Nottingham was built over a set of caves above the river bank, Some of those caves are still in use.
John SUTTON has a photograph of the Flying Horse Inn on Geo-graph, taken in June, 2017. The Inn dates back to 1483.
Nottingham City was known for its musicians, its intellectuals and its artists. Public Houses often doubled as music halls hosting local musicians, singers and vaudeville acts. Local newspapers are the best way to track talent in the county. See who performed at the Theator Royal and Royal Concert Hall on Theater Square in the heart of Nottingham City.
During the Industrial Revolution (1760 - 1840), 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, (which spelled out voting rights for citizens) setting fire to his residence on the site of Nottingham Castle.
John PLAYER bought William WRIGHT's tobacco factory in Craigshill, Livingston, West Lothian in 1877. He had the Castle Tobacco Factories built in Radford, Notts, after merging with the Imperial Tobacco Company. He had three large factory blocks built, but initially only one was used to process and pack tobacco. The other two blocks were loaned out to lace manufacturers until the business had expanded enough to use the additional space. John Player died in December 1884 and for the next nine years, the business was run by a small group of family friends until W. G. and J. D. Player were ready to take over the firm in 1893.
A new factory, the "Horizon" factory, was opened in 1970, on Thane Road next to the headquarters of Boots the Chemists. The Player Cigarette Company closed its Horizon factory here in 2016 after 150 years of packaging tobacco products. It was one of the "big three" employers in Nottingham City (the other two were Boots and Experian). There was a Player Infant and Player Junior school in town, too. For some reason, they left off the first name of John. The Notts archives has a record book of new staff in which you might find family members listed. There is a followup story on the NottinghamshireLive website.
David WILSON tells us (2022) the elder John Player was born Saffron Walden in Essex about 1839 (1861 Census gives 1836). Died 1884. It appears he was at first a servant to Robert DICKINSON, draper at Long Row which later became the better known store of Griffin and Spalding. In the 1871 Census he is living Colville St, St Mary's and profession now Tobacconist employing 1 man and 3 boys. Also at the address is his wife Ann (GOODACRE) and children John Dane PLAYER born c1875 and William Goodacre PLAYER born a year later who later ran the business.
In 1920, Nottingham Council bought Wollaton Hall and the 500 acres of parkland around it, for the citizens to use. It is near the main campus of the University. The Hall has appeared in the Batman films (as Wayne Manor) and the parkland is roamed by a herd of deer.
The City is also known for a fishing reel called "The Nottingham Fishing Reel". The first wooden reel was designed in the late 1790s in Nottingham, England. This became known as the Nottingham Reel. By the early 1800s the simple effective wooden reel design was being copied all over England and across the Atlantic in America. The name Nottingham stuck. Reels inward only. The wooden Nottingham reel did not cast out. It spun without locking. This meant that a fisherman could only drop the line down with a weight attached.
The City held a Goose Fair in late September or early October each year. There is a 1910 postcard advertising the fair. The Fair dates back to 1541.
