Nottingham Miscellany

NOTTINGHAM CAVES
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The City of Nottingham and much of the surrounding area stands on what was once known as 'bunter sandstone' but is now commonly referred to as 'Sherwood Sandstone', a rich orange / brown coloured porous rock that is very easily worked with quite basic implements.  Because of this, generation after generation of city dwellers going back many centuries, have worked the rock to create dwellings, places of work, or more commonly, just additional rooms and cellars under or at the back of more conventional houses. More recently many caves were used as air-raid shelters during WW2.  Hundreds of these caves still exist but the vast majority are in private ownership and not generally open to the public.  The photographs below were taken during a tour of caves organised by The Nottingham Civic Society to whom I am indebted for kindly inviting me to join them. The tour was to caves in what was the old  Drury Hill / Low Pavement area, some of which are open to the public and others that are not.

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The first set of photographs were taken in 'The City of Caves' a visitor attraction run by the Egalitarian Trust , a registered charity. These caves have been dressed up to illustrate the uses to which they were put, and to provide more interest to the visitor.  They are accessible from an entrance on the upper mall of The Broad Marsh shopping centre. Visit their web site for more details: http://www.cityofcaves.com/
These caves were saved from destruction when the shopping centre was built and were under properties on the old Drury Hill. The caves include a very interesting and  unique medieval leather tannery that was in use between 1500 and 1640 in a cave dating from 1250 AD

The six photographs below show more caves very near to those in the above section.  These caves are still being cleared and explored by a team of dedicated volunteers and are NOT open to the general public. If funds can be found, it is hoped that at some point in the future, they will be included in the 'City of Caves' visitor attraction.  The most interesting feature is a cave that clearly was once a stable for horses.

Not far away from the old Drury Hill lies Low Pavement, towards the top of which stands the impressive Willoughby House  that is now home to the Paul Smith fashion store.  Under the gardens of this fine house are the three caves shown below. They were originally accessed via a steep staircase from the house garden but in WW2 they were used as air-raid shelters and to facilitate easy access by the public, a second narrow access tunnel was created from a small piece of 'no mans land' that is now behind the Broad Marsh Centre.  The original purpose of these impressive chambers is not clear but it is believed that they were used for drinking parties where the gentry could enjoy a cool drink in equally cool surroundings.  They would also no doubt have been used for the general storage of wines and ales. When entering from the house one would descend the stairs and arrive at a short tunnel. To the right and left are further short tunnels leading to two very similar chambers with central supports. Moving straight on from the bottom of the stairs one enters the main much larger chamber with its massive decorated central support 

Accessible by the public from Derby Road, The Ropewalk or via Tunnel Road from The Park Estate.
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NOT generally open to the public, but look out in the local press for special Heritage Day openings.  The fronts of caves are visible from street.
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Whilst the cemetery is open to the public, the catacomb tunnel is NOT.
However, both entrances to the tunnel and other caves are clearly visible.
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The caves within the Nottingham Castle rock are open to the general public for guided tours on limited days of the week.  Check on opening times before visiting. Also note that this tour is not likely to be suitable for the disabled or infirmed as there are approximately 300 steps to be climbed either up or down.
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None of these caves are open to the public. All are either bricked up or barred but the entrances are clearly visible.

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