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In Anglo-Saxon times, around 600 AD the site formed part of the Kingdom of Mercia and was known in the Brythonic language as Tigguo Cobauc, meaning Place of Caves. In Welsh it is known poetically as Y Ty Ogofog, "The Cavey Dwelling". When it fell under the rule of a Saxon chieftain named Snot, it became known as "Snotingaham"; the homestead of Snot's people (Inga = the people of; Ham = homestead). Snot brought together his people in an area now know as the Lace Market.

Nottingham was captured in 867 by Danish Vikings and later became one of the Five Burghs - or fortified towns - of The Danelaw.

In the 11th century Nottingham Castle was constructed on a sandstone outcrop by the River Leen. The Anglo-Saxon settlement developed into the English Borough of Nottingham and housed a Town Hall and Law Courts. A settlement also developed around the castle on the hill opposite and was the French borough supporting the Normans in the castle. Eventually, the space between was built on as the town grew and the Old Market Square became the focus of Nottingham several centuries later. On the return of Richard Coeur de Lion from the Crusades, the castle stood out in Prince John's favour. So, it was besieged by Richard, and after a sharp conflict, captured.

By the 15th century, Nottingham had established itself as the centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from alabaster 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 technically remained as detached Parishes of Nottinghamshire.

The Adams Building in the Lace Market - a former lace warehouseDuring the Industrial Revolution, much of Nottingham's prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular, Nottingham was an internationally important centre of lace manufacture. However, the rapid and poorly planned growth left Nottingham with the reputation of having the worst slums in the British Empire outside India. Residents of these slums rioted in 1831, in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire to his residence, Nottingham Castle.

In common with the UK textile industry as a whole, Nottingham's textile sector fell into headlong decline in the decades following World War II, as British manufacturers proved unable to compete on price or volume with the output of factories in the Far East and South Asia. Very little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham, but the City's heyday in this sector endowed it with some fine industrial buildings in the Lace Market district. Many of these have been restored and put to new uses.

Nottingham was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and at that time consisted of the parishes of Nottingham St Mary, Nottingham St Nicholas and Nottingham St Peter. It was expanded in 1877 by adding the parishes of Basford, Brewhouse Yard, Bulwell, Radford, Sneinton, Standard Hill and parts of the parishes of West Bridgford, Carlton, Wilford (North Wilford). In 1889 Nottingham became a county borough under the Local Government Act 1888. City status was awarded as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria, being signified in a letter from the Prime Minister the Marquess of Salisbury to the Mayor, dated 18 June 1897. Nottingham was extended in 1933 by adding Bilborough and Wollaton, parts of the parishes of Bestwood Park and Colwick, and a recently developed part of the Beeston Urban District. A further boundary extension was granted in 1951 when Clifton and Wilford (south of the River Trent) were incorporated into the city.

When youngsters are asked what they know about Nottingham, they often refer to the "Sheriff of Nottingham" who spent so much time trying to catch Robin Hood. Robin, if he existed, was from Loxley near Sheffield, well to the north of Sherwood Forest. The Lord of that area was Sir Guy de Gisburn (Guisborough) who was taxing his people heavily to fund the construction of the priory there. When he failed, he called on his neighbour for a favour and the Lord of Nottingham sent his Shire Reeve (tax collector/bailiff), by nature an unscrupulous thug, to collect the taxes on his behalf.

Nottingham - 'Home of Snot's people'. An older British name of the place is known: Tig Guocobauc 'house of caves', alluding to the sandstone caves of Castle Hill.