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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, or NOTTS

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 828 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, or NOTTS , an inland See also:county of See also:England, bounded N.W. by See also:Yorkshire, W. by See also:Derbyshire, S. by See also:Leicester-See also:shire and E. and N.E. by See also:Lincolnshire. The See also:area is 843.4 sq. m. •The N. is included in the See also:great See also:plain of See also:York, and in the extreme N. there is some extent of marshes. The valley of the See also:lower See also:Trent and that of the Idle are also very See also:flat. In the S.W. between See also:Nottingham and Warsop, the undulations swell into considerable elevations, reaching near See also:Mansfield a height over 600 ft. This See also:district includes the See also:ancient See also:Sherwood See also:Forest (q.v.). Some portions of it are still retained in their See also:original See also:condition, and there are many very old oaks, especially in the portion known as the See also:Dukeries (q.v.). The county generally is finely wooded, although to the E. of the valley of the Soar there is a considerable stretch of wolds. The See also:principal See also:rivers are the Trent, the Erewash, the Soar and the Idle. The Trent, which enters the county near Thrumpton in the S.W., where it receives the Erewash from the N. and the Soar from the S., flows N.E. past Nottingham and See also:Newark, where it takes a more northerly direction, forming the N. See also:part of the E. boundary of the county till it reaches the Isle of Axholm (Lincolnshire). The Soar forms for a See also:short distance the boundary with See also:Leicestershire, and the Erewash the boundary with Derbyshire. The Idle, which is formed of several streams in Sherwood Forest, flows N. to Bawtry, and then turns E. to the Trent.

See also:

Geology.—All formations, from Lower and See also:Middle See also:Coal See also:Measures, overlain unconformably by See also:Permian, to Lower See also:Lias, See also:crop out successively eastward across the county, with a See also:general but slight See also:dip away from the Pennine uplift. The strike of the Carboniferous rocks veers from S. to E. in the S.; that of younger formations bends to S.W. The Coal Measures, about 3000 ft. thick, continue the See also:Derby-shire Coalfield. A See also:boring at Ruddington proved the lowest measures, underlain by Millstone Grit. The remaining Lower and Middle Measures below the important See also:Top Hard Coal, with the Kilburn, See also:Main, Deep Hard and Soft Coals, crop out in the See also:south and along the Erewash Valley; higher strata farther N. All these consist of shale, See also:clay and little See also:sandstone. They contain Carbonicola acuta, C. robusta, Neuropteris heterophylla, Alethopteris and Lepidodendron, showing essentially non-marine conditions. But several thin marine beds occur. The highest measures, divisible into red See also:Etruria Marls, See also:Newcastle Sandstones and a red sandy Keele See also:series have been proved underground in eastward See also:succession. A thin basal See also:breccia, a sandy and marly See also:group, the Magnesian See also:Limestone with Productus horridus and Scluzodus obscurus (granular See also:dolomite typically, its upper part locally a dolomitic sandstone, the Mansfield See also:building-See also:stone): red gypsiferous Middle Marls, an Upper Limestone, and Upper Red Marls, collectively 55o ft. thick in the See also:north of.Notting- but dying out at Nottingham. Only t e lowest divisions persist so far. The more extensive Trias overlaps southward on to the Carboniferous.

Its lower sandstones (See also:

Bunter, 600 ft. thick, consisting of Lower Red Sandstone with breccias, and Pebble Beds; See also:Keuper Waterstones, 200 ft. in the See also:east, mainly See also:brown sandstones, conglomeratic at the See also:base and containing the See also:fish Semionotus) See also:form an undulating wooded district. Higher red and See also:pale See also:green Keuper See also:Marl (700 ft.), with subordinate sandstones and See also:gypsum, makes a See also:low agricultural See also:tract on the E., traversed longitudinally by the Trent. See also:Black See also:Rhaetic shales succeed with Pieria (Avicula) contorta, Protocardium rhaeticum and See also:bone-beds, below See also:light-coloured marls and limestones (" See also:White Lias "). Lower Lias, almost up to the Semicostatus See also:zone, crops out within the county. The basal Planorbis zone contains argillaceous limestones, worked for See also:hydraulic See also:cement at Barnston, and saurian remains. Of two types of Glacial See also:boulder-clay, mainly confined to the Triassic and See also:Jurassic See also:clays on the E. and S.E., one containing Carboniferous and some extraneous boulders probably came with the Pennine See also:ice from the N.W. The other, uppermost where both occur, and full of See also:chalk and See also:flint, belongs to the Chalky Boulder Clay of the North See also:Sea ice. Glacial gravels cap. the higher ground of the Triassic sandstones. See also:Church Hole, one of the Magnesian Limestone caves of Creswell Crags, yielded remains of See also:cave-See also:lion, See also:bear, See also:mammoth, See also:rhinoceros, &c. Older See also:river-gravels flank the pasture See also:land of the Trent See also:alluvium. See also:Climate and See also:Agriculture.— As the higher regions of Derbyshire and Yorkshire attract the See also:rain clouds, the climate of Nottinghamshire is above the See also:average in dryness; thus, the mean See also:annual rainfall at Bawtry is 23.57 in. and at Nottingham 26.83 in. On this See also:account crops ripen nearly as See also:early as in the S. counties.

The See also:

soil of about one-See also:half the county is See also:gravel and See also:sand, including Sherwood Forest, where it inclines to sterility, and the valley of the Trent, where there is a See also:rich See also:vegetable See also:mould on a stratum ofsand or gravel. The land along the See also:banks of the Trent is equally suitable for crops and pasture. The farms generally are of moderate See also:size, the great See also:majority being under 300 acres. Most of the immediate occupants are tenants-atwill. Roughly four-fifths of the See also:total area is under cultivation. Apples and See also:pears are grown in considerable quantities, but there are not many orchards of large size. Shorthorns are the favourite breed of See also:cattle, and See also:dairy farming is considerably prosecuted. The old forest breed of See also:sheep is almost See also:extinct, Leicesters and various crosses being See also:common. See also:Industries.—Coal is See also:mined chiefly on the S.W. border of the county near Nottingham and near Mansfield; there are also mines near See also:Worksop. Clay, sandstone and limestone are also extensively raised. The See also:lace and See also:hosiery industries are of old See also:establishment in the county, Nottingham being the principal centre. There are See also:silk, worsted and See also:cotton See also:mills.

A large number of hands are employed in machinery See also:

works, and the See also:cycle and motor manufacture of Beeston is important. The manufacture of See also:tobacco add cigars is considerable at Nottingham and Hucknall Torkard. Communications.—The main See also:line of the Midland railway touches the S.W. border of the county, with an alternative route through Nottingham, and branches thence N. through Hucknall and Mansfield to Worksop, to Newark and See also:Lincoln, from Mansfield to See also:Southwell and Newark, &c. The main line of the Great Central railway serves Nottingham and Hucknall. That of the Great See also:Northern railway serves Newark and See also:Retford, with a See also:branch to Nottingham and See also:local lines in that vicinity. A branch of the Great Central railway, formerly (till 1908) the main line of the See also:Lancashire, Derbyshire and East See also:Coast railway. enters the county on the W. from See also:Chesterfield, and crosses the Dukeries by 011erton to Dukeries Junction (G.N.R.) and Lincoln. The See also:Sheffield-See also:Grimsby line of the Great Central crosses the N. of the county by Worksop and Retford. The Trent is navigable throughout the county, and the Idle between Bawtry and the Trent. The principal canals centre upon Nottingham. See also:Population and See also:Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 539,756 acres, with a population in 1901 of 514,578. The area of the administrative county is 540,123. The county contains the See also:city and county and municipal See also:borough of Notting-See also:ham (pop.

239,743), and the municipal boroughs of Retford or East Retford (12,340), Mansfield (21,445) and Newark (14,992). The See also:

urban districts are See also:Arnold (8757), Beeston (896o), Carlton (Io,c41), Eastwood (4815), Hucknall Torkard (15,250), Hucknall under Huthwaite (4076), See also:Kirkby in Ashfield (10,318), Mansfield Woodhouse (4877), See also:Sutton in Ashfield (14,862), Warsop (2132), See also:West Bridgford (7018), Worksop (16,112). For See also:parliamentary purposes the ancient county is divided into four divisions (Bassetlaw, Newark, Rushcliffe and Mansfield), each returning one member; and the parliamentary borough of Nottingham returns one member for each of its three divisions. There are one See also:court of See also:quarter sessions and seven See also:petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Newark and Nottingham have See also:separate commissions of the See also:peace, also separate courts of quarter sessions; that of East Retford has a separate See also:commission of the peace. The total number of See also:civil parishes is 266. The ancient county contains 231 ecclesiastical parishes and districts, wholly or in part; it is situated principally in the See also:diocese of Southwell and partly in the diocese of York. See also:History.—The earliest See also:Teutonic settlers in the district which is now Nottinghamshire were an Anglian tribe who, not later than the 5th See also:century, advanced from Lincolnshire along the Fosseway, and, pushing their way up the Trent valley, settled in the fertile districts of the S. and E., the whole W. region from Nottingham to within a short distance of Southwell being then occupied by the vast forest of Sherwood. At the end of the 6th century Nottinghamshire already existed as organized territory, though its W. limit probably extended no farther than the Saxon See also:relics discovered at Oxton and Tuxford. Nottingham after the treaty of See also:Wedmore became one of the five Danish boroughs. On the break-up of See also:Mercia under See also:Hardicanute, Nottinghamshire was included in the earldom of the Middle See also:English, but in 1049 it again became part of See also:Leofric's earldom of Mercia, and descended to See also:Edwin and Morkere. The first mention of the shire of Notting-ham occurs in 1o16, when it was harried by Canute.

The boundaries have remained practically unaltered since the See also:

time of the Domesday Survey, and the eight Domesday wapentakes were unchanged in 161o; in 1719 they had been reduced to six, their See also:present number, Oswaldbeck being absorbed in Bassetlaw, of which it forms the North Clay See also:division, and " See also:Side " in Thurgarton. Nottinghamshire was originally included in the diocese and See also:province of York, and in 1291 formed an archdeaconry. comprising the deaneries of Nottingham, Newark, See also:Bingham and Retford. By See also:act of See also:parliament of 1836 the county was transferred to the diocese of Lincoln and province of See also:Canterbury, with the additional deanery of Southwell. In 1878 the deaneries of Mansfield, South Bingham, West Bingham, Collingham, Tuxford and Worksop were created, and in 1884 most of the county was transferred to the newly-created diocese of Southwell, the deaneries being unchanged. The deaneries of Bawtry, Bulwell, Gedling, East Newark and Norwell were created in 1888. Until 1568 Nottinghamshire was See also:united with Derbyshire under one See also:sheriff, the courts and tourns being held at Nottingham until the reign of See also:Henry III., when with -the assizes for both counties they were removed to Derby. In the time of See also:Edward I. the assizes were again held at Nottingham, where they are held at the present See also:day. The Peverel Court, founded before 1113 for the recovery of small debts, had See also:jurisdiction over 127 towns in Nottinghamshire, and was held at Nottingham until 1321, in 1330 at Algarthorpe and in 1790 at Lenton, being finally abolished in 1849. The most interesting historic figure in the Domesday Survey of Nottinghamshire is See also:William Peverel. His See also:fief represents the See also:honour of Nottingham, and in ro68 he was appointed See also:constable of the See also:castle which William the Conqueror had raised at Nottingham. The Cliftons of See also:Clifton and the Byrons of Newstead held lands in Nottinghamshire at the time of the Survey. Holme Pierrepoint belonged to the Pierrepoints from the time of Edward I.; Shelford was the seat of the Stanhopes, and Langer of the Tibetots, afterwards earls of See also:Worcester.

See also:

Archbishop See also:Cranmer was a descendant of the Cranmers of Aslockton near Bingham. The See also:political history of Nottinghamshire centres See also:round the See also:town and castle of Nottingham, which was seized by See also:Robert of See also:Gloucester on behalf of Maud in 1140; captured by See also:John in 1191; surrendered to Henry III. by the rebellious barons in 1264; formed an important station of Edward III. in the Scottish See also:wars; and in 1397 was the See also:scene of a See also:council where three of the lords appellant were appealed of See also:treason. In the Wars of the See also:Roses the county as a whole favoured the Yorkist cause, Notting-ham being one of the most useful stations of Edward IV. In the Civil See also:War of the 17th century most of the See also:nobility and gentry favoured the Royalist cause, but Nottingham Castle was garrisoned for the parliament, and in 1651 was ordered to be demolished. Among the earliest industries of Nottinghamshire were the malting and woollen industries, which flourished in Normantimes. The latter declined in the 16th century, and was superseded by the hosiery manufacture which sprang up after the invention of the See also:stocking-See also:loom in 1589. The earliest See also:evidence of the working of the Nottinghamshire coalfield is in 1259, when See also:Queen Eleanor was unable to remain in this county on account of the See also:smoke of the sea-coal. Collieries are scarcely heard of in Nottinghamshire in the 17th century, but in 162o the justices of the peace for the shire See also:report that there is no fear of scarcity of See also:corn, as the counties which send up the Trent for coal bring corn in See also:exchange, and in 1881 See also:thirty-nine collieries were at See also:work in the county. Hops were formerly extensively grown, and Worksop was famous for its See also:liquorice. Numerous cotton-mills were erected in Nottinghamshire in the 18th century, and there were silk-mills at Nottingham. The manufacture of See also:tambour lace existed in Nottinghamshire in the 18th century, and was facilitated in the 19th century by the manufacture of See also:machine-made See also:net. From .1295 the county and town of Notting-ham each returned two members to parliament.

In 1572 East Retford was represented by two members, and in 1672 Newarkupon-Trent also. Under the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned four members in two divisions. By the act of 1885 it returned four members in four divisions; Newark and East Retford were disfranchised, and Nottingham returned three members in three divisions. Antiquities.—At the See also:

dissolution of the monasteries there were no fewer than See also:forty religious houses in Nottinghamshire. The only important monastic remains, however, are those at New-See also:stead, but the building is partly transformed into a See also:mansion which was formerly the See also:residence of See also:Lord See also:Byron (see HuCKNALL TORKARD). There are also traces of monastic ruins at Beauvale, Mattersey, Radford and Thurgarton. The finest See also:parish church in the county is that of Newark. The churches of St See also:Mary, Nottingham, and of Southwell were collegiate churches; South-well, now a See also:cathedral, is a splendid building, principally See also:Norman. The churches of Balderton, Bawtry, Hoveringham, Mansfield and Worksop are also partly Norman, and those of Coddington, Hawton and Upton St See also:Peter near Southwell, Early English. Of the old castles, the principal remains are those at Newark, but there are several interesting old mansions, as at Kingshaugh, Scrooby, Shelford and Southwell. Wollaton See also:Hall, near Notting-ham, is a See also:fine old building (c.158o). The finest residences of more See also:modern date are Welbeck and others in the Dukeries (q.v.).

See See also:

Victoria County History, Nottinghamshire; R. Thoroton, The Antiquities of Nottinghamshire (Lond., 1677; republished with additions by J. Thoresby, 3 vols., Lond., 1797) ; See also:Thomas See also:Bailey, See also:Annals of Nottinghamshire (4 vols., Lond., 1852–1856) ; J. P Briscoe, Old Nottinghamshire (1881); J. See also:Ward, Descriptive See also:Catalogue of Books See also:relating to Nottinghamshire (Nottingham, 1892).

End of Article: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, or NOTTS

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