennis Centre, the Robin Hood Marathon, the Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride and the Outlaw Triathlon. Nottingham also has three Roller derby teams: Nottingham Roller Girls and Hellfire Harlots (women's teams) and Super Smash Brollers (men's team).

Transport

Main article: Transport in Nottingham

Nottingham railway station

Nottingham is served by East Midlands Airport at Castle Donington which is within 20 miles of Nottingham and is the 10th busiest airport in the UK in terms of passenger traffic. It is connected to the city by the Skylink bus service. Nottingham is also well connected by both road and rail. The M1 motorway is close by and rail services to other major cities which are all operated by East Midlands Trains with the exception of the Nottingham to Cardiff service run by CrossCountry and the Nottingham to Leeds service run by Northern Rail. The Robin Hood Line links the city with Mansfield and other towns in the north of the county.

British Waterways building (formerly the Trent Navigation Company warehouse) on the Nottingham Canal

The opening of Nottingham Express Transit in 2004 made Nottingham one of only six English cities to have a light rail system. The trams run from the city centre to Hucknall in the north, with an additional spur to the Phoenix Park Park and Ride close to Junction 26 of the M1. Two new lines are under construction to the southern suburbs of Wilford and Clifton and the western suburbs of Beeston and Chilwell.

The vast majority of Nottingham's local bus services are operated by Nottingham City Transport which runs a colour-coded network of 68 routes and is the city's fifth largest private employer. Trent Barton is the other major bus operator, running services from Nottingham to locations throughout the East Midlands. Both companies are frequent winners at the National Bus Operator of the Year awards.

Nottingham's waterways have been extensively used for transport in the past, with the River Trent, up until the mid 20th century, providing important industry transport links, along with both the Nottingham and Beeston Canals. These are now primarily used for leisure.

In September 2010 research by the Campaign for Better Transport rated Nottingham as the least car dependent city in England with London and Brighton & Hove in second and third place respectively.

In November 2010, Nottingham City Council won Transport Authority of the Year by the UK Bus Awards, for services for providing safer and sustainable public transport.

Crime

Nottingham Magistrates' Court

Nottingham is served by Nottinghamshire Police and has a Crown Court and Magistrates' Court.

Nottinghamshire Police recorded a total of 77,421 crimes in county and city between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2012, a reduction of almost 7,000 offences (or 8.1%) compared with the previous 12 months.

In less than a decade, the total number of offences in Nottinghamshire has more than halved since over 160,000 crimes were recorded in 2002/03.

During that time, the overall crime rate has fallen from 156.8 crimes per 1,000 people in Nottinghamshire to 71.25 crimes per 1,000. The last time the crime rate was so low was during 1976/77.

In Nottingham, crime overall fell by 7.2% to 33,578 offences, a reduction of 2,607 compared to 2010/11.

Initiatives include the Nottingham Community Protection service developed by Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottingham City Homes to take an uncompromising stance towards anti-social behaviour. It comprises Community Protection Officers (CPOs), Police Officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and Anti-Social Behaviour Officers who work with internal and external agencies to reduce anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.

Religion

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Barnabas from Derby Road

St. Mary the Virgin also known as St. Mary's in the Lace Market

Unitarian Chapel on High Pavement, now the Pitcher and Piano public house

Nottingham has three notable historic Anglican parish churches all of which date back to the Middle Ages. St. Mary the Virgin, in the Lace Market, a member of the Greater Churches Group is the oldest foundation (dating from the eighth or ninth centuries) but the building is at least the third on the site dating from 1377 to 1485. St. Mary's is considered the mother church of the city and civic services are held here, including the welcome to the new Lord Mayor of Nottingham each year. St.Peter's in the heart of the city is the oldest building in continuous use in Nottingham, with traces of building starting in 1180. St. Nicholas' was rebuilt after destruction in the Civil War.

Non-conformism was strong from the 17th century onwards^{[citation needed]} and a variety of chapels and meeting rooms proliferated throughout the town. Many of these 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 offices of the Congregational Federation are in Nottingham. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was born in Nottingham in 1829.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Barnabas on Derby Road was designed by the architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, it was consecrated in 1844 and is the cathedral church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham established in 1850 which covers Nottinghamshire (except Bassetlaw District), Leicestershire, Derbyshire (except Chesterfield and parts of the High Peak), Rutland and Lincolnshire (pre-1974 boundaries).

Today there are places of worship for all major religions, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism and Judaism. The Nottingham Inter-faith Council works to make connections between faith groups and show the wider public the importance of spiritual aspects of life and the contribution faith groups make to the community. Despite this apparent religious diversity, Nottingham has often been reported to have one of the most significant non-religious populations in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

An annual Saraswati Puja is organised by the Indian diaspora under the aegis of the socio-culural group Jhankar-NICA in January/ February.

Media

Online

Get Nottingham Trending day in May 2012 saw people taking to Twitter to tell the world what made them proud of the city and its people. Within half an hour of releasing the special hashtag #nottinghamrocks, the topic had begun 'trending' - meaning it was one of the most popular topics on Twitter at that time. At various points through the day, #nottinghamrocks was the top trending item in the UK and even made it to number three on the worldwide trending list. The initial concept of "Get Nottingham Trending" started with a tweet from Tony Bates (@babblingbates) on a quiet Tuesday morning and as often happens in the fast moving world of social media, the idea instantly picked up pace.

Television

The BBC has its East Midlands headquarters in Nottingham on London Road. BBC East Midlands Today is broadcast from the city every weeknight at 18:30. Central Television, the ITV region for the East Midlands until recently broadcast regional news from the city, but has now been moved to Birmingham. This decision was controversial and although a petition was set up to try to stop it, the TV studios were shut down in early 2005. Central News still keep a news bureau outside of the city at Chilwell, however. The former studios were purchased by the University of Nottingham to accommodate their administrative departments.

The city was recently granted permission by OFCOM to set up it's own local television station. The applications from local companies and groups were looked through, and after applications made by the Nottingham Post and Confetti College were put forwards to OFCOM, Confetti was awarded the license. In April 2013, during a visit to local youth initiatives and other charity movements in the city, Prince Harry declared the station up and running, exclaiming "Ayup me Duck" as he did.

Radio

In addition to the national commercial and BBC radio stations the Nottingham area is served by four licenced commercial radio stations (though all broadcast to a wider area than the city), three community radio stations, one student station broadcasting on a Low powered AM Restricted Service Licence and a BBC local radio station.

BBC Radio Nottingham

BBC Radio Nottingham is broadcast across the county from the BBC East Midlands studios on London Road, which were once home to BBC Radio Five Live's Simon Mayo, who was the rival to Trent's Dale Winton.

Gold

Gold is a quasi national MW station playing classic hits across the UK. The station started life in the East Midlands as GEM AM on 4 October 1988 as a split service from Radio Trent and Leicester Sound and was initially broadcast to Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester – however broadcasts on MW ceased in Leicester in 1995. The station was rebranded Classic Gold GEM in the mid-1990s and by 2007 most local programming had already ceased, at which point it became part of the new national Gold service, with all local programming (except news and advertising) ending.

Gem 106

Gem 106 (formerly Radio 106, Century FM and Heart 106) is a regional Adult Contemporary radio station which has broadcast to the whole East Midlands from its headquarters in the City Link business park (the same location as the BBC) since its launch in 1997.

Smooth

Smooth Radio was launched (as Saga 106.6 fm) in 2004 as a new service for the East Midlands serving the over 50s from its base in Nottingham. In 2008, the station was relaunched as 106.6 Smooth Radio playing classic hits and modern easy listening music to an older audience. In October 2010, the station became part of the national Smooth Radio and all local programming ended – only local news and advertising remains.

Capital East Midlands

Radio Trent (later renamed Trent FM) was Nottinghamshire's first commercial radio station. Prior to 2008, the Trent FM building was a converted Victorian hospital which connects to the underground network of caves. Many famous presenters were employed at the station, including Dale Winton, Kid Jensen, John Peters and Penny Smith.

The station merged with neighbouring stations Leicester Sound and Ram FM on Monday 3 January 2011, to form Capital East Midlands airing regional breakfast and drivetime programming alongside networked output from London.

Student Radio

Student Radio is broadcast in the city permanently by URN (University Radio Nottingham). URN has won many awards for quality and is broadcast on medium wave (AM) around the main campus (University Park) at 1350 kHz and from Sutton Bonnigton campus on 1602 kHz. It is also streamed over the Internet. Nottingham Trent University also runs the equally successful FlyFM, based at the university's city campus, broadcasting online at www.flyfm.co.uk. New College Nottingham also broadcast an online radio station, NCN RADIO which has received wide notability for its shows.

There are also three community radio stations serving the city; Faza FM on 97.1FM is aimed at Asian women and their families. Faza has been broadcasting since 2002; Dawn FM on 107.6FM used to share its broadcast hours with Faza, but in 2006 became a separate service in its own right – broadcasting news, current affairs and music of relevance to the Asian (specifically Islamic) community within the city; Kemet Radio on 97.5 broadcasts urban music while also serving the Afro-Caribbean community. Prior to its launch in 2007 such programming had only been available on pirate radio stations Unique 106.3 (later 107.3) and 107.9 Switch FM (later Freeze FM, networked with the London pirate of the same name), both of which appear to have ceased broadcasts as of late 2006.

Newspapers and magazines

Nottingham's main local newspaper, the Nottingham Post, is owned by Northcliffe Media and is published daily from Monday to Saturday each week. There are also a number of other publications which focus on individual areas within the city, for instance the Hucknall and Bulwell Dispatch.

A local culture and listings magazine is available free from many sites around the city called LeftLion, whilst a complimentary, bi-monthly glossy magazine is also available from a number of outlets across the city called Life&Style Magazine. This consists of features typically focused on the area's interest in fashion, entertainment and politics.

Arrow magazine is an essential read for Nottingham city residents which features a range of local news, events and information on Nottingham City Council services. Arrow is available to download online.

Nottingham Trent University's Student Union produces the regular Platform Magazine, while Impact Magazine is a monthly magazine written for, and written by students at the University of Nottingham. It has won many national awards for student journalism, and is entirely run by, compiled, and edited by students at the University.

Alternative media

LeftLion is one of the major sources of independent media in Nottingham. They give away 12,000 copies of a bi-monthly printed magazine funded by Complex SEO, and also run a website which is updated each day with news on culture, community and entertainment.

Community news project Nottinghamshire Indymedia, which was set up in April 2005, works within a variety of groups to create community media and collaboration between communities throughout the county. At the centre of the project is an online news site, which is run on the principles of open publishing.

Online entertainment guide NG Magazine covers music, events and entertainment in the city, while "This City" exclusively covers local music.

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 (1962)
• The Ragman's Daughter (1972)
• In Celebration (1975)
• Twenty Four Seven (1997)
• Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
• This Is England (2006)
• Magicians (2007)
• Control (2007)
• Mum & Dad (2008)

• Bronson (2009)
• The Unloved (2009)
• Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009)
• Goal 3 (2009)
• Bunny and the Bull (2009)
• A Boy Called Dad (2009)
• We Need to Talk About Kevin (2010)
• Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
• The Dark Knight Rises (2011)
• Weekend (2011)

Wollaton Hall was used as Wayne Manor in the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises

Nottingham is home to Wellington Films, an independent production company most notable for their award-winning film London to Brighton.

Twin cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom

Nottingham is twinned with the following cities:

• Ljubljana, Slovenia (1963)
• Minsk, Belarus (1966)
• Karlsruhe, Germany (1969)
• Harare, Zimbabwe (1981)
• Ghent, Belgium (1985)
• Ningbo, China (2005)
• Timişoara, Romania (2008)

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Nottingham

See also: Category:People from Nottingham

List of Mayors and Lord Mayors

Main article: Lord Mayor of Nottingham

The Sheriff of Nottingham

Main article: Sheriff of Nottingham

Main article: Sheriff of Nottingham (position)

See also

• Snotingas
• List of public art in Nottingham

External links

• Nottingham City Council website
• BBC Nottingham website
• Nottingham travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Arts and craft in and around Nottingham
• Visit Nottingham
• Visiting Nottingham Information