Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire, a north-midland county of England, bounded N. and N.W. by Yorkshire, E. by Lincolnshire, W. by Derbyshire, and S.E. and S. by Leicestershire; area, 824 square miles. It is 50 miles long from N. to S., with an extreme breadth of 25 miles. The Trent enters the county from Derbyshire near the S.W. extremity, and flows N.E., and then N. into Lincolnshire; its principal tributaries are the Soar, Erwash, and Idle. The E. part of the county, comprising the valley of the Trent and the Vale of Belvoir, is flat, and at the N. extremity is the Misson Level of Car, which up to 1796 was a swamp. S. of Nottingham are the wolds, consisting of moorland and grassy uplands. Elsewhere the surface is undulating and well-wooded, especially in the W., which includes a great part of Sherwood Forest. The Nottingham and Grantham and Fosse Dyke Canals afford communication between the Trent and the Witham. The geological formation consists of old red sandstone and magnesian limestone, with a substratum of coal in the W.; in other parts are quartz, gravel, marl, has, and new red sandstone. The soil is, on the whole, not very productive. Corn and green crops are grown extensively, and there are many market gardens and orchards. There are numerous coal mines. Leading industries are hosiery and lace manufactures. The county contains the parliamentary and municipal borough of Nottingham and the municipal boroughs of Newark and East Retford.