Nottingham: Difference between revisions

Nottingham

Shown within England
Geography
Status	Unitary Authority, City (1897)
Ceremonial county	Nottinghamshire
Historic county	Nottinghamshire
Region	East Midlands
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Area - Total	Ranked 274th 74.61 km²
Admin HQ	Nottingham
ISO 3166-2	GB-NGM
ONS code	00FY
OS grid reference	SK570400
Coordinates	52°57N 1°08W
NUTS 3	UKF14
Demographics
Population: Total (2022) Density	Ranked / km²
Ethnicity (2001 census)	84.9% White 6.5% S. Asian 4.3% Black British 3.7% Mixed Race
Politics
Arms of the Nottingham City Council Nottingham City Council http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Control

Nottingham is a city, unitary authority, and county town of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. The center of Nottingham lies on the River Leen and its southern boundary follows the course of the River Trent, which flows from Stoke to the Humber. According to the 2001 census, Nottingham has an estimated city population of 275,100 which increased to an estimated 278,700 in 2005. The Nottingham Urban Area conurbation (which includes surrounding suburbs outside the city boundary such as Arnold, Carlton, West Bridgford and neighbouring towns) has a population of 666,358 (2001 figures).^[1] Nottingham is a member of the English Core Cities Group.

The heart of Nottingham City Centre is the Old Market Square, where a major redevelopment was completed in March 2007. Most of the main shopping streets surround the square. The Council House, whose disproportionately tall dome can be seen for miles around, is at the top of the square. In music hall times, many a visiting comedian would comment on stage; "If that's what the council houses are like here I'll put my name down!"^{[citation needed]} Inside the Council House is the Exchange Arcade, a shopping centre. A bohemian quarter of the city known as Hockley is situated close to the Lace Market area.

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled History of Nottingham. (Discuss)

Nottingham is relatively unusual among big manufacturing cities in Britain in having a mediæval and pre-industrial past of equal importance to its more recent one. The first evidence of settlement dates from pre-Roman times,^{[citation needed]} and it is possible that the Romans also lived in the area.^{[citation needed]}

In Anglo-Saxon times, around 600 AD, the site formed part of the Kingdom of Mercia, where it was known as "Tigguo Cobauc" meaning "a place of cave dwellings", until falling under the rule of a Saxon chieftain named Snot,^[2] whereby it was dubbed "Snotingaham" literally, "the homestead of Snot's people" (Inga = the people of; Ham = homestead). As with most English place names, the word has since shifted to "Nottingham", in this case due the influence of the French language of later times; future inhabitants were unable to pronounce the "sn" digraph at the start of the name. Snot brought together his people in an area where the historic Lace Market in the City can now be found.

Nottingham was captured in 867 by Danish Vikings 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 Trent. The Anglo-Saxon settlement developed into the English Borough of Nottingham and housed a Town Hall and 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.

The town became a county corporate in 1449, giving it effective self-government, in the words of the charter, "for eternity".^[3] The Castle and Shire Hall were expressly excluded and technically remained as detached Parishes of Nottinghamshire.

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. Residents of these slums rioted in 1831, in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire 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 the World War II, as British manufacturers proved unable to compete on price or volume with output of factories in the Far East and South Asia. 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. 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.^[4]

The legend of Robin Hood first arose in the Middle Ages. Robin Hood is said to have lived in Sherwood Forest, which extended from the north of Nottingham to the north side of Doncaster, Yorkshire. Although Robin Hood is generally associated with Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, some authors (eg Phillips & Keatman, 1995) argue that he came from Yorkshire. Hood's main adversary was the Sheriff of Nottingham. Today the office of Sheriff of Nottingham is a ceremonial position with no real jurisdiction. Whilst the accuracy of the legend is questionable, particularly the finer points, it has had a major impact on Nottingham, with Robin Hood imagery a popular choice for local businesses and many modern tourist attractions exploiting the legend. The Robin Hood Statue in Nottingham is within walking distance from the Old Market Square.

The City still has a ceremonial Sheriff. Until 1835 there were two separate Sheriffs of Nottingham. One Sheriff was appointed to symbolically represent the French Borough and the other Sheriff to represent the English Borough. After the reforms of the Municipal Corporation Act 1835 only one single Sheriff of Nottingham has been appointed. However even today the Sheriff of Nottingham is preceded into Council Meetings with two maces as a reminder of this often overlooked fact.

In relation to the legen of Robin Hood it is likely that the Sheriff that he had to content with would have been the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire as distinct position that still exists today. The County Corporate status of Nottingham means that any Sheriff appointed in medieval times would not have enjoyed any authority outside the boundaries of the then Borough of Nottingham.

The Nottingham Caves have always formed an important part of the region, at first providing shelter and sanctuary, but growing to house thriving tanning works and in modern times becoming a tourist attraction. The caves are artificial, having been carved out of the soft sandstone rock by prospective dwellers, and have grown to become a complex network under the city. The city has more manmade caves than anywhere else in the country and this whole cave network has Scheduled Ancient Monument protection equal to that of Stonehenge, making Nottingham Caves a site of vast importance to the heritage of the United Kingdom. Part of the network can be viewed by the public at the City of Caves attraction which is accessed from the upper mall of the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre.

Before the industrial revolution, the cave network was substantially expanded and became home to a large proportion of the poorer populace, particularly those involved in the tanning industry. The majority of the caves were thought to have been used for storage by the 18th century and were still inhabited until around 1924 when the last family (the Shore family) moved out of the caves in Ilkeston road, they came into use again as air raid shelters during World War II. A section of the cave network under the Broadmarsh shopping centre is now open as a tourist attraction, and some parts are still used as pub cellars.

Another section of the caves, under the castle, is still in regular use as the indoor rifle range of the Nottingham Rifle Club. In addition, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Inn, a pub that claims to be the oldest in Britain, is partly built into the cave system below the castle. Although the pub's building only dates from the 16th or 17th century, the caves themselves may date to the 11th century and could have been the site of the brewhouse for the castle.

Nottingham Castle, founded by William the Conqueror, famed through the Middle Ages as one of the country’s finest strongholds, and where Charles I raised the Royal Standard in 1642 no longer exists, and has been replaced by a classical ducal palace. Of the mediæval castle only the (restored) gatehouse, and the ruined remains of some walls/foundations, survive.

The city descends from north to south, and eventually to the River Trent, though the river itself is not a central feature. The western third of the city houses the castle and several new tall buildings along with some harmonious streets around Nottingham Playhouse, that are mainly occupied by professional firms, and the unimposing Nottingham Cathedral (Roman Catholic). The central third leads down from the Nottingham Trent University building past the Theatre Royal to Old Market Square, which has Nottingham Council House to the east. This was built in the 1920s to display civic pride, ostentatiously utilising baroque columns and statues of two lions; the Exchange Arcade underneath, containing boutique shops, is a small but pleasant covered area. Portland Stone from the same quarry used for St Paul's Cathedral was used to construct the Council House and Exchange Arcade. Streets lead south to the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, a bus terminus. The Canalside, further south of this - and adjacent to the railway station and several new but sympathetically designed modern offices - is an inviting redevelopment of 19th century industrial buildings into a cluster of bars and restaurants. The eastern third of the city contains the Victoria Shopping Centre and the Victoria centre flats (1972), at 75 m high the tallest building in the city. Interesting areas of this part of the city are Hockley Village (see below) and the Lace Market, where the old red-brick warehouses have been utilised for other purposes, creating an attractive aspect to this part of the city. The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is in this area; it and the adjacent Shire Hall are two of the more interesting buildings from the city’s pre-industrial past.

Further to the east lies Old Market Square, focal point of the city, and reputedly the largest open square of any English at 22,000 m².^[5] It was recently redeveloped, with work being completed in March 2007. Wollaton Hall lies about 4 km to the west of the centre, just north of the University of Nottingham's University Park Campus.

Three pubs in Nottingham claim the title of "England's Oldest Pub". The contenders for the crown are Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem near the castle, The Bell on the Old Market Square, and The Old Salutation on Maid Marian Way. Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem is supposedly named for its role as a meeting point for those going on the Crusades in the Middle Ages. However, its claim may be due partly to the questionable date of 1189 painted on the side of the inn. A recent television documentary tested the three claimants and found that, while each has its own evidence, none can claim exclusivity. The Trip, while the oldest building and oldest location, 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, does boast 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". Prominent local architect Watson Fothergill is responsible for many of the city's fine 19th century Gothic Revival buildings.

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 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, 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.

Despite a lot of investment, the closing of numerous schools and the opening of new city academies, Nottingham remains near the bottom of the league tables at both Primary and Secondary levels. At primary level, The City of Nottingham's local education authority was ranked second-worst overall in the country, at 149th out of 150 LEAs rated.^[6] At secondary level, Nottingham came third from bottom nationally in terms of GCSE results attained.^[7] The LEA has instituted a plan for wide-sweeping reform of education across the city, but in many cases have been met with opposition from parents who say the planned changes are not in the best interests of education. Stanstead School, in the Rise Park area, successfully managed to prevent its planned closure, with the Independent Schools' Adjudicator finally ruling against the LEA in February 2006.^[8] The decision, the first of its kind in the country, adds more weight to the campaigns of the many other schools attempting to prevent closure or amalgamation.^[9][10][11]

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, Queen's Medical Centre, is the largest hospital in the UK.

Other notable educational institutions include the further education college New College Nottingham, Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, Nottingham High School, Bilborough College, Nottingham High School for Girls, Chilwell Comprehensive School, The Nottingham Bluecoat School and Technology College, South Nottingham College, The Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama and Djanogly City Academy and Greenwood Dale Technology College. Nottingham is home and headquarters of the National College for School Leadership.

The Nottingham School of Fashion is a fashion school respected around the country. The designer Paul Smith trained there.

Nottingham is home to the headquarters of many well known companies. One of the best known is Boots the Chemists, founded in the city by John Boot in 1849 and substantially expanded by his son Jesse Boot (Lord Trent).

Other large current employers include the credit reference agency Experian, the energy company Powergen, the tobacco company John Player & Sons betting company Gala Group, Siemens, Speedo, high street opticians Vision Express, games and publishing company Games Workshop the creator of the popular games Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 and the American Credit card company Capital One, whose European offices are situated by the side of Nottingham station. Nottingham is also the home of the Inland Revenue and the Driving Standards Agency.

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 ClinPhone and Pharmaceutical Profiles. The city has recently been made one of the UK's six Science Cities.

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.

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 UKs 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: Free Radical Design and Reuters are all based in the city.

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.

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. ^[12]

By 2006, Nottingham was positioned fifth in the shopping league in Britain (CACI Retail Footprint 2006), behind London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester but ahead of Leeds, Southampton, Bluewater, Liverpool and Newcastle upon Tyne.

There are two main shopping centres in Nottingham: Victoria Centre and Broadmarsh. The Broadmarsh Shopping Centre £400 million redevelopment to create 300 stores (1.36 million square feet of shopping space) is to start in 2007, with the names of the anchor tenants being announced in September 2007. Smaller shopping centres are the The Exchange Arcade and the Flying Horse Walk (the latter once a famous hotel). In 2007, two new shopping centres will open, Trinity Square and The Pod. The new developments will increase the shopping sales area in the city centre by 28% to 4.3 million square feet. 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.

Many department stores also operate in Nottingham. House of Fraser, John Lewis, Debenhams, and Marks & Spencer all have branches. John Lewis was until recently called Jessops, even though owned by John Lewis since 1933. It changed its name in 2002 after a refurbishment. Hockley Village caters to alternative tastes with shops like Ice Nine and Void, famous across the city.

Nottingham has two large-capacity theatres, the Nottingham Playhouse and the Theatre Royal (which also houses the Royal Concert Hall) and a smaller theatre space at the University of Nottingham's Lakeside Arts Centre. There are also several art galleries which often receive national attention, particularly the Nottingham Castle Museum, the Angel Row Gallery (attached to the main library), 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.

The city has several multiplex cinemas alongside 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 here in 1992.

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

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 and 2003. It also won the Entente Florale Gold Award in 1998.

Nottingham is known for its large teenage alternative scene (rock, punk, emo etc.), the heartland of which is Old Market Square. Another focus for their activities is the Rock City concert venue. 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.

Nottingham receives a considerable volume of tourism. Many visitors are attracted by Nottingham's nightlife and shops, by its history, and by the legend of Robin Hood, visiting Sherwood Forest, Nottingham Castle and The Tales of Robin Hood on Maid Marian Way. 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 to 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.

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 boasts a selection of great smaller venues including Junktion 7, The Old Angel, the award-winning dedicated rock music venue Rock City and Rock City's compact sister venues The Rescue Rooms, The Social and Stealth. These venues, with their packed listings and close proximity, make Nottingham one of the centres of live popular music in the UK.

Nottingham city centre has a very large number of lively clubs and bars. While many of these venues are very attractive, concern has been expressed regarding alcohol-related disorder in Nottingham, notably (but not exclusively) in a BBC Panorama documentary in 2004.^[13]

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.

The large number of students in the city bolsters the nighttime 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.

Nottingham is home to two football teams: Nottingham Forest (currently in Football League One) (who under their most famous manager, the late Brian Clough, won the European Cup twice in succession) and Notts County (who play in Football League Two). Notably, these two stadia are the closest in England. The latter is the oldest Football League team in the UK, and indeed the world, having been founded in 1862 - a year before the establishment of the Football Association.

Trent Bridge cricket ground, located across the river in West Bridgford, Rushcliffe, is the home of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, who were winners of the 2005 County Championship and runners-up in the 2006 Twenty20 cup competition. Trent Bridge is a major venue for international Test matches, and also hosts other important cricketing events such as the Twenty20 cup finals and regular one-day international games. The ground, which has won architectural awards for the design of some of its newer stands, also houses a cricket academy, a hotel, and a gym, and also uniquely features not one, but two public houses built within the ground itself.

All three famous sports venues are within sight of each other even though the River Trent separates Trent Bridge and Forest's stadium (known as the City Ground and near to the cricket ground) from Notts County's ground, Meadow Lane. As a curiosity Meadow Lane is actually in the City of Nottingham and the City Ground is in the County of Nottingham, the river forming the boundary. Forest should not be confused with 'The Forest', which is an open green space where the Goose Fair (see above) is held; however, the team take their name from this open space, having been founded there in 1865. This makes Forest the third oldest team in the league.

The National Ice Centre, a large ice skating rink; the city's links to ice skating can be traced back to arguably its most famous children of recent times, Olympic ice dancing champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean who collected a unanimous 6.0 score at the 1984 Winter Olympics at Sarajevo. The NIC is used as a training and competition venue for speed skating, sledge hockey and figure skating and receives an annual grant from bodies such as Sport England to maintain and fund these sports.

The NIC is the home of the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey team, founded in 1946 and the current British Play Off Champions. There is a thriving junior ice hockey programme which is also based at the centre. Since 2001, Nottingham has been the host city of the annual ice hockey Play-Off Championship Finals weekend, which attracts fans from many different parts of the country. Also calling the NIC home is the Nottingham North Stars recreational ice hockey team. Founded in 1989 North Stars are one of the oldest recreational clubs in the country.

The city's rugby union side, Nottingham R.F.C. are currently based at a new venue in West Bridgford near to the City Ground, and play their league matches at Meadow Lane.

There is a large tennis centre, where the annual Nottingham Open is held in the weeks immediately prior to Wimbledon and has been used as warm-up practice by various tennis stars.

The National Water Sports Centre is based at Holme Pierrepont, with a 2000 m regatta lake for rowing, canoeing and sailing, and a white water slalom course fed from the river. A number of other sailing, rowing and canoeing clubs are also based along the River Trent, as is the boatbuilder Raymond Sims.

Every year since 1981 Nottingham has played host to the 'Robin Hood Marathon' taking in many of the city's historic and scenic sights. The race is ran alongside a half marathon and a fun run among other events and is widely considered to be the second best marathon in the UK.

Motorcycle speedway racing was staged in Nottingham before the second world war. The orinal venue known as Olympic Speedway was redeveloped by bt the building of the White City stadium which also featured speedway. A book by Philip Dalling, published by Tempus Publishing, chronicles speedway events in Nottingham. For a short spell in the 1980s the promotion based at Long Eaton raced under the Nottingham Speedway banner and the team were known as Nottingham Outlaws.

Nottingham is close to the M1 motorway and is also well-served by train services operated by Midland Mainline from Nottingham station to London.

East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, served by low-cost international airlines, makes the city easily accessible from other parts of the world providing daily services to many principal European destinations such as Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Amsterdam, internal flights to Edinburgh and Belfast and limited services to trans-continental destinations such as Barbados, Mexico, Sanford and Florida. Nearby Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield also provides domestic European and Trans-Atlantic services. Birmingham International airport is about one hour's drive away and 2 hours 15 minutes on the train, providing flights to most principal European cities, New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Dubai and the Indian sub-continent.

Nottingham is bucking the national trend, as bus use in the city is growing and employment rates are rising.^[14] This is a result of the city council, as well as the two principal operators, Nottingham City Transport (NCT) and Trent Barton, making multi-million-pound investments in some of the newest fleets in the country. NCT was also the first transport operator in the UK to use RFID technology for its EasyRider bus passes, introduced in 2000. The two operators are also frequent winners of the National Bus Operator of the Year award.

The re-opening of the Robin Hood Line to passengers rather than just freight, between 1993 and 1998 linked Nottingham with its close neighbours of Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Mansfield. Other lines connect the city to Beeston, Burton Joyce, Netherfield and Carlton. Nottingham has direct services to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool and Norwich.

(Nottingham used to have three other railway stations. These were Nottingham Victoria Station (closed in 1968), Nottingham London Road High Level (closed in 1969) and Nottingham London Road Low Level (closed in 1948))

Nottingham Express Transit a light rail system opened in 2004, running from Hucknall in the north to the city's railway station. An additional spur to/from Phoenix Park serves as a Park and Ride Station close to the M1 motorway (Junction 26).See National Park and Ride Directory for details. Phase 2 development of the system will add two new lines will to the southern and western suburbs to create a three-line network.

In 2000 - 2003 the press and other media claimed Nottingham was the 'gun-crime capital of the UK', although by 2007 the BBC reported that the number of shootings in the City had fallen from 51 (in 2003) to 13 (in 2006)^[15]. The incidence of many crimes in Nottingham is several times higher than the English average.^[16] A 2006 crime survey^{[citation needed]} 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 force^[17] due largely to the use of out of date (2001) population figures, although a revised survey based on 2004 population estimates backed up the original rankings.^[18] 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 is down by 12% since 2003.^[19] Initiatives include the Community and Neighbourhood Protection Service developed by Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire Police and Nottingham City Homes to take an uncompromising stance to anti-social behaviour.^[20] 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) highly visible in their bright yellow stab vests, are accredited by the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) for littering and are tasked to reduce other anti-social behaviours.

In Nottingham one can find places of worship for all the major world religions, including Christianity, Paganism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism. The Nottingham Interfaith 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.

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).

Nottingham has three 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 seventeenth century onwards and a variety of chapels and meeting rooms proliferated throughout the town. Sadly many of these grand buildings have been demolished, including Halifax Place Chapel, but some have been re-used, notably the Unitarian Chapel on High Pavement which is now a public house. The offices of the Congregational Federation are in Nottingham.

The Christian Centre is a Pentecostal Church located in the centre of Nottingham.

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was born in Nottingham in 1829.

The BBC has its East Midlands headquarters in Nottingham. BBC East Midlands Today is broadcast from the city every weeknight at 6:30. Central TV was broadcast from Nottingham on ITV until recently, 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 in the city, though. The former studios were purchased by the University of Nottingham to accommodate their administrative departments.

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 96 Trent FM, a commercial radio station in Nottinghamshire, which is licensed to broadcast to Nottingham and Mansfield. The old building that housed 96 Trent FM until 2007 was a converted Victorian Hospital which connects to the underground network of caves. Many famous presenters have been employed at 96 Trent FM (formerly Radio Trent), including Dale Winton, Kid Jensen, John Peters and Penny Smith. The station is also the home of the award-winning Jo and Twiggy.

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), Classic 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 to 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 at www.urn1350.net.

There are also three community radio stations serving the city; Faza FM on 97.1FM is aimed at Asian Women and their families and has been broadcasting since 2002; Dawn FM on 107.6FM used to share it's 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.

Nottingham has one daily newspaper, the Evening Post. There are also a number of weekly/monthly publications available which focus on individual areas around the city, for instance the Hucknall and Bulwell Dispatch.

There is also a local culture and listings magazine available free from many sites around the city called LeftLion.

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.

'The Pod', an online music show is recorded in Nottingham. A visual podcast it is billed as 'the best music shows off the telly in one'. It features live performances, comedians and interviews.

Districts within Nottinghamshire
1	Rushcliffe
2	Broxtowe
3	Ashfield
4	Gedling
5	Newark and Sherwood
6	Mansfield
7	Bassetlaw
8	Nottingham

Nottingham is twinned with the following cities:^[21]

• — Ghent, Belgium (since 1985)
• — Harare, Zimbabwe (since 1981)
• — Karlsruhe, Germany (since 1969)
• — Ljubljana, Slovenia (since 1963)
• — Minsk, Belarus (since 1966)
• — Ningbo, China (since 2004)
• — Poznań, Poland (since 1994)^{[citation needed]}

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Notable Nottingham residents. (Discuss)

Famous people born in or near Nottingham include (sorted by DOB):

• (c1550) Thomas Helwys (c.1550 - c.1616), co-founder of the Baptist denomination, defender of religious liberty, and victim of religious persecution
• (c1550) William Lee, inventor of the stocking frame
• (1564) John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare
• (1595) John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare
• (1763) George Africanus, noted Nottingham entrepreneur of African origin
• (1793) George Green (of Green's Mill), mathematician and physicist, famed for Green's theorem
• (1829) William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army
• (1850) Jesse Boot, chairman and managing director of Boots the Chemists who transformed it into a national concern. Company was founded in Nottingham in 1849 by his father, (1815) John Boot
• (1935) Stella Rimington, first female head of MI5, educated at Nottingham High School for Girls
• (1947) Paul Smith, fashion designer (from Beeston)

• (1785) Henry Kirke White poet
• (1788) The poet Lord Byron resided at Newstead Abbey and is buried at nearby Hucknall along with his mathematical daughter (1815) Ada Lovelace
• (1885) D. H. Lawrence, internationally famous author, born in Eastwood and educated at Nottingham High School
• (1928) Alan Sillitoe, an author who was categorised as an Angry Young Man
• (1957) Robert Harris (novelist), author of Fatherland [1992], Enigma [1995], Archangel [1998], Pompeii [2003] and Imperium [2006]

• (1940) John Crocker, clarinettist and saxophonist with Chris Barber's Jazz Band until 2003
• (1944) Alvin Lee, guitarist for Ten Years After
• (1948) Ian Paice, drummer for Deep Purple
• (1948) Pat Doyle, guitarist and songwriter
• (1950) Graham Russell, guitarist for Air Supply
• (1959) Corinne Drewery, lead singer of Nottingham group Swing Out Sister
• (1964) Sandy Burnett, record producer
• (19??) Digby "Dig" Pearson, British musician and founder of Earache Records, was born and raised in Nottingham, which is still the base of operations for the label in the UK
• (1976) Craig Robert Young, Band member of 90's boy/ girl groupDeuce.
• (1981) Chris Urbanowicz, guitarist for Editors
• Four well-known musical groups formed in or near Nottingham are Ten Years After (see above), Paper Lace, Tindersticks, Stereo MCs and Six By Seven. Aaron Riches, formerly of Canadian band Royal City who were signed to Rough Trade Records currently resides in Nottingham.
• Both industrial punk-metal band Pitchshifter and punk-rock band Consumed formed in Nottingham
• Bruce Dickinson Lead singer of Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden

• (1919) Donald Pleasence
• (1947) Richard Beckinsale
• (1949) Su Pollard
• (1952) Janine Duvitski
• (1976) Craig Robert Young
• (1977) Samantha Morton
• (1978) Mathew Horne Actor on The Catherine Tate Show (plays a variety of characters, but notably Joannie Taylor's grandson and Lauren Cooper's boyfriend)
• (1983) Matthew Turpin, lookalike of Prince William (starring in numerous TV shows and films including 'What a Girl Wants (film)' alongside Colin Firth

• (1933) Leslie Crowther
• (1955) Dale Winton
• (19??) Dennis McCarthy
• (1975) Richard Bacon
• (1976) Steve Oliver

• (1870) Herbert Kilpin, footballer and founder of A.C. Milan
• (1957) Jayne Torvill and (1958) Christopher Dean, Olympic ice skating gold medalists
• (1963) Steve Hodge, former Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Leeds United, Aston Villa, QPR, Leyton Orient and England footballer
• (1971) Andy Cole, a key member of Manchester United's multi trophy-winning side of the late 1990s
• (1971, 1978) Anthony Hamilton and Michael Holt, professional snooker players who both competed in the Nazareth House Snooker League, which was established in Nottingham in 1940 and is still going strong.
• (1973) Chris Sutton, former Chelsea F.C., Blackburn Rovers and Celtic footballer
• (1977) Carl Froch, professional boxer.
• (1983) Jermaine Pennant, former Notts County player and now a Liverpool F.C. first team player
• (1983) Jermaine Jenas, midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur
• (1976) Darren Huckerby, former Coventry City, Manchester City and Norwich City forward. 1 cap for England B Team.

• (1940) Kenneth Clarke, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1993-1997) and MP for Rushcliffe; educated at Nottingham High School

• (19??) Frank Robinson (Xylophone Man) An eccentric street entertainer famous through out Nottingham

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nottingham.

• BBC Nottingham
• Nottingham in Pictures
• Wikitravel
• Hucknall Rolls-Royce Amateur Radio Club

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