Although Nottingham received its royal charter in 1155 from King Henry II, little is known about the town’s early development. However, evidence of the medieval town remains in a network of caves cut from the soft sandstone on which it is built. The caves were initially occupied as dwellings and were later adapted for storage and use by small-scale industries such as tanning and brewing.\The town came to national prominence when King Charles I raised the royal standard above the castle in 1642. This act symbolised the start of the English Civil War and the King’s doomed attempt (he was executed in London in 1649) to dictate to his Parliament.

A century later, one of the central districts began to be taken over by local entrepreneurs and industrialists. During the 1760s, a local inventor called William Lee created a framework-knitting machine that could manufacture high volumes of lace. This was further enhanced in 1808 when another entrepreneur, John Heathcoate developed it into a hand-operated machine.

Steam power was quickly embraced in the following decades and Nottingham enjoyed a significant economic boom. It also became famous for luxury lace production. By the late 1880s, the district was home to over 130 factories plus a sprinkling of opulent mansions in which the owners lived. Many of these magnificent houses survive in the modern Lace Market area as hotels and upmarket restaurants.

A change of fashion away from lace in the early 1900s started a decline from which the industry never recovered.

During WWII, the city’s subterranean network was again in use as an air raid shelter when the May 1941 Blitz rained down on Nottingham. Sections of the caves have recently been redeveloped as a tourist attraction.

For much of the 20th century, Nottingham languished under a heavy dusting of soot blown in from the coalmines which almost encircled it. With the closure of the pits in the 1980s, the city has rediscovered its commercial spirit and emerged as the shopping and nightclub capital of the East Midlands.