Nottinghamshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It covers 834 square miles (2,160 km2) and had 1,146,110 residents at the 2021 census, counting the city of Nottingham alongside the seven districts run by the county council.
Nottingham is the county town and largest settlement. Mansfield, Worksop and Newark-on-Trent are the main towns beyond the city.
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Region | East Midlands |
| Status | Ceremonial county; county council plus one unitary city |
| Area | 834 sq mi (2,160 km2) |
| Population (2021) | 1,146,110 |
| County council area (2021) | 826,132 |
| City of Nottingham (2021) | 319,978 |
| County town | Nottingham |
| Districts | Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, Rushcliffe |
| Postcode areas | NG, plus S and DN in the north |
Towns and Villages in Nottinghamshire
The gazetteer records 330 named settlements in Nottinghamshire, listed below by administration and then alphabetically. The city list covers Nottingham’s outlying townships rather than its inner suburbs.
Nottinghamshire (county council area) (322)
- Alverton
- Annesley
- Annesley Woodhouse
- Arnold
- Askham
- Aslockton
- Attenborough
- Averham
- Averham Park
- Awsworth
- Babbington
- Babworth
- Bagthorpe
- Balderton
- Barnby Moor
- Barnby in the Willows
- Barnstone
- Barton in Fabis
- Bassingfield
- Bathley
- Beckingham
- Beeston
- Besthorpe
- Bestwood St Albans
- Bestwood Village
- Bevercotes
- Bilsthorpe
- Bingham
- Bircotes
- Bleasby
- Blidworth
- Blyth
- Bole
- Bothamsall
- Boughton
- Bradmore
- Bramcote
- Brinsley
- Budby
- Bulcote
- Bunny
- Burton Joyce
- Calverton
- Car Colston
- Carburton
- Carlton
- Carlton Forest
- Carlton in Lindrick
- Carlton on Trent
- Caunton
- Caythorpe
- Chilwell
- Church Warsop
- Clarborough
- Clayworth
- Clipston
- Clipstone
- Coddington
- Colston Bassett
- Colwick
- Cossall
- Costock
- Cotgrave
- Cotham
- Cottam
- Cromwell
- Cropwell Bishop
- Cropwell Butler
- Cuckney
- Darfoulds
- Darlton
- Drakeholes
- Drinsey Nook
- Eakring
- East Bridgford
- East Drayton
- East Kirkby
- East Leake
- East Markham
- East Stoke
- Eastwood
- Eaton
- Edingley
- Edwalton
- Edwinstowe
- Egmanton
- Elkesley
- Elston
- Elton
- Epperstone
- Everton
- Fackley
- Farndon
- Farnsfield
- Fernwood
- Fiskerton
- Fledborough
- Flintham
- Gamston
- Gedling
- Gibsmere
- Giltbrook
- Gonalston
- Gotham
- Goverton
- Granby
- Grassthorpe
- Greasley
- Gringley on the Hill
- Grove
- Gunthorpe
- Halam
- Halloughton
- Harby
- Hardwick Village
- Harlow Wood
- Harwell
- Harworth
- Hawksworth
- Hawton
- Hayton
- Haywood Oaks
- Headon
- Hickling
- Hickling Pastures
- High Marnham
- Hockerton
- Hodsock
- Holbeck
- Holme
- Holme Pierrepont
- Hoveringham
- Hucknall
- Hucknall under Huthwaite
- Jacksdale
- Kelham
- Kersall
- Keyworth
- Kilvington
- Kimberley
- King’s Clipstone
- Kingston on Soar
- Kinoulton
- Kirkby in Ashfield
- Kirklington
- Kirton
- Knapthorpe
- Kneesall
- Kneeton
- Lambley
- Laneham
- Langar
- Langold
- Laxton
- Linby
- Little Carlton
- Little Gringley
- Littleborough
- Lound
- Low Marnham
- Lowdham
- Mansfield
- Mansfield Woodhouse
- Maplebeck
- Market Warsop
- Markham Moor
- Mattersey
- Maythorne
- Meden Vale
- Milton
- Misson
- Misterton
- Moorhouse
- Morton
- New Kingston
- New Ollerton
- Newark on Trent
- Newington
- Newlands
- Newstead
- Newton
- Normanton
- Normanton on Soar
- Normanton on Trent
- Normanton on the Wolds
- Normanton upon Soar
- Nornay
- North Clifton
- North Collingham
- North Leverton
- North Muskham
- North Wheatley
- Norton
- Norwell
- Norwell Woodhouse
- Nuthall
- Oldcotes
- Ollerton
- Ompton
- Orston
- Osberton
- Ossington
- Owthorpe
- Oxton
- Oxton Hill
- Papplewick
- Plumtree
- Radcliffe on Trent
- Ragnall
- Rainworth
- Rampton
- Ranby
- Ranskill
- Ratcliffe on Soar
- Ravenshead
- Red Hill
- Redmay Corner
- Rempstone
- Retford
- Rhodesia
- Rockley
- Rolleston
- Ruddington
- Rufford
- Saundby
- Saxondale
- Scaftworth
- Scarrington
- Scofton
- Screveton
- Scrooby
- Selston
- Serlby
- Shelford
- Shelton
- Shireoaks
- Sibthorpe
- Skegby
- Sookholme
- South Clifton
- South Collingham
- South Leverton
- South Muskham
- South Scarle
- South Wheatley
- Southwell
- Spalford
- Spion Kop
- Stanford Hills
- Stanford on Soar
- Stanley
- Stanton Hill
- Stanton-on-the-Wolds
- Stapleford
- Staunton in the Vale
- Staythorpe
- Stoke Bardolph
- Stokeham
- Stragglethorpe
- Strelley
- Sturton le Steeple
- Styrrup
- Sutton
- Sutton Bonington
- Sutton in Ashfield
- Sutton on Trent
- Sutton-cum-Lound
- Swingate
- Syerston
- Teversal
- The Green
- Thoresby
- Thorney
- Thorney Moor
- Thorneywood
- Thoroton
- Thorpe
- Thorpe in the Glebe
- Thrumpton
- Thurgarton
- Tithby
- Tollerton
- Torworth
- Toton
- Treswell
- Trowell
- Trowell Moor
- Tuxford
- Underwood
- Upper Broughton
- Upper Morton
- Upton
- Walesby
- Walkeringham
- Wallingwells
- Warsop
- Watnall
- Welham
- Wellow
- West Bridgford
- West Drayton
- West Leake
- West Markham
- West Stockwith
- Weston
- Westwood
- Whatton
- White Post
- Widmerpool
- Wigsley
- Wigthorpe
- Willoughby on the Wolds
- Winkburn
- Winthorpe
- Wiseton
- Woodbeck
- Woodborough
- Woodhouse
- Woodthorpe
- Worksop
- Wysall
- Zouch
City of Nottingham (8)
- Basford
- Bilborough
- Broxtowe
- Bulwell
- Clifton
- New Basford
- Nottingham
- Wilford
Geography
The Trent is the county’s spine, entering from the south-west and running north-east past Nottingham and Newark towards the Humber. The Idle drains the north, and the Erewash marks much of the western boundary.
West of the Trent the ground rises into the old coalfield and the sandstone country of Sherwood Forest, of which about 450 acres survive as ancient woodland around the Major Oak at Edwinstowe. East of the river the land flattens into the clay Vale of Belvoir and the Trent washlands; the south rises again into the Nottinghamshire Wolds.
Nottinghamshire borders South Yorkshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south and Derbyshire to the west.
Demographics
The 2021 census counted 826,132 people in the county council area and 319,978 in the city of Nottingham. Nottingham’s built-up area spills well beyond the city boundary into Broxtowe, Gedling and Rushcliffe, so the real urban population is close to 750,000.
Outside the city the largest settlements are Mansfield, Worksop (about 44,700), Newark-on-Trent (about 43,400), Arnold (about 37,900), West Bridgford (about 36,500), Sutton-in-Ashfield (about 36,400), Hucknall (about 29,700) and Kirkby-in-Ashfield (about 27,500).
Nottingham has a young age profile, driven by roughly 60,000 students at the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. The former coalfield districts of Ashfield, Mansfield and Bassetlaw are older and less affluent.
Economy and Local Life
Nottingham built its wealth on lace, tobacco and bicycles. Boots, founded in the city in 1849, still has its head office and a large campus at Beeston, and Experian, Games Workshop and Capital One are among the bigger private employers.
Coal shaped the west and north for a century and a half. The last Nottinghamshire pits closed in the 2010s, and Ratcliffe-on-Soar closed in September 2024 as the last coal-fired power station in Britain. Warehousing, logistics and food processing have taken up much of the slack along the M1 and A1.
Farming on the Trent terraces is arable and market gardening. Newark holds long-established antiques fairs and livestock markets, Southwell has its Minster and racecourse, and Sherwood Forest and Clumber Park carry the county’s tourist trade.
History
Nottingham was one of the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw, alongside Derby, Leicester, Lincoln and Stamford. William the Conqueror ordered a castle on the sandstone crag above the Trent crossing in 1068, and Charles I raised his standard there in 1642 to open the Civil War.
The shire is inseparable from the Robin Hood legend, first written down in the fourteenth century and set in Sherwood Forest and Nottingham. Framework knitting made the county the centre of the machine lace trade, and the Luddite machine-breaking of 1811 to 1812 began in villages around Arnold.
Newstead Abbey was Lord Byron’s family seat, and D. H. Lawrence was born at Eastwood in 1885, the son of a Brinsley collier.
Getting There
The M1 runs down the western side of the county past Nottingham, and the A1 runs north-south through Newark, Tuxford and Retford. The A52 links Nottingham to Grantham and Derby, and the A46 runs from Newark to Leicester.
Nottingham station has direct Midland Main Line services to London St Pancras in about an hour and forty minutes, plus trains to Sheffield, Leeds, Lincoln and Norwich. Newark North Gate sits on the East Coast Main Line. Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Worksop are served by the Robin Hood Line.
Nottingham Express Transit trams run from Hucknall and Phoenix Park through the city to Clifton and Toton. East Midlands Airport lies about 15 miles south-west of the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Nottinghamshire?
1,146,110 at the 2021 census: 826,132 in the county council area and 319,978 in the city of Nottingham.
What is the largest town in Nottinghamshire?
Nottingham is the largest settlement. Outside the city, Mansfield is the biggest town, followed by Worksop and Newark-on-Trent.
How many towns and villages are there in Nottinghamshire?
The gazetteer lists 330 named settlements across the county and city.
Which councils cover Nottinghamshire?
Nottinghamshire County Council and seven district councils cover most of the county; Nottingham City Council is a separate unitary authority.
Is Sherwood Forest still there?
Yes, though much reduced. The surviving ancient woodland is a national nature reserve at Edwinstowe, centred on the Major Oak, with wider plantation forest around Clipstone and Ollerton.
Where is Nottinghamshire?
In the East Midlands, on the River Trent, between South Yorkshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south and Derbyshire to the west.