City of Nottingham: History
The written history of Nottingham dates back to 919 AD, when Edward the Elder captured the settlement, subsequently building a fortress on the south bank of the Trent. Following the Norman Conquest William the Conqueror built a castle in Nottingham, which he entrusted to William Peverel.
The Anglo-Saxon settlement was originally confined to the area today known as the Lace Market and was surrounded by a substantial defensive ditch and rampart. The ditch had fallen out of use and been filled in by the time of Domesday Book (1086). Following the Norman Conquest,the Saxon settlement developed into the "English Borough" of Nottingham. A "French Borough" also developed around the castle on the hill opposite. Eventually the space between was built on as the town grew and the Old Market Square became the focus of Nottingham. Defences consisted initially of a ditch and bank in the early 12th century. The ditch was widened in the mid-13th century and a stone wall built around much of the perimeter of the town. A short length of the wall survives and is visible at the northern end of Maid Marian Way. It is protected as a Scheduled Monument.
On the return of Richard the Lionheart from the Crusades in 1194, the castle was occupied by supporters of Prince John, including the Sheriff of Nottingham. It was besieged by Richard and after a sharp conflict was captured.
It is believed that during the Black Death of 1349 approximately 60% of Nottingham's population died but that migration from other parts of England helped begin the process of population recovery.
By the 15th century Nottingham had established itself as the centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from Nottingham alabaster. During the late medieval period Nottingham alabasters were exported as far afield as Iceland and may be one reason why a small number of Icelandic immigrants lived in Nottingham during the 15th century. The town became a county corporate in 1449, giving it effective self-government, in the words of the charter, "for eternity". The Castle and Shire Hall were expressly excluded and remained as detached parishes of Nottinghamshire.
One of those highly impressed by Nottingham in the late 18th century was the German traveller C. P. Moritz, who wrote in 1782, "Of all the towns I have seen outside London, Nottingham is the loveliest and neatest. Everything had a modern look, and a large space in the centre was hardly less handsome than a London square. A charming footpath leads over the fields to the highway, where a bridge spans the Trent. … Nottingham … with its high houses, red roofs and church steeples, looks excellent from a distance."
During the Industrial Revolution much of Nottingham's prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular the city became an internationally important centre of lace manufacture. In 1831 citizens rioted in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire to his residence on the site of Nottingham Castle. …