(abbreviated '''Notts''') is an
English County in the
East Midlands , which borders
South Yorkshire ,
Lincolnshire ,
Leicestershire and
Derbyshire . The
County Town is traditionally
Nottingham , at , though the council is now based in
West Bridgford , just outside the city.
The districts of Nottinghamshire are
Ashfield ,
Bassetlaw ,
Broxtowe ,
Gedling ,
Mansfield ,
Newark And Sherwood , and
Rushcliffe . The
City Of Nottingham was administratively part of Nottinghamshire between
1974 and
1998 but is now a
Unitary Authority although it remains part of the traditional and ceremonial county.
As of 2006 the county is estimated to have a population of just over one million. Over half of the population of the county live in the conurbation of
Greater Nottingham which also spreads into
Derbyshire . The conurbation has a population of about 650,000, though less than half fall within the city boundaries.
Nottinghamshire's
County Flower is the
Autumn Crocus .
See Also: History of Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire lies on the
Roman Fosse Way , and there are Roman settlements in the county, for example at
Mansfield . The county was settled by
Angles around the
5th Century , and became part of the Kingdom, and later Earldom, of
Mercia . However, there is evidence of
Saxon settlement at
Oxton , near Nottingham, and
Tuxford , east of Sherwood Forest. The name first occurs in
1016 , but until
1568 the county was administratively united with Derbyshire, under a single
Sheriff . In
Norman times the county developed
Malting and
Woollen industries. During the
Industrial Revolution canals and railways came to the county, and the
Lace and
Cotton industries grew. In the
19th Century Collieries opened and mining became an important economic sector, though these declined after the
1984-5 Miners' Strike .
Until
1610 , Nottinghamshire was divided into eight
Wapentakes . Sometime between 1610 and
1719 they were reduced to six —
Newark ,
Bassetlaw ,
Thurgarton ,
Rushcliffe ,
Broxtowe and
Bingham , some of these names still being used for the modern districts.
Nottinghamshire is famous for its involvement with the legend of
Robin Hood . This is also the reason for the amount of tourists who visit places like
Sherwood Forest , City of
Nottingham and the surrounding villages in Sherwood Forest.
Nottinghamshire, like
Derbyshire and
South Yorkshire , sits on extensive
Coal measures, up to 900
Metre s (3,000
Feet ) thick and occurring largely in the north of the county. These are overlaid by
Sandstone s and
Limestone s in the west and
Clay in the east. The north of the county is part of the
York Plain . The centre and south west of the county, around Sherwood Forest, features undulating hills with ancient
Oak woodland. Principal rivers are the
Trent ,
Idle ,
Erewash and
Soar . The Trent, fed by the Soar and Erewash, and Idle, composed of many streams from Sherwood Forest, run through wide and flat valleys, merging at
Misterton . The highest point of the county is Newtonwood Lane,
Newton () at 204m/669ft.
Nottinghamshire is sheltered by the
Pennines to the west, so receives relatively low rainfall at 641-740
Mm (25-29
In ) annually. The average temperature of the county is 8.8-10.1 degrees
Celsius (48-50 degrees
Fahrenheit ). The county receives between 1321 and 1470 hours of sunshine per year.
Nottinghamshire is represented by
Members Of Parliament , of which nine are members of the
Labour Party , and two are
Conservatives .
Geoff Hoon , representative for
Ashfield , is a front-bench member of the government.
Kenneth Clarke of
Rushcliffe is a former Conservative
Chancellor Of The Exchequer .
The County Council is Labour controlled. There are 67 councillors, of which 38 are Labour, 25 are Conservatives and four are
Liberal Democrats .
In 1998 Nottinghamshire had a
GDP per-capita of
£ 12,000, and a total GDP of £12,023 million. This is compared to a per-capita GDP of £11,848 for the East Midlands, £12,845 for England and £12,548 for the United Kingdom. Nottingham has a GDP per-capita of £17,373, North Nottinghamshire £10,176, and South Nottinghamshire £8,448. In October 2005 the United Kingdom had 4.7% unemployment, the East Midlands 4.4%, and Nottingham travel-to-work area 2.4%.
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Nottinghamshire was home to the
Poet Lord Byron and the author
D H Lawrence .
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is a
First Class Cricket club who play at
Trent Bridge in Nottingham. They won the
County Championship in
2005 .
Nottingham Forest is a
League One football club and
Notts County and
Mansfield Town are
League Two Football teams. Other notable teams are
Nottingham Rugby Football Club and
Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey Club .
The traditional county town, and the largest settlement in the traditional and ceremonial county, is
Nottingham . The town is now administratively independent, but suburbs including
Arnold ,
Carlton ,
West Bridgford ,
Beeston and
Stapleford are still within the administrative county and West Bridgford is now home of the county council.
There are several
Market Town s in the county.
Newark-on-Trent is a bridging point of the
Fosse Way and
River Trent , but is actually a
Anglo-Saxon market town with a now ruined
Castle .
Mansfield sits on the site of a
Roman settlement, but grew after the
Norman Conquest .
Worksop , in the north of the county, is also an Anglo-Saxon market town which grew rapidly in the
Industrial Revolution with the arrival of
Canal s and
Railway s and the discovery of
Coal . Newark, Mansfield and Worksop have suffered from the decline of mining since the
1984-5 Miners' Strike . Other market towns include
Arnold ,
Bingham ,
Hucknall ,
Kirkby-in-Ashfield , and
Retford .
The main railway in the county is the
Midland Main Line which links
London St Pancras Station to
Sheffield via Nottingham. The
Robin Hood Line between Nottingham and Worksop serves several villages in the county. The
M1 Motorway runs north-south through the county, connecting Nottingham to London,
Leeds and many other towns and major roads. The
A1 Road runs through Newark and Worksop. The
Nottingham East Midlands Airport is just outside the county in
Leicestershire , while the
Robin Hood Airport lies just inside
South Yorkshire . These airports serve the county and several of its neighbours. Together the airports have servies to most major
Europe an destinations, and the East Midlands airport now also has services to
North America and
Caribbean countries. As well as local
Bus services throughout the county, Nottingham and its suburbs have a
Tram system,
Nottingham Express Transit .
