Nottingham

Nottingham. County town of Nottinghamshire, situated on the river Trent, and a city since 1897. It is first recorded as one of the ‘five boroughs’ of the Danes, succeeded by an English fortified town (burh) after 921. It quickly became a county town, and was extended after 1066 with a new ‘French borough’ and a major castle. In the 12th and 13th cents. it became a regional centre with self-government, town walls, and a major fair. The castle remained a royal stronghold, and it was at Nottingham that Charles I raised his standard in 1642. After the Restoration the town became a social centre for the county gentry, and the duke of Newcastle built a mansion on the site of the castle. Industry developed after 1700 with framework-knitting, and later lace-making, and the town grew rapidly. The burgesses, however, refused to enclose the surrounding open fields, and overcrowding became desperate. Not surprisingly, the Lords' rejection of the second Reform Bill in 1831 provoked riots, and the castle (the duke of Newcastle's mansion) was burned. By the time the fields were enclosed in 1845, the damage was done, and not until the 20th cent. did slum clearance remove Nottingham's notorious courts and alleys.

David M. Palliser