Why go
The distance between the Lace Market and castle hill carries a long urban story. Understanding the older settlement, the Norman presence and the later wealth of lace helps you distinguish different layers of the centre. The castle’s connection with political unrest adds another perspective to its galleries and grounds.
The full story
Nottingham’s development began long before its lace warehouses. An early settlement occupied the area now associated with the Lace Market. After the Norman Conquest, a castle was established on the sandstone outcrop, and another settlement grew around it. The older English borough and the Norman, or French, borough formed distinct centres. As the town expanded, building filled the space between them and Old Market Square became a shared focus. During the Industrial Revolution, textiles brought Nottingham considerable wealth. Lace manufacture connected the city to international markets, but rapid growth also produced overcrowded housing and severe social pressures. The imposing warehouse fronts in the Lace Market represent the commercial side of that uneven prosperity. Political conflict left a physical mark on the castle. In 1831, opponents of the Duke of Newcastle’s resistance to parliamentary reform set fire to his residence there. The castle’s rebellion galleries help place such unrest within a wider local history. Nottingham received city status in 1897; its surviving streets still reveal the older settlement patterns and industrial growth that preceded that title.