Nottingham Town Guide
A Guide to the Town
Living in Nottingham
Nottingham is the largest urban area in the East Midlands, larger than Derby and Leicester and the second largest after Birmingham. As reported in 2020, the city area had a population of 330,000, and the wider conurbation, including the suburbs, had a population of 768,638.
Nottingham is a vibrant city with the local economy being supported by the student population, which brings 80,000 plus students into the city during term time. The local housing market in and around the city centre is very active, with property sales and rentals handled by our team from our offices to the West and North of the city. The properties range from houses and apartments in and around the city, with outlying suburbs such as Sherwood, Forest Fields, Hyson Green, Radford and Lenton being popular with people buying their first home or looking for a property to let, with The Park being an upmarket area within the city boundaries in which there are large Victorian homes and many buildings that have been converted into apartments situated on roads such as Newcastle Drive, Cavendish Road North, Tunnell Road and on the edge of The Park, The Ropewalk which has large properties with many having been converted into upmarket apartments.
Working in Nottingham
Working in Nottingham
Top places of employment in Nottingham include Nottingham University Hospital Trust with 13,600 employees, Nottingham City Council with 8,928 employees, Nottingham County Council having 8,155 people, Nottingham Health Care Trust with 7,500 people, Boots UK Ltd with 6,000 people, University of Nottingham with 5,000 staff, EON with 5,000, Sherwood Forest Hospital and Trust 4,558 staff, Nottingham Trent University 3,309 staff, Nottinghamshire Police 3,200 people, Experian with 2,000, Centre Parcs employing 1,500 people and Nottingham City Transport having 1077 people.
Working in Nottingham
Working in Nottingham
In the years gone by, Nottingham has had major employers, including Raleigh Bikes, which started in 1888 on Triumph Road and still has a design and distribution centre in Eastwood. John Player Cigarettes and The Royal Ordnance Factory, as well as many lace companies and clothes manufacturers, which include names such as Cooper & Rowe, who were leading hosiery manufacturers operating in Ruddington, Sydney W Widdowsons based in Nottingham who manufactured household textiles, sewing thread, was manufactured at W S Godber, HP Sauce recipe was created by Frederick Godson in his grocery shop in Basford in 1895, William Booth who was the brainchild of The Salvation Army was born in Sneinton, and tarmac was invented by a Notts surveyor, Edgar Hooley in 1901. By the early 1900’s, Nottingham was the lace capital of the world, with one-third of Nottingham’s population working in the industry, two third’s of them being women; players cigarettes started in 1832, with John Player being the first tobacconist to offer pre-packed tobacco.
Well Regarded Universities
The city has three universities – The University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University and The University of Law. Nottingham University is the UK’s 9th largest university belonging to the Russell Group of universities due to the research carried out – it was founded in 1881 and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The main campus is University Park which is a 330 acre site with the more recent Jubilee Campus (opened in 1998) and the Queens Medical Teaching Hospital (opened in 1970) being within the city of Nottingham with the Veterinary School and School of Agricultural and Bio-sciences being based at Sutton Bonington. The University also has campuses in Semenyih, Malaysia (opened 1999) and Ningbo in China (opened 2004). The university has around 35,000 students and 5,000 staff and is arranged into five faculties, within which there are more than 50 schools, departments, and research centres. In 2020/21, it had an income of £694m, with £114.9m covering research grants. In 2005, the Kingsmeadow Campus opened, which is close to University Park, which was originally the site of Carlton TV, who occupied this building from 1983 to 2005. The university started in the centre of Nottingham, but with the help of Jessie Boot moved to University Park on the outskirts of the city. The original building in the city centre, known as the Arkwright Building, is now part of the Nottingham Trent University city campus. The university further expanded in 2021 when it purchased the Castle Meadow Campus, which is a 3.75 acre site below Nottingham Castle, which was previously owned by HMRC, and this will be refurbished with the new campus opening in 2023.
Nottingham Trent University is now the 6th largest university in the UK out of 169, with 36,000 students who are split over five different campuses. From different colleges in and around the city, Trent Polytechnic was formed in 1970, and this later became Nottingham Trent University. There are currently 17,000 students at the city campus, which includes the well regarded Nottingham Business School and Nottingham Law School, as well as the School of Art and Design. There are over 9,000 students at the Clifton campus, which is 4 miles outside the city centre. Brackenhurst campus has over 1,000 students, the Confetti Campus is home to 2,000 students and in 2020 the University expanded to Mansfield creating the West Nottinghamshire College University Centre.
Two Main Football Clubs and Several Sporting Venues
Two Main Football Clubs and Several Sporting Venues
Nottingham is recognised as a major sporting centre, having Holme Pierpoint National Water Sports Centre, National Ice Centre, Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and Tennis Centre, which are located around the city centre. Nottingham also has two football teams, with Notts County who play at Meadow Lane (formed in 1862) being the oldest professional league club, and Nottingham Forest play at The City Ground who, under the leadership of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor are two times winners of the European Cup in 1979 and 1980. Notts County are known as the Magpies due to the black and white colour of their home strip and moved to their home ground at Meadow Lane in 1910. The highest goal scorer for the club is Les Brad who spent 11 years at the club – between 1967 and 1978 and in that time scored 125 league goals. Nottingham also has professional rugby and ice hockey teams.
Nottingham Tram System
Nottingham Tram System
Nottingham Station is the main city station and is based on Carrington Street, which is linked to the Nottingham Express Transit (NET), which was built in 2004 and has a tram stop on Station Street, which runs at the side of Nottingham Station with the tram system now having lines running to Hucknall to the North, Toton to the West and Clifton to the South with the lines running through the city centre and provides a very popular means of transport from the suburbs to Nottingham.
Goose Fair and Famous People from Nottingham
Goose Fair dates back to 1284 and has been at The Forest Recreation Ground since 1928, with this annual event usually taking place in October. Arnold born Thomas Hawksley was an engineer for the Nottingham Waterworks Company which in 1831 developed the first high pressure water supply at Trent Bridge. Paul Smith was born in 1946 and has now become one of the most famous names in fashion. Torvill and Dean were watched on TV by twenty four million people when they performed at the 1984 Winter Olympics taking gold with a faultless performance of Bolero with both Chris Dean and Jane Torvill owning properties on Beeston Fields Drive which over the years have been sold by Robert Ellis. Boots started in 1849 on Goose Gate by Nottingham born Jessie Boot, and Ibuprofen was discovered in 1961 and founded by Dr Stewart Adams who died at 95 in 2019 who developed the pain killer while working at Boots.
Some famous writers from Nottingham include Lord Byron, DH Lawrence, and Alan Sillitoe, who directed Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.
The first MRI scanner was invented by Sir Peter Mansfield, who died in 2017 and lived on Beeston Fields Drive for many years. Robert Ellis has sold many properties on this road over the years.
Robin Hood, with Main Marian and their band of merry men, is one of the most famous medieval tales and has been the subject of many film and TV adaptations. Nottingham Castle was originally built in 1067, but it was pulled down in 1651 and replaced by the present building.
The Lace Market
The Lace Market
The Lace Market was developed in the city centre after William Lee of Calverton invested in the knitting frame, and Richard Arkwright established a small cotton mill in Hockley in 1768. By the 1840s, lace-making had changed from a domestic industry into an international exporting business. Buildings such as The Adams Building and Barker Gate House were designed by the famous architect Watson Fothergill. These buildings are home to creative businesses, upmarket bars and a great selection of restaurants. Many buildings in and around the Lace Market have been converted into residential apartments, with the sales and rentals handled by Robert Ellis Estate Agents. Attractions and entertainment venues include the award winning National Justice Museum, Nottingham Contemporary and The Motorpoint Arena and Ice Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 9,300 and has been the venue of a wide variety of shows and rock concerts for stars like Sir Elton John, Sir Rod Stewart, One Direction and comedians such as Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre have also performed at this venue.
Selling a Home in Nottingham or the Surrounding Area – Contact Robert Ellis
If you have a property in the city that you are considering selling or renting, call Robert Ellis on 0115 922 0888. We will be only too happy to meet you and carry out a free valuation and market appraisal.
Selling a property in Nottingham or the surrounding area? Contact Robert Ellis
If you have a property in the city which you are considering selling or renting,  get in touch and we will be happy to carry out a free valuation and market appraisal.