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* [http://www.visitnottingham.com/ Nottingham hotels, things to do and general tourist information]
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* [http://www.risepark.plus.com/nottingham%20city.html Nottingham - A brief overview with pictures]
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* [http://www.nottingham.co.uk/ Nottingham.co.uk] Supporting Local Life in Nottingham
* [http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/EMTrains/YourDestinations/Nottingham.htm Nottingham Train Station Information]
* [http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk/EMTrains/YourDestinations/Nottingham.htm Nottingham Train Station Information]
{{Nottingham}}
{{Nottingham}}

Revision as of 14:46, 20 August 2010

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 area
Nottingham Council House, City Centre
Nottingham Council House, City Centre
Official logo of City of Nottingham
Coat of arms of Nottingham City Council
Nickname(s): 
Queen of the Midlands, The Lace City
Motto: 
Vivit Post Funera Virtus (Virtue Outlives Death)[1]
Nottingham shown within England
Nottingham shown within England
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionEast Midlands
Ceremonial countyNottinghamshire
Admin HQNottingham Council House
Settled600
City Status1897
Government
 • TypeUnitary authority, City
 • Governing bodyNottingham City Council
 • Council LeaderCoun. Jon Collins (Lab)
 • ExecutiveLabour
 • MPsChris Leslie (Lab)
Graham Allen (Lab)
Lilian Greenwood (Lab)
 • Lord MayorCoun. Brian Grocock
Area
 • City & Unitary Authority area28.81 sq mi (74.61 km2)
Elevation
[2]
200 ft (61 m)
Population
 (2022)
 • Density9,670/sq mi (3,735/km2)
 • Urban
666,358(LUZ:825,600)
 • Ethnicity
(2005 Estimate)[3]
81.6% White (76.5% White British)
7.7% S. Asian
4.7% Black British
3.2% Mixed Race
2.8% Chinese and other
Time zoneUTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postal Code
NG
Area code0115
Grid Ref.SK570400
ONS code00FY
ISO 3166-2GB-NGM
NUTS 3UKF14
Websitewww.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/

Nottingham (/ˈnɒtɪŋəm/ⓘ) is a city and unitary authority area in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, and is one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group. Whilst the City of Nottingham has a historically tightly drawn boundary which accounts for its relatively small population of 288,700, the wider Nottingham Urban Area has a population of 667,000 and is the seventh-largest urban area in the United Kingdom, ranking between those of Liverpool and Sheffield.[4] Eurostat's Larger Urban Zone listed the areas population at 825,600 as of 2004. Nottingham is famed for its links with the Robin Hood legend and, during the Industrial Revolution, obtained worldwide recognition for its lace-making and bicycle industries. It 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.

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".[5] When it fell under the rule of a Saxon chieftain named Snot[6] 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 know as the Lace Market.

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.[7]

By the 15th century, Nottingham had established itself as the centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from alabaster[8] The town became a county corporate in 1449[9] 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 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.[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.[10][11]

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

Governance

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. As of 2010, the Lord Mayor of Nottingham is Coun. Brian Grocock. The city is the seat of regional government bodies the East Midlands Development Agency (including the functions of the now defunct East Midlands Regional Assembly) 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

It consists of 55 councillors, representing a total of 20 wards. It is led by Jon Collins, of the majority Labour Party. Nottingham City Council is elected every four years, the last elections were held on 3 May 2007. The council meet in Nottingham Council House in Old Market Square.

UK Parliament

Nottingham has 3 UK parliamentary constituency seats within its borders. Nottingham North has been represented since 1987 by Labour MP Graham Allen, Nottingham East represented since 2010 by Labour MP Chris Leslie and Nottingham South represented since 2010 by Labour MP Lilian Greenwood.

European Parliament

Nottingham lies within the East Midlands European parliamentary constituency. In 2009 it elected 5 MEPs; Derek Clark (UKIP), Bill Newton Dunn (Liberal Democrat), Roger Helmer (Conservative), Emma McClarkin (Conservative) and Glenis Willmott (Labour).

Geography

Nottingham is located at 52°58′00″N 01°10′00″W / 52.96667°N 1.16667°W / 52.96667; -1.16667 (52.9667,-1.1667).

The City of Nottingham 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.

Main article: List of places in Nottinghamshire

Within the City of Nottingham

Around the City of Nottingham

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 central focal point of the City is Old Market Square which is the largest in the UK and is dominated by the Council House, which replaced The Nottingham Exchange Building, built in 1726. 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 on the ground floor is an upmarket shopping containing high-end boutiques. Portland Stone was used to construct the Council House and Exchange Arcade.

West of the centre

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 the Gothic revival Arkwright Building - Nottingham Trent University now owns this building as well as many others in the area. 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 the 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. (Photos) Hockley is where the vast majority of Nottingham's unique, independent shops are to be found. It is also home to two alternative cinemas. The Screen Room claims to be the smallest in the world with only 21 seats (Link), and Broadway Cinema.

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.

Typical red brick lined street in the Lace Market
St Mary's church in the Lace Market

New College Nottingham occupies the Adams Building, built by Thomas Chambers Hine for Thomas Adams (1817–1873). Many buildings have been concerted 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.

Galleries of Justice in the Lace Market

Pubs

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem, 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 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, 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. 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. At primary level, Nottingham was ranked fourth from bottom in the country, at 147th out of 150 local authorities rated in 2006,[12] whilst at secondary level, Nottingham came eighth from bottom nationally in terms of GCSE results attained.[13]

Nottingham also has a number of independent schools, with Nottingham High School, which was founded in 1513, being the city's oldest educational establishment by far. Nottingham High School came 8th nationally for A-Levels in 2008 according to the Sunday Times.

Further Education

Four further education colleges are located in Nottingham. Castle College is the largest and was formed from the merger of Broxtowe College and the People's College. New College Nottingham is the result of the merger of four smaller further education colleges, whilst Bilborough College is solely a Sixth Form college. South Nottingham College also has a campus in the city centre.

The University of Nottingham, founded in 1798, situated in Highfields Park

Higher Education

Nottingham is home to two universities: the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University (formerly Trent Polytechnic). Together they are attended by over 40,000 full-time students. 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 (aka QMC). The city is home to the headquarters of the National College for School Leadership, whilst the Nottingham School of Fashion is notable for having trained the famous fashion designer Paul Smith.

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 Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent in 1849 and substantially expanded by his son John Boot, 2nd Baron Trent. Other large current employers include the credit reference agency Experian, the energy company E.ON UK, the tobacco company John Player & Sons, 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 thirty 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[14] 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.

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

Creative Industries are a target growth sector for the city[15] with graphic design, interiors and textile design being a particular focus. There is already a thriving design industry in the city including Distinction, Strafe Creative, Skeleton Productions, Jupiter, and Purple Circle.

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][16] 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 and Monumental Games are based in the city, with Free Radical Design located in nearby Sandiacre and Serif Europe 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.[17]

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[18]. This has dropped from fifth in 2007[19].

There are two main shopping centres in Nottingham: Victoria Centre and Westfield 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 Westfield 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, the centre announced that it would not be redeveloped but instead refurbished[citation needed]. Months after this announcement, the Victoria Centre also announced plan for expansion, to compete with new centres in Derby and Leicester[citation needed]. Smaller shopping centres are the 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.

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 and Void, 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 also has smaller theatres with 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.

Cinemas

The city has several multiplex cinemas, the largest being the Cineworld complex sited within The Corner House and Showcase Cinema operated by National Amusements as well as 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). Broadway was redeveloped and expanded in 2006. Quentin Tarantino held the British premiere of Reservoir Dogs there in 1992.

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 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.

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 will return in 2010 on July 24, headlined by The Pet Shop Boys and featuring Calvin Harris, Noisettes, Athlete and OK Go among others.[20]

Nottingham is renowned as one of the biggest cities supporting the Dubstep movement of dance music. Nottingham has several weekly and monthly Dubstep and Drum and Bass nights.[citation needed] It also 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.

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[21] and one Michelin starred restaurant, Sat Bains.

Tourism

Ferris Wheel in Old Market Square

Nottingham receives around 300,000 overseas visitors each year.[22] 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. A new park is being developed in the city at the Eastside City development. [citation needed]

The Nottingham Robin Hood Society was originally formed by Robin Hood historian Jim Lees[23] 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.

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 is 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 February 8. 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.[24]

In 2010, Nottingham has seen a rise in recommendations from publications around the world, including a positive write up in the New York Times[25] as well as being touted as one of the Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2010, alongside Delhi, Nara, Tel Aviv and Reykjavik, by DK Travel.[26]

Entertainment

New Buildings on the South Side of the Lace Market area.

The 2,500-capacity Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and 9,500-capacity Nottingham Arena attract the biggest names in popular music. For less mainstream acts and a generally more intimate atmosphere, Nottingham has a selection of smaller venues including Ye Olde Salutation Inn, Seven (formerly Junktion 7), The Old Angel, the award-winning dedicated rock music venue Rock City and the smaller sister venues The Rescue Rooms, 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 in the city bolsters the night time entertainment scene. There are several well established areas of the city centre for entertainment such as Lace Market, Hockley, The Waterfront and The Corner House.

Miscellaneous

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

Wikimedia UK has its registered office in Nottingham.[27]

Sport

Main article: Sport in Nottingham
The City Ground and River Trent

Football

Nottingham is home to two high profile football clubs - former double European Cup winners Nottingham Forest F.C. and Notts County F.C who are the world’s oldest fully professional football club. Championship Nottingham Forest’s home stadium is The City Ground which has a capacity of just over 30,000 and was one of the stadia for Euro 96, whilst League One Notts County are based at the 20,000-seater Meadow Lane stadium on the opposite side of the River Trent. The two grounds are notable for being the closest in English league football.

Ice hockey

Ice Hockey is one of the biggest and most popular sports in Nottingham. The city is home to the biggest ice hockey team in Britain the Nottingham Panthers who regularly sell out their home arena which is the 7,500 capacity National Ice Centre. The team compete in the 10 team professional Elite Ice Hockey League. Within the league are the Sheffield Steelers who hold an intense rivalry with the Nottingham Panthers

Cricket

Nottingham is also home to the 2005 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.

Rugby Union

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

Mixed Martial Arts

Being the birthplace of Dan Hardy & Paul Daley, and one of the locations of Team Rough House (the other being Leicester), Nottingham has gained a reputation as being one of the hotbeds of British Mixed Martial Arts, drawing fighters such as Ross Pearson, Andre Winner, Nick Osipczak & Dean Amasinger.

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 and the Robin Hood Marathon.

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.

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 in the planning process to the southern suburbs of Wilford and Clifton and the western suburbs of Beeston and Chilwell.

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

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.

Crime

Nottingham Magistrates' Court

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

Between 2000 and 2003 the press and other media claimed Nottingham was the 'gun-crime capital of the UK', and was dubbed "Shottingham" in some areas.[28][29] In 2005, it had one of the highest crime rates in the country, with 115.5 crimes per 1000 people.[30] By 2007 the BBC reported that the number of shootings in the city had fallen from 51 (in 2003) to 13 (in 2006).[31] However, in January 2008 it was reported that gun crime in the city had risen for a second consecutive year, with a 50% increase in gun crime during 2007.[32] The incidence rate of many crimes in Nottingham is several times higher than the English average.[33] A crime survey by Reform stated that Nottingham topped the crime rankings for police statistics on murders, burglaries, and vehicle crime, and "had almost five times the level of crime as the safest town in the rankings". The survey was condemned as inaccurate by Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire Police[34] due largely to the use of out of date (2001) population figures. The University of Nottingham argued that the way in which statistics such as these are calculated is severely flawed; if the population of the entire conurbation were taken into account instead of just the centre of the city then a more accurate picture would be revealed.[35] A revised survey based on 2004 population estimates, however, appeared to back up the original rankings.[36] In 2007 TV programme Location, Location, Location named Nottingham as the 4th worst city to live in, stating the city has "loads of good aspects but crime lets it down".[37] The programme also ranked the neighbouring Nottinghamshire borough of Rushcliffe, which contains suburbs of greater Nottingham, among the best 20 places to live in the UK.[37]

While the crime figures in the city are high, initiatives introduced to tackle the levels of crime appear to be having an effect, with a 2006 Home Office survey showing that the overall level of crime in the city was down by 12% since 2003.[38] Initiatives include the Community and Neighbourhood Protection Service developed by Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottingham City Homes to take an uncompromising stance towards anti-social behaviour.[39] 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.

Community Protection Officers (also known as City Wardens) in their high-visibility stab vests, are accredited by the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for littering and are employed to tackle other anti-social behaviour.

Like most industrialised cities and large towns, Nottingham attracted a significant influx of Commonwealth immigrants after the Second World War. These immigrants, from Ireland, Asia and the Caribbean, were greeted with hostility from a large percentage of the city's residents, and in the summer of 1958 Nottingham was the scene of some of Britain's very first race riots.[40]

More recently, racial tension in Nottingham has been a major factor in a number of serious crimes. In July 2005, shortly after the London terrorist attacks in which 52 people were killed by Muslim suicide bombers, 48-year-old Pakistan born Muslim man Kamal Raza Butt was beaten to death in the Meadows area of the city.[41] 17-year-old white British teenager Nathan Williams was accused of his murder in May 2006 but cleared on the charge after witnesses refused to testify in court. Nathan Williams was fatally stabbed in the Meadows area just four months later.[42]

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 mediæval times. 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 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.

Media

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 6:30. 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, though. The former studios were purchased by the University of Nottingham to accommodate their administrative departments.

Radio

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.

Nottingham is the home of Trent FM, a commercial radio station in Nottinghamshire, which is licensed to broadcast to Nottingham and Mansfield. The old building that housed Trent FM until 2007 was a converted Victorian hospital which connects to the underground network of caves. Many famous presenters have been employed at Trent FM (formerly Radio Trent), including Dale Winton, Kid Jensen, John Peters and Penny Smith. The station was also the home of the award-winning Jo and Twiggy, but Jo left for Absolute Radio, and the breakfast show became "Twiggy and Emma at Breakfast" on 20 October 2008. Twiggy and Emma at Breakfast has been broadcast for one year.

The other professional radio stations broadcast from the city are BBC Radio Nottingham (BBC Radio Five Live's Simon Mayo appeared on this station and was the rival to Trent's Dale Winton), Gold (formerlyClassic Gold GEM), and the East Midlands' regional stations Heart 106 (formerly Century FM) and 106.6 Smooth Radio (formerly Saga 106.6 fm). Heart 106 has its headquarters in the same business park as the BBC, while Trent FM's (and Classic Gold GEM's) building is on the other side of the Nottingham City Centre near the Nottingham castle.

Student Radio is broadcast in the city permanently by URN (University Radio Nottingham). URN has won many awards for quality and which 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.[43] New College Nottingham also broadcast an online radio station, NCN RADIO which has received wide notabilty for its shows.[according to whom?]

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 sole 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 focussed on the area's interest in fashion, entertainment and politics.

Impact 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

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 films, locally, nationally and internationally. A sample of films that are filmed in Nottingham include;[44]

Twin cities

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

Nottingham is twinned with the following cities:[45]

Country Place County / District / Region / State Date
Slovenia Slovenia Ljubljana Ljubljana Basin 1963
Belarus Belarus Minsk Minsk Voblast 1966
Germany Germany Karlsruhe Baden-Württemberg 1969
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Harare Harare Province 1981
Belgium Belgium Ghent Flemish Region 1985
China China Ningbo Zhejiang Province 2005
Romania Romania Timişoara Banat Region 2008

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Nottingham

List of Mayors and Lord Mayors

Main article: Lord Mayor of Nottingham

The Sheriff of Nottingham

Main article: Sheriff of Nottingham

References

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  2. ^ "Population of Nottingham". Mongabay.com. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  3. ^ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Lead View Table". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  4. ^ Graham Pointer (2005). "The UK's major urban areas" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  5. ^ "Adobe PDF - Travelling by Train Guide - Welsh" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  6. ^ A P Nicholson (9 May 2003). "Meaning and Origin of the Words. Shire and County". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  7. ^ Thomas Chambers Hine (1876) Nottingham Castle; Nottingham, Eng. Museum and Art Gallery. London:Hamilton, Adams & co.
  8. ^ Medieval English Alabaster Carvings in the Castle Museum Nottingham, Francis Cheetham, City of Nottingham art Galleries and Museums Committee, 1973
  9. ^ A Centenary history of Nottingham. J. V. Beckett
  10. ^ "Relationships / unit history of Nottingham". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
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  12. ^ "How different areas performed". BBC News. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  13. ^ "How different areas performed". BBC News. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  14. ^ "Science-city.co.uk". Science-city.co.uk. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  15. ^ "Visionnottingham.com". Visionnottingham.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  16. ^ "Visionnottingham.com". Visionnottingham.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  17. ^ "Sub-regional: Gross value added1 (GVA) at current basic prices". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
  18. ^ "Retail Footprint 2010 reveals Britain's shopping successes and strugglers". CACI. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  19. ^ "About Nottingham". ONE Nottingham. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  20. ^ "Splendour 2010 - Pet Shop Boys - Wollaton Park 24th July 2010". Splendourfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  21. ^ "restaurant guide". Go dine. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  22. ^ "Overseas Visitors to the UK - Top Towns Visited 2005" (PDF). VisitBritain. Retrieved 2007-01-28.[dead link]
  23. ^ "obinhood.info". Robinhood.info. 2001-11-18. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  24. ^ "BBC News". BBC News. 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  25. ^ Miller, Josey (2010-02-21). "Nottingham's Soulful Side?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  26. ^ "The Top 10 cities to visit in 2010". The Times. London. 2009-11-25. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
  27. ^ "Welcome to Wikimedia UK." Wikimedia UK. Retrieved on 8 May 2010. "The Registered Office is at 23 Cartwright Way, Nottingham, NG9 1RL, United Kingdom."
  28. ^ Doward, Jamie (2007) "Brutal ganglord who fell victim to his own drugs", The Observer, 5 August 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  29. ^ Alderson, Andrew & Copping, Jasper (2007) "Police joined dark side to regain Nottingham", Daily Telegraph, 5 August 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  30. ^ Games, Alex (2007). Balderdash & piffle : one sandwich short of a dog's dinner. London?: BBC. ISBN 9781846072352.
  31. ^ "Slight rise in shootings in city". BBC. 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  32. ^ "City sees new rise in shootings". BBC. 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  33. ^ "Crime figures for 2005/2006". UpMyStreet. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  34. ^ "Rebuttal of reform's urban crimes ranking report". Nottingham City Council. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  35. ^ "Nottingham Life - NOT Capital for Crime". The University of Nottingham. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-01-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  36. ^ Blair Gibbs & Andrew Haldenby (2006). "Urban crime rankings" (PDF). Reform. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2007-03-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  37. ^ a b "Nottingham: 4th Worst Place To Live 2007". Channel 4. June 2010.
  38. ^ "Some facts about crime in Nottinghamshire". Nottingham City Council. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2007-03-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  39. ^ "Community and Neighbourhood Protection Service". Nottingham City Council. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  40. ^ "Riots and lynchings, fascists and immigrants: what's changed?". Searchlight Magazine. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  41. ^ "Forty-seven race murders in Britain since Macpherson". IRR. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  42. ^ Askill, John (2006-09-28). "Shot lad, 17, 'was killer' | The Sun |News". The Sun. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  43. ^ "Urn1350.net". Urn1350.net. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  44. ^ "Most Popular Titles With Filming Locations Matching "Nottingham"". IMDb. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  45. ^ "Nottinghamcity.gov.uk". Nottinghamcity.gov.uk. 2010-04-28. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
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