A Description of the Town of Nottingham

Nottingham, the principal seat and emporium of the lace and hosiery manufactures, is an ancient, populous and well-built market and borough town, as well as being the capital of the shire and archdeaconry to which it gives its name, It is in the diocese of Lincoln, and in the midland circuit of England. It occupies a picturesque situation on a sandy rock, which rises in broken declivities, and in some places in precipitous, above the north bank of the little River Leen which, at a short distance to the south-east, falls into the River Trent, near the opposite locks of the Grantham and Nottingham canals, and a little below that magnificent and noble structure, the Trent bridge, which is connected to Nottingham by a flood road, raised at great expense above the intervening meadows, which are often subject to inundation. There is great reason to believe that anciently the River Trent covered all the vale, and that the tide flowed up to Nottingham, which certainly is one of the most ancient towns in England, but its origin is hid in the impenetrable gloom which is cast over the aborigines of Britain.

 The town holds a central situation betwixt Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Portsmouth to the north and south, and betwixt Newcastle-under-Lyne and Boston to the west and east. It is in the south-western division of Nottinghamshire, at the junctions of the hundreds of Broxtow, Thurgarton and Rushcliffe, at a distance 125 miles north-west of London, 80 miles south of York, 20 miles south-west by west of Newark, 14 miles south of Mansfield, 15 miles north by east of Derby, 27 miles north of Leicester, and 39 miles south by east of Sheffield, and is at 53 degrees north latitude, and at 1 degree 13 minutes west longitude from the meridian of Greenwich.

 The approaches to the town on all sides are particularly striking, and perhaps no town in the kingdom appears under such a variety of aspects. The traveller by the London Road, on descending Ruddington Hill, is delighted with a view of the fertile vale of the Trent, bounded on the north by the precipitate and lofty rock on which the town stands, having the castle on a lofty hill to the left, the long range of building gradually descended into the plain on the right, crowned by the noble tower of St Mary, and terminated on the east by the lofty hills of Sneinton and Mapperley. The recently formed semicircular terrace-road of the castle Park, now lined with elegant mansions and pleasure grounds, terminate the west view, with the foreground having luxuriant pastures, skirted by the Trent, the Canal, and the Railway Station, and by numerous wharfs, warehouses and manufactories. On the approach from the eastern side by the Newark Road, the mass of building os foreshortened, the tower of St Mary and the castle appearing nearly as one edifice, with the Trent and the flood bridges being seen to great advantage below, with the perpendicular rocks and caves of Sneinton. From the north, by the Mansfield Road, after rising the hill above the race ground, a view is presented as if by magic - a long and spacious road, lined with handsome and newly-built houses, descending to the town, beyond which, the Trent vale, and further in the distance, the extensive Vale of Belvoir, skirted by the Leicestershire hills, are seen. The western approach, by the Derby Road, is quite different from the others: on passing Wollaton park, the castle, with its commanding cliffs, is a near and prominent object. Extending from it, the handsome villas and pleasure grounds, which line the terrace walk of the Park, appear to have arisen on the site of the ancient ramparts of the town. On the opposite side of the Park are the Barracks, which appear to form a town of themselves. To the north-west lies the Forest, having the summit studded with a long row of windmills, with the race course and cricket ground below, and with the populous new villages which have arisen in the parishes of Radford and Basford in view.

 The pasture and meadow lands, which nearly surround Nottingham, and was subject, by ancient grant, to the depasturage of the burgesses, and could not be built upon, prevented improvements being made within the liberties of the town, and caused several new villages in Radford, Basford, Lenton and Sneinton parishes to be built. However, some local Acts of Parliament were passed for the enclosure of several plots of the burgesses' land, and on June 30th 1845, the General Enclosure Act came into operation, which has made an opening for considerable improvements in the town, which will be noticed.

 The town though irregular, is well built, and contains many good houses, public buildings, and well-stocked shops, with a commodious Market place that, in extent, beauty and convenience, has not its equal in the kingdom, and the busy sounds of industry from the noise of the stocking frame and lace machine, are heard through the town and adjacent villages. According to Deering Nottingham can claim, as a town of note, the age of 932 years; as a considerable borough, 792; as a mayor town, 549, being only a century less than the metropolis; as a parliamentary borough, during which it has constantly sent two representatives, 552; and as a county itself, 394 years, up to the year 1844. As population is the great criterion of prosperity, Nottingham, as a mercantile and manufacturing town, may boast a full share; and had it not been that the 1,300 acres of land surrounding the town could not be sold or leased for building purposes, it would have been much greater. During the last thirty years, almost every available vacant plot of land has been built upon, and the population has been nearly doubled. The spirit of commercial speculation has extended itself into the adjoining parishes. The population of Sneinton, which had 987 inhabitants in 1811, had risen to 7,079 in 1841, and in 1851, 8,440. Radford and Basford have trebled their population, and that of Lenton is about five times greater. Thus, within a circuit of four miles round the Market Place, we can number upwards of 100,000 souls, of whom 79,604 are in Nottingham, Radford and Sneinton parishes, the buildings of which are so closely connected by modern erections on the Southwell and Derby Roads, as to form but one town, though in separate jurisdictions. (Arnold, Basford. Beeston and Gedling, populous parishes, are all within four miles).

 In the reign of Edward the Confessor, about 1040, Nottingham had only 192 men who, in the ravages of William the Conqueror, were reduced to 156, though the town then contained 217 houses. In 1377, when the poll tax was levied, there were in the town 1,227 lay persons of 14 years of age and upwards, of whom four pence per head was collected in support of that impost. Supposing one third of the population to consist of clergy, mendicants and children under 14 years of age, the population was then about 2,170. The registering of burials commenced at St Mary's in 1507, at St Peter's in 1572, and at St Nicholas' in 1562, and the total number of funerals annually at these churches was then only about 70, but there are no data whereby to estimate the population until 1739, when they were found to amount to 9,990. According to Lowe's Agricultural Survey, made in 1779, there were 17,711 persons, 3,550 families and 3,191 houses in the town, and the number of funerals averaged upwards of 650 annually. In 1739, Sir Richard Sutton surveyed the town, and found it to contain 25,000 souls.

Radford, Aspley, Bobbers' Mill and Hyson Green

The Parish is bounded on the south by Lenton and Nottingham, and has shared so largely with the latter in manufacturing spirit, that it now ranks the second most populous parish in the county, though it does not comprise more than 600 acres of land, belonging to numerous freeholders. Gregory Gregory Esq. of Harlaxton Hall is lord of the manor and impropriator. At the enclosure in 1768, Gregory de Linge Gregory Esq., as lay impropriator, had an allotment of 43a 2r 28p of land, and in 1796 an allotment of 6a 1r 16p for the tithe and 6a 3r 11p as lord of the manor, and 1a 2p 20p was awarded to the Surveyors of the Highways. The parish contains, in 1851, 2,600 houses, and 12,635 inhabitants, of whom 6,065 are males and 6,570 females. Radford was given by Wm. Peveril to the Priory which he founded at Lenton and still continues a parcel of that manor.

Nottingham, St Mary

 The Parish

 St Mary's parish is the largest of the three parochial divisions of the town, and county of the town of Nottingham, as it contains about four-fifths of the buildings and population, and the whole of the forest and burgess lands. It includes all the buildings and land on the south side of the Leen, betwixt the Trent and the parishes of Sneinton and Lenton, and all that part of the town on the north side of the Leen, lying east of Sussex Street, Middle Hill, Market Street and Fletchergate; whence the boundary turns westward, and includes all the buildings north of Bottle Lane, Poultry, Timber Hill, Beastmarket Hill, Chapel Bar and the Park, until it joins the parish of Radford. Its principal streets are the High Pavement, St Mary's Gate, Stoney Street, Carlton Stret, George Street, Pelham Street, Clumber Street, Parliament Street, Derby Road and Mansfield Road. Its most important public buildings consist of the Exchange, the Post Office, the Town Hall, the churches of St Mary, St Paul, Trinity and St John; St Barnabas Catholic Church, Wesleyan Chapel, and many other dissenting places of worship; the Dispensary, the Theatre, the Grammar, National, Lancasterian and British Schools; Town Gaol and House of Correction. The County Hall and Prison are within the boundary, but the ground on which they stand is exempted from the jurisdiction of the town, by a charter of Henry VI.

 The Church

 St Mary, the largest of the three parish churches in Nottingham, is a venerable edifice, in the collegiate style in the form of a cross, with a very august tower. It is on the north side of High Pavement, upon a bold eminence, which rises nearly 100 feet above the River Leen, so that it presents a commanding appearance to the spectator in almost every direction. It has evidently been built in the Gothic style, which prevailed in the reign of Henry VII, and Leland, who visited it about 1540, describes it as being ‘newe and uniforme yn worke’.  Its interior dimensions are from east to west, 216 feet, from south to north at the transects, 97 feet, in the nave, 67 feet, and in the chancel 29 feet. In 1726, the west end was rebuilt in the Doric order, and the south wall of the nave was new faced in 1761, since which many other parts of the walls have been renewed. Much of the stone used in its frequent repairs is of a very soft and perishable freestone, so that many of the modern parts now present an air of antiquity. In the steeple is an excellent peal of ten musical bells, all cast between the years 1605 and 1761. many of the monuments, and all the brass plates in the church were destroyed by the liberal Roundheads in the civil commotions of the seventeenth century. In the south aisle is ‘Our Lady's Chapel’, which contains the tombs of the first and second Earls of Clare, over which is a mutilated alabaster figure. On the opposite side is the Chapel of All Saints, where many of the ancient family of Plumptre are interred; and on one of their tombs lies the recumbent figure of a man dressed in a gown with wide sleeves. The Earl of Meath and several other distinguished figures lie interred in the church, as is recorded on many mural monuments, several of which belong to the family of Wright. In the north window is a beautiful figure of St Andrew.

 The enclosing of the churchyard with an iron railing was commenced in 1792, but was not completed until 1807. Four other burial grounds have been purchased and consecrated for the use of St Mary's Parish. In 1839, considerable alterations were made to the church at an expense of about £2,000, defrayed by voluntary subscriptions, principally by the congregation. The whole of the nave, side aisles and transcepts are neatly pewed, some of which, nearest the west entrance, are free. These and the seats in the centre, will accommodate 1,257 persons, but the entire sittings in the church are 1,891, children included. The galleries formerly erected over the transcepts were taken down, and a new gallery erected at the west end for the organ, the singers, and the boys and girls belonging to the blue coat school, who are taught psalmody and chanting, so that the whole body of the church, except the chancel, is thrown open, and a new screen erected upon the site of a former one. Previous to this alteration, the church only accommodated 900 persons. A few years previous to this alteration, some doubt was entertained about the stability of the tower, which had been examined by an eminent architect from London, and at the completion of the improvements in 1839, was considered safe. The fears of the congregation were again excited by the falling of some plaster from the ceiling, and on Sunday morning after Gosse Fair 1843, a person in a pew being sleepy, and said to have been resting his hands and head on an umbrella, actually fell down, which caused a dreadful alarm in the church, when nearly the whole of the congregation rushed to the doors, and many were seriously injured in the efforts to get out, supposing the tower was falling. The vicar kept his situation, but could not convince his hearers that there has not any danger.

 The Vicarage

 The Vicarage of St Mary is in the patronage of Earl Manvers, and is now enjoyed by the Rev. Joshua Wm. Brooks M.A. The vicarage house stands opposite the south-east corner of the churchyard, and was built on the site of the old one in 1653. The living is valued in the King's books at £10 5s per annum, but now at £699. The vicar has also 20s yearly left by Alderman Staples, for preaching two sermons upon charity, on the Sundays before Whitsuntide and Christmas, and 10s yearly left by the Rev. William Thorpe, for a sermon to be preached on the day of the restoration of Charles II, besides surplus fees, which in this populous parish are very considerable. The temporal affairs of the church are managed by two churchwardens, each assisted by a sidesman of their own choosing, and remaining two years in office.