Day 10 - Nottingham - 17 September 2024

We had an earlier start as we wanted to see quite a few things. We started with a full English breakfast including black pudding and then walked to the cathedral. It is a wonderful building, and the church appeared to be vibrant.

Beautiful

Nottingham
Cathedral

A beautiful piece of work

The altar

The stations of the cross are in relief and are particularly good.

We had heard about the caves under Nottingham and booked tickets for 100:00 a.m..  We thought that they were like most caves and had been created by water. That is not the case. Nottingham is on soft sandstone that is easily excavated by hand.  There are more than 800 caves all of which were dug by people who could not afford to live above ground. They have been dated to around 1270 and, other than the people living underground, there have been many trades and professions working within the caves.

A particularly prolific trade was tanning so you can imagine how pungent the air was within the caves. We spent over one hour walking through each section.  It is a little sad that as Nottingham constructed new buildings, the footing had to penetrate through the caves destroying some of them. It is very hard to cater for everything.

The caves were dug from the side of a cliff. Gradually as more people heard of them, the number expanded. Can you imagine the life. There was no electricity, so candles were used for lighting and wood for cooking. Even so, there were wells and even a bar.  People are always resourceful and provide essential services.

During World War 2, they were used as bomb shelters. They have such a varied history. 

Tanning vats cut into sandstone

A typical cave

A well

This was an underground bar

After we had looked through the caves we started back towards the centre of Nottingham and the Castle.  It was constructed in 1066 as a wooden motte-and-bailey castle.  Various wars and uprisings meant that the ownership changed frequently.  It is interesting that the execution of the Earl of Arundel and the Earl of Warwick were both held at Nottingham Castle.  The castle was part of many wars and was also incredibly influenced by the industrial revolution.

 Nottingham was the centre of many industries and trades, particularly the production of lace.  The industrial revolution left many workers and families without work and income.  In 1831, the castle was owned by Henry Pelham Clinton, the fourth Duke of Nottingham. He left it vacant. He was the main voice against electoral and extending the vote to the people.  The vote was defeated, and the people of Nottingham were furious. The raided the castle, stripped it bare and set fire to it.

It sat empty util 1875 when it was renovated and turned into a museum.  Now, it is the centre of the Robin Hood stories and explains the events throughout history that have shaped Nottingham, including the industrial revolution.

A model of the original castle

The castle gate

Robin Hood

It was fascinating hearing about Robin Hood and all the stories associated with him.  No-one really knows the truth and there is speculation about who he really was. There are many theories.

The castle museum also shows many traces and crafts common throughout the ages and one that fascinated me was salt glazing of pottery. Basically, the object is made in the usual manner and then baked.  When the kiln reaches the required temperature, salt is thrown in which reacts with the clay and forms a distinctive brown glaze. It looks great.

Salt glazed pottery looks so good

Well we spent quite some time wandering through the museum. Close by is the pub, Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem, the oldest inn in England. It is an amazing place. It seems that nothing has changed in a very long time.  We spent a very relaxing time there and even met some people from Brisbane!!

What a lovely bar

The pub

Then we had a quiet stroll back to the hotel. We looked through the centre of town and had dinner at an English pub. What a day. There were so many interesting things that we saw.