Nottingham

Nottingham is one of the major English cities with a population of 275,000 and is found right in the centre of the country. The name has seventh century origins. A local Saxon chief named Snot decided to make a settlement in the area and called it Snotingaham. Inga means 'the people of' and ham means 'home'. So literally this was the home of Snot's people. The name was later modified to Nottingham. There are many other examples of names with 'ham' in England.

Nottingham has the largest network of man-made caves in England. Dating back to Anglo-Saxon times they have been used for a variety of purposes over the years. In the middle ages they were used by the tanners, people who made leather from animal skins. It was a good business, making belts, bottles, gloves and other leather goods, but the work was very hard and the smell was terrible. The tanners found it very difficult to get themselves clean. Later the caves were used as homes, especially in the Victorian era when poverty was common and housing was in short supply. However, with no ventilation and many families living in such confined spaces disease was very common and many people died. More recently the caves were used as shelters during the bombing raids of the Second World War; thousands of people took refuge underground while the bombs were being dropped. Now you can visit the caves and the wonderful museum to get a taste of what life was like in Underground Nottingham.

Probably the most famous person from Nottingham is the folk hero, Robin Hood. Legend says he lived in Sherwood Forest, to the north of the city, and had a band of loyal followers called The Merry Men. There are many versions of the legend of Robin Hood, ranging from the romantic images to the idea that he was in fact a selfish rebel who killed people for his own purposes. However, the most common and best loved view of Robin is that he was a noble man whose lands were taken from him by the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff was one of Prince John's men, the brother of the true king, Richard, who was away fighting in the crusades. Robin remained loyal to Richard and dedicated his life to helping the poor people of the city who were being oppressed by the Sheriff. His famous philosophy was to steal from the rich and give to the poor, something which has been copied many times in history.

Nottingham is or was also home to many other famous people, including the fashion designer Paul Smith, the author DH Lawrence, the actor Donald Pleasance and ice-skating Olympic gold medallists Torvill and Dean.