Some portions of it are still retained in their original condition, and there are several very old oaks. The county generally is finely wooded, although to the east of the valley of the Soar there is a considerable stretch of wolds. The principal rivers are the Trent, the Erewash, the Soar, and the Idle. The Trent, which enters the county near Thrumpton, where it receives the Erewash from the north and the Soar from the south, flows north-east past Nottingham and Newark, where it takes a more northerly direction, forming the northern part of the eastern boundary of the county till it reaches the Isle of Axholm (Lincolnshire). The Soar forms for a short distance the boundary with Leicester, and the Erewash the boundary with Derby. The Idle, which is formed of several streams near Sherwood Forest, flows northwards to Bawtry, and then turns eastward to the Trent. The Idle has been made navigable from Bawtry to the Trent. There are also several canals.

Geology and Minerals.— The oldest rocks of the county are the Coal-measures, which, forming part of the Yorkshire, Nottingham, and Derby coalfield, stretch in from Derby, occupying principally the district west of a line drawn from Nottingham to Kirkby, although coal is obtainable below the other rocks as far east as Lincolnshire, at a depth of probably less than 4000 feet. The principal workable seams are the Top Hard, the Deep Soft, the Deep Hard, and the Kilbourne coal. In 1881 there were thirty-nine collieries, producing together 4,758,060 tons. Ironstone is found, but not in sufficient quantities to make its working profitable. The Coal-measures are bounded by a narrow strip of Permian rocks, consisting chiefly of magnesian limestone, which is overlaid by the Middle Permian marls and sandstones. Red and white sandstone, freestone, and magnesian limestone are quarried in the neighbourhood of Mansfield. The lower beds of the limestone are made use of for paving-stones. The remainder of the county is occupied chiefly by the New Red Sandstone. The higher ridge between the Idle and the Trent is occupied by the Upper Keuper marls and sandstones. Lias occurs southeast from Crop well to the neighbourhood of Newark. Along the valleys and on the tops of the hills there is generally a coating of drift. The banks of the Trent are occupied by river gravels, and along the Idle there is a large deposit of mud as well as of gypsum, the latter being dug for manure and for plastering and floors. Valuable beds of gypsum also occur in various parts of south Nottinghamshire.

Agriculture.— As the higher regions of Derby and Yorkshire attract the rain-clouds, the climate of Nottingham is much above the average in dryness, and on that account crops ripen nearly as early as in the southern counties. The soil of about one-half the county is gravel and sand, including Sherwood Forest, where it inclines to sterility, and the valley of the Trent, where there is a rich vegetable mould on a stratum of sand or gravel. The land along the banks of the Trent is equally suitable for crops and pasture. The farms generally are of moderate size, the great majority being under 300 acres. Most of the immediate occupants are tenants-at-will. Considerable improvements have taken place in the farm buildings and cottages, most of them being now built of brick and tile. According to the agricultural returns for 1883, there were 454,217 acres, or nearly nine-tenths, of the total area under crops. Corn crops occupied 142,305 acres, of which 51,250 were under wheat, 47,479 under barley or bere, and 27,090 under oats. Green crops occupied 50,151 acres, 34,925 of these being occupied by turnips and swedes, 6613 by potatoes, and 4685 by vetches. As many as 185,060 acres were in permanent pasture, while 54,684 were under clover, and 21,956 fallow. A common custom is to fallow the arable land once in three years.

There were 1806 acres under orchards, 685 under market gardens, 146 of nursery grounds, and 26,387 of woods. The soil in many places is supposed to be specially suited for apples and pears, but, although they are grown in considerable quantities, there are not many orchards of large size. Hops were at one time extensively grown in the clay districts, which produce stronger plants, though less mild in flavour, than are grown in Kent and Sussex, but in 1883 they occupied only 33 acres. The total number of horses in 1883 was 20,511, of which 15,191 were used solely for agricultural purposes. Cattle numbered 76,229, of which 24,822 were cows and heifers in milk or in calf. Shorthorns are the favourite breed. Dairy farming is pretty common. Sheep numbered 211,893 and pigs 30,371. The old forest breed of sheep is almost extinct, Leicesters and various crosses being common.

According to the latest return there were 14,519 proprietors, possessing 507,337 acres with a gross annual rental of £1,560,853, or an average of about £3, 2s. per acre. The estimated extent of commons and waste lands is 1450 acres. Of the owners, 9891, or about sixty-eight per cent., possessed less than one acre, twenty-six possessed between 2000 and 5000 acres, nine between 5000 and 10,000 acres, and the following six above 10,000 acres each, viz., duke of Portland, 35,209; duke of Newcastle, 34,468; Earl Manvers, 26,460; Henry Savile, 17,821; Lord Middleton, 14,135; Earl Howe, 11,601.

Manufactures.— Nottinghamshire has for more than a century been the centre of the hosiery trade of England, and it is now equally famous for its lace manufactures. Besides the numerous silk-mills and worsted-mills, there are also cotton-mills, bleach λvorks, sailcloth λvorks, paper works, iron-and brass-foundries, engineering - shops, chemical works, malt works, tanneries, and breweries.

Railways.— The county is traversed in various directions by branches of the Midland, the Great Northern, the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln, and the London and North-Western Railways.

Administration and Population. — Nottinghamshire comprises six wapentakes—Bassetlaw, Broxtow, Bingham, Newark, Rushcliffe, and Thurgarton; and the municipal boroughs of East Retford (population 9748), Newark (14,018), and Nottingham (186,575). In addition to these three boroughs there are eleven urban sanitary districts, viz., Arnold (5745), Beeston (4479), Heanor (6822), Hucknall Torkard (10,023), Hucknall-under-Huthwaite (2028), Ilkeston (14,122), Mansfield (13,653), Mansfield Woodhouse (2618), Sutton in Ashfield (8523), Warsop (1329), and Worksop (11,625). The county has one court of quarter-sessions, and is divided into seven petty and special sessional divisions. The boroughs of Newark and Nottingham have commissions of the peace and separate courts of quarter-sessions, and the borough of East Retford has a commission of the peace. Before the Reform Bill of 1832 the county sent eight members to parliament, and it now returns ten. For parliamentary purposes it is divided into North Nottinghamshire and South Nottinghamshire, each returning two members, as does also each of the boroughs of Nottingham, Newark, and East Retford. The parliamentary borough of East Retford has an area of 207,906 acres, including, in addition to the municipal borough, the wapentake of Bassetlaw; on the other hand, the parliamentary borough of Nottingham is now less extensive than the municipal borough. Nottinghamshire is in the province of York, and was almost entirely in the diocese of Lincoln, but an Act of 1878 has provided for the formation of the new diocese of Southwell, which comprises Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The county forms an archdeaconry with ten deaneries, comprising 273 civil parishes, townships, or places, and parts of five others. The population, which in 1801 was 140,350, had increased in 1821 to 186,873, in 1851 to 270,427, in 1871 to 319,758, and in 1881 to 391,815, of whom 190,778 were males and 201,037 females. The number of inhabited houses was 82,435, and the average number of persons to an acre 0 ’ 74.

History and Antiquities.— There is some probability that the numerous caves in Nottinghamshire were occupied by the early inhabitants, but there are no architectural remains which can be proved of earlier date than the Roman invasion. The ancient Fosse Way entered the county from Leicester near Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, where Roman coins and other remains have been found, and proceeded by East Bridgford—supposed by some to be the Roman Margidunum—and Newark, entering Lincoln near South Searle. Several Roman roads crossed it in various directions. A camp on Holly Hill near Arnold is supposed to have been a central Roman station, and Nottingham may possibly occupy the site of Causennis. Broughton and Attenborough were also Roman stations; near Mansfield have been discovered the remains of a Roman villa, and a variety of relics have been found near Ncwstead and in other places. The remains of an ancient fortress at Brent’s Hill near Barton are supposed to be those of a British camp, although it also in all probability was occupied by the Romans. At Oxton there is a tumulus where coins with ashes have been discovered. Few or no events of historical importance took place within Nottinghamshire during the early centuries of the present era with the exception of the defeat of Alfred the Great at Nottingham Castle in 868. During the 10th century it was frequently invaded by the Danes, whose predominance in it is sufficiently attested by the retention of such suffixes in the proper names as “beck,” “holme,” “thwaite,” “thorpe,”and “by.” At the Conquest 174 manors in Nottingham were given to Roger de Buseli, and 55 to William de Peverel, who received the title of earl of Nottingham, and had an honour court, which still exists, for the recovery of debts and damages. The county was the frequent scene of contests during the reigns of the early Norman sovereigns, and it occupied a conspicuous position during the parliamentary wars, the castles of Newark and Nottingham being more than once besieged and taken by each of the parties. Legend speaks of the county as the chief scene of the adventures of the famous outlaw Robin Hood, and at the verge of Sherwood Forest there exists a curious amphitheatre called Robin Hood’s Hill.

At the dissolution of the monasteries there were no fewer than forty religious houses in Nottinghamshire, eight of them in the neighbourhood of the town of Nottingham, including a cell, three hospitals, a house dedicated to St Sepulchre, and monasteries of Grey Friars and White Friars. There were hospitals at Bawtry, Blyth, Bradebusk near Gonal-stone, Newark, Southwell, and Stoke; colleges at Bingham, Clifton, Buddington, Sibthorpe, Southwell, and Tuxford; a Benedictine priory at Blyth, and a nunnery of the same order at Wallingwells; Premonstratensian abbeys at Broadholme and Welbeck; a Carthusian priory at Beauvale; Austin abbeys at Newstead and Radford, and Austin priories at Felley, Newark, Shelford, and Thurgarton; a Cluniae monastery at Lenton, a Gilbertine priory at Mattersey, and a Cistercian abbey at Rufford. The only important monastic remains are those at Newstead, but the building has been partly transformed into a mansion-house, which was formerly the residence of Lord Byron. There are also traces of monastic ruins at Beauvale, Mattersey, Radford, and Thurgarton. The finest parish church in the county is that of Newark. The churches of St Mary, Nottingham, and of Southwell were collegiate churches; the latter contains examples of Norman and the former of Early English. Balderton, Bawtry, Hoveringham, Mansfield, and λVorksop are also partly Norman, and Coddington, Hawton, and Upton St Peter near Southwell Early English. Of the old castles, Nottingham and Newark are the only ones of which there are remains, but there are several interesting old mansions, such as Kingshaugh, Scrooby, Shelford, and Southwell.

For the town and county of Nottingham see Domesday Book relating to Nottingham; Thoroton, A ntiqu ities of Nottinghamshire (1677); Deering, Notting-hamia vetus et nova (1751); Throsby, History of Nottingham (1795); Bailey, Annals of Nott inghamsh ire (1856); Wylie, Old and New Nottingham (1853, 1865); Felkin, History of Machine-wrought Hosiery (1867); J. H. Brown, Historical Sketch of Nottingham Castle (1878); Thomas Chambers Hine, Nottingham, its Castle (1876; supp., 1879); Briscoe, Old Nottinghamshire (1881).

Nottingham, a municipal and parliamentary borough of England, a county in itself and the chief town of Nottinghamshire, is finely situated on an acclivity of a rock rising above the Trent and on several railway lines, 128 miles north-north-west of London and 15⅜ east of Derby. It is connected both with the Midland and Great Northern railway systems, while by means of the Trent, the Grantham Canal, and the Nottingham, Cromford, and Erewash Canal it has convenient water-communication with the counties of Lincoln, Leicester, Stafford, and Derby. Towards the north the town is sheltered by a chain of hills, but fine and varied views are commanded towards the south. In the neighbourhood there are many picturesque walks, and the corporation has laid out and ornamented a pictuιesque arboretum. Though the older streets are narrow and irregular, the rapid increase of the town has almost completely altered its character in this respect, most of the new streets being spacious, and some of them containing fine ranges of buildings. A new bridge across the Trent was opened in 1871. Nottingham possesses one of the largest market-places in England, its total area being about 5 J acres. Shortly after the Conquest a wall was built across the market, dividing it into two parts—the

Norman and the Saxon. There are three old parish churches—St Mary’s Church, a fine cruciform structure, lately restored, now entirely in the Perpendicular style, and possessing a fine tower rising from the centre in two stages, crowned with battlements and pinnacles; St Peter’s, which was nearly all rebuilt in the Perpendicular style in the 15th century, and has been enlarged at different times; St Nicholas, a plain building in red brick with stone facings, erected in 1676. There are numerous fine modern churches, but special mention may be made of the Roman Catholic cathedral of St Barnabas, in the Early English style, by Pugin, erected in 1842-44. Among the secular buildings are the exchange hall which is now used as the town-council chamber; the tov τ n or guild hall (rebuilt 1741), a plain stuccoed building; the municipal offices (formerly the post-office, 1848), in the classic style, with a Doric portico; the corn exchange; the county hall; the new post-office, erected in 1868 in the Italian style; the people’s hall (1854); the Albert Hall, for concerts (1876), a Gothic building with a tower; and the masonic hall (1880). For the Midland Counties Art Museum a lease has been obtained by the corporation of the castle buildings for 500 years, and the exhibition was opened by the prince of Wales in 1878. The town also possesses a free museum of natural history, a mechanics’ institute, and a free public library with nearly 40,000 volumes. Among the educational establishments the principal are University College, for which a splendid range of buildings was opened in 1881; the free grammar school, founded in 1513, for some time in disuse, but revived in 1807, and now, since its removal in 1868 to new buildings, known as the High School; the Nottingham High School for girls; the blue-coat school, founded in 1723; the people’s college, founded in 1846 for children of the working classes, and now under the direction of the Board as a middle-class school; the Congregational institute for the education of students, chiefly for evangelistic and mission work; and the Nottingham school of art, for which a fine building was erected in 1865 in the Italian style, and which is attended by over 500 students. There are a large number of benevolent institutions, including the general hospital, founded in 1781, and possessing an endowment of over £26,000, the garden hospital, the children’s hospital, the nursing institution, the Nottingham and Midland eye infirmary, the dispensary, the lunatic hospital, the lunatic asylum for Nottinghamshire, the Nottingham borough asylum, the Midland institution for the blind, the homes for aged poor, incurable orphans, and deserted infants, and the hospital for women. There are also a large number of almshouses and other charities.

Nottingham has been a manufacturing town for more than 600 years, and towards the close of the last century became an important seat of the stocking trade. It was here that Richard Arkwright in 1769 erected his first spinning frame, and here also Hargreaves had the year previously removed with his spinning jenny after his machine had been destroyed by a mob at Blackburn. While Leicester became the centre of woollen hosiery, Nottingham has devoted itself chiefly to cotton, silk, and merino hosiery. Up to 1815 point lace was also an important manufacture. In 1808 and 1809 John Heathcoat of Nottingham obtained patents for machines for making bobbin net, which inaugurated a new era in the lace manufacture. Besides hosiery and bobbin net lace manufacture, the industries include bleaching, the dyeing, spinning, and twisting of silk, the spinning of cotton and woollen yarn, tanning, engineering, and brewing. There is also an extensive trade in malt.

The population increased from 31,638 in 1801 to 79,604 in 1851, to 86,621 in 1871, and to 111,648 in 1881, of whom 51,892 were males and 59,756 females. Up to 1877 the municipal and parliamentary limits were coextensive, but in that year the municipal limits were increased from 1996 to 9960 acres, with a population in 1881 of 186,575, of whom 87,633 were males and 98,942 females. The number of inhabited houses in the parliamentary area in 1881 was 23,128, while 915 were uninhabited and 318 building. In the municipal area there were 38,548 inhabited houses, 1429 uninhabited, and 767 building.

Nottingham, or Snotingaham, is supposed to have been a Celtic settlement. It first became important in the 9th century. For some time after Alfred’s defeat in 868 the town was in the hands of the Danes, and constituted one of their five boroughs, but it was restored and repeopled by Edward the Elder, who erected a portion of the town wall, rebuilt the castle, and threw a bridge over the Trent (920-4). The growing importance of Nottingham is evidenced by the fact that Athelstan, the successor of Edward the Elder, established there a royal mint. In 1013 the town submitted to Sweyn. After the Conquest Nottingham Castle was rebuilt to overawe the people north of the Trent, its governorship being bestowed on William de Peverel, reputed natural son of the Conqueror. And it was whilst residing in it that Roger Mortimer, earl of March, and Isabella, widow of Edward II., were seized in the dead of night by Edward III. in 1330. Parliaments were held at Nottingham in 1334, 1337, and 1357, and it was the scene of the conference of the judges with Richard II. in August 1387. Several important persons have been imprisoned in the castle, among others David II. of Scotland. Edward IV. assembled his troops at Nottingham in 1461; and it was the headquarters of Richard III. before the battle of Bosworth in 1485. In 1642 Charles I. finally broke with the Parliament by setting up his standard at Nottingham, and during the ensuing civil war the castle was held by each of the two parties more than once. In 1644 it was dismantled by Cromwell's orders; but in 1674-79 it was re-erected in the Palladian style by the duke of Newcastle. During the Reform riot in 1831 it was partly destroyed by fire. The town received a charter from Henry II. confirming privileges granted to it by Henry I. In the reign of Henry VI. it was constituted a county under the title of “the town and county of the town of Nottingham.” A surreptitious surrender of its charter was obtained by Charles II., but he was persuaded subsequently to grant it a new one. This charter was withdrawn by James II., but restored by William III. Since the reign of Edward I. Nottingham has returned two members to parliament. In 1870 it was made the seat of a suffragan bishop in the diocese of Lincoln.

NOTTINGHAM, Earls of. I. Heneage Finch (1621- 1682), first earl, lord chancellor of England, was descended from an old family, many of whose members had attained to high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage Finch, recorder...