NOTTINGHAM
Once home to the notorious outlaw, Robin Hood, Nottinghamshire and the city of Nottingham have a wealth of attractions to offer the tourists and locals alike. Whether you require its thriving cosmopolitan centre with its lively nightlife or the tranquillity of Sherwood Forest with its tales of merry men, the county has something for everyone.
While the Broadmarsh and Victoria Centres are every shopper's dream, the Caves of Nottingham and Nottingham Castle cater for the most hardened of historians and no-one can fail to enjoy the unique insight into the city life provided by the Tales of Robin Hood and the Galleries of Justice. Other attractions include the Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Southwell Minster, The American Adventure and many, many more.
Strelley Village is conveniently situated on the edge of the city and its many tourist attractions. It is within easy reach of Newstead Abbey, the home of Lord Byron, Eastwood, the birthplace of D.H. Lawrence, the American Adventure theme park, Wollaton Hall and a host of attractions devoted to Robin Hood in and around the city centre.
Information on a few of these attractions can be found below:
WOLLATON HALL
Wollaton Hall was built during the period 1580 - 1588. Robert Smythson designed it on the commission of Sir Francis Willoughby. Much of the original building remains, showing the style of architecture around the time of the Spanish Armada.
The Hall cost £8,000, which was a considerable sum of money in Elizabethan times. Today the hall is Natural History and Industrial Museum, open to the public throughout the year. The grounds are particularly beautiful and they are also home to a herd of Deer.
The House inside matches the splendor of the outside.
Two items of particular interest inside the great hall are the fireplace in the Great Hall, dating from the Spanish Armada and the Ceiling mural on the grand staircase.
return to top
GOOSE FAIR
Goose Fair is traditionally held in Nottingham on the first Thursday, Friday and Saturday of October every year though for the past seven years it has started on the Wednesday.
From the moment that The Lord Mayor of Nottingham sounds the bells to start the event - usually at noon on Thursday - Nottingham revolves around its best-loved spectacle.
Here are some facts to inform, amuse and impress!
It is the biggest non-fixed fair in the land and even knocks most permanent ones into a cocked hat. Well over 1 million people attend the fair each year.
Council workers start marking out The Forest from early August. The biggest pitches cost around £2000 but a popular ride can take up to £1,600 per hour!
The official opening is signified at noon on the first day by The Lord Mayor of Nottingham ringing a pair of silver bells after the Chief Executive and Town Clerk has read the Proclamation in the presence of the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The Fair, including the showmen's living vans, covers about 18 acres. There are around 55 riding machines plus another 40 or so for children. A further 225 games stalls invite the public to have-a-go.
A further 400 stalls sell novelties, luminous bangles are always a favourite, as well as the all-important refreshments. The aroma of the unique blend of Goose Fair foods fills the air; hot dogs, mushy peas (with mint sauce of course), cock-on-a-stick, candy floss, toffee apples, brandy snap and coconuts!
return to top
NEWSTEAD ABBEY
Probably most famous as the home of Lord Byron, the poet, at the beginning of the 19th century, Newstead Abbey estate was first granted to Sir John Byron following the Dissolution in 1540. Largely Victorian in appearance, this romantic manor house was created around the 12th century Augustinian priory, with most of the building materials being quarried from the demolished church. All that survives is the beautiful 13th century west front that now enhances the house's unusual façade.
Internally, Newstead offers a real diversity of styles and building periods. There are rooms containing many of the traditional monastic features, such as vaulted ceilings, and elegant lancet windows, and then the magnificent chapel (formerly the Chapter House). Most of the larger rooms have been restored and elaborately decorated in a 'medieval style', but the smaller rooms clearly reflect the more restrained fortunes during Lord Byron's short occupation. However, a more bizarre influence was introduced when William Frederick Webb owned Newstead, and this is one of an African hunting lodge, with his animal trophies and skins scattered throughout the house.
The house remained in the Byron family for ten generations, the first 'Lord' Byron being created for his loyalty to the King during the Civil War. However, these troubled times meant that ownership of the house was temporarily lost and it inevitably fell into a state of neglect. After marrying well, the second Lord Byron had the house returned in 1661 and devoted his time and energy to ensure that it once again stood as a worthy home for his heirs. For the next two generations Newstead prospered, acquiring many fine paintings and a good collection of books, but its wealth rapidly diminished with the succession of the fifth 'Wicked' Lord Byron. Known for his outrageous extravagance, he was eventually reduced to such dire circumstances that, by 1778, his house had been cleared of furniture, silver, china, and a large proportion of the paintings to pay off debts.
By the time the poet, and sixth Lord, George Byron moved to his ancestral home 10 years after his inheritance, he found it empty and in need of drastic repairs. With limited financial resources, Lord Byron made a comfortable home for himself by furnishing a few of the smaller rooms, and leaving the larger rooms untouched to accommodate his varied sporting activities. He remained at Newstead for only six years, eventually selling the old house to a childhood school friend, Col. Thomas Wildman. An extremely wealthy man, Wildman was responsible for the Victorian restoration, and the re-introduction of splendid medieval furniture, tapestries and paintings.
On Wildman's death, the estate was again sold on. The new owner, William Frederick Webb, introduced a degree of modernisation to Newstead Abbey, with central heating and gas lighting, as well as the African artefacts.
Currently in the care of Nottingham Council, this impressive house retains the splendour of an important ancestral home, the mystique of an ancient monastery, and a vibrant sense of adventure left by its diversity of occupants - not forgetting the legendary 'White Lady', whose spirit still patrols the grounds!
return to top
HARDWICK HALL
Hardwick Hall was completed in 1597 by Elizabeth, "Bess", Countess of Shrewsbury, founder of the Cavendish dynasty and wealthiest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I. Possessor of coal mines, great houses and shrewd judgement, Bess started life as a squire's daughter. She rose to great social standing via four marriages, and the Hall and its gardens were created as a statement of her success.
The history of Hardwick Hall's garden is brought to life in an exhibition of designers drawings in the Banqueting Gazebo, a room used by Elizabethans as a venue for entertainment.
Most of the garden borders have been replanted in more recent times, yet follow the 16th century structure. The National Trust, present day owners of Hardwick, have done much since the late 1950's to reinstate the historic layout lost during the early 20th century.
Visitors in Spring can see the orchards dressed in gentle pastel shades of apple and damson blossom interspersed with crab apple flowers. In the formal garden crown imperial and snakeshead lilies, decorate the borders. The garden is divided into four courts, the south being further divided by yew and hornbeam hedges. This presents the visitor with enticing prospects and interesting corners to explore.
As summer gives way to autumn, the lawns and russet coloured trees provide an interesting backdrop for the topiary rondel displaying statues of the arts. The "fall", an Elizabethan term, is a season when many visitors prefer to view Hardwick and its gardens, taking opportunity to walk the mulberry avenue in the crisp air and view the golden tapestry of parkland surrounding the Hall.
return to top
D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
Although D. H. Lawrence is known primarily for his novels, such as Sons and Lover and Women in Love, he also wrote short stories, poems, plays and was an exhibited artist. He was born in Eastwood, a small mining town in the industrial Midlands but against the odds escaped from this life to become one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, travelling the world and challenging conventions at every step.
D. H. Lawrence heritage
Whether you want to find out more about the son of a miner, who went on to become the infamous author of Lady Chatterley's Lover, or simply want to step back in time to domestic days gone by, then a trip to D. H. Lawrence Heritage is for you. Lawrence spent the first half of his life here in Eastwood, and describing the area in 1929, he wrote, “In this queer jumble of the old England and the new, I came into consciousness.” Come and visit our two heritage sites to find out more.
D. H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum
This is the house where Lawrence was born in 1885, and the first of the family's four Eastwood homes. Through a guided tour, you will be able to learn about his family life and the type of working class home and mining community that shaped his formative years. The tour includes the parlour, kitchen and bedrooms as well as the outdoor washhouse.
return to top
|
Bed and Breakfast in Nottingham
