Nottingham - The Nottingham Trail - Part 2 - City of Caves
to Boots Origins
w/e 11 December 2016
All of this week's pictures were
taken with a Kodak DX6490
There was a featureless sky when we returned to the
city to complete "The Nottingham Trail" but thankfully
the rain which had blighted the end of the first part held off
this time. The route of the Trail from the Trip to Jerusalem
inn is to return up Castle Road almost to the Robin Hood Statue
and then to proceed along Castle Gate and Low Pavement to the
Broadmarsh Centre. At the end of the first part we had taken
an alternative shorter route to seek shelter in the Centre and
having previously explored the suggested route in some depth
in the Historic Nottingham
series, we headed directly to the entrance to the Broadmarsh
Centre on Low Pavement. .
Location number 9 on the Trail is the City of Caves attraction
and access to it is via the Centre - on the left at the bottom
of the escalator just inside the entrance. The caves stretch
under and beyond the Centre and are an unusual mix of sandstone
caverns interspersed with concrete foundations. There is a charge
to enter the caves but they are well worth a visit if time allows.
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On this occasion though our priority was to complete the circuit
so we continued to the end of Low Pavement and crossed Weekday
Cross into High Pavement. The cross itself which gives its name
to the area stands at the place where a mediaeval Town Hall and
weekday market was held in Saxon times. To the right on the corner
of High Pavement is a new building that was still in the course
of construction when we were here for the Historic Nottingham
series.
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That building is now complete and has been open for a while as
the Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery. This was built on one
of the oldest sites in the city which once housed some of those
cave dwellings, a Saxon fort and the mediaeval Town Hall. And
who knows? Perhaps the prehistoric figures seen through the large
window where visitors to the gallery were mingling also once
roamed the site.
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The next two locations were also featured on the Historic Nottingham
route, the first being the Galleries of Justice Museum, the former
courthouse and prison that dates back to 1375. The museum is
housed in the former Shire Hall.
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From the steps of the museum the impressive St Mary's Church
comes into view. This is believed to date back to Saxon times
and is the oldest religious building in the city. It is also
the largest mediaeval building in the city and is the church
where in 1797, Samuel Booth married Sarah. It was their son William
who founded the Salvation Army.
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Passing the church and turning into Stoney Street takes us well
and truly into the area of the city known as the Lace Market.
Nottingham of course found fame as a lace making centre and the
Lace Market area contains many historic buildings associated
with the trade dating mainly from the nineteenth century. The
next location on the Nottingham Trail however is a much more
modern building. There are glimpses of it from Stoney Street
down several other streets but the Trail leaflet invites you
to "Take A Look" down Barker Gate at the National Ice
Centre. This is the place where Nottingham-born Olympic ice dancing
champions Torvill and Dean honed their skills and it is also
the home of the Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey team.
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Although there are many historic buildings in the Lace Market,
the only one pointed out on the Nottingham Trail is the Adams
Building on Stoney Street. This impressive building takes its
name from Thomas Adams, the original owner and for all its grandeur,
it was opened as a lace warehouse in 1855. They certainly took
pride in their architecture and knew how to build in those days.
It was just a warehouse for goodness sake.
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We rounded the corner from Stoney Street into Carlton Street
and found that Nottingham is not only the home of the National
Ice Stadium but also of the National Videogame Arcade, the UK's
first permanent video game centre.
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There is only one more location on the Trail now and as we entered
Pelham Street to drop back down to the Tourist Information Centre
and Slab Square, that location came into view on the left where
Pelham Street meets Smithy Road just this side of the Helter
Skelter.
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The Helter Skelter is just a temporary feature as part of the
Christmas attractions in the city centre but the final site on
the Nottingham Trail is where Jesse Boot opened his first major
chemist's shop. He had previously operated from smaller premises
on Goosegate but here we have the origin of the world wide Boots
brand.
The Nottingham Trail only briefly scratches the surface of the
city centre and is a mix of historic and modern sites. Much more
can be discovered about each and every one of the locations and
it is surprising how many other sites that could have been included
have been left out. But the leaflet serves as a good introduction
to the city and opens the door to more in depth investigation
and of course, if you were to sample all of the attractions listed
- castle, caves, museums, theatres etc - then there is more than
enough to keep you occupied all day long.
The leaflet can be downloaded from here and the more tech savvy can download
a Guidigo app
to follow the Trail using a mobile phone. Or if you prefer (like
me) you can pick up a leaflet from the Tourist Information Centre.
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