Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/656

Rh 598 NOTTINGHAM Some portions of it are still retained in their original con dition, and there are several very old oaks. The county generally is finely wooded, although to the east of the valley of the Soar there is a considerable stretch of wolds. The principal rivers are the Trent, the Erewash, the Soar, and the Idle. The Trent, which enters the county near Thrumpton, where it receives the Erewash from the north and the Soar from the south, flows north-east past Notting ham and Newark, where it takes a more northerly direction, forming the northern part of the eastern boundary of the county till it reaches the Isle of Axholm (Lincolnshire). The Soar forms for a short distance the boundary with Leicester, and the Erewash the boundary with Derby. The Idle, which is formed of several streams near Sher wood Forest, flows northwards to Bawtry, and then turns eastward to the Trent. The Idle has been made navigable from Bawtry to the Trent. There are also several canals. Geology and Minerals. The oldest rocks of the county are the Coal-measures, which, forming part of the Yorkshire, Nottingham, and Derby coalfield, stretch in from Derby, occupying principally the district west of a line drawn from Nottingham to Kirkby, although coal is obtainable below the other rocks as far east as Lincolnshire, at a depth of probably less than 4000 feet. The principal workable seams are the Top Hard, the Deep Soft, the Deep Hard, and the Kilbourne coal. In 1881 there were thirty-nine collieries, producing together 4,758,060 tons. Ironstone is found, but not in sufficient quantities to make its work ing profitable. The Coal-measures are bounded by a narrow strip of Permian rocks, consisting chiefly of magnesian limestone, which is overlaid by the Middle Permian marls and sandstones. Red and white sandstone, freestone, and magnesian limestone are quarried in the neighbourhood of Mansfield. The lower beds of the limestone are made use of for paving -stones. The remainder of the county is occupied chiefly by the New Red Sandstone. The higher ridge between the Idle and the Trent is occupied by the Upper Keuper marls and sandstones. Lias occurs south east from Cropwell to the neighbourhood of Newark. Along the valleys and on the tops of the hills there is generally a coating of drift. The banks of the Trent are occupied by river gravels, and along the Idle there is a large deposit of mud as well as of gypsum, the latter being dug for manure and for plastering and floors. Valuable beds of gypsum also occur in various parts of south Not tinghamshire. Agriculture. As the higher regions of Derby and York shire attract the rain-clouds, the climate of Nottingham is much above the average in dryness, and on that account crops ripen nearly as early as in the southern counties. The soil of about one-half the county is gravel and sand, including Sherwood Forest, where it inclines to sterility, and the valley of the Trent, where there is a rich vegetable mould on a stratum of sand or gravel. The land along the banks of the Trent is equally suitable for crops and pasture. The farms generally are of moderate size, the great majority being under 300 acres. Most of the immediate occupants are tenants -at -will. Considerable improvements have taken place in the farm buildings and cottages, most of them being now built of brick and tile. According to the agricultural returns for 1883, there were 454,217 acres, or nearly nine -tenths, of the total area under crops. Corn crops occupied 142,305 acres, of which 51,250 were under wheat, 47,479 under barley or bere, and 27,090 under oats. Green crops occupied 50,151 acres, 34,925 of these being occupied by turnips and swedes, 6613 by potatoes, and 4685 by vetches. As many as 185,060 acres were in permanent pasture, while 54,684 were under clover, and 21,956 fallow. A common custom is to fallow the arable land once in three years. There were 1806 acres under orchards, 685 under market gardens, 146 of nursery grounds, and 26,387 of woods. The soil in many places is supposed to be specially suited for apples and pears, but, although they are grown in con siderable quantities, there are not many orchards of large size. Hops were at one time extensively grown in the clay districts, which produce stronger plants, though less mild in flavour, than are grown in Kent and Sussex, but in 1883 they occupied only 33 acres. The total number of horses in 1883 was 20,511, of which 15,191 were used solely for agricultural purposes. Cattle numbered 76,229, of which 24,822 were cows and heifers in milk or in calf. Shorthorns are the favourite breed. Dairy farming is pretty common. Sheep numbered 211,893 and pigs 30,371. The old forest breed of sheep is almost extinct, Leicesters and various crosses being common. According to the latest return there were 14,519 proprietors, pos sessing 507,337 acres with a gross annual rental of 1,560,853, or an average of about 3, 2s. per acre. The estimated extent of com mons and waste lands is 1450 acres. Of the owners, 9891, or about sixty-eight per cent., possessed less than one acre, twenty-six pos sessed between 2000 and 5000 acres, nine between 5000 and 10,000 acres, and the following six above 10,000 acres each, viz., duke of Portland, 35,209 ; duke of Newcastle, 34,468 ; Earl Manvers, 26,460 ; Henry Savile, 17,821 ; Lord Middleton, 14,135 ; Earl Howe, 11,601. Manufactures. Nottinghamshire has for more than a century been the centre of the hosiery trade of England, and it is now equally famous for its lace manufactures. Besides the numerous silk-mills and worsted -mills, there are also cotton-mills, bleach works, sailcloth works, paper works, iron- and brass -foundries, engineering -shops, chemical works, malt works, tanneries, and breweries. Railways. The county is traversed in various directions by branches of the Midland, the Great Northern, the Manchester, Shef field, and Lincoln, and the London and North-Western Railways. Administration and Population. Nottinghamshire comprises six wapentakes Bassetlaw, Broxtow, Bingham, Newark, Rushcliffe, and Thurgarton ; and the municipal boroughs of East Retford (population 9748), Newark (14,018), and Nottingham (186,575). In addition to these three boroughs there are eleven urban sanitary districts, viz., Arnold (5745), Beeston (4479), Heanor (6822), Hucknall Torkard (10,023), Hucknall- under -Huthwaite (2028), Ilkeston (14,122), Mansfield (13,653), Mansfield Woodhouse (2618), Sutton in Ashfield (8523), Warsop (1329), and Worksop (11,625). The county has one court of quarter-sessions, and is divided into seven petty and special sessional divisions. The boroughs of Newark and Nottingham have commissions of the peace and separate courts of quarter-sessions, and the borough of East Retford has a commission of the peace. Before the Reform Bill of 1832 the county sent eight members to parliament, and it now returns ten. For parliamentary purposes it is divided into North Nottingham shire and South Nottinghamshire, each returning two members, as does also each of the boroughs of Nottingham, Newark, and East Retford. The parliamentary borough of East Retford has an area of 207,906 acres, including, in addition to the municipal borough, the wapentake of Bassetlaw ; on the other hand, the parliamentary borough of Nottingham is now less extensive than the municipal borough. Nottinghamshire is in the province of York, and was almost entirely in the diocese of Lincoln, but an Act of 1878 has provided for the formation of the new diocese of Southwell, which comprises Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The county forms an archdeaconry with ten deaneries, comprising 273 civil parishes, townships, or places, and parts of five others. The population, which in 1801 was 140,350, had increased in 1821 to 186,873, in 1851 to 270,427, in 1871 to 319,758, and in 1881 to 391,815, of whom 190,778 were males and 201,037 females. The number of inhabited houses was 82, 435, and the average number of persons to an acre 74. History and Antiquities. There is some probability that the numerous caves in Nottinghamshire were occupied by the early inhabitants, but there are no architectural remains which can be proved of earlier date than the Roman invasion. The ancient Fosse Way entered the county from Leicester near Willoughby-on-the- Wolds, where Roman coins and other remains have been found, and proceeded by East Bridgford supposed by some to be the Roman Margidunum and Newark, entering Lincoln near South Scarle. Several Roman roads crossed it in various directions. A camp on Holly Hill near Arnold is supposed to have been a central Roman station, and Nottingham may possibly occupy the site of Causennis. Broughton and Attenborough were also Roman stations ; near Mansfield have been discovered the remains of a Roman villa, and a variety of relics have been found near Newstead and in other places. The remains of an ancient fortress at Brent s Hill near Barton are supposed to be those of a British camp, although it also