Nottingham : Britain

Nottingham : Britain
Nottingham is a city located in Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands of England. Nottingham lies on the River Trent, which flows from Stoke-on-Trent to the Humber—the only major English river to flow north. Nottingham’s boundaries are tightly drawn and exclude the suburbs of Hucknall, Arnold, Carlton, West Bridgford, Tollerton, Ruddington, Beeston, Long Eaton, Stapleford, and Ilkeston, some of which are actually in Derbyshire.
The 2001 census recorded a population of 270,300 in Nottingham itself, with around 613,723 people living in the surrounding conurbation (Greater Nottingham). The nearby East Midlands City of Leicester has slightly more people than the City of Nottingham, but its metropolitan area is not as big as Nottingham’s.
Nottingham is famous for its involvement in lace-making, its association with the legendary outlaw Robin Hood, and the supposedly exceptional beauty of its young women. Perhaps not unrelatedly, Nottingham is also nationally famous for the high ratio of females to males, given at various times as between 3:1 to 6:1. In 2001, however, the official ratio was published as 1.015:1.
The heart of the city is the Old Market Square (the market moved in the 1920s), the largest such surviving in Europe. Most of the main shopping streets are around the square. The council house, whose dome can be seen for miles around, is at the top of the square. There are plans to redevelop the square and the final design will be selected in Spring 2005, with construction to begin in the summer.
A bohemian quarter of the city known as Hockley Village has arisen in recent years. This is situated close to the Lace Market area.
According to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Nottingham is one of the English regions eight “core cities�.
Culture and sport
A view of the Nottingham skyline
Nottingham has two main theatres, the Nottingham Playhouse and the Theatre Royal (which also houses the Royal Concert Hall). There are also several art galleries which often receive national attention, particularly the castle museum and the Angel Row gallery (attached to the main library). Both of the city’s universities also put on a wide range of plays, concerts, and other events throughout term time.
The annual Goose Fair is always popular. More generally, the city is regarded as having a good nightlife, with many clubs and bars in the centre of town that are popular amongst both the local and student communities.
The city is home to two football teams; Nottingham Forest, who play in the Football League, and who under their most famous manager, the late Brian Clough, won the European Cup twice, and Notts County of Football League Two, the oldest Football League team in the UK, having been founded in 1862 (a year before the establishment of the Football Association). The Trent Bridge cricket ground, home of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, is frequently a venue for international Test matches.
Also in the city is 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. The NIC is home to the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey club, one of the UK’s top sides. The city also has a rugby club, and a large tennis centre, where the annual Samsung Open is held in the weeks immediately prior to Wimbledon.
The National Ice Centre doubles as Nottingham Arena. Mainstream and popular bands play in the arena on tour. There is also a small award-winning “rock� club called Rock City where less popular rock bands play.
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.
Popular tourist attractions in Nottingham include Nottingham Castle, the Galleries of Justice, and the Tales of Robin Hood on Maid Marian Way, as well as the City’s ancient pubs.