Nottingham ( NOT-ing-əm) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located 42 miles (68 km) south-east of Sheffield and 54 miles (87 km) north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham is the legendary home of Robin Hood's belligerent Sheriff of Nottingham, and is historically associated with the lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. The city is also the county town of Nottinghamshire and the settlement was granted its city charter in 1897, as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Nottingham is a UNESCO "City of Literature".
In the 2021 census, Nottingham had a reported population of 323,632. The wider conurbation, which includes many of the city's suburbs (including Arnold and Carlton), has a population of 768,638. It is the largest urban area in the East Midlands and the second-largest in the Midlands. Its Functional Urban Area, the largest in the East Midlands, has a population of 919,484. The population of the Nottingham/Derby metropolitan area is estimated to be 1,610,000. The metropolitan economy of Nottingham is the seventh-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $50.9 billion (2014). Aside from Birmingham, it is the only city in the Midlands to be ranked as a sufficiency-level world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Nottingham is a major sporting centre and, in October 2015, was named "Home of English Sport". The National Ice Centre, Holme Pierrepont National Water Sports Centre and Trent Bridge international cricket ground are all based in or around the city, which is also the home of two professional football teams: Notts County, recognised as the world's oldest professional league club, and Nottingham Forest, two-time winners of the UEFA European Cup under Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980. The city has professional rugby, ice hockey and cricket teams; it also hosts the Nottingham Open, an international tennis tournament on the ATP and WTA tours. This accolade came just over a year after Nottingham was named as the UK's first City of Football.
The city is served by Nottingham railway station and the Nottingham Express Transit tram system; its bus company, Nottingham City Transport, is the largest publicly owned bus network in England. In December 2015, Nottingham was named a 'City of Literature' by UNESCO, joining a list of 20 Cities of Literature. The title reflects Nottingham's literary heritage, with Lord Byron, D. H. Lawrence and Alan Sillitoe having links to the city, as well as a contemporary literary community, a publishing industry and a poetry scene. The city is served by three universities: the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University and the Nottingham campus of the University of Law; it hosts the highest concentration of higher education providers in the East Midlands.
Toponymy
The name Nottingham comes from the Old English Snotingaham, meaning "homestead of the Snotingas" (that is, "the family or followers of a man called Snot"). The likely origin of the name Snot is an Old Norse word from the root “snotr,” meaning wise or clever. The Prose Edda documents the tale of a Norse goddess of wisdom, Snotra.
The loss of the initial S is due to Norman influence. In his Life of King Alfred, the Welsh cleric Asser refers to Nottingham as Tigguocobauc (modern Welsh Tŷ Gogofawg), meaning "cave house". It is unclear, however, whether this is a genuine Welsh name for Nottingham or an invention of Asser's.
History
The written history of Nottingham dates back to 919 AD, when Edward the Elder captured the settlement, subsequently building a fortress on the south bank of the Trent. Following the Norman Conquest William the Conqueror built a castle in Nottingham, which he entrusted to William Peverel.
The Anglo-Saxon settlement was originally confined to the area today known as the Lace Market and was surrounded by a substantial defensive ditch and rampart. The ditch had fallen out of use and been filled in by the time of Domesday Book (1086). Following the Norman Conquest,the Saxon settlement developed into the "English Borough" of Nottingham. A "French Borough" also developed around the castle on the hill opposite. Eventually the space between was built on as the town grew and the Old Market Square became the focus of Nottingham. Defences consisted initially of a ditch and bank in the early 12th century. The ditch was widened in the mid-13th century and a stone wall built around much of the perimeter of the town. A short length of the wall survives and is visible at the northern end of Maid Marian Way. It is protected as a Scheduled Monument.
On the return of Richard the Lionheart from the Crusades in 1194, the castle was occupied by supporters of Prince John, including the Sheriff of Nottingham. It was besieged by Richard and after a sharp conflict was captured.
It is believed that during the Black Death of 1349 approximately 60% of Nottingham's population died but that migration from other parts of England helped begin the process of population recovery.
By the 15th century Nottingham had established itself as the centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from Nottingham alabaster. During the late medieval period Nottingham alabasters were exported as far afield as Iceland and may be one reason why a small number of Icelandic immigrants lived in Nottingham during the 15th century. 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 remained as detached parishes of Nottinghamshire.
One of those highly impressed by Nottingham in the late 18th century was the German traveller C. P. Moritz, who wrote in 1782, "Of all the towns I have seen outside London, Nottingham is the loveliest and neatest. Everything had a modern look, and a large space in the centre was hardly less handsome than a London square. A charming footpath leads over the fields to the highway, where a bridge spans the Trent. … Nottingham … with its high houses, red roofs and church steeples, looks excellent from a distance."
During the Industrial Revolution much of Nottingham's prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular the city became an internationally important centre of lace manufacture. In 1831 citizens rioted in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire to his residence on the site of Nottingham Castle.
In common with the rest of the British textile industry Nottingham's textile sector fell into decline in the decades following the Second World War. Little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham; however many of the former industrial buildings in the Lace Market district 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 St Mary, St Nicholas and St Peter. It was expanded in 1877 by the addition of the parishes of Basford, Brewhouse Yard, Bulwell, Radford, Sneinton, Standard Hill and parts of the parishes of West Bridgford, Carlton and Wilford (North Wilford). In 1889 Nottingham became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888. City status was awarded as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and conveyed in a letter dated 18 June 1897 from the prime minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, to the mayor.
The city was enlarged in 1933 by the addition of 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 occurred in 1951 when Clifton and Wilford (south of the River Trent) were incorporated into the city.
Electric trams were introduced to the city in 1901; they served the city for 35 years until 1936. Trams were reintroduced after 68 years when a new network opened in 2004.
In the sporting world, Nottingham is home to the world's oldest professional football club, Notts County, which was formed in 1862. The town's other football club, Nottingham Forest, had a period of success between 1977 and 1993 under manager Brian Clough, 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 £1 million footballer, who joined the club in February 1979 from Birmingham City.
The city was the site of race riots in 1958, centred on the St Ann's neighbourhood.
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 are back on the political agenda and there is now pressure on the green belt that surrounds the city.
Governance
Local government
Nottingham City Council is a unitary authority and is based at Loxley House on Station Street. It consists of 55 councillors, representing 20 wards, who are elected every four years; the last elections were held on 4 May 2023. The council is independent of Nottinghamshire County Council but works with them for local developments and other matters. Nottingham remains the county town of Nottinghamshire, even though the county hall is in the neighbouring town of West Bridgford, where the county council is based. Since May 2024, the city has been a constituent member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority with a regional mayor.
The city also has a Lord Mayor who is selected by city councillors from among themselves. The position is largely ceremonial but the Lord Mayor also acts as Chair of Full Council meetings.
The City of Nottingham's boundaries are tightly drawn and exclude several suburbs and towns that are usually considered part of the larger Greater Nottingham. Unlike the city, these areas are governed by a two tier system of local government. Nottinghamshire County Council is based at the county hall. It provides the upper tier of local government whilst the lower tier is split into several district or borough councils. The County Council are responsible for Health, Social Care, Education, Highways, Transport, Libraries and Trading Standards, whilst the lower tier councils are responsible for local planning, neighbourhood services, housing, licensing, environmental health and leisure facilities. The towns of Beeston, Stapleford and Eastwood are administered by Broxtowe Borough Council. Further west still, the Nottingham urban district extends into Derbyshire where Ilkeston and Long Eaton are administered by Erewash Borough Council, and Ripley by Amber Valley. To the north, Hucknall is governed by Ashfield District Council, while in the east Arnold and Carlton form part of the Borough of Gedling. South of the river, the town of West Bridgford lies in Rushcliffe, as do the outlying villages of Ruddington and Tollerton and the town of Bingham.
Under current local government reorganisaion plants, most of the urban area will become part of a Greater Nottingham unitary authority from 2028, with elections to a shadow Greater Nottingham Council taking place in 2027.
UK Parliament
Nottingham has three UK parliamentary constituency seats within its boundaries. Nottingham North has been represented since 2017 by Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Alex Norris, Nottingham East since 2019 by Labour MP Nadia Whittome and Nottingham South since 2010 by Labour MP Lilian Greenwood. Each of the outer districts (Broxtowe, Ashfield, Gedling and Rushcliffe) are also parliamentary constituencies in their own right although the parliamentary constituency boundaries do not align with the boundaries of the council districts of which they share their name.
Geography
Nottingham is situated on an area of low hills along the lower valley of the River Trent, and is surrounded by the Sherwood Forest in the north, the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield in the west, and the Trent and Belvoir Vales in the east and south.
Within the city native wildlife includes red fox, peregrine falcon and common kingfisher. Notable nature reserves around the city include Attenborough Nature Reserve SSSI, Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve, Holme Pit SSSI, Fairham Brook Local Wildlife Site and Wollaton Park. Owing to its position as a central city with strong transport links, Nottingham has become home to invasive animal and plant species including rose-ringed parakeet, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam.
In 2017, it was reported that Nottingham was one of a number of UK cities that broke WHO air pollution guidelines for the maximum concentration of small particulate matter, the pollution in part being caused by wood-burning stoves.
Nottingham is bounded by a green belt, provisionally drawn up from the 1950s. Completely encircling the city, it extends for several miles into the surrounding districts as well as towards Derby.
Within the city
Around the city