The History of Nottingham's Old Market Square
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At the time of the Norman invasion in 1066, Nottinghamshire was part of a Saxon kingdom called Mercia. For the previous two centuries it had been increasingly under attack from the north by armies of Vikings and Danes. |
| By 1155 Nottingham had grown into a small town and King Henry II granted it the privilege of holding a market on Fridays and Saturdays. At this time Old Market Square was called the Great Market Place. It would have been a busy place, bustling with trade and it quickly became the focal point for life in the town. |
| In 1225 there are legal records of an outlaw called Robert Hood. No-one knows for sure about the legend of Robin Hood, but he could have been a real character who walked through the stalls and traders right here in Nottingham’s Great Market Place. |
| In 1348 the Black Death plague had swept across England and many people in Nottingham died. But by 1449 Nottingham's population had risen to about 3,000 people, a sizeable number for those times. It was in this year that King Henry VI gave the town of Nottingham and its county an independent status |
| In 1485 King Richard III is thought to have rallied his army in the Great Market Place before riding to his defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth. |
| Historically the Square forms a meeting place for the people of Nottingham and is also the location for local events, civic protests, royal visits, celebrations and public mourning and many of Nottingham's most defining moments have occurred here. |
| Trophies won by Nottingham Forest Football Club including the European Cup and the FA Cup have all been held aloft in front of crowds here. More recently in 2003 a memorial service to remember the life of Nottingham Forest's former manager Brian Clough was held there in front of national television cameras and thousands of local football supporters. |
| Many Nottingham people today have happy memories of the Old Market Square. It has been used for fairgrounds, festivals, protest rallies and even a temporary beach as the Square was transformed for Nottingham-by-the-Sea. |
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