Reference Library

Nottinghamshire

An inland County bounded on the north by Yorkshire, on the east by Lincolnshire, on the south by Leicestershire, and on the west by Derbyshire.   Its form is oblong, approaching nearly to an oval—having a prominent apex on its north extremity, inserted between the counties of Lincoln and York ; from this extreme point, to its southern boundary, the length of the county is about fifty miles; its greatest breadth is twenty-five, and its area comprises 837 square miles, and 535,680 statute acres. In size it ranks as the twenty-seventh county in England, and in population as the twenty-second.

  NAME and ANCIENT HISTORY.—-This county takes its name from the town of Nottingham, called in the time of the Saxons Snotting a ham, or Snottingham, which time has softened down to its present appellation. The Saxon word signified the dwelling caves, -applicable to the principal town, as also to other parts of the county: at Nottingham especially are still existing caverns, cut with great art into apartments with chimnies, windows, and other conveniences, which are supposed to have been contrived by the ancient inhabitant for places of retreat.   This county was in early times inhabited by the Coritanii; by the Romans it was comprised in the FLAVIA CJESAEIBHSIS ; and during the Heptarchy it belonged to the kingdom of Mercia.   There are in Nottinghamshire vestiges of several ancient camps; lie fosse-way from Devonshire to the sea-coast of Lincolnshire crossed this county ; and in the time of the Bomans there were three stations in it, viz. Bridgeford-on-the-Hill, Newark, and Littkborough.   Southwell is supposed tn be the Ad Pontem of the Romans ; it contains a noble and beautiful minster, founded in the year 630, by Paulinus, the first Archbishop of York.   Of the other places in the county Nottingham is the most worthy to be noticed, considerable importance being attached to its military history :—its ancient castle was rebuilt by the Conqueror, and repaired and strengthened by Edward IV and Richard III ; it was never taken by storm : by Henry of Anjou it was besieged in vain ; but was once surprised, in the Barons* wars, by Bobert, Earl of Ferrars, who plundered the inhabitants.   Here David, King of Scotland, was kept prisoner ; and here Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, and his friends, were seized by Edward Ill, and afterwards tried and executed.   At Nottingham King Charles I set up his standard, at the commencement of the civil wars, which terminated in his destruction : after the town was reduced by the Parliamentary forces, its castle was demolished.   In the year 1812, the manufacturing district, of which Nottingham is the centre, was much agitated by the disturbances among the framework knitters, owing to the very low rate of wages ; and by the operations of the Luddites as they were called, being parties of the working manufacturers, who disguising themselves, broke into many houses and workshops, and destroyed numerous stocking-frames.   In 1817 the south-western part of the county was thrown into considerable alarm by the insurrection of a number of misguided men in the vicinity of South Wingfield, in Derbyshire, who attempted to march upon Nottingham, but were met by the military within a few miles of that town, when many of them were taken, and three were executed on the 7th of November, at Derby, having been convicted of high treason.

  SOIL and CLIMATE, PRODUCE and MANUFACTURES. —The soil of Nottinghamshire is various, and it assumes, in consequence, a great diversity of appearance.   On the Derbyshire border, a stripe of land, extending as far south at opposite Nottingham, is the lime and coal district, and contains several woods; the land being mostly arable; a broader tract, reaching to the north-east extremity of the county, is composed chiefly of sand and gravel, including the whole of the ancient royal 'Forest of Sherwood,' traditionally reported as the scene of the exploits of the noted outlaw, Robin Hood, and his associates : the greater part of this forest is now inclosed, and is the site of thriving towns, cheerful villages, and extensive parks, taken out under grants from the Crown.   Norfolk husbandry has been introduced on the forest lands with the greatest success, and fine crops of barley and grasses are obtained, also some hops.   Clay prevails upon the north and south borders of the Trent; these tracts are very fruitful in corn and pasture, and the neighbourhood of Retford produces fine hops.   The fine vale of Belvoir, lying beyond the south-east Trent bank, to the borders of Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, is a rich loamy soil, with a mixture of arable and pasture, in a high state of cultivation.   The CLIMATE of this county is most genial, and perhaps the most healthful and temperate in this Island : situate as it is between the mountainous regions of Derbyshire on the one band, and the flat or level districts of Lincolnshire on the other, it is not exposed to the keen blasts of the north, nor to a too profuse humidity, that characterizes some of the counties bordering on it. It is remarkable for its dryness, but the great fertility of the land argues that it is not so excessive as to affect the prosperity derived from agriculture; and, that it is one of the pleasantest counties in England, is evidenced by the uncommon number of elegant seats scattered over it.   The PRODUCTS of this county are, coals, lead, wool, cattle, fowls, abundance of fresh-water fish, liquorice, grain of all sorts, hops and weld.   The principal MANUFACTUERS are, hosiery in all its branches, lace, glass and earthenware: considerable breweries, malting concerns, and tanneries, are also spread throughout the county.   The trade of Nottingham is of an exceedingly high, extensive and important character; whether considered as relative to the beauty of the articles produced as embellishments of dress, or viewed as national benefits by the extensive exports.   The trade consists in the making, to a vast extent, silk, cotton and woollen hosiery; and the manufacture parallel in consequence, if not stretching beyond it, is the beautiful article of bobbins-net and various qualities of laces,— some of which, for their fineness, richness, or delicacy of pattern and durability, are not surpassed by the lace tediously produced by the hand upon the pillow, in this country, France or Germany.   The immense number of persons, male and female, dependent upon this interesting, modern and peculiar branch, is truly astonishing ; exclusive of those in the hosiery trade, which likewise gives support to a large population.   The throwing and dying of silk are also important branches here; the establishments in these trades are of the first order of respectability.   A great malting trade is carried on at Worksop and at Nottingham, and the ale of the latter town has long been justly and generally celebrated for its excellence.   Newark, also, partakes largely in the malt trade, and it enjoys a good proportion of the weaving of coarse linens ; at Mansfield are several cotton factories, and a great number of malting establishments.

  RIVERS and CANALS. — The principal rivers that water this county are the TRENT, the IDLE and the Erewash.   The first-named rises in the north-west of Staffordshire, passes in its course the towns of Stone and Burton, enters this county near Thrumpton (in its course touching Nottingham and Newark), unites with the Ouse near Alkborough, and with it forms the Humber.   The Idle is formed by several considerable streams rising in this county, passes the towns of East Retford and Bawtry, and empties itself into the Trent at West 8tockwitb.   The Erewash forms the division of Derbyshire from this county, descending from the coal countries near Alfreton, and falls into the Trent, a little below the Derwent.—-The NAVIGABLE CANALS are the 'Chesterfield,' the 'Grantham,' the 'Cromford,' and the 'Nottingham.'   The first-named canal begins at Chesterfield, and is in length about forty-five miles to its junction with the Trent, near Stockwith.   The Grantham commences on the east side of the same named town, is thirty miles in length, and joins the Trent near Crosswell Bishop.   The Cromford begins at Cromford, and is in length fourteen mites to its junction with the Erewash canal, at Langley Bridge.   The Nottingham canal commences near that town, in the Trent ; and passes along the southern side of it, and then proceeds in a devious north-westerly course of about fifteen miles to its termination, in the Cromford canal, near Langley Bridge

Mansfield, a market town and parish, in the northern division of the wapentake of Broxtow; 138 miles N.N.W. from London, 14 N. by W. from Nottingham, 20 E.N.E from Newark, 12 S. from Worksop, 8 S.W. from Ollerton, about 10 N.E. from Alfreton (in Derbyshire), and about 13 S.E. from Chesterfield; situate on the road from London to Leeds, in a deep vale, in the ancient forest of Sherwood, and protected from the keen wintery winds by the surrounding eminences. The name of this place, formerly written Maunsfield, is derived from its situation on the small river Maun, which rises about three miles westward. The town is one of considerable antiquity, and is supposed to have been of Roman origin, coins of several Roman emperors of that nation having been found in and near the town; and the recent discovery of ancient relics, near Mansfield Woodhouse, is an additional proof that the Romans had a station or settlement in this vicinity.   In the Domesday survey Maunsfield is mentioned as a royal manor, and successive monarchs have granted several privileges to it: a market was established by a charter of Henry III, and a fair by a grant from Richard II. When Sherwood forest was a royal chase, here was a royal villa, which the sovereigns kept as a hunting seat; and, to use the words of an old inquisition, Henry Fauconberge held the manor of Cuckney in serjeantry, by the service of shoeing the king's palfrey, when the king came to Mansfield; and till year 1715 the courts for the forest of Sherwood were held here. The custom of "Gavelkind," whereby the lands of the father are equally divided, at his death, among all his sons, prevails in this manor; with which there is a small manor belonging to the dean of Lincoln.   The present town is large, in shape cruciform, and ancient in its aspect; within the last twenty years it has received considerable improvements; the streets are now well paved, and lighted with gas; the approach from the London road has been widened, and the market-place considerably enlarged.   The Moot-hall, erected in 1752, in the Market-place, besides the apartments for the transaction of public business, contains an assembly room. A small theatre is open during the summer months, and races take place at the July fair. Mansfield is the place appointed, by the new Boundary Act, for the election of members to represent the northern division of the county. The manufacture of stockings and lace employs a considerable portion of the population; and there are several cotton factories in the vicinity of the town, the machinery of which is put in motion by the Maun stream, which runs through it.   There are productive coal mines and stone quarries in the neighbourhood; and a rail-way, seven miles in length, gives great facility for the transmission of their produce to the town and neighbourhood parts.   Malting is carried on here very extensively; there are also many corn-mills, and two brass and iron foundries.
  The places of worship are, the parish church, and chapels for independents, Wesleyan methodists, baptist, unitarians, and the society of friends.   The church, which is dedicated to St. Peter, is an ancient and commodious structure, of various specimens of architecture, from the Norman style to the later English: the tower, which is surmounted by a low spire, is in the Norman and early English styles. The living of Mansfield is a vicarage, in the peculiar jurisdiction of the Lord of the Manor of Mansfield, and in the patronage of the Duke of Portland, as lessee under the Dean of Lincoln; the Rev. T. L. Cursham, D.C.L. is the present incumbent. The free grammar school was originally founded in 1561 : it has four scholarships to Corpus Christi college, Cambridge, founded by Dr. Sterne, archbishop of York.   There are two other charity schools for boys and girls; and the poor of Mansfield enjoy the benefit of many charitable bequests.   The seats of this neighbourhood are numerous, and add a considerable consequence to it : the principals ones of note are, "Hardwick Hall," four miles west from Mansfield, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire; the like distance south is "Newstead Abbey," the seat of the late Lord Byron, now the property of Colonel Thomas Wildman; and at "Berry Hill" is the agreeable residence of Thomas Walker, Esq.   Rock-valley, adjoining the north-east part of the town, has been formed by excavations in the rocky stratum, and the cliffs, with their ornamental foliage, are singularly picturesque.   Few drives in the kingdom present a greater variety of landscape scenery than that exhibited between Mansfield and Worksop.   The market, which is well supplied with corn and other necessaries, is held on Thursday; the fairs are, the first Thursday in April, the 10th of July, and the second Thursday in October : there is also a fair or market every second Thursday in the month, for cattle and hogs.   The parish of Mansfield, (which has no dependent township) contained, according to the parliamentary returns for 1821, 7,861 inhabitants, and by those for 1831, 9,426.

POST OFFICE, Market-place, Mansfield, William Holt, Post Master. ...

SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD is a parish and populous irregularly built village, in the same hundred as Mansfield, three miles S.W. of that town.   The manufacture of stockings and bobbin-net, and some cotton factories, give employment to the great bulk of the population, and considerable prosperity to the place.   The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, stands at the north-western end of the village : the living is a perpetual curacy and the minister is the same (Rev. William Goodacre) who officiates at Mansfield-Woodhouse.   There are also two baptist chapels, and one each for the independents and methodists.   The parish (including FULWOOD, extra-parochial, and the hamlet of HUCKNALL-UNDER-HUTHWAITE,) contained, in 1831, 5,746 inhabitants.